Automation Tutorial and Guided Tour

The Automation Tutorial (Guided Tour) is a helpful wizard that guides you through the process of creating one of several different simple Automation scripts. You can use this wizard to quickly create a basic script, and then use the script as is, or you can further customize and expand the script after it opens in the Automation window.

For beginners, the Automation Guided Tour is a great way to learn the Automation script building process. The wizard explains the process as it guides you through each step. In addition, the wizard provides sample SQL in some cases.

You can use the Automation Guided Tour to build an Automation script that performs one of the following common tasks:

Export Data and Email—Executes a query and saves the data to a file. It then emails the file as an attachment.
Execute Script—Executes a SQL script.
Import Wizard—Imports data using an Import Wizard template. You can select an existing template or build a new one.
Exception Reporting—Queries a database for bad data based on criteria you specify. If bad data exists, it creates and emails an exception report. Use the sample SQL or provide your own.
Loop Dataset—Uses the Loop Dataset activity to loop through a dataset and perform activities. The default script selects a list of departments and then exports data for each department to an Excel^® file.

To use the Automation Guided Tour

Launch the Automation Guided Tour using one of these methods:
- Select Tools | Automation Tutorial.
- Click in the Query Builder, or Editor toolbar.
Read and complete each page in the guided wizard.
- If you are using the wizard as a tutorial, some sample SQL statements are provided.
  Note: The items provided by the wizard are listed on the introduction page with a beside them.
- If you are using the wizard to create your own script, you can delete the sample SQL when it is provided in the wizard and enter your own SQL.

Tip: You can also launch the Automation Guided Tour from the last page in the Import Wizard.