Schedule deletion of files older than

Once on the Triggers tab click the New… button at the bottom of the window. As seen in the screenshot below, I have configured this trigger to begin on a schedule and to run on a Daily basis at PM.

Next, click on the Actions tab and click New… at the bottom of the window. The New Action window will be displayed. This is where you will call the ForFiles script and configure the command line argument to delete the files. This is the most important step. Make sure the Action being called is set to Start a program. This should be the default setting but if not, just select it from the drop-down.

The final step requires you to specify the argument that you want to pass to the ForFiles script. Depending on your specific needs, you will need to change the directory being specified as well as the number of days back. There are two additional tabs, Conditions and Settings. Though it is not necessary to change any of the default configuration options on these two tabs, they are worth reviewing.

Depending on the scheduled task you are creating, some changes may be beneficial. Though I rarely do anything with the Conditions tab, the Settings tab does have a couple options that I find to be useful. Though I am not selecting them for the purposes of this example, the highlighted options below can be useful depending on the task being scheduled. You can also instruct the Task Scheduler to self-delete if it has not been called for a particular number of days. Join , subscribers and get a daily digest of news, geek trivia, and our feature articles.

By submitting your email, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. AddDays -5 Remove-Item. CreationTime —lt Get-Date.

While we recommend you use one of the PowerShell methods, without getting into any of the gritty details you can also do it from command prompt. Use Google Fonts in Word. Use FaceTime on Android Signal vs. Customize the Taskbar in Windows What Is svchost. Best Smartwatches. Best Gaming Laptops. Best Smart Displays. Best Home Security Systems.

Best External Solid State Drives. Best Portable Chargers. Best Phone Chargers. Best Wi-Fi Range Extenders. Best Oculus Quest 2 Accessories. Best iPad Air Cases. You will see a brief flash of the PowerShell command window and the files should be deleted. Important note: All files are deleted permanently. If the files are in use or locked by some other program, the PowerShell command might fail to delete one or more files.

It might even get angry and throw errors. So, make sure the files will not be in use when the task is executed. I hope that helps. If you are stuck or need some help, comment below and I will try to help as much as possible.