User manual - Automation Anywhere

561 Pages·2015·8.89 MB·English

by  Automation Anywhere

Getting Started
GettingstartedwithAutomationAnywhere(AAforshort!)iseasy.Usingthetopicsinthissection,youcancreatesimpleautomated
tasksthatareusefulandexpandabletolarger,morecomplexprocesses.
InThis Section
l UnderstandingtheFeaturesandBenefits
l IntroductionAutomationAnywhereClient
l VerifyingSystemRequirements
l PreparingandInstallingtheAutomationAnywhereClient
l CommunicatingwiththeServer/ControlRoom
l ContactingAutomationAnywhere
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Understanding the Features and Benefits
AutomationAnywhereisintelligentautomationsoftware,providingunparalleledperformanceandscalabilityforgreatereffi-
cienciesinyourbusinessprocesses.
Capabilities:WhatDoesAutomationAnywhereOffer?
AutomationAnywherehelpsyoutooptimizethetimespentonrunningtasksbyprovidingthefollowingcapabilities:
l Transformarepetitive,20-stepprocesstoasinglemouseclickorkeystroke.
l Runscheduledtasksanytimebyusingpowerfultaskscheduling,evenwhencomputerislocked.
l Automatescriptsthatexistindisparateformats.
l Easilymanageautomatedprocessesacrossasinglemachineormultiplemachines,andacrossadivisionoranenterprise.
l Createautomationtasksinminutes:recordkeystrokesandmouseclicks,anduseeasy,point-and-clickwizards.
l Easilymanageautomationuserswithascalableserverthatprovidestruecollaboration.
l Maintaincentralizedsystemsforbackup,security,andresources.
l Captureandreuseautomatedprocessesinacentralrepository.
l Managejobschedulingandexecutebatchdataprocessingwithease.
l AutomateFTP/SFTPprocesses.
UniqueFeatures:HowDoWeDoIt?
AutomationAnywhereprovidesthefollowingfeatures,makingittheonlysolutioninthemarkettooffercompleteautomationcap-
abilities:
l SMARTAutomationTechnologythatquicklyautomatescomplextasks,withnoprogrammingrequired,andishighlyreliable
andaccurate.
l CentralizedEnterpriseControlRoomthatmakesiteasytosetupandmaintainautomatedprocesses,users,andclient
machines.
l Industry-leadingWebRecorderandObjectRecorderthatrecognizeobjects,evenwhentheymoveposition.
l Over550+actionsavailable,including:
1. ActiveDirectorysupportforuser/clientmanagement
2. Conditionsandloops
3. Userprompts
4. File,database,andsystemmanagement
5. High-speedreplayofautomatedtasks
6. Automaticemailnotifications
7. Taskchaining
8. Hotkeysetupandmanagement
9. User-definedandsystemvariables
10. Advancederrorlogging
11. PDFautomation
Benefits:WhyDoIWantToUseThisSolution?
l Enableyourteamstobe30-80%moreefficient.
l Eliminatehumanerrorindataentryprocesses.
l Improvecollaborationbetweenemployeesanddivisions.
l Increasetransactionspeeds.
l ReducecostsandachievehigherROIonyourexistingITsystems
l Integratemultiple,disparatesystemsanddata,includinglegacysystems,ERPsystems,partnerdata,andWebportals.
Value:WhatCanIDoWithAutomationAnywhereClient?
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AutomationAnywherehelpscompaniesachieveprocessconsistencyacrossateam,department,division,orenterprisebyauto-
matingandmanagingworkflows,processes,andtasks.
Someoftheprocessesyoumightconsiderautomatinginclude:
l Time-consumingdataentryprocesseslike:
1. Checkinginventory
2. Re-orderingsupplies
3. Formattingandrunningreports
l Loggingintowebsites,searchingwebsites,submittingwebforms,orupdatingrecordsonawebsite.
l ManagingERPfront-endprocesses,includingSAP,OracleApplications,Peoplesoft,MSDynamics,Salesforce,andmore.
l Automatingdatatransfers,includingimporting/exportingdatabetweenapplicationsorfiles.
l UsetheAutomationAnywhereObjectRecordertomanageandexecuteWindowscontrolsasabackgroundprocess.
l Automateroutinebackupsandfilemanagementtasks.
AutomationAnywhereisthemostcompletebusinessprocessautomationsolutionavailabletoday!
AlsoSee...
l InstallingtheAutomationAnywhereClient
l InstallingYourLicenseKey
l RegisteringaClientwiththeServer/ControlRoom
l StartingtheAutomationAnywhereClient
l UpgradingfromtheTrialVersion
l VerifyingAutomationAnywhereSystemRequirements
l CreatinganAutomationTask
l ContactingAutomationAnywhere
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Introduction to Automation Anywhere
AutomationAnywhereallowsyoutocreateautomatedtaskswithease.It'sintuitiveinterfaceprovidesyoutheessentialfeaturesto
record,modifyandruntasksthatrangefromsimpletomorecomplexones.
Thistopicwillgiveyouabird'seyeviewofAutomationAnywhere's'ClientDashboard'.Italsoprovidesthenecessaryinformation
todirectyoutorelatedtopics.
ClientDashboard- A Bird's EyeView
AssoonasyoulaunchAutomationAnywhere,itdisplaystheAutomatepage:
(ImageasseeninEnterpriseEdition)
Note: You can directly start creating tasks or open recent one's if any.
Uponpressingclose,theClientDashboardisdisplayed:
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(ImageasseeninEnterpriseeditionversion8.0)
Note: The user interface will vary depending upon the features available with the product. To
compare versions, check out our website
TheClientDashboardbasicallycomprisesoftheMenuBar,ToolBar,FolderPanel,TaskPanelandvariousFeaturePanels.Col-
lectivelytheseallowyoutocreate,record,runandmodifyyourtasks.
1. TheToolBar(locatedbelowthemenubar)isacombinationoftoolbuttonsandfunctionsforrecording,runningandmodifying
tasks:
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a. Recordtaskswithdifferentrecordingmethodsavailableonthe'Automate'window.
(Imageasseenfromversion7.5onward)
ReferSelectingRecordingMethodsfordetails.
b. Recordkeystrokesaswellasmouseclicksandmovements.
ReferUsingtheStandardRecorderfordetails.
l Runtheselectedtask
ReferRunningaTaskfordetails.
l ModifytheselectedtaskusingtheTaskEditor.
ReferUsingtheTaskEditorfordetails.
2. Accessthemostfrequentlyusedfunctionsonthetoolbar,suchas:
a. WebRecorder
Itunderstandsallwebcontrolsthusenablingyoutorecordweb-onlytasks.
ReferUsingtheWebRecorderfordetails.
b. ObjectRecorder
Itunderstandsallobjectsandwindowscontrols.Record,manage,runWindowsactionsinthebackgroundandrunother
programssimultaneously.
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ReferUsingtheObjectRecorderfordetails.
c. ROICalculator
Itdisplaysthereturnoninvestment(ROI)accruedthroughuseofAutomationAnywhere<text>.
ReferUsingtheROI Calculatorfordetails.
Note: While recording and running automated tasks ensure that you follow best practices doc-
umented in the help topic Best Practices for Recording/Running Tasks
Additionally,AutomationAnywhereoffersfeaturestotroubleshootintheformof'SearchHelp','Chat'and'ClientNotifications'.*
l AccesstheAutomationAnywhereonlineknowledgebasewiththe'SearchHelp'feature.
l ChatwithouronlineAutomationExpertswiththe'LiveAssist'feature.
l Receivetrialstatus,taskfailureandexternalnotifications.ReferenceAutomationAnywhereClientNotificationsfordetails.
*Availablefromversion7.5onward.
TheFolders Panel
AtthetopleftistheFolderspanel,whichlistsexistingtasksintheTaskListpanelonitstheright.Rightclickafoldertoopen,cre-
ate,renameordeletethatfolder:
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TheTask ListPanel
TheTaskList,whichtakesupmostoftheworkspace,displaysrelevanttaskdetailsincolumnssuchasFileName,Description,
CreatedAt,Duration,Size,Hotkeys(ifany)andStatusetc.
Tip: Select column view from View > Column Displayed
Locatedatthetop-mostrightcorneroftheTaskListarebuttonsthatenableyoutodelete,createanexeanduploadtheselected
task.
AlternatelyclicktheActiondrop-downbuttontocarryouttaskrelevantactionssuchasrun,edit,upload*,copy,rename,locateand
send.
TheFeatures Panel
Towardsthebottomleftaretheproductspecificfeatures:
a. Repository*
CommunicatewithyourServer/ControlRoomtoregister,uploadanddownloadtasks,requestaccessprivileges
etc.
ReferCommunicatingwiththeServerfordetails.
b. Reports#
Itprovidesgraphicalreportsthatdisplaythestatusoftasksandworkflows,aswellastheROIovertime.
ReferUsingtheReportDesignerfordetails.
c. TriggerManager/Triggers#
Itprovidesaunifiedviewofthetriggersthatareconnectedtoyourtasks.Useittoenableordisableselectedoralltriggers
aswellasadd,modifyanddeletespecifictriggersconnectedtoatask.
ReferUsingtheTriggerManagerandAddingTriggerstoaTaskfordetails.
d. Schedules#
Itisaconvenientfacilitytomanageautomatedtasksontimebasedschedulingcapabilities.Youcanscheduletorunthe
taskdaily,weekly,monthlyorwithatriggerevent.
ReferUsingtheScheduleManagerfordetails.
e. Workflows#
Ithelpsyoubuildprocessflowdiagramsinagraphicalenvironment.Theseyoucansubsequentlyusetobuildandrun
automatedtasksintheprogram.
ReferUsingtheWorkflowDesignerfordetails.
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*AvailablewithSmallBusinessandEnterpriseversionsonly.
#FeaturealsoavailableinStandardeditionversion8.1.2orhigher.
Panel for Task RelevantActivities
BelowtheTaskListsisapanelthatdisplaystaskrelatedProperties,ScheduleandTriggerintheformoftabs.
a. Properties
Viewandsetgeneralpropertiessuchasallocatingprioritystatusorspecificssuchasfrequency/conditionstorepeatthe
selectedtask,adjustingspeed,emailnotifications,hotkeys,securityparameterstoensureauthorizedusersrunthetask
etc.
ReferSettingTaskPropertiesfordetails.
b. Schedule
Scheduleyourautomatedtaskstorunatpreferredtimes,withoutrequiringsupervisionorintervention.
ReferSchedulingTasksusingtheSchedulerfordetails.
c. Trigger
Connectatriggertypetotheselectedtask.Itautomaticallyrunsthetaskinresponsetoaneventthatoccursonyourcom-
puter.
ReferAddingTriggerstoaTaskfordetails.
AnadditionaltabtowardsthebottomrightistheDescription/Notespanel,whichallowsyoutoenterfreetextforselectedtask.The
textcanbeeditedifandwhenyoumodifythetask.
ReferViewingandSettingGeneralPropertiesfordetails.
AlsoSee...
l VerifyingSystemRequirements
l CheckingtheCurrentSoftwareVersion
l UpgradingtoaLicensedVersion
l CreatinganAutomationTask
l UsingSpecialKeys
l DefiningClientHotkeys
Disclaimer: Theimagesdisplayedmayvaryfromtheactualproductbecauseofregularupdates.
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Preparing and Installing the Automation Anywhere Client
ThesetopicswillhelpyoudetermineifyoursystemmeetstherequirementsforinstallingtheAutomationAnywhereClientandwill
helpyoucompletetheinstallation.
AlsoSee...
l VerifyingSystemRequirements
l InstallingtheAutomationAnywhereClient
l CheckingtheCurrentSoftwareVersion
l InstallingaLicenseKey
l LicenseAgreement
l PrivacyandSecurity
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