Tips for automatically reloading a URL at specific times using Javascript

Question

Tips for automatically reloading a URL at specific times using Javascript

I am having trouble getting a URL to work when invoked by a cron job.

My plan is to achieve the same outcome using Javascript: how can I refresh the page at a specific time each day (8:00 PM)?

javascript scheduled-tasks job-scheduling

Answer 1

Answer №1

If you're looking to refresh a controller from the index page, here's a script that can help accomplish that - check out this URL for more details: Hasif

Given that Javascript is limited to the front-end in your scenario, it's important to note that the user must keep the page open (as you mentioned) at all times. This means:

The URL will only be triggered if the user keeps their browser open (for daily tasks, relying solely on client side may not be the best approach);
A cron-job could be a better solution, but there's no way to prompt the browser to open at 8:00 PM daily;
Local time won't suffice if the URL needs to load simultaneously for all users, consider triggering it based on UTC timezone.

Resolution

One option is to create a cookie that stores the last date and time when the index page was loaded by the user. Compare this with the current date each time the page loads to ensure the URL is loaded once (MDN example). You can set the cookie in the backend, or use this simple JS example:

var td =new Date(), date2store = `${td.getUTCFullYear()}-${td.getUTCMonth().toString().padStart(2,0)}-${td.getUTCDate().toString().padStart(2,0)} ${td.getUTCHours().toString().padStart(2,0)}:${td.getUTCMinutes().toString().padStart(2,0)}`;
alert('Cookie to store: last_date=' + date2store + ' --> Is it after 8 PM UTC? ' + (new Date(date2store).getUTCHours() >= 19 ? 'YES!' : 'NO!' ));

If the user maintains the browser open till the next day, utilize a script within the page to check the current UTC hour and update as needed:

// place the code below in a setInterval(function() {...}, 1000*60*60);
// the if below should also the test the current cookie's datetime as the first condition
// 0 index hour exists (therefore compare with 19 instead of 20)
if(new Date().getUTCHours() >= 19) {
  alert('Past 8 PM');
  // save the current date and time in the cookie HERE
  
  // reload the index page
  // window.location.reload(true); // true for not using cache
  // OR redirect to a new location
  // window.location.href = 'https://...';
} else alert('Not 8 PM yet');

Answer 2

If you're looking to refresh a controller from the index page, here's a script that can help accomplish that - check out this URL for more details: Hasif

Given that Javascript is limited to the front-end in your scenario, it's important to note that the user must keep the page open (as you mentioned) at all times. This means:

The URL will only be triggered if the user keeps their browser open (for daily tasks, relying solely on client side may not be the best approach);
A cron-job could be a better solution, but there's no way to prompt the browser to open at 8:00 PM daily;
Local time won't suffice if the URL needs to load simultaneously for all users, consider triggering it based on UTC timezone.

Resolution

One option is to create a cookie that stores the last date and time when the index page was loaded by the user. Compare this with the current date each time the page loads to ensure the URL is loaded once (MDN example). You can set the cookie in the backend, or use this simple JS example:

var td =new Date(), date2store = `${td.getUTCFullYear()}-${td.getUTCMonth().toString().padStart(2,0)}-${td.getUTCDate().toString().padStart(2,0)} ${td.getUTCHours().toString().padStart(2,0)}:${td.getUTCMinutes().toString().padStart(2,0)}`;
alert('Cookie to store: last_date=' + date2store + ' --> Is it after 8 PM UTC? ' + (new Date(date2store).getUTCHours() >= 19 ? 'YES!' : 'NO!' ));

If the user maintains the browser open till the next day, utilize a script within the page to check the current UTC hour and update as needed:

// place the code below in a setInterval(function() {...}, 1000*60*60);
// the if below should also the test the current cookie's datetime as the first condition
// 0 index hour exists (therefore compare with 19 instead of 20)
if(new Date().getUTCHours() >= 19) {
  alert('Past 8 PM');
  // save the current date and time in the cookie HERE
  
  // reload the index page
  // window.location.reload(true); // true for not using cache
  // OR redirect to a new location
  // window.location.href = 'https://...';
} else alert('Not 8 PM yet');

Answer 3

Answer №2

Use this handy JavaScript code snippet to schedule a page refresh:

function setRefreshTime(hours, minutes, seconds) {
var currentTime = new Date();
var refreshTime = new Date();

if(currentTime.getHours() > hours ||
   (currentTime.getHours() == hours && currentTime.getMinutes() > minutes) ||
    currentTime.getHours() == hours && currentTime.getMinutes() == minutes && currentTime.getSeconds() >= seconds) {
    refreshTime.setDate(currentTime.getDate() + 1);
}
refreshTime.setHours(hours);
refreshTime.setMinutes(minutes);
refreshTime.setSeconds(seconds);

var timeoutPeriod = (refreshTime.getTime() - currentTime.getTime());
setTimeout(function() { window.location.reload(true); }, timeoutPeriod);
 }

Simply call the setRefreshTime() function with your desired time:

setRefreshTime(15,30,0); //Page will refresh at 3:30pm

Answer 4

Use this handy JavaScript code snippet to schedule a page refresh:

function setRefreshTime(hours, minutes, seconds) {
var currentTime = new Date();
var refreshTime = new Date();

if(currentTime.getHours() > hours ||
   (currentTime.getHours() == hours && currentTime.getMinutes() > minutes) ||
    currentTime.getHours() == hours && currentTime.getMinutes() == minutes && currentTime.getSeconds() >= seconds) {
    refreshTime.setDate(currentTime.getDate() + 1);
}
refreshTime.setHours(hours);
refreshTime.setMinutes(minutes);
refreshTime.setSeconds(seconds);

var timeoutPeriod = (refreshTime.getTime() - currentTime.getTime());
setTimeout(function() { window.location.reload(true); }, timeoutPeriod);
 }

Simply call the setRefreshTime() function with your desired time:

setRefreshTime(15,30,0); //Page will refresh at 3:30pm

Tips for automatically reloading a URL at specific times using Javascript

Answer №1

Resolution

Answer №2

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