AutoClose schedules a running process to close after a countdown or at a chosen clock time. It can also start an executable, repeat a run or close action, and perform a computer power action after a task finishes. The task acts on a process, not on a document inside that process, so it cannot decide whether an open file has unsaved changes.
Pick the real process
The Add a Task window lists normal and hidden processes. AutoClose needs the correct executable entry before it can close anything. That entry may not resemble the name printed in the title bar. The dragging selector solves this mismatch: the user holds its mouse button, moves the pointer over the target window, and releases it. AutoClose then maps that window to its process.
A hidden background process has no window for the selector. It must be found in the process list. The red close control kills the selected entry immediately, which is useful for verification but also destructive. Killing the wrong background service can interrupt another task without showing a normal close dialog.
Interval or clock
An interval task counts days, hours, minutes, and seconds from the moment it starts. A specific-time task waits for a wall-clock time. AutoClose treats these as separate settings. The interval fits a render, download, or media session whose expected duration begins now; the clock fits a fixed cutoff later in the day.
Neither schedule protects work inside the target process. A forced close can discard an unsaved document, stop an incomplete transfer, or leave an archive unfinished. The target program’s own exit behavior determines whether it prompts, cancels, or loses work. A short test with disposable data is safer than making the first task an overnight close of an important job.
Chain a power action
The After the task finished list can shut down, restart, log off, hibernate, or turn off the monitor. Do nothing is the default. AutoClose can also quit itself after all tasks complete. These choices make a close task part of a larger end-of-session sequence, but they create another point of failure: a shutdown tied to the wrong task can end unrelated work as soon as that task exits.
Several tasks can share the list. Saving that list writes an ATF file, and Load Tasks restores it for another session. The saved file records the task definitions; it does not guarantee that the same executable path or window will exist later. A task aimed at a program that is not running cannot close the intended session.
Run on a loop
AutoClose can start an executable at a specific time and pass command-line parameters. It can also run or close a program every chosen number of minutes or hours. Another trigger waits for a period without mouse or keyboard activity. That idle rule measures input inactivity, not whether a computer job has finished. A long unattended calculation can appear idle while it still needs to run.
Looped closing can repeatedly terminate a process that another service relaunches. Looped starting can create multiple instances when the target does not prevent them. AutoClose should therefore begin with one task, one observable target, and no power action. Once that task behaves correctly, the saved list can add repetition or a final shutdown without hiding which rule caused the result.
