Robot Automated Outlook Folder Export Process

Inspiration

Frankly, the team had not heard about UIPath before attending this hackathon. However, later during the hackathon, we attended the UIPath workshop, and we were instantly intrigued by the wonders that the software could produce. A team member who currently holds an IT job that requires the tedious process of exporting a substantial number of .PST files introduced the idea of automating this operation. We were inspired to materialize this idea into reality.

What it does

Given an excel file, the RPA reads various file paths, locates the files in Outlook, and finally exports and stores them in a specified location.

How we built it

Initially, we had to watch numerous videos on UIPath's developer tutorial website and Linkedin Learning. Using UIPath's intuitive software, we were able to create a sequential flow chart that encapsulated many different activities. We utilized UIPath's desktop recording feature to help eliminate repetitive clicks that humans do.

Challenges we ran into

We ran into many challenges during the course of creating our product. First, we had trouble combining the two parts of the process: reading from Excel and exporting from Outlook. Furthermore, we were unable to properly use the recording feature when we first came across it. Overall, researching on the Internet and using the UIPath forums, we were able to overcome these challenges.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are proud of creating our very first hack and taking the risk of using a software we were not familiar with at all.

What we learned

In reflecting back on this whole hacking undertaking, we are fortunate to say that we have learned an immense amount. We feel much more confident in using UIPath to develop new projects. We familiarized ourselves with some of the syntax involved with VB.net.

What's next for Robot Automated Outlook Folder Export Process

What's next for this process is to incorporate within the work environment to help anyone exporting such files in a more efficient manner. Given more time in the future, we would like to automatically upload these files to the Cloud.