Task Builder Steps Panel

Overview

The Task Builder's Steps panel displays the actions/activities that are selected from the Actions panel that will be carried out when the task executes. During task construction, actions and activities are dragged from the Actions panel onto the Steps panel. During this process, a dialog box displaying the properties of the selected action/activity opens and specific parameters and requirements can be viewed or modified. Once parameters are set, the action/activity and its properties are then displayed in the Steps panel and the action becomes a task "step". These steps run automatically in a sequential order when the task is triggered by some event or condition or when started manually by the user.

Related Topics

When creating/debugging external tasks, a single instance of the Task Builder can open multiple tasks, each separated by tabs located at the bottom of the Steps pane. Each tab is labeled with the name of the corresponding task. The steps of the desired task can be viewed by simply selecting the proper tab. When a task is selected, the Steps pane becomes populated with steps of that task and the Status Bar and Debug Pane show data for that task.

By default, a task step is comprised of the following:

  • Step number

  • Unique icon associated with the action

  • Visual or AML description of the step (depending on which view is selected from the Ribbon's View command group). For more details, see Changing Task Builder Display.

Alternatively, step numbers can be omitted, icon sizes can be modified or step descriptions can be fully customized. See Task Builder Editor Options for more details. See Custom Step Description for more information about customizing the default description that appears on the Steps pane.

NOTE: If you import a task that includes an unlicensed action/activity, the Steps panel will display the unlicensed step (in Visual view) as currently unlicensed. Running a task with an unlicensed step will always fail at that step. You can bypass the step by disabling it or removing it altogether.

Task Functions/Variables Panel

In order to make the creation and maintainability of tasks easier and safer, Automate now supports variable scoping, variable accessibility as well as external tasks and function declarations and execution. The top portion of the Steps pane contains the Task Functions & Task Variables Panel. This drop-down panel is used to create Task Functions and Variables and display their properties in a clear and concise manner so the user understands the steps being displayed at any given time are associated with the function/variable being modified.

Context Menu

Right-clicking one or more lines of code on the Steps pane opens a pop-up menu that displays a list of available options you can perform for those steps. The table below contains a list of available Steps pane right-click menu items.

Menu Item Description Hot-Key
Cut Cuts the selected steps. To select multiple steps, hold down CTRL during selection. To select all steps, press CTRL+A or click theSelect Allbutton from theFindcommand group of the Ribbon'sHometab. CTRL + X
Copy Copies the selected steps to the clipboard. To select multiple steps, hold down CTRL during selection. To select all steps, press CTRL+A or click theSelect Allbutton from theFindcommand group of the Ribbon'sHometab. Copied steps can be pasted in the Steps pane of the current task, another task or an application such as Notepad. CTRL + C
Copy Description Copies the description of the as they appear in Visual view ---
Paste Pastes the previously copied or cut steps. Items are pasted directly below the currently highlighted line in the Steps panel. CTRL + V
Delete Deletes the selected steps. To select multiple steps, hold down CTRL during selection. DEL
Select All Selects all steps contained in the Steps panel. CTRL + A
Select Step Number Opens a Select Step Number dialog box prompting you to enter the step number to select. CTRL + G
Select Label Opens a Go to Label dialog box prompting you to enter the label to go to. CTRL + L
Enable Disables/enables the selected steps. A disabled step will not execute at runtime. ---
Edit Step Edits the selected or highlighted step. Only a single step can be edited at a time.   ---
Clear Regions Clears the selected or highlighted regions. ---
Clear All Regions Clears all regions contained in the current task. Note that this will clear all existing regions whether or not they are selected or highlighted. ---
Move Steps Up Moves the selected steps one line up. ---
Move Steps Down Moves the selected steps one line down. ---
Increase Indent Increases indentation of the selected steps. CTRL+ RIGHT
Decrease Indent Decreases indentation of the selected steps. CTRL+ LEFT
Add to Watch List Adds the step to the Watch List. You can view watch list items by way of the Watches debug pane. ---
Add to Favorites Adds the selected action to your Favorites list. Favorites as well as most often used and recently used actions can be viewed from the My Actions panel. ---