Automation using AutoIt

Various projects and script I have created to Automate repetitive tasks.

Automated installer(s)

Some of the larger projects that I have worked on included the automation of installation wizards/tasks to ease the time spent These installation wizards taught me a lot about how Windows manages systems, and clever tricks to get certain tasks to kick off. The installers primarily used also required further tasks to execute, such as the creation/dropping of SQL schemas, the pushing of certain files to certain directories, as well as file manipulation. Here is a short list of functions that I learned while working on these scripts:

  • Launching the uninstall wizard through the registry by filtering keys.
  • Selecting entire tables using sql scripts and organizing data as usable scripts.
  • Moving files throughout different directories to accomplish tasks.
  • Creating Checks and Balances for sequential tasks to ensure that everything was running properly.

Backup Utilities

A large portion of my work required manually inputing fields based on data sets. To save time, I created tools that would help my team to recover data. These tools enabled my team to switch from manually writing/recording each data set, to simply running my executable to take backups. By learning the ins and outs of the application we supported, I found a use for a hidden 'RAW' data set, which I used to create BackUps from a server. These tools were portable, time efficient, and very easy to use.

Various scripts

Using AutoIt allowed for quick develpment for internal tools. Mainly scripts required to manipulate data, and merge files that were then run on WIndows Servers through the Task Scheduler. I also created a tool to compare datasets for a department that looks at Nutritional information. They were manually comparing columns of information, and by providing them with a tool that generated a report, I was able to save them hours of repeptitive labor.