Open in the background

With Open URL in Background, Tab Scheduler visits a scheduled link quietly at the time you set. No new tab or window appears, so nothing takes focus and you keep working where you are. It suits links that do their job simply by being visited, such as a check-in link or a link that starts a task on a website.

How Open URL in Background works

A normal open schedule shows the website in a new tab. When you tick Open URL in Background, Tab Scheduler sends a request for the link in the background instead. The website receives the visit, but the page is not shown anywhere in your browser.

Because no tab is opened, there is nothing for the schedule to close later. If you had chosen another Schedule Type, it switches to Open a website when you tick the option, and a short message explains why. While the option is ticked, these options are switched off and cannot be ticked.

• Open URL In New Window
• Open in incognito mode
• Refresh tab if URL is already open

If notifications are on for the schedule, you still get a notification each time it runs.

How to load a link in the background

1. Click the Tab Scheduler icon in your browser toolbar and choose Settings.
2. Enter the link in Website Link, for example example.com/ping.
3. Add a Title so you can find the schedule in the list later.
4. Choose how often it should run in Select Frequency, such as Every 30 Minute or Every Day.
5. Leave Schedule Type set to Open a website.
6. Fill in the open fields your frequency needs, such as Open Time for Every Day.
7. Under More options, tick Open URL in Background.
8. Click Save Schedule.

When to use Open URL in Background

• A regular check-in. Some monitoring services give you a personal link that expects a visit every so often. Choose Every 30 Minute and enter that link. Tab Scheduler visits it in the background and your screen stays as it is.
• Start a daily task. If a tool you use offers a link that starts a report or a backup when it is visited, schedule it for 7:00 with Every Day. The task starts without a tab popping up.
• Keep a small site awake. If a hobby site you host goes to sleep when nobody visits, a background visit with Every 10 Minute can keep it ready for your visitors.

Good to know about Open URL in Background

• You will not see the page. If you want to read or use the website, use a normal open schedule instead. For a visible tab that opens without taking focus, switch off Auto Focus Tab for that schedule. Auto Focus Tab is part of Premium.
• Only a simple request is made. The page is not displayed, so anything that needs the page to be shown, such as a video playing, does not happen.
• The request comes from the extension, not from a tab where you are signed in. Pages that need you to be logged in may not work this way.
• Run now in the schedule list runs the schedule straight away, also in the background. Its normal timing stays the same.
• Your computer must be awake and the browser must be running at the scheduled time. Power Mode keeps the computer awake.