In this example, we will create a very simple task that opens Notepad and types the text "Hello, world" into it whenever we press Ctrl-Alt-N.
WHAT'S COVERED:
* Step by step creation of a managed task using the Add Task Wizard
* Introduction to triggers, with emphasis on the Key Watcher
* Introduction to building a task steps with the Task Builder
* Using the Run Action to start an application
* Using the Send Keystrokes action to send keystrokes to an application
NOTE: This example assumes that the Add Task Wizard is used to create tasks. This is the default behaviour. To ensure the Add Task Wizard is used, go to the System | Options menu in the AutoMate Task Administrator, and from the General tab, make sure "Use Add Task Wizard when adding tasks" is selected.
Step 1:
Click the New button from the toolbar of the AutoMate Task Administrator.
Step 2:
The Add Task Wizard should appear. Click
the Next button to move to the next page.
Step 3:
Enter a name for your task. For
example, "Typing Into Notepad Example". This is the name by
which the task will be referred to in the Task Administrator. Click
the Next button.
Step 4:
Here we can apply one or more triggers to the task. A
trigger is an event or condition that occurs on your system that will
cause the task to start. For
our example, we want a particular key press on the keyboard to trigger
our task, namely Ctrl-Alt-N. Therefore,
we need to add a "Key Watcher".
Click the
Add button to display a list of available triggers.
Step 5:
From the list of available triggers,
click Key watcher, then click OK.
Step 6:
You are now looking at the Key Watcher properties. From
here you can configure what key combination to trigger upon. The
key combination can be either a single keystroke (such as Ctrl-A), or
an entire word. You
can even constrain the triggering to occur only when the keystroke is
entered while a particular application is highlighted. But
for our example, we simple want to trigger when Ctrl-Alt-N is pressed.
To do this,
make sure the "Trigger on following hot key" is selected, and
click inside the corresponding field. Press
the Ctrl, Alt and N keys at the same time, then release them. Notice
that Ctrl-Alt-N appears in the field. AutoMate
will automatically transpose the proper sequence into the field based
on what you type.
Step 7:
Now, the Triggers part of the Add Task Wizard should contain your one Key
Watcher trigger. Click the Next button to move to the next page of the
wizard.
Step 8:
Now, we need to build the steps of the task. This
is where you specify exactly what the task is to do when it is started.
This is
done using the AutoMate
Task Builder, which is an editor made specifically for creating and
debugging AutoMate Tasks. Click
the "Create Steps" button to start the AutoMate Task Builder.
Step 9:
The Task Builder provides many functions to help you in creating and debugging
your task. For
this example, we will use only a very small part of its capabilities.
The left
side of the Task Builder contains the "Available Actions". Within
this window are all the actions
that AutoMate can do. The
right hand side contains all the steps that the task will execute when
the task runs. Steps
are executed one after the other in the order they appear on the right
side. Our
task is going to consist of only two steps: Run
and Send Keystrokes.
Our first
step is to tell AutoMate to start Notepad. Find
the "Run" action in Available Actions by expanding the System
group (either by clicking the + to the left of the word "System"
or by double-clicking on "System"). Double-click
"Run", or drag it to the right hand side by holding the left-mouse
button over the action name, sliding the mouse over the steps section
of the Task Builder, and releasing the mouse button.
Step 10:
Most actions have properties you can set to further configure exactly what
the step is to do. In
our case, we need to tell the Run Action exactly what application we want
to run. We
can do this two ways: by manually typing out the full path to the executable
file, or by using AutoMate's Start Menu to find the application we wish
to start. The
latter is the easiest way to go. Click
the Start button. Notice
it is an exact replication of your Windows Start Menu that appears at
the bottom of your screen. Navigate
to find Notepad, which is usually located under Programs, then Accessories
(but may be different on your system).
NOTE: If you have trouble locating Notepad in this fashion, simple type the text "notepad" into the "Run" field. Since notepad.exe is a system application, AutoMate will be able to find it on name alone.
Step 11:
The full path to Notepad should appear in the Run field, and your action
should look something like this:
NOTE: The exact path to Notepad varies somewhat on each version of Windows. The important part is that the field ends with either "notepad" or "notepad.exe"
Step 12:
Our complete Run step should now be in the Task Builder. When
the task starts, AutoMate will run Notepad. Now we need to type the text
"Hello World!" into it. From
the Available Actions, find the Send Keystrokes action in the Interactivity
group. Double-click
or drag to add it to your task.
Step 13:
Here we need to specify what text to type. Whatever
you enter into the "Keystrokes" section will be replicated when
the task runs as if a user were typing the exact same text. Enter
the text "Hello, world!" (without the quotes) into the "Keystrokes"
area.
Step 14:
Thats it! Those
two simple steps will cause Notepad to start, and text to be typed into
it. This part of the task is now complete. Click
the "Update And Save" button from the toolbar to save your changes
and close the Task Builder. You
will be returned to the Add Task Wizard.
Step 15:
Now that we are finished adding the task steps, click the Next button.
The next
page is used on Windows 2000/NT/XP to specify whether or not the task
should run when a workstation is logged off or locked. For
this example, leave the defaults: the task will not run when the workstation
is logged off, but will run invisibly when the workstation is locked.
Click the
Next button.
Step 16:
The final page of the Add Task Wizard provides a summary of the task you
built. Click
the Finish button. The
completed Managed Task now appears in your Task Administrator. Whenever
you press Ctrl-Alt-N (at the same time), Notepad will start and "Hello,
World!" will be typed into it. Try
it now!
See Also:
Introduction to the Task Builder
Introduction to the Task Administrator