Robotic Process Automation: Tech Primer

Learn the technical skills needed to get started in robotic process automation (RPA), including flowchart fundamentals, file systems basics, and entry-level programming concepts.

Robotic process automation (RPA) is a powerful way to develop software-based robots to automate repetitive and manual tasks. To get started in RPA, it's important to master a broad base of business and technical skills. This course reviews these core skills, including flowchart fundamentals, file system basics, and important programming concepts. Learn how to build detailed flowcharts to document enterprise processes spanning multiple technologies, including email, documents, databases, websites, mainframes, and APIs. Discover how to navigate the Windows file system from top to bottom, in order to read and write data from text, PDF, spreadsheet, database, and other files. Explore the structure and programming behind websites and learn how to select and manipulate individual web elements. Finally, explore entry-level programming concepts such as data types, operators, control flow, and object-oriented design. The lessons provide the gateway you need to get started in robotic process automation: a critical emerging field.

Introduction

• Robotic process animation (RPA)
• Why we need a tech primer
• System awareness and understanding

1. Flowchart Fundamentals

• Overview
• Flowchart fundamentals
• Flowchart best practices
• Flowchart tool demo
• RPA tool flowchart features

2. Windows File System Basics

• File system overview
• Ideal view settings
• Disk basics
• Folder basics
• File basics
• Screenshots
• Command-line basics
• Absolute vs. relative path
• Use a batch file to reduce clicks
• RPA tool vs. batch file
• Takeaways

3. Setup and Preview Tools

• Install Visual Studio
• Create a simple webpage
• Create a simple desktop app

4. Website Basics

• Web technology overview
• HTML: Tags
• HTML: Attributes
• Website structure
• CSS: Look and feel
• Bootstrap
• Summary

5. Web Selectors

• Web selectors overview
• UiPath Recorder disclaimer
• Set up sample files
• Selector basics
• Selector challenges
• Dynamic selectors

6. Programming Basics

• Programming basics
• A simple program
• Intro to functions
• Functions demo: Programming
• Functions demo: UiPath
• Intro to variables
• Variables demo: Programming
• Variables demo: UiPath
• Intro to object-oriented programming
• Object-oriented programming demo
• The .NET framework