Automation Commands

Automation Commands

The automation commands are grouped together by parent category. You can view the commands available for each category by clicking the name or scrolling down to the appropriate section.

Automation Categories

Category Name	Description
Web Browser Commands	Contains commands for Chrome web browser automation
Misc Commands	Contains commands not specifically grouped to a category
Window Commands	Contains commands to automate thick application windows
Programs/Process Commands	Contains commands for managing applications and processes
Variable Commands	Contains commands for managing variables
Clipboard Commands	Contains commands for managing the current clipboard
Input Commands	Contains commands for automating input to application windows
Loop Commands	Contains commands for creating iterations
Excel Commands	Contains commands for Excel automation
String Commands	Contains commands for parsing strings
If Commands	Contains commands for testing and evaluating conditions
Image Commands	Contains commands for imaging automation
WebAPI Commands	Contains commands for retrieving web pages without needing UI automation

Web Browser Commands

This group uses Selenium to achieve automation. A Web Browser Session (Chrome) is created and tracked by the instance name - subsequent calls should refer to the same instance name created in the initial Create Browser command. In addition to standard browser functionality (navigation, refresh, etc.) you may choose to manipulate web pages through the Element Action command. You can search for elements by XPath, Name, Class Name, and more. The Element Action command can work with web page elements - getting text, setting text, waiting for elements to exist, invoking clicks on elements and pulling back standard DOM (document object model) properties.

Command Name	Description	When To Use
Create Browser	Creates a new instance of the Chrome selenium driver for automation (chromedriver.exe)	You want to start a new web browser session to perform automation
Navigate to URL	Navigates the Chrome session to a specified URL	You want to navigate the web browser to a new or specific page
Navigate Forward	Navigates the Chrome session 'forward' if applicable	You want to move the browser forward to a page it has already been
Navigate Back	Navigates the Chrome session 'backward' if applicable	You want to move the browser backwards to a page it has already been
Refresh	Forces the current page to refresh (reload)	You want to refresh or reload the current page of the browser
Close Browser	Closes and disposes of the Chrome session	You are finished with browser automation
Element Action	Performs actions on web page elements	You want to manipulate or scrape data from a web page

Misc Commands

This group represents commands with miscellaneous functionality. Generally helpful utility commands including error handling, pausing, commenting, message boxes, screenshots and SMTP functionality.

Command Name	Description	When To Use
Pause Script	Pauses the executing script for a specified interval	You want to pause the script for a determined amount of time - you need to wait some time for something to load or want to slow the process down
Error Handling	Specifies the next steps to take if an error occurs	You want to define a series of actions in the event an error is encountered and unhandled
Add Code Comment	Adds and displays an in-line user-specified comment	You want to add explanation to your script commands - great for making notes or call outs in your script
Show Message	Displays a message on-screen and optionally closes after a specified interval	You want to display a message to the user or debug a value
Send SMTP Email	Sends an email using specified SMTP settings	You want to send an email from the automation script
Sequence Command	Creates a new command that appears as a single item but lets you embed multiple commands within it by double-clicking the command. Used by the screen recorder to group commands as requested by the user (mouse moves or all).	You want to create multiple commands but do not want them to crowd the main screen.

Window Commands

This group uses native Windows32 API to achieve automation and performs simple actions on existing windows. The engine will first attempt to locate the window as exactly named. If the window is not found, then it will look through the current processes running to see if any of those main windows contain the text specified by the user.

Command Name	Description	When To Use
Activate Window	Activates a specified window	You want to give focus to a specific window
Move Window	Moves a specified window to a point on-screen	You want to move a window to a specified location on-screen
Close Window	Closes a specified window	You want to close a specified window - note some applications will prompt to save changes even if this command is called
Set Window State	Sets the state of a window (Maximize, Minimize, Restore)	You want to change or set the state of a window to one of the types specified
Wait For Window To Exist	Waits for a window to exist until a specified amount of time elapses (altenative to running the Pause Script command as it efficiently exits once a window name is detected)	You want automation to wait for a window that will eventually exist

Programs/Process Commands

This group is used for starting/stopping processes as well as running scripts. The Start Process command differs from the Run Script command because the former starts a process and resumes script execution yet the latter will wait for the process to exit before resuming execution.

Command Name	Description	When To Use
Start Process	Starts a specified program or process	You want to start a program or a process (ex .exe) and immediately continue execution of the subsequent automation commands
Stop Process	Ends a specified process name. Ending process name must be how it appears to be running under task manager (calc.exe not calc, for example)	You want to end an existing process
Run Script	Runs a script and waits for the script to exit before continuing	You want to start a program or a process (ex .vbs, powershell script) but want to wait for the script to finish before resuming execution of subsequent automation commands

Variable Commands

This group manages the user-defined variables.

Command Name	Description	When To Use
Set Variable	Sets a variable to a specified value provided by the user	You want to manually set the value of a user-defined variable

Clipboard Commands

This group manages the user-defined variables.

Command Name	Description	When To Use
Get Text	Gets the current value of the Clipboard and applies it to a user-specified variable	You want to get the contents of the clipboard and parse/work with it

Input Commands

No RPA application would be complete without the ability to send input. This command group handles inputs and interactions with user interfaces whether mouse inputs, keystrokes, or thick application automation of window handles.

Command Name	Description	When To Use
Send Keystrokes	Sends keystrokes to the current or targeted window. Accepts standard SendKeys inputs such as ^ for CTRL as well as special key presses within brackets such as {ENTER}. More detail can be found here	You want to send keystrokes (typing) to a current or specified window
Send Mouse Move	Moves the mouse on screen and clicks if specified	You want to move the mouse to a certain point on screen or click something on the screen at a specific location
Click UI Item	Clicks an item in a thick application window	You want to click an item on-screen in a more dynamic way than a simple location. Note that the window must exist and be rendered on screen for this command to work.
Get UI Item	Gets text of an item in a thick application window	You want to get text from an application on screen

Database Commands

This command group handles querying and database interactions.

Command Name	Description	When To Use
Run Query	Allows the user to run a query on a database	You want to get data out of a database and iterate over it using the loop command.

Loop Commands

This group handles specified iterations.

Command Name	Description	When To Use
Loop Number Of Times	Signifies the start of a repeating loop and specifies the number of times to iterate	You want to perform an action (or many actions) many times
Loop List	Signifies the start of a repeating loop and specifies a list variable to iterate over. Currently, string split generates a list.	You want to loop over each item in a list variable generated from the split string command.
Loop Excel Dataset	Allows iteration over an Excel Dataset	You want to loop over multiple Excel Cells.
End Loop	Signifies the exit point of a repeating loop	You want to signify the end-point of a loop command

Excel Commands

This group handles automation for Excel and features the ability to perform operations like getting cell data, setting cell data, managing workbooks, and running macros. Note Excel must be installed, licensed, and available for these commands to work.

Command Name	Description	When To Use
Create Excel Application	Creates a new instance of the Excel application	You want to create a new instance of the Excel Application
Open Workbook	Opens a Workbook within an Excel session	You want to open an existing workbook
Add Workbook	Adds a Workbook to an Excel session	You want to create a new workbook
Go To Cell	Moves to a specified cell in the current Excel session	You want to move to a specific cell in the workbook
Set Cell	Sets the value of a specified cell in the current Excel session	You want to set the value of a specific cell in the workbook
Get Cell	Gets the value of a specified cell in the current Excel session and assigns to a variable	You want to get the value of a specific cell in the workbook
Run Macro	Runs a Macro in the current Excel session	You want to run a macro in the current workbook. Note the macro must already exist for this command to work.
Close Application	Closes the instance of the Excel application	You are finished with Excel Automation

String Commands

This group enables the ability to parse and manipulate text.

Command Name	Description	When To Use
Substring	Trims a string to a specified length based on required starting position and length	You want to pull only a piece of a length of text
Split	Splits a string by a delimiter and applies the result as a list to a variable. Also supports splitting by new line if [crLF] is provided as delimiter	You want to take a length of text and create a list based on a delimiter

If Commands

This group enables the ability to define and execute a conditional statement (if statement is true). Also includes the ability to run statements within the same If block whether true or false (Else).

Command Name	Description	When To Use
Begin If	Defines a new conditional statement that will be tested for a TRUE condition (outcome)	You want to create a conditional test and run commands in the event the condition is met
Else	Creates logic and helps seperate commands within the same if block to run if the tested condition was not TRUE (false)	In the event the condition is not met, you want to run subsequent commands
End If	Signifies the exit point of an If block	You want to signify the end point of the Begin If command

Image Commands

This group handles image manipulation including OCR (Optical Character Recognition) as well as taking desktop screenshots.

Command Name	Description	When To Use
Perform OCR	Accepts input parameter to an image file path and turns an image into a usable string of text, applying the result to a user-define variable	You want to get the text of an image
Image Recognition	Searches the screen and attempts to find a reference image, optionally clicking the image once found	You want to identify an element on screen and click it or move the mouse to it
Take Screenshot	Takes a screenshot of the specified window	You want to take a screenshot of a window/desktop and save it to a file

WebAPI Commands

This group enables the ability to request web pages without using a browser. Sites that may require logons/cookies are better suited for Web Browser Automation, however, if the data you want to retrieve is readily available, you can use this command set to make the request as it is more efficient than Web Browser automation.

Command Name	Description	When To Use
HTTP Request	Makes a HTTP Web Request to the specified URL. The page source is retrieved and applied to a user-defined variable	You want to get the source of a web page for parsing
HTTP Result Query	Allows parsing of a successful HTTP Request by specifying XPath as a filter.	You want to parse the XPath of the HTTP Request result to get data