--- title: Appending a date at the end of a backup file using Task Scheduler. description: If you are following the Automatic Backup article, you may have a need to append the date at the end of the file which cannot be done using the arguments in the task scheduler. --- [Skip to content](https://hub.acctivate.com/articles/appending-a-date-at-the-end-of-a-backup-file-using-task-scheduler#main-content) [Go to Customer Portal](https://hub.acctivate.com/tickets?hsLang=en) ![Acctivate - A CAI Solution](https://hub.acctivate.com/hubfs/Images/Logos/acctivate-cai-logo-svg.svg) - [Knowledge Base](https://hub.acctivate.com/articles) Open main navigation Close main navigation - [Knowledge Base](https://hub.acctivate.com/articles) - [Go to Customer Portal](https://hub.acctivate.com/tickets) - [Support Resources / Create Ticket](https://acctivate.com/support) [Support Resources / Create Ticket](https://acctivate.com/support) Hello. How can we help you? - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. 1. [Knowledge Base](https://hub.acctivate.com/articles?hsLang=en) 2. [Database](https://hub.acctivate.com/articles/database?hsLang=en) 3. [Backup & Restore](https://hub.acctivate.com/articles/database?hsLang=en#backup-restore) April 11, 2025 # Appending a date at the end of a backup file using Task Scheduler. ## If you are following the Automatic Backup article, you may have a need to append the date at the end of the file which cannot be done using the arguments in the task scheduler. ### Appending a date at the end of a backup file using Task Scheduler If you are following the[ Automatic Backup article](https://help.acctivate.com/articles/5506/), you may have a need to append the date at the end of the file which cannot be done using the arguments in task scheduler. To do so, you would need to create a .bat file that would get the date from the machine (most likely the server), launch database maintenance and run the backup. Then task scheduler would run off the .bat file instead. First, open up Notepad by going to S**tart -\> All programs -\> Accessories -\> Notepad**. Then, copy and paste the following command lines: ``` ECHO ON@REM Date forumla used: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/19131029/how-to-get-date-in-bat-file@Rem parses out the date string (%date% in command prompt) by using tokensfor /f "tokens=1-4 delims=/ " %%i in ("%date%") do (set dow=%%iset month=%%jset day=%%kset year=%%l)set datestr=%month%_%day%_%year%THENstart "" "C:\Program Files (x86)\ACCTivate\AcctivateDBMaint.exe" /B /C Demo /O /SILENT /F "ACCTivate_%datestr%.bkf" ``` Once the above text is in Notepad, Click “File” -\> “Save as” -\>  then type in something like “Acctivate backup – Appends Date.bat” and click save. It will look like this when it’s saved: ![task scheduler with bat file - help article 2](https://help.acctivate.com/wp-content/uploads/task-scheduler-with-bat-file-help-article-2.png) Then start Task scheduler by going to **Task Scheduler** from **Windows Start Menu \> All Programs \> Accessories \> System Tools**. 1. Click on **Create Basic Task** 2. Enter **Acctivate Database Backup** in the Name field and click Next 3. Choose the backup frequency for the Task Trigger then click Next.  The default **Daily** option is recommended. 4. Leave the default **Recur every 1 days** setting and click Next 5. Leave the default Action of **Start a program** and click Next 6. Click **Browse…** to select the **Program/script** 7. Then browse to the .bat file location. After browsing to the .bat file location, you don’t need to change anything else except when you want to run the .bat file. See below. 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