Introduction to Desktop Automation: Enhance Your Skills with Leapwork’s Practical Exercises

Introduction
In today’s fast-paced business environment, organizations are striving to enhance productivity and streamline workflows through desktop automation. Traditional automation tools often require specialized knowledge, limiting accessibility for many users. Leapwork’s no-code platform addresses this barrier by allowing users of all technical levels to automate tasks efficiently.
This article offers hands-on exercises designed to help you master desktop automation using Leapwork. By covering file management, workflow automation, and data entry, these exercises will equip you with the skills needed to tackle everyday automation challenges.

Exercise 1: Creating and Validating a New Entry in Leapwork’s Native Desktop Application

Purpose: Data entry and management are crucial in fields like customer relationship management (CRM) and human resources (HR). Automating these tasks reduces human error and increases efficiency.
Your Aim: Learn how to automate creating a new entry in Leapwork’s desktop application, including logging in, entering required details, saving the data, and validating the entry.

Pre-requisites:

1. Leapwork’s Desktop Application installed
2. Login credentials:
   • Username: Test
   • Password: Password123
3. Access to File Explorer to locate the Leapwork application.

Steps To Open A new entry:

• Step 1: To Open the Leapwork Dummy Application, navigate to C:\Program Files\LEAPWORK\Studio\DemoDesktop in File Explorer and the dummy desktop application will be opened.
• Step 2: Now the next step is to log in to the Application, enter your username and password (Test/Password123).
• Step 3: Click on the “New” button to create an entry. Fill in the form with: Last Name, First Name, Email, Phone, Company, Country, Gender After entering the details, click "Save."
• Step 4: In the Search field, type the email address to find the entry.
• Step 5: Ensure the details match what you entered. If everything checks out, the entry was created successfully.

Expected Outcome: A new entry is successfully created and validated in the system.

Exercise 2: Comparing Text in Two Notepad Files

Purpose: Comparing text files is essential for industries like software development and QA. Automating this comparison can save time and prevent human error.
Your Aim: Automate the comparison of two text files, with actions based on whether the texts match.

Pre-requisites:

• Two text files (File1.txt and File2.txt) with either identical or different text saved in the same folder.

Steps to Close or Delete the File Based on Comparison:

• Step 1: Open Notepad and create two files. Save one as File1.txt and the other as File2.txt. Enter text into both files.
• Step 2: Open File Explorer and go to the folder containing File1.txt and File2.txt.
• Step 3: Double-click both files to open them.
• Step 4: Now compare the content of both files. Check if the text is identical.
• Step 5: If the texts match, close both files. If the texts don’t match, delete both files.

Expected Outcome: Depending on the comparison, either the files are closed or deleted.

Exercise 3: Creating and Saving a New Word Document Inside a Folder

Purpose: Document creation and organization are essential in industries like law, education, and finance. Automating this ensures proper file management and accessibility.
Your Aim: Learn how to create a folder and save a Word document within it.

Pre-requisites:

• Access to Windows File Explorer and Microsoft Word installed.

Steps to Create and Save a Word Document in a Folder

• Step 1: Open File Explorer and click on “This PC.” Double-click on the C: drive.
• Step 2: Right-click in an empty space, select “New” and then “Folder.” Rename the folder (e.g., “My Documents”).
• Step 3: Open the folder, right-click inside it, and choose “New” > “Microsoft Word Document.” Rename it (e.g., “My First Document”).
• Step 4: Open the Word document, type content, and save it in the folder by selecting “File” > “Save As.”

Expected Outcome: You’ve successfully created a folder and saved a document in it.

Exercise 4: Sending an Email via Outlook and Validating It

Purpose: Email communication is crucial in fields like marketing, sales, and customer service. Automating email tasks enhances communication speed and accuracy.
Your Aim: Learn how to send an email via Outlook and validate that it was sent successfully.

Pre-requisites:

• Microsoft Outlook installed and configured.
• Active internet connection and valid email addresses.

Steps to Send and Validate an Email in Outlook

• Step 1: Launch the Outlook application and wait for your mailbox to load.
• Step 2: Click “New Email.” Enter the recipient’s email, subject, and body, then click “Send.”
• Step 3: Go to the “Sent Items” folder and locate the sent email.
• Step 4: Open the email and verify that the subject and body match the original message. Ensure it appears in the Sent Items folder.

Expected Outcome: The email appears in the Sent Items folder, confirming successful delivery.

By completing these exercises, you’ve learned valuable skills in desktop automation with Leapwork’s no-code platform. From managing data entries and comparing text files to handling documents and automating email tasks, you now have tools to improve efficiency in your daily tasks.
As you continue practicing and experimenting with different scenarios, your ability to automate more complex workflows will grow. Desktop automation can transform your work processes by saving time, reducing errors, and boosting productivity. Keep exploring Leapwork’s features and continue building your automation expertise.

If you have any questions, please reach out to our Priority Support team.