Web Browser (Legacy) - Get value

Declaration

<AMBROWSER ACTIVITY="getvalue" PATH="text" HTMLID="text" HTMLNAME="text" HTMLTAG="text" HTMLCONTENTS="text" USEMATCH="number" SESSION="text" RESULTDATASET="text" ATTRIBUTE="text"><HTMLATTRIBUTE NAME="text" VALUE="text" /></AMBROWSER>

Related Topics    

Description

Gets the value of a given HTML element in an established web browser session and places the results in a variable or dataset.

NOTE: Automation can be performed on Internet Explorer and Firefox browsers only. Firefox automation requires a separate extension which can be downloaded from here. The browser you specify must be installed on the target system to ensure that these activities function properly. Unlike other session-based actions in which sessions are optional, the use of a session in the Web Browser (Legacy) action is required due to the fact that each created session explicitly links to a specific web browser instance. A session can be created using the Web Browser (Legacy) Create session or Open activity. Numerous sessions are supported within a single task, however, since Web Browser (Legacy) actions are performed interactively (and not in the background), each session must run concurrently to avoid sending interactions to the wrong browser window.

Practical usage

Used to simulate the process of manually copying the value displayed in a text box or control for the purpose of pasting it onto another program, application, or web browser window.

Parameters

Location

Property Type Required Default Markup Description
Session name Text Yes BrowserLegacySession1 SESSION="mySession" The name of an existing session to attach this activity to. Numerous sessions can exist within a single task allowing several web browser operations to be performed simultaneously on separate browser windows.
Select browser --- --- --- --- This activity comprises Automate Desktop's Window Dissection technology to facilitate the discovery of existing windows and their controls. To select the target browser window, make certain the window is open and in the foreground (in front of all other open windows). Click and drag the magnifier icon, and then drop it over the window. If the window is supported by this activity, a green border will appear around it. Upon release, the Browser and URL parameters are populated with appropriate values. Alternatively, you can manually select a browser, enter the desired URL, and then click Open to test.
Browser Text (options) Yes Internet Explorer BROWSER="Firefox" The following browsers are supported with this activity:
  • Internet Explorer
  • Firefox
URL Text Yes (Empty) URL="www.google.com" The URL this activity should be performed on (for example, www.fortra.com or https://www.fortra.com).
Locate HTML elements --- --- --- --- The following parameters relate to the specification of HTML elements required to identify the object that this activity should be performed on.

To pinpoint an HTML element (in this case, the button to click), ensure the desired URL has been entered in the URL text box, and then click Open. The hand icon will now become enabled. Click and drag the hand icon, and then drop it over the desired control in the browser window. If the control is supported by this activity, a blue border will appear around it. Specific parameters become enabled depending on which elements were detected as a result of the drag and drop operation. You can further fine tune your selection by editing these parameters.

NOTE: The overall speed and accuracy of an element search is highly dependent on the amount of contents an HTML document contains as well as the type of criteria being used to search for the element. Using an element's unique ID as a search method is considered the fastest and most accurate method of locating an HTML element because an element ID is always unique within an HTML document.
Path within the document hierarchy Text No (Empty) PATH="/outer/inner/" If the desired control is located within a floating frame, you can specify a frame hierarchy in this field. The specifier is a list of slash delimited frame identifiers (for example, "/outer_frame/inner_framer/").
Locate by identifier (best method) Text No (Empty) HTMLID="unique_ID" If enabled, specifies that the unique ID identifying the target object will be searched. Specifying an element's unique identifier (where it is supported) is the fastest and most accurate method of locating an HTML element due to the fact that an ID must be unique within the HTML document. This parameter is disabled by default.
Locate by name (certain elements) Text No (Empty) HTMLNAME="element_name" If enabled, specifies that the unique name identifying the target object will be searched. Specifying an element's unique name (where it is supported) is a fast and accurate method of locating an HTML element due to the fact that an element name must be unique within the HTML document. This parameter is disabled by default.
Locate by HTML tag Text No (Empty) HTMLTAG="tagName" If enabled, specifies that the start tag (or opening tag) identifying the target object will be searched.
Locate by attributes (case-sensitive, all must match) --- --- --- --- If enabled, allows attribute name / value pairs to be used as search criteria. Attributes provide additional information about HTML elements. If this option is enabled ,the parameters specified below become active. This parameter is disabled by default.
Attribute name Text No (Empty) HTMLATTRIBUTE NAME="foo" VALUE="bar" The name of the attribute to search for. Click Add to enter a new attribute name / value pair. To remove an existing name / value pair, highlight the proper row of data, and then click Remove.  
Attribute value Text No (Empty) HTMLATTRIBUTE NAME="foo" VALUE="bar" The name of the attribute to search for. Click Add to enter a new attribute name / value pair. To remove an existing name / value pair, highlight the proper row of data, and then click Remove.  
Locate by content (not recommended, slow) Text No (Empty) HTMLCONTENTS="contents" If enabled, specifies that any textual and graphical content between the start and end tags will be used as search criteria. This parameter is disabled by default.
NOTE: This search method is exceedingly slow. Use as a last resort if all other methods cannot be used.
Restrict to specific match Number No (Empty) USEMATCH="4" If enabled, specifies which occurrence to use if there are multiple matches. For example, if five text boxes match and this parameter is set to 4, it will apply the activity to the fourth text box. This parameter is disabled by default.

Interaction

Property Type Required Default Markup Description
Copy Text(options) Yes Text
  • ATTRIBUTE=":text"
  • ATTRIBUTE=":html"
  • ATTRIBUTE=":tag"
  • ATTRIBUTE="custom"
 The type of value to copy. The available options are:
  • Text - Copy text.
  • EnclosedHTML - Copy HTML enclosed in the opening and closing HTML tag. (Example: “foo” in <DIV >foo</DIV>)
  • HTML tag - Copy an HTML tag.
  • Specific Attribute - Copy a specific attribute. You can use any desired attribute, however, some common attributes are listed for convenience. They are as follows:
    • id
    • name
    • value
    • type
    • checked
Place a single match in variable Text No (Empty) RESULTVARIABLE="myVar" The name of an existing variable to populate with the individual match.
Place a number of matches in dataset Text No (Empty) RESULTDATASET="myDataset" The name of the dataset in which to populate with all matches.

Description

Error Causes

On Error

Example

NOTE:
  • Copy and paste the sample AML code below directly into the Task Builder Steps Panel.
  • To successfully run the sample code, update parameters containing user credentials, files, file paths, or other information specific to the task to match your environment.

Description

This task creates a variable named "myVar" and opens an Internet Explorer browser window set to the web page http://www.google.com. A Get value activity is then performed to retrieve the value of the I'm Feeling Lucky button and populates the "myVar" variable with results. Finally, a Close browser step closes the browser window and ends the session.

Copy 
<AMVARIABLE NAME="myVar" VALUE="" />
<AMBROWSER URL="https://www.google.com/" SESSION="mySession" />
<AMBROWSER ACTIVITY="getvalue" HTMLNAME="btnI" USEMATCH="2" SESSION="BrowserLegacySession1" RESULTVARIABLE="myVar" ATTRIBUTE=":text" />
<AMSHOWDIALOG>%myVar%</AMSHOWDIALOG>