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I use ProcrastiTracker program to log activity on my Windows machine, and I'd like to export the data this program collects so I could analyze it further.
Since there's no easy/built-in method to get data exports in the format I want, I must come up with some workarounds.

I'd like to automate the following point-and-click steps:

  1. Show hidden tray icons (in Windows task bar).
  2. Right-click ProcrastiTracker's tray icon.
  3. Left-click [View Statistics] in the menu.
  4. Now facing the ProcrastiTracker window: select [Yesterday] in [Quick Set] dropdown menu.
  5. Close ProcrastiTracker window (clicking the X window button or by Alt+F4)
  6. Repeat steps (1) and (2) from above.
  7. Left-click [Export Html (View)]
  8. Now facing the Save As window: navigate to a specific location, edit the File Name (that I'm attempting to save), and finally click [Save].

GIF demonstration demo_gif

  • Please note that this is not a question about ProcrastiTracker, but about automating a point-and-click procedure on Windows OS.
  • I've researched this problem, and have seen tools like AutoHotkey and Microsoft Power Automate Desktop. However, I'm not sure they really fit what I need.
    • AutoHotkey is limited because it requires specific screen coordinates to where mouse clicks should happen. These coordinates are difficult to predict, mainly because the ProcrastiTracker tray icon might occasionally change its position.
    • Microsoft Power Automate Desktop -- aside from the fact that it runs only on Windows 10 (whereas I have Windows 8.1), I'm also not sure that this tool is relevant to what I'm trying to achieve.

Bottom line

I'd appreciate any feedback on how such automation could be achieved. Ideally, I'd want to run such automated procedure every day at 6 AM to save the ProcrastiTracker data of the day before.

If you think this is impossible to achieve, please say so. Knowing it's not going to happen will save me time.

Emman
  • 101

1 Answers1

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This is a pretty challenging problem, but you can definitely do this in AutoHotkey if you spend enough time at it. How reliable you get it to be and having it work correctly every time will also be a function of how much time you spend on it.

You already have the steps broken down, so what you would need to do for each step is figure out what code you would need to implement, and tackle each of the problems until they are all working.

Here are a few thoughts for getting started, in no particular order...

  1. Clicking on things is 'easy;, it's knowing where to click that's a problem, so if there's any other way to programmatically do something, it's almost always better to do it that way instead of trying to click on things.
  2. PixelSearch and ImageSearch can find certain spots on the screen based on what you're looking for (so say you're looking for an icon, if you save what it looks like in an image file then this can help you find that spot on the screen). ImageSearch can fail if the background changes due to transparency though
  3. There is specific code you should be able to find to help deal with Tray Icons programmatically (here for example), although it might be easier to start off using simple interface techniques to try and click on things
  4. If you do wind up being able to click on a tray icon, I would recommend going back to keyboard navigation/selection wherever possible, for example if you are able to get the tray icon menu to appear programmatically (by clicking), the item to execute the Export HTML option for example, could be done by sending {Down 3}{Enter}, vs. using coordinates to click on a new spot relative to the first click
  5. Manipulating the GUI when you have it open to select yesterday's data will be easiest by determining which controls you want to modify and using the Control name (ComboBox1 for example, for selecting the "Yesterday" data set)
  6. Manipulating the Save As dialog... you will probably want to use WinWaitActive to make sure the window is open, before using SendInput for the path (or loading the edit control value) to set the proper path and confirm the dialog
  7. Using BlockInput can enhance reliability while you are debugging (use sparingly, and always make sure to turn off at the end of your test code)

The problems I foresee with this type of setup, manipulating the GUI and clicking on tray menu options and whatnot, is reliability when the tray icons shift places or whatnot, and having your code still work.

What I would really recommend with such a simple program like ProcrastiTracker is digging through the source code that's posted on GitHub. Something else that might be a lot easier than automating all of this, or even reverse engineering the database structure, would be to do your own build of ProcrastiTracker that supports a commandline argument to export yesterday's data, or seeing if the author would even consider implementing it for you. That way you could hardcode the options you want for export (i.e., data from yesterday, folder location, filename), and just launch the program separately with that special commandline argument once a day.

JJohnston2
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