Printing A Document Example

In this example, we will create a very simple "manually run"  task that opens prints a Microsoft Word document using the default printer.  A manual task is one that only starts when you click the Run button from the AutoMate Task Administrator.

WHAT'S COVERED:
* Step by step creation of a managed task using the Add Task Wizard
* Creating a manual run task (i.e. a task without triggers)
* Introduction to building a task steps with the Task Builder
* Using the Print Action to print a document

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, "Print A Document Example". This is the name by which the task will be referred to in the Task Administrator.   Click the Next button.

Step 4:
On this page we can specify what triggers we would like to attach 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, however, we do not need a trigger since we are making a "manual task", which will be run only when we click the Run button on the AutoMate Task Administrator.  We could always add triggers later by editing the task's properties in the Task Administrator.  But for now, click Next to move to the next page

Step 5:
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 6:
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 a single step: Print, which will print out document.  Find the "Print" 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 "Print", 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 7:
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 Print Action exactly what document we want to print.  Lets assume we have a document called "Sales Report" in our My Documents folder.  Click the open folder button to the right of the "Document" field.  A standard windows browser will appear to allow you to select your document.  Navigate to your My Documents folder, select "Sales Report", and click OK.

Step 8:
The full path to your document should appear.  The finished step should look something like this:

NOTE: The exact path to varies somewhat on each version of Windows.  The important part is that the field ends with either "Sales Report" or "Sales Report.doc"

Step 9:
Thats it!  This simple step will cause the Sales Report document to be printed on the default printer whenever the task is run. 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 10:
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 11:
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 select the Managed Task title "Print A Document Example" and press the Run button, the Sales Report document will be instantly printed.  Give it a try!

See Also:

Introduction to actions

Introduction to the Task Builder

Introduction to the Task Administrator

Print Action