Aimy Sitemap PRO supports crawling your website automatically. However, to execute this task periodically, a system service like cron on Unix or Task Scheduler on Microsoft Windows is required.

This step-by-step howto shows you how to set up a new task using Microsoft's Task Scheduler to periodically crawl your website.

First, log in to your Windows server and start the Task Scheduler utility by clicking "Start" → "Accessories" → "System Tools" → "Task Scheduler".

Create a New Basic Task for Crawling

Next, click "Create Basic Task" and choose a name and description for the task.

Create a new basic task

Click "Next".

Choosing a Time-Based Trigger

Selecting a trigger allows you to specify when the task should be run. To schedule your periodical crawl, choose a time-based trigger like "Daily".

Select a time-based trigger

Click "Next" and specify the time you want the crawl to start and whether it should run each day or at any other interval of your choice.

Configure the daily start time

Click "Next".

Selecting Aimy Sitemap's Crawling Script as an Action

Aimy Sitemap's "crawl-website.php" application is a PHP script that should be executed periodically. Therefore, select "Start a program" and click "Next".

Select the action type of the task

For the next step you need to know the absolute path of the "crawl-website.php" application, which is shown in Aimy Sitemap's "Periodic Crawl" view. So, start your favorite browser and log in to the Joomla! backend of your website. Choose "Components" → "Aimy Sitemap" → "Periodic Crawl". The path is shown under the "Help" topic -- mark it and copy it to your clipboard.

Look up absolute script path

Select your Task Scheduler window again. Click "Browse" to navigate to and select your local PHP interpreter, usually named "php.exe". The following screenshot shows the the path of a local XAMPP installation as an example only.

If in doubt where to find your PHP interpreter, either ask your system administrator or start Windows' Explorer and search for "php.exe".

Paste the absolute path to the "crawl-website.php" script to the "Add arguments" input field (marked red in the following screenshot).

Setting up the crawl-website.php script to be executed

Click "Next".

Saving and Activating Your Crawling Task

Task Scheduler shows you a summary of the settings you have chosen for your new crawling task afterwards.

Finish task

To be sure, verify the settings are correct and click "Finish" to save and activate your new task.

Congratulations, you just set up your new crawling task!

For further information on how to set crawling options and on how to view the reports of your periodic crawls, have a look at Aimy Sitemap's User-Manual.