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How to Rename Scheduled Task in Task Scheduler

You can change the current task name if you don’t like it. Here are the steps to change or rename a scheduled task in Task Scheduler.

Task Scheduler has a simple task setup wizard to quickly and easily create scheduled tasks. While creating a scheduled task, you are prompted to give it a name as the first step. This name appears in the task scheduler.

If there is a mistake in the name or you don’t like it, renaming a Windows task created with Task Scheduler is not as easy as right-clicking and selecting “Rename.” For whatever reason, once you make a scheduled task, you cannot change its name normally. But the good thing is that it is not hard to rename a scheduled task.

The steps below work the same in Windows 10 and 11.

Table of contents:

Why Can’t You Rename Task in Task Scheduler

There is no definitive answer to why you cannot directly rename a task in Task Scheduler. Maybe it somehow messes with how Task Scheduler works with the tasks.

However, that’s not the case with older Windows versions. The task files in Windows XP and Windows 2000 are typically saved in the %SystemRoot%\Tasks folder with .job extension. In those versions, you can rename the file to change the scheduled task name.

In the newer Windows versions, you can no longer do that. If you go to the Tasks folder, you won’t find any files, at least with the .job extension.

But, that doesn’t mean you cannot rename scheduled tasks. Let me show you how to rename a task in Task Scheduler in Windows 10 & 11 operating systems without further ado.

Rename Scheduled Task in Windows

The trick to renaming a scheduled task in the task scheduler is to export and import it. It doesn’t sound straightforward, but it is easy. Follow the steps, and the Windows task name is changed.

  1. Open the Start menu.
  2. Search and open “Task Scheduler.”
  3. Select “Task Scheduler Library” on the sidebar.
  4. Right-click on the task you want to rename.
  5. Choose the “Export” option.
  6. Go to the destination folder.
  7. Press the “Save” button to export the task.
  8. Click “Import task” on the right panel.
  9. select the exported file.
  10. Click the “Open” button.
  11. Type the new name in the “Name” field.
  12. (Optional) Type a description in the “Description” field.
  13. Click “Ok.”
  14. With that, the Windows scheduled task is renamed.

Steps with more details:

First, search for “Task Scheduler” in the start menu and open it.

Rename scheduled task - open task scheduler

Select “Task Scheduler Library” on the left panel of the Task Scheduler to see all the tasks. Right-click on the task you want to rename and select “Export.”

Rename scheduled task - export scheduled task

Browse to any location and save the file by clicking the “Save” button. You can name the file whatever you want; mind the .xml file extension.

Rename scheduled task - save exported task

We need to import the task again to rename it. On the right panel, select the “Import task” option.

Rename scheduled task - click import task

Browse to the previous location, select the exported task and click the “Open” button.

Rename scheduled task - open exported task

While importing, you can rename the task. Enter the new task name in the “Name” field, enter a proper description in the “Description” field and click the “Ok” button.

Rename scheduled task - enter new name

That is it. You have successfully renamed the scheduled task in Task Scheduler.

Don’t forget to delete the duplicate task with the old name. To delete the task, right-click on it and select “Delete.”

To be a bit careful, disable the task by choosing the “Disable” option. Once you know the renamed scheduled task is working, delete the old one.

I know this is a roundabout way, but it is the best you can do to rename a scheduled task in Task Scheduler.

What is Task Scheduler?

For daily repeated tasks like launching a program after starting the computer, backing up files, shutting down Windows at a specific time, etc., you can automate them using the Windows Task Scheduler. Though it looks simple, Windows Task Scheduler is quite powerful and lets you automate almost anything in Windows.

I automate several tasks on my Windows machine. For instance, I have a task to open Thunderbird and Firefox after logging into the system, backup Thunderbird, launch FreeFileSync batch files, backup data, and auto shutdown Windows at night.

TL;DR, If you have a lot of daily routine tasks, you can automate quite a few things on Windows using Task Scheduler.

That is all. It is that simple to rename a scheduled task in Windows.

I hope this simple and easy Windows how-to guide helped you.

If you are stuck or need some help, send an email, and I will try to help as much as possible.

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