Scheduling and Triggering Automations
Last updated July 27, 2024
UiPath Orchestrator empowers you to schedule and trigger automation processes, ensuring that your robots execute tasks on time and based on specific events. This allows for pre-planned and event-driven automation, enhancing efficiency and productivity.
Understanding Scheduling and Triggering:
- Scheduled Automations: Define a recurring schedule for your automations, allowing them to run automatically at regular intervals, like daily, weekly, or monthly.
- Triggered Automations: Trigger automation processes based on specific events, such as:
- File Arrival: A new file being placed in a designated folder.
- Database Changes: Specific data updates or changes in a database table.
- Webhooks: Incoming requests from external systems using webhooks.
- Timer Events: Starting an automation process after a defined delay or at a specific time.
Scheduling Automations:
1. **Create a Process:** Create a new process in Orchestrator, defining its name, description, and package containing the automation workflow.
2. **Navigate to the Schedule Tab:** In the process details view, go to the "Schedule" tab.
3. **Define the Schedule:** Choose a schedule type:
4. **Configure Execution Settings:**
5. **Assign Robots:** Define the robots that will execute this scheduled process.
Triggering Automations:
1. **Configure Trigger Events:** Select the "Triggers" tab within the process details view.
2. **Choose Trigger Type:** Choose the specific trigger type:
3. **Specify Trigger Parameters:** Provide necessary parameters, such as the file path for a file trigger, the database table and event for a database trigger, or the webhook URL for a webhook trigger.
4. **Assign Robots:** Specify which robots will execute the process when the trigger event occurs.
Example Scenarios:
- Daily Reports: Schedule a process to generate reports automatically every day at a specific time.
- File Processing: Trigger an automation to process files automatically when new files are added to a designated folder.
- Webhooks Integration: Use webhooks to start a workflow when a specific event occurs in a third-party system.
Best Practices for Scheduling and Triggering:
- Clear Naming Conventions: Use descriptive names for your schedules and triggers to improve organization and understanding.
- Detailed Documentation: Document the schedule and trigger configurations, including event details and associated robots.
- Testing and Validation: Thoroughly test your scheduled and triggered processes to ensure accurate execution and responsiveness.
- Monitoring and Logging: Implement logs and monitoring to track schedule executions, trigger events, and process status.
- Error Handling: Implement robust error handling mechanisms to manage potential failures and ensure continuous operation.