SAP Automation Using UiPath RPA

SAP automation using UiPath

SAP is a popular ERP application used by a large number of corporations around the world. It is used by employees to input data related to employee information, supplies, logistics, inventory, sales, accounts, and much more. The entire data entry procedure in SAP is a repetitive process and hence it can be easily automated using UiPath.

However, the entire automation process is much different than other traditional automation methods since UiPath is unable to detect all elements inside SAP uniquely.

  • This is the SAP Logon screen and the very first step of automation. The user needs to click on Connections from the left panel and select the correct server and double click on it from the right panel.

  • To do so, the normal Click activity is insufficient as it detects the entire left panel as a single element.

  • We will use the Click Text activity from the Recording box to counter this issue. Upon selecting it, UiPath redirects to pointer selection and using that we will select the entire left block.

  • On successful selection, UiPath will use OCR/NATIVE technology and detect all the text information inside that block. Now we need to put the Connections inside the Text to be found box and UiPath will be able to click on it with ease. Finally, click on Continue to finalize the action.

  • Next, we need to perform a double click on SAP Server EC6 and for that, we will again use Click Text activity from the Recording option.

  • For that, we will go to Text > Mouse, and then select Double Click and then point to the right block containing our element of interest.

  • Now, we will pass SAPserver as Text to be found and click on Continue to confirm. It is important to note that, this wizard provides a lot of other options, which are extremely useful in other cases as well.
  • The occurrence box has a value of 1 and this is because SAPserver is present only one time in the entire scraped text. In many cases, the same text may be present multiple times. Using Occurrence, the user can select the required text by altering the value as per requirements.
  • Test Click performs the activity as per the information provided in Text to be found and Occurrence. At the top, we can see "Target scraped using the NATIVE method", which is the technology used for reading the text information. A NATIVE method is almost 100% and much more reliable than the popular OCR method.
  • Another important functionality is Set mouse position, which allows the user to perform a click relative to the text that is inputted in Text to be found. We will use this activity in the later part of this tutorial.

  • Double-clicking on the server brings up the SAP login page, which can be easily automated using normal activities such as Type Into.

  • Now we need to select the Personal Management module from the SAP application, which is buried deep inside many subcategories as evident from the image.
  • To simplify the procedure, we will search for PA10 using the search option in the toolbar that UiPath recognizes much easily. The search will be performed using Type Into activity with an Enter.

  • Now, SAP has various screens that UiPath identifies as an individual block. If we want to click on the arrow beside Organizational assignment or Personal data, we need to use the Click Text activity with an offset.

  • To do so, we will use the Click Text very similarly as before but select another additional option Set mouse position to make the UiPath click on the arrow rather than on the scraped text which is Personal data.

  • Now select Indicate a point on the screen, and the selector will turn in a red arrow with which select the arrow next to Personal data.
  • In a very similar fashion, the entire SAP operation can be automated using Click Text and Click text with an offset. To navigate SAP, the user can use Click activity which can detect the next and previous button or use hotkeys such as enter, Ctrl + s to perform the desired action. The hotkeys can be triggered using the Send Hotkey activity.
  • It is important to point out that SAP has many integrated shortcuts, which can be easily configured in UiPath to perform several actions with much reliability and accuracy.    

SAP automation using UiPath can be simplified further by enabling scripting. This is an advanced option inside SAP that allows UiPath to detect each element inside the SAP window easily and eliminates the use of Click Text activities.

UiPath and SAP have several guides to enable scripting from the client-side and also from the server-side, however, many users looking for automation do not have access to change such settings without authorization. Hence, in such scenarios Click Text activity works perfectly.