Background agent task is never executed in Mango

Question

I have a background agent that i would like to be executed in Mango for updating the live tile. The problem is that it is never executed. Here is the code that i used:

//start background agent 
PeriodicTask periodicTask = new PeriodicTask("BruceWpAgent");

periodicTask.Description = "BruceWp periodic live task";
periodicTask.ExpirationTime = System.DateTime.Now.AddDays(10);

// If the agent is already registered with the system,
if (ScheduledActionService.Find(periodicTask.Name) != null)
{
     ScheduledActionService.Remove("BruceWpAgent");
}

ScheduledActionService.Add(periodicTask);

I've found my app name between that Apps that use background jobs but the task is never invoked. What am i doing wrong?

PeriodicTask periodicTask = new PeriodicTask("BruceWpAgent"); is it the error? — Cris, Nov 11 '11 at 15:28
How are you verifying that it's never called? and not just an error in your task code? Can you please confirm the name of your agent too? — Matt Lacey, Nov 14 '11 at 13:04

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Dec 13 '11 at 04:31

This code may help you..

string periodicTaskName = "PeriodicAgent";      
    public bool agentsAreEnabled = true;
    private void StartBackgroundAgent()
    {
        // Variable for tracking enabled status of background agents for this app.
        agentsAreEnabled = true;
        // Obtain a reference to the period task, if one exists
        periodicTask = ScheduledActionService.Find(periodicTaskName) as PeriodicTask;

        // If the task already exists and background agents are enabled for the
        // application, you must remove the task and then add it again to update 
        // the schedule
        if (periodicTask != null)
        {
            RemoveAgent(periodicTaskName);
        }

        periodicTask = new PeriodicTask(periodicTaskName);

        // The description is required for periodic agents. This is the string that the user
        // will see in the background services Settings page on the device.
        periodicTask.Description = "Task to update the Economic times tile.";

        // Place the call to Add in a try block in case the user has disabled agents
        try
        {
            ScheduledActionService.Add(periodicTask);
            // If debugging is enabled, use LaunchForTest to launch the agent in one minute.

            ScheduledActionService.LaunchForTest(periodicTaskName, TimeSpan.FromMinutes(2));

        }
        catch (InvalidOperationException exception)
        {
            if (exception.Message.Contains("BNS Error: The action is disabled"))
            {
                MessageBox.Show("Background agents for this application have been disabled by the user.");
                agentsAreEnabled = false;
            }
        }
    }

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Dec 01 '11 at 11:56

1

Check out this hands on lab for Adding Multitasking to Your Application in Windows Phone 7.5, that should cover it.

answered Dec 01 '11 at 11:56

Pete Davis

1,127
9
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Background agent task is never executed in Mango

2 Answers2