How to launch application at logon/startup

If you always open the same programs after starting your computer, you might find it convenient to have them start automatically when the Windows starts. The following article explains how to launch the application at startup, when the user logs on.

To achieve this, you can use two approaches:

1. Using a shortcut

Create a shortcut as explained in the create shortcut article and place it in the Start Menu -> Startup folder from Files and Folders page, in your Advanced Installer project. For details, please check the Paths of the folders in the "Files and Folders" Page article.

Now build and install the package, that's it. The next time you start Windows, the program will run automatically.

If a per-machine installation will be performed, then the shortcut will be installed for all users. That means at logon the application will start automatically for any user that logs in onto the machine, since the shortcut is placed in a public(shared) location:

C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

If a per-user installation will be performed, then the shortcut will be available only for the user that installed the application.

C:\Users\<user-name>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

You can set the installation type, per-user or per-machine in the Install Parameters view.

2. Using a scheduled task

Go to Scheduled Tasks page and add the application from your project to the Windows Task Scheduler.

Use the [ New Task ] toolbar button or the “New Task” context menu item, the Edit Task dialog will be displayed allowing you to specify the task settings. In the Schedule tab you can specify the task to be executed at user logon. For this, you can select the At Logon option from the drop-down list.