From C|Net Download.com
Reliable task automation – multi-level task nesting
By Wordensong
Pros
Feature-rich, affordable, solid, capable. Numerous triggers, wide variety of commands. Simpler than many competing products.
Cons
Interface takes some getting used to — you’ll need to actually learn how to use the product.
Summary
We use Robotask constantly here at the radio station. One of the common needs for broadcasters is a method of gathering content – MP3 files, etc. – from various sources through FTP and HTTP at different times. As I thought about what I really needed, I came up with this list:
-
* File move, rename, delete
* Built-in scheduler
* Keystroke logger / macro builder
* Multi-protocol downloads (HTTP, FTP, various credentials, etc.)
* Task ordering (do this first, that second, etc.)
* Run external tasks (call MP3gain after downloading a new MP3)
* Task / event logging
* Error handling (do something else if Plan A fails)
I reviewed the specifications and features on more than two dozen different automation tools, file downloaders, sync / backup utilities, and keystoke loggers / macro builders. Most were missing key required features. Also, any utility costing more than $200 was dropped from the list. Your budget may allow for several other possiblities such as RepliWeb or MOVEit – mine did not.
I installed and trialed VisualCron, Do It Again, Free Download Manager, Automise, AutoIT and RoboTask. I created five identical jobs in each utility [or attempted to, anyway].
VisualCron had fatal errors when creating macros on our quad-core Windows Server 2008 64-bit machine. It also has a very cumbersome method of creating new tasks but a lovely user interface.
Free Download Manager was great for downloading, but lacked other required features.
Do It Again is a great keystroke logger / macro builder but lacked other required features.
Automise lacked key features. FDM, Do It Again, and Automise all required external scripting, use of the Windows Task Scheduler or both.
AutoIT was too complicated. More than what we needed.
It is possible to stitch together a home-grown content automation system for “free” using Do It Again, Free Download Manager, Windows command line scripts, and the Task Scheduler. What is your time worth? For me, the price of RoboTask was less than the amount of time it would take to roll my own system.
RoboTask seems to be the best-of-breed for us. It is a single utility with rich functionality, a simple task creator, very thorough logging, a multitude of triggers to launch tasks (for example, if a new file is dropped into a monitored folder I can trigger MP3gain to normalize automatically), and is less expensive that many other products in the genre. It is also very reliable running on Window Server 2008 R2 64-bit.
See the original testimonial here
Only this software solve my problem!
By iqdesigner
Pros
It really works 
Cons
I don’t find how to stop cycles automatically.(so I did it manually) I know it is possible, but I don’t know how. May be I have to read manual.
Summary
I tried many different programs (Comfort Keys Pro, SureType, Aldo’s Macro Recorder, Type Recorder, RemoteKeys) and may be some other soft that I don’t remember now. But any of it couldn’t do my task. I needed only to cut from MS Word first description, than switch to internet explorer, change several fields of the website, and paste my description there. Than switch to MS Word, cut next description? And repeat this action 500 times
I was very tired to try different soft, but I didn’t want to do all this stuff manually much more. Then I searched in Great Gooooooogle, and found 2 programs, that can (as I understood from their descriptions) automate everything. Oh, it is a dream of every user of computer, to have a program with one big button “Do everything” ? just one click, and all your boring work this program will done by itself 😉
First program that I found was “Automate”. To download it I had to register on their website. I don’t like it, but it promised to me amazing possibilities, so I had to agree. When I installed this soft, and push many buttons, I understood that it is too difficult to my mind. I didn’t understand how it works yet. To tell the truth I didn’t read the manual, but I didn’t want to read any manuals at all, because I spent a lot of time without any positive result.
Second program, named “RoboTask”. And Yeah!!! It has done what I wanted. I wrote into script all actions in two minutes (thanks to templates). Then I started a cycle of repetition of my task, and this soft made all my work. So I was very happy, and so I express my great respect to the creators of the RoboTask!
See the original testimonial here
From SnapFiles
Did what i asked it to do
by OzBrad
I set out with a challenge, I needed to print a text file every night at midnight. The problem was the name of the text file changed, and if no errors were reported that day no text file would be created – and I didn’t want error messages about a missing text file. The text file had the format ddmmyy_textfile.txt. Robotask does this without missing a beat. The built in automatic processes can be expanded through custom variables defined by the user. It took a short time to become familiar with the special ‘variable scripting’ language, but once I did it was a breeze to use. I liked it so much I bought a license
See the original testimonial here
From our forum
Brings Unix-level automation to Windows
by Brendan
Give or take a bit. I’ve made suggestions for several modifications that would expand the range of functions Robotask is capable of, as well as making some tasks more efficient. In any case, there are very few things you can not make Robotask do if you work at it.
Robotask is naming, backing up, delivering, and archiving files and demographics for about USD 750K of transcribed documents in the branch office I operate. This is a job normally done by a full-time (low-skill/no-skill) employee at about 28K a year plus Heath, FICA, unemployment insurace etc. Robotask is saving my office about 40K/annually with a series of functions that I developed in about two weeks of off-hour work. Well done!
See the original testimonial here
An irreproachable Software
by steph@vds
Hi everybody,
I’m using Robotask since a few months and it’s incredible.
Robotask saves me lot of time. I use it to avoid the “Clikodrome” behaviour of some softwares.
Moreover it is very usefull to simplify complex procedures for people that have to work on my computer.
The support of Robotask is
irreproachable. Oleg always replies me quickly !
Thanks to him and all the staff of Robotask.
Steph@vds