Automate Windows Clock Application Using the Recorder

Open the clock application on your desktop.

You will create a new project in SAP Build Process Automation application.

1. Navigate to SAP Build application and create a project by choosing Create.

   

2. Select Build an Automated Process.

   

3. Select Task Automation.

   

4. In the Create a Task Automation project window, please give the project the name: Create Alarms and the description: Automate alarms creation in the desktop clock and choose Create.

   

5. Once the project is created, a new tab will open. You will need to configure your agent version. Select the version of the agent installed on your machine and choose Confirm.

   

6. A pop-up window asking you to create an automation will appear, please choose Cancel.

   

   What is going on?

   As you will be using the recorder feature, you do not need to create an automation but an application.

   The next step would be to create your application within your project.

1. In the Overview tab of your Create Alarms project, choose Create, then choose Application.

   

2. In the Create Application window, name your application: Create Alarms and choose Create.

   

3. From the list of open applications, under UI Automation, select Clock application and choose Next.

   What is going on?

   SAP Build Process Automation starts detecting the applications and their screens currently running on your local machine. When it’s done, you’ll see a list of screens in the picker panel on the left.

   

   You have the option to select either Recorder type or Manual Capture type. This tutorial will show you how to use the Recorder.

4. Select Recorder as type and choose Record.

   

   Please note that the technology that you will be recording is UI Automation.

5. You will notice 2 pop-ups for recording in progress and SAP Intelligent RPA Recorder.

   
   

The Recorder records the steps you perform across the screens of an application.

1. Click the Record

   
   button to start recording in the recorder widget. A green border around the Clock screen appears. This means that the screen is being recorded.

2. Select Alarm.

3. Click on + to add a new alarm.

   

   The recorder detects a change of screen and starts recording this new screen. Please wait until the screen is fully captured.

4. In the Alarm Name field enter: Morning Alarm and hit enter. This will create a Set activity.

5. Choose Save.

   

   Now, the recording widget is enhanced to support the editing of input to the Set activity. Once the Set activity is generated, you can change the value of the input if required.

   The input can be of three types. You can provide:

   • hard coded value which is shown inside double quotes.
   • create and assign new variable which is shown with a prefixed ‘+’ symbol.
   • select an input from a list of pre-existing variables.
   

6. Create and assign a new variable by choosing the value with the prefixed ‘+’ symbol.

   

7. You need to capture this new screen. Choose the New Screen Capture

   
   button.

8. Wait until the screen is fully captured.

   

   You will now get the value of the alarm name element. You can read the value of an element during the recording steps only in enabled Get mode.

9. Click the Get Activity Mode icon.

   

   This will enable the Get mode. Once the mode is enabled, the icon is highlighted as shown in the following screenshot and a hint message is displayed at the bottom of the recording widget.

   

   To generate the Get activity, place the cursor at the targeted element (Morning Alarm) and the selection is highlighted with the green bounding rectangle.

10. If the bounding rectangle targets the correct element, press the keyboard shortcut Alt + Ctrl to generate the activity, otherwise, move the cursor further for the correct selection.

    The Get activity is generated with the output variable as shown in the following screenshot. You can further utilize this output variable according to your use case.

    

11. Stop the Get Activity Mode by clicking on

    
    icon.

12. Now you will create a new alarm. Click on +.

13. Click on the Alarm Name field to change the name.

    The recorder detects a change in screen. Wait until the screen is fully captured.

14. Change the name to Evening Alarm and hit enter.

15. Select the picker, set it to PM and hit enter.

    Please note that for each element that is set, you may change the input value as you wish.

16. Choose Save.

    

17. Click on the Alarm Name Set Element. You will assign and create an Evening Alarm variable.

18. Select the value with a prefixed ‘+’ symbol.

    

    The new variable eveningAlarm has been created.

    

19. You need to capture this new screen. Choose the New Screen Capture

    
    button.

20. Wait until the screen is fully captured.

    

21. Now you can create another alarm, click on +.

22. Select the Alarm Name field.

    The recorder detects a change in screen. Wait until the screen is fully captured.

23. Change the name to My Alarm and hit enter.

24. Select the hour picker, set it to 09 and hit enter.

25. Choose Save.

    

26. Create a myAlarm variable by selecting the value with a prefixed ‘+’ symbol.

    

27. Clear the variable by selecting the x.

    

28. Click on the empty Set Element field and you may see the list of variables that you created.

    

29. Select the alarmName variable.

    What is going on?

    This will set the name of the alarm to the value of the alarmName element that was generated through the Get mode.

1. Choose

   
   button to stop the recording.

2. Select Export to move the recording to SAP Build Process Automation.

   

3. Reset and close the Clock application.

Once all the artifacts are moved to SAP Build Process Automation, the automation can be executed to replay the recorded steps. It can also be modified and then executed.

You can see that a Create Alarms application was created.

As well as a Create Alarms Automation.

Under Input/Output, you may see that the created variables morningAlarm and eveningAlarm will be displayed.

You may select the Get Element activity and notice the same output parameter as shown during the time of recording in the recording widget.

1. Click Test to test the automation.

2. Fill in the the input parameters as you wish, such as:

   • morningAlarm: Prepare team meeting
   • eveningAlarm: Training session

   What is going on?

   These are the two variables that got created during the recording stage and are now displayed as input parameters. You now have the choice to set the alarm names to any name of your liking through these input parameters.

3. Choose Test.

   

   The automation creates three alarms:

   • Prepare team meeting alarm for 7am
   • Training session alarm for 7pm and
   • another Prepare team meeting alarm for 9am (This alarm sets the name to the value retrieved from the alarmName element (from your first alarm))