Microsoft To Do

Background: Why I Did This

Time management is something we have to adjust throughout our lives — and for me, it’s always been a challenge.

For the past three years, I mainly relied on a physical notebook and pen to manage my time. But over the last two months, that stopped working as well as before. So I decided to try a small improvement:

Let Microsoft To Do pop up automatically when my computer starts. That way, I see my priorities right away. I rarely work in full-screen mode, so there’s always some space for the To Do window to stay visible.

The key to building habits is a trigger — and startup is a natural one.

This post records how I set it up: making Microsoft To Do automatically open on Windows 11 login.

Step-by-Step Implementation

Run PowerShell as Administrator

  1. Search for “PowerShell” in the Start menu.
  2. Right-click it → choose “Run as administrator.” (Otherwise, you’ll get an “Access is denied” error.)
  3. Paste the following command into the PowerShell window. If there’s no error, it worked successfully. (If it fails, it’s usually due to user permissions or Task Scheduler settings.)
$Action = New-ScheduledTaskAction -Execute "explorer.exe" -Argument "shell:AppsFolder\Microsoft.Todos_8wekyb3d8bbwe!App"
$Trigger = New-ScheduledTaskTrigger -AtLogOn
Register-ScheduledTask -TaskName "LaunchToDo" -Action $Action -Trigger $Trigger -Description "startup Microsoft To Do" -User "$env:USERNAME"

Check if the Task Was Created

  1. Open Task Scheduler (search it from the Start menu).

  2. Click “Task Scheduler Library” on the left panel.

  3. Find the task named LaunchToDo (if you used my script).

  4. Double-click it and check:

    • Trigger: “At log on”
    • Action: runs explorer.exe with argument shell:AppsFolder\Microsoft.Todos_8wekyb3d8bbwe!App
    • General tab: “Run only when user is logged on” is checked

  5. Or simply restart your computer to see if Microsoft To Do opens automatically after login.

Further Exploration: Understanding the Logic

Explaining the Commands

Create the launch action

$Action = New-ScheduledTaskAction -Execute "explorer.exe" -Argument "shell:AppsFolder\Microsoft.Todos_8wekyb3d8bbwe!App"
  • New-ScheduledTaskAction defines what the task will do.
  • -Execute "explorer.exe" means using Windows Explorer to launch something.
  • -Argument "shell:AppsFolder\..." is a UWP app path, pointing to Microsoft To Do.

đź’ˇ Why use explorer.exe?

UWP apps don’t have a traditional .exe file. Using explorer.exe opens their app container path, so the app launches in a normal window.

Set the trigger

$Trigger = New-ScheduledTaskTrigger -AtLogOn
  • New-ScheduledTaskTrigger defines when the task runs.
  • -AtLogOn means it triggers when the user logs in (not when the system boots).

âś… This ensures To Do launches visibly, not silently in the background.

Register the task

Register-ScheduledTask -TaskName "LaunchToDo" -Action $Action -Trigger $Trigger -Description "Launch Microsoft To Do" -User "$env:USERNAME"
  • Register-ScheduledTask saves the task to the system.
  • -TaskName is the name you give it.
  • -Action and -Trigger refer to what we defined earlier.
  • -Description adds a short note.
  • -User "$env:USERNAME" binds it to the current user.

Where Does 8wekyb3d8bbwe!App Come From?

That’s the internal launch ID of the UWP app. The structure looks like this:

shell:AppsFolder\PackageFamilyName!AppId
  • Microsoft.Todos_8wekyb3d8bbwe → Package Family Name
  • !App → default App ID

đź“Ś To find other UWP app IDs, run:

Get-StartApps

You’ll get a list like:

Name             AppUserModelId
----             ---------------
Microsoft To Do  Microsoft.Todos_8wekyb3d8bbwe!App

Does This Work for All UWP Apps?

âś… Mostly yes, but with some conditions:

  • The app must support launching via AppUserModelId.
  • Some system or restricted apps may not open this way.
  • If an app doesn’t launch, check its ID with Get-StartApps.

How to Delete the Task

Are $Action and $Trigger temporary? Can I rename them?

  • Yes — they are just temporary PowerShell variables.
  • You can rename them (e.g., $a, $myTrigger) freely.
  • The real “permanent” part is the registered task in Task Scheduler.

đź“Ś To delete it later, run:

Unregister-ScheduledTask -TaskName "LaunchToDo" -Confirm:$false

What If It’s Not a UWP App?

đź›  Launch on startup but not show a window

  1. Non-UWP apps have .exe files, so you can create shortcuts.
  2. Press Win + R, type shell:startup, and hit Enter.
  3. Drop your app’s shortcut into the opened folder. (If you don’t have a shortcut, find it in the Start menu → right-click → More → Open file location → then create a shortcut.)

Now the app will automatically run every time you log in.

đź“… Launch a window after login (non-UWP)

  1. Open Task Scheduler.
  2. Click “Create Basic Task.”
  3. Name it something like “Launch ***”.
  4. Set the trigger to “When I log on.”
  5. Choose “Start a program” and browse to the .exe file.
  6. Finish the setup.

Windows prevents background tasks from showing UI unless they’re explicitly set to run after user login.

đź“Ś If you want to delay launch or use more complex triggers, Task Scheduler is the right place.

Conclusion

Most of this setup came from AI assistance — I mainly asked questions, tested commands, and organized these notes.

What I realized: command-line tools and GUI operations now map quite directly, but personally, I’m starting to prefer code-based workflows. Honestly, GUI interfaces often feel clumsy compared to a clean command.

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