Moving and backing up jobs with export and import
File > Export jobs in Schedule by Zaweba writes a .zschedule.json file; Import jobs reads it back with new ids and run-after links kept, never overwriting.
Jobs take time to get right, and once they are right you want to keep them. Schedule by Zaweba has two commands on its File menu for that: Export jobs writes your jobs to a .zschedule.json file, and Import jobs reads one back. Between them they cover moving to a new PC, setting up a second machine the same way, and keeping a backup of your whole timetable.
The file is JSON, a plain text format, so it is easy to store, copy and keep alongside other backups.
What survives the trip
When you import, every job gets a new id, and the run-after links between jobs are kept. That second point matters for chains. If job B runs after job A succeeds, fails or finishes, the imported B still runs after the imported A, not after something else that happens to share an old id.
New ids also mean importing never overwrites existing jobs. Whatever is already in Schedule stays as it was, and the imported jobs are added alongside.
Moving to a new PC
The most common use is a new computer. On the old one, choose File > Export jobs and save the file somewhere you can reach from the new one, such as a USB stick or a shared folder. Install Schedule on the new PC, choose File > Import jobs and pick the file.
Then go through the jobs before relying on them. Paths that were right on the old PC may not be on the new one: a program in a different folder, a script on a drive with a different letter, a working folder that does not exist yet. Script interpreters are found automatically, and Settings > Scripts can set any path if the new PC keeps them elsewhere. Use Run now on each important job and check the history.
Setting up a second machine
If you look after more than one PC, such as a couple in a small office, export from the one you have set up carefully and import on the others. It saves building the same jobs by hand, and keeps the timetables consistent.
Watch for jobs that only make sense on one machine. A job that runs a Backup by Zaweba folder pair or a Macro by Zaweba macro depends on what those apps hold on each PC. A job with an only on a named network condition depends on that network.
Keeping a backup
Because importing never overwrites, an exported file is a safe backup of your timetable. Export after any significant change and keep the file with your other backups. If you ever need to rebuild, import it.
If you only want some jobs back from a backup, import the file and delete the ones you do not need. It is quicker than recreating the ones you do.
The flip side of never overwriting is that importing the same file twice gives you two copies of every job. If an import does not look right, delete what came in and import once more, rather than importing again on top. Before importing to a PC that already has jobs, look at what is there so you know which are new.
Coming from Windows Task Scheduler
Export and import move jobs between copies of Schedule. Tasks in Windows Task Scheduler are a separate matter: the Windows tasks tab lists them read-only in plain English, and simple tasks with one program and common triggers can be copied into Schedule as new jobs. Once copied, they are ordinary Schedule jobs and travel in the export file like any other.
A small file worth having
Your jobs are a record of a lot of small decisions about what should happen and when. A .zschedule.json file from Schedule by Zaweba keeps all of them in one place, ready to bring back whenever you need them.
