Recorder

Use the Recorder controls to add interaction and action steps to a recording, run all of the current steps in sequential order, or save the recording at any point and return to the Task Builder. This section explains the purpose of each control and how to use them. For information on how to create, edit, split, or delete recordings, see Create and manage recordings.

Control

The Recorder can interact with a user interface control (for example, a button, drop-down combo box, text box, checkbox, menu list, column header, etc.) in various ways. Some controls allow several different interactions, while others may only offer a few. The Recorder uses Automate Desktop's Window Dissection technology to determine if a control is supported and what interactions are available with it.

To interact with a control in a window

1. Select Control.

2. Hover your mouse pointer over the desired user interface control in a window until a green border appears (red indicates the control is not selectable), and then left-click on it. An Interact with step is added to the Recorder. To view an example of selecting a control, see the GIF image below.

   NOTE: If a green border does not appear around the control, use the Position interaction instead.

3. To provide details of which control is being is interacted with in the step, click on the default control label (blue underlined text) and rename it to be more descriptive (for example, "Chrome shortcut icon"). For label examples, see Examples.

4. By default, the Recorder selects the interaction that best suites the control in the first box within the step. Click the box to view or select from the other available options. Depending on your selection, additional boxes may appear containing parameters required to complete the interaction step.

For more details on Control interactions and how to configure them, see Interactions and actions.

Position

The Recorder can move the mouse pointer to any position relative to a window of an application or the overall available screen resolution, and then click, hold, or release the left, right, or center mouse button. This interaction is useful for automating steps such as opening/closing an application, opening the Start menu in Windows, clicking on a tab in a window, etc.

To move the mouse pointer to a position and then perform a click action

1. Select Position.

2. Left-click on the desired position on the window or screen. A Move mouse to position relative to step with the pixel coordinates of the position is added to the Recorder.

3. To provide details of what the mouse pointer is interacting with in the step, click on the default position label (blue underlined text) and rename it to be more descriptive (for example, "Chrome shortcut icon"). For label examples, see Examples.

4. Click the first box within the step to select if the pixel coordinates are relative to the window of the application (if applicable) or the overall screen resolution.

5. Click the second box to select the desired click action to occur (if any).

6. Depending on the click action selected in the second box, click the third box to select the mouse button to use to execute the click action defined in the second box.

For more details Position interactions and how to configure them, see Interactions and actions.

Web

The Recorder can open, close, and interact with web browser controls and web pages/tabs in various ways.

To interact with a web browser

1. Select Web.
2. If a web session is not currently open, enter the desired name for the web session in the Name box or use the default "Web Session <#>" name. If a web session is currently open, proceed to step 7.
3. Select the Browser box to select the desired web browser.
4. Enter the desired URL in the URL box (for example, fortra.com, www.fortra.com or https://www.fortra.com).
5. Select Save and Open to run the step and open the web browser to the specified URL.

6. When the web page opens, hover the mouse pointer over the desired web control until a green or blue border appears (red indicates the control is not selectable), and then left-click on it. An Interact with step is added to the Recorder.

   NOTE: A slight delay may occur after selecting certain controls.
7. To add additional web interaction steps, select Web from the Recorder, hover the mouse pointer over the desired web control in the web browser until a green or blue border appears (red indicates the control is not selectable), and then left-click on it.
8. To provide details of which control is being interacted with in the step, click on the default control label (blue underlined text) and rename it to be more descriptive (for example, "Images button"). For label examples, see Examples.
9. By default, the Recorder selects the interaction that best suites the control in the first box within the step. Click the box to view or select from the other available options. Depending on your selection, additional boxes may appear containing parameters that are required to complete the interaction step.

For more details on Web interactions and how to configure them, see Interactions and actions.

Actions

In some scenarios, an interaction step may require an action step to follow it to execute the intended interaction. The available options are:

Wait

The Wait action inserts a pause in the recording that waits for a window to appear or a specified amount of time to pass before the recording can continue. For example, if a recording contains interaction steps to open an application and then click on a control in the main window of the application, follow the interaction step to open the application with a Wait action step that specifies the number of seconds it takes for the application to open, or to wait for the default window of the application to appear before the interaction step to click on the control can execute.

To wait for a specified amount of time or for a window to appear

1. Select Actions, and then select Add wait. A Wait for step is added to the Recorder.
2. Select the first box within the step to select to wait a specified amount of time, or for the existence of a window before the step can execute.
3. Select the second box to select the desired time measurement or the available window, based on your selection in the first box.

Keyboard input

The Keyboard input action can enter keystrokes in a box (for example, entering a person's name in a Name box) or perform them on a window (for example, CTRL + ALT + DEL). For example, if a recording contains an interaction step to select a Username box to enter login credentials, follow that step with a Keyboard input action step to enter the desired username in the box.

To perform keystrokes

1. Select Actions, and then select Add keyboard input. An Input from keyboard step is added to the Recorder.

2. Select the first box within the step to select the type of keyboard input action to occur.

3. Select the second box to enter or select the keystrokes to perform, based on your selection in the first box.

Run application

The Run application action runs the application, program, or document specified. If a document is specified, the application associated with the document will be used to open it.

To run an application

1. Select Actions, and then select Run application.

2. Select the folder icon to browse to the desired file (for example, filename.exe).

3. Select the desired file, and then select Open. A Run application step is added to the Recorder.

Open web browser

The Open web browser action opens a web browser at the specified URL and establishes a session of where to correlate subsequent browser-related steps.

To open a web browser to the specified URL

1. Select Actions, and then select Open web browser.

2. Enter the desired session name in the Name box.

3. Select the Browser box to select the desired web browser.

4. In the URL box, enter the desired URL (for example, fortra.com, www.fortra.com or https://www.fortra.com).

5. Select Save and Open to run the step and open the web browser to the specified URL. An Open <web session name> step is added to the Recorder.

For more details on Actions and how to configure them, see Interactions and actions.

Run All

To run all the current steps in the recording sequentially, select Run All.

Save & Close

To save your recording and return to the Task Builder, select Save & Close.

Create a recording

Recordings can contain several different interactions and action steps, based on what you want to automate.

To create a recording

1. Open the Recorder.

2. Using the Recorder's controls, select Control, Position, Web, or Actions to add the desired interaction or action step to your recording.

3. After configuring the step, select the Run button within the step to ensure the interaction executes correctly.

   NOTE: If the step does not run as intended, you may need to use a different type of interaction or action step to achieve the desired result.

4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until all desired interaction and/or action steps are added.

5. To delete a step, select the vertical ellipsis button on the desired step, and then select Delete.

6. To reposition a step, click and drag the step to the desired position.

7. To run all the current steps in the recording sequentially, select Run All.

8. When you are finished building your recording, select Save & Close. Your recording is displayed in the Task Builder as a Recording region with the date and time it was saved.

   NOTE: Some interactions steps may appear as more than one step in the Task Builder.

9. To add a non-native Recorder interaction and/or action step to a recording, add the step to the Task Builder, and then drag and drop it into the Recording region at the desired position. You can also split a recording and then insert non-native Recorder steps between Recording regions.

To edit your recording in the Recorder or Task Builder, see Edit a recording.

To split your recording into multiple Recording regions, see Split a recording.

To delete your recording, see Delete a recording or step.

Edit a recording

Changes to existing recordings can be made in the Recorder or Task Builder.

To edit a recording in the Recorder

1. From the Task Builder Step Panel, select the Recording region.

2. From the Recorder section of the Task Builder ribbon, select Edit .

3. To add and configure a new step, select the Control, Position, Web, or Actions Recorder control. After configuring the step, click the Run button within the step to ensure the interaction executes correctly.

   NOTE: If the step does not run as intended, you may need to use a different type of interaction or action step to achieve the desired result.

4. To move an existing step from one recording to another, drag the step from a recording and then drop it to the desired position in move a step from another recording within in the same task, drag and drop it from

5. To delete a step, select the vertical ellipsis button on the desired step, and then select Delete.

6. To reposition a step, click and drag the step to the desired position.

7. When you are finished making changes, select Save & Close. The changes you made to your recording now appear in the Task Builder.

To edit a recording in the Task Builder

1. While in Visual mode in the Task Builder Step Panel, double-click on the desired step within the Recording region to open its Action Properties window.

2. Make the desired changes, and then select OK.

3. From the Task section of the Task Builder ribbon, select Run to test your changes.

Split a recording

Recordings can be split into multiple Recording regions for organizational and maintenance purposes.

To split a recording:

1. From the Task Builder Step Panel, select the desired step within the Recording region of where you want the split to occur.

2. From the Recorder section of the Task Builder ribbon, select Split. The recording is now split at the selected step.

3. Recordings that have already been split can be split further, if desired.

Delete a recording or step

Delete a recording

To delete a recording region

From the Task Builder Step Panel, right-click on the Recording region header or footer, and then select Delete.

Delete a step

To delete a step in the Recorder

1. Open the Recorder.
2. Select the vertical ellipsis button on the desired step, and then select Delete.

To delete a step in the Task Builder

From the Task Builder Step Panel, right-click on the desired step within the Recording region, and then select Delete.

The interactions and actions available with the Recorder are based on Input, Interactivity, Wait, and Web Browser activities. Below is a complete list of interactions and actions the Recorder can perform. For more information on an activity, click the corresponding link:

Step Type	Icon	Interaction/Action	Activity	Description
Control interactions		Check	Interactivity - Check	Use this interaction to select a checkbox or radio button in an open application window.
		Check if	Interactivity - Check	Use this interaction to enter a valid BASIC expression in the box provided to select the designated checkbox or radio button in an open application window if it is not currently selected.
		Toggle	Interactivity - Check	Use this interaction to select or clear the designated checkbox in an open application window, based on its current state.
		Uncheck	Interactivity - Check	Use this interaction to clear the designated checkbox in an open application window.
		Uncheck if	Interactivity - Check	Use this interaction to enter a valid BASIC expression in the box provided to clear the designated checkbox in an open application window if it is currently selected.
		Get items	Interactivity - Get items	Use this interaction to retrieve one or more items from a list, a tree view, or a drop-down combo box control in an open application window and then save the items in a preexisting variable, or a new or preexisting dataset. To configure this interaction, select Variable or Dataset from the second box, and then enter or select the desired variable or dataset in the box provided.
		Get selected item	Interactivity - Get selected tree item	Use this interaction to retrieve the currently selected (highlighted) item in a tree view or tree control from an open application window and then populate a new or existing variable or dataset with the results. To configure this interaction, select Variable or Dataset from the second box, and then enter or select the desired variable or dataset in the box provided.
		Get selected item(s)	Interactivity - Get selected list item	Use this interaction to retrieve the first item, last item, or all items from a list of currently selected (highlighted) items in a list box or list view control from an open application window, and then populate a variable or dataset with the results. To configure this interaction: Select First, Last, or All from the second box to retrieve the corresponding items from the control. Select Variable or Dataset from the third box, and then enter or select the desired variable or dataset in the box provided.
		Get text	Interactivity - Get text	Use this interaction to extract the text contents of a control from an open application window and then save the results in a variable. Use the box provided to enter or select the desired variable.
		Mouse to	This single interaction is comprised of two activities: Interactivity - Move mouse to object Input - Click mouse	Use this interaction to move the mouse pointer to the center of a control in an open application window, such as a button, tab, text box, link or column header and then perform a click action. To configure this interaction, select the click action you want to perform with the mouse, followed by the button to execute the click action. The available options are: No action - No button action occurs. Single click - Performs a single-click on the control using the Left button, Right button, or Center button of the mouse. Double click - Performs a double-click on the control using the Left button, Right button, or Center button of the mouse. Hold button - Holds down the Left button, Right button, or Center button of the mouse on the control. This option is ideal for selecting an area with the mouse. Follow this action with a Release button step. Release button - Releases the Left button, Right button, or Center button of the mouse from the control. Precede this step with a Hold button step. NOTE: If a green border does not appear around the control, use the Position interaction instead.
		Select	Interactivity - Select item	Use this interaction to select the designated item from a list view, tree view, or box in an open application window.
		Select if	Interactivity - Select item	Use this interaction to enter a valid BASIC expression to select the designated item from a list view, tree view, or box in an open application window if it is currently not selected.
		Select item	Interactivity - Select item	Use this interaction to select an item from a drop-down combo box or menu in a open application window (for example, clicking the File menu in the Notepad application, and then selecting the Open command). To configure this interaction, select the desired item from the second box.
		Select list item	Interactivity - Select list item	Use this interaction to select items from a list view or list control in an open application window. To configure this interaction: Specify which list items to select in the control. The available options are: With text - Selects the list items in the list containing text. If you select this option, proceed to step 2. At index - Selects the item in the list starting at the specified index number (row number). If you select this option, proceed to step 3. All items - Selects all list items, without or without text. If you selected With text in step 1, enter the text label of the item in the box provided, and then select First or Last to select the first or last item in the list containing text, or All to select items in the list containing text. If you selected At index in step in 1, enter the index number of the item in the list in the box provided.
		Set text	Interactivity - Set text	Use this interaction to enter text inside of a control in an open application window (for example, a password box) using the box provided.
Position interactions		Move mouse to position	This single interaction is comprised of two activities: Input - Move mouse Input - Click mouse	Use this interaction to move the mouse pointer to the specified pixel coordinates and then perform a click action with the designated mouse button. To configure this interaction: Select what position the pixel coordinates are relative to. The available options are: Window - The pixel coordinates are relative to the window of the application. Screen - The pixel coordinates are relative to the overall screen resolution. NOTE: Some applications may not provide the Window option after setting the mouse's position. Then, select the click action you want to perform with the mouse, followed by the button to execute the click action. The available options are: No action - No button action is recorded. Single click - Performs a single-click on the control using the Left button, Right button, or Center button of the mouse. Double click - Performs a double-click on the control using the Left button, Right button, or Center button of the mouse. Hold button - Holds down the Left button, Right button, or Center button of the mouse on the control. Follow this action with a Release button step. Release button - Releases the Left button, Right button, or Center button of the mouse from the control. Precede this step with a Hold button step.
Web interactions		NOTE: The Recorder is only compatible with Chrome, Edge, and Firefox web browsers.
		Check	Web Browser - Check	Use this interaction to select a checkbox or radio button on a web browser page in an established session.
		Check if	Web Browser - Check	Use this interaction to enter a valid BASIC expression in the box provided to select the designated checkbox or radio button on a web browser page in an established session, if it is not currently selected.
		Toggle	Web Browser - Check	Use this interaction to select or clear the designated checkbox on a web page in an established session, based on its current state.
		Uncheck	Web Browser - Check	Use this interaction to clear the designated checkbox on a web page in an established session.
		Uncheck if	Web Browser - Check	Use this interaction to enter a valid BASIC expression in the box provided to clear the designated checkbox on a web page in an established session, if it is not currently selected.
		Click	Web Browser - Click	Use this interaction to perform a mouse click action on web page control in an established session. To configure this interaction, select the click action you want to perform with the mouse, followed by the button to execute the click action. The available options are: No action - No button action occurs. Single click - Performs a single-click on the control using the Left button, Right button, or Center button of the mouse. Double click - Performs a double-click on the control using the Left button, Right button, or Center button of the mouse. Hold button - Holds down the Left button, Right button, or Center button of the mouse on the control. This option is ideal for selecting an area with the mouse. Follow this action with a Release button step. Release button - Releases the Left button, Right button, or Center button of the mouse from the control. Precede this step with a Hold button step.
		Close Browser	Web Browser - Close	Use this interaction to close the specified web browser window and end its associated session.
		Extract Table	Web Browser - Extract table	Use this interaction to extract the contents of a table from a web page in an established session and then create and populate a dataset with the results. Any HTML code in the table’s cells is stripped out. To configure this interaction, enter or select the desired dataset in the box provided.
		Get URL	Web Browser - Get URL	Use this interaction to retrieve the URL from a web page in an established session and then populate a variable with the result.
		Get Value	Web Browser - Get value	Use this interaction to get the value of a given HTML element from a web page and then populate a variable or dataset with the results. To configure this interaction, select Variable or Dataset from the second box, and then enter or select the desired variable or dataset in the box provided.
		Navigate Back	Web Browser - Back	Use this interaction to navigate one step backward in the history of the currently active web browser tab in an established session.
		Navigate Forward	Web Browser - Forward	Use this interaction to navigate one step forward in the history of the currently active web browser tab in an established session.
		New Tab	Web Browser - New tab	Use this interaction to open a new tab in an existing web browser session.
		Open	Web Browser - Open	Use this interaction/action to open a web browser at the specified URL and establish a session of where to correlate subsequent web browser-related interactions.This interaction/action is configured by either selecting the Web interaction icon (if a web session is not currently established) or Actions > Open web browser. To configure this interaction/action, choose the first box to select the desired web browser, enter the desired URL in the second box, and then select Save and Open.
		Refresh Page	Web Browser - Refresh	Use this interaction to refresh the currently active web browser page in an established session.
		Select item	Web Browser - Select list item(s)	Use this interaction to select item(s) from a list view or list control on the currently active web browser web page in an existing web browser session. To configure this interaction: Specify which list items to select in the control. The available options are: With text - Selects the list items in the list containing text. If you select this option, proceed to step 2. At index - Selects the item in the list starting at the specified index number (row number). If you select this option, proceed to step 3. All items - Selects all list items, without or without text. If you selected With text in step 1, enter the text label of the item in the box provided, and then select First or Last to select the first or last item in the list containing text, or All to select items in the list containing text. If you selected At index in step in 1, enter the index number of the item in the list in the box provided.
		Set value	Web Browser - Set value	Use this interaction to set the specified value for a control on web page in an established session using the box provided.
		Set URL	Web Browser - Navigate	Use this interaction to navigate to the specified page URL in an established web browser session. Use the box provided to specify the desired URL.
		Switch to	Web Browser - Switch tab	Use this interaction to switch between open web browser tabs in an established session, based on the specified identifier. To configure this interaction, specify the identifier type in the first box, and then enter corresponding identifier text in the second box. The available options are: By title (default) - Searches all open tabs by the tab title (for example, "Fortra"). By domain - Searches all open tabs by domain name (for example, www.fortra.com). By url - Searches all open tabs by URL (for example, https://www.fortra.com/product-lines/automate). By id - Searches all open tabs by tab ID (for example, CDwindow-69B4EB91F3102F30079A146CD78644F7).
Wait actions		Time	Wait - For duration	Use this interaction to wait for the specified amount of time before moving to the next step in the recording. To configure this action, enter a numeric value in the first box, followed by the desired time measurement (for example, 10 seconds). The available options are: milliseconds seconds minutes hours
		Window	Wait - For window	Use this interaction to wait for the specified application window to appear before moving to the next step in the recording. To configure this action, click the box to select the desired application window.
Keyboard input actions		Keys	Input - Send keystrokes	Use this action to enter the desired alpha-numeric keystrokes in the box provided. Keystrokes are case sensitive.
		Special keys	Input - Send keystrokes	Use this action to send the specified keystrokes to the currently focused window. To configure this action, click the box to select single or multiple keystrokes of special keys (for example, CTRL+ALT+DEL). The available options are: ALT CTRL Left ALT Left CTRL Left SHIFT Left Windows Key Right ALT Right CTRL Right SHIFT Right Windows Key AltGr Escape CTRL+ALT+DEL Ctrl+Break Popup Enter Backspace Tab Space Insert Delete Home End Page Up Page Down Help Print Screen Break State-based Toggle Caps Lock Caps Lock on Caps Lock off Toggle Scroll Lock Scroll Lock on Scroll Lock off Toggle Num Lock Num Lock on Num Lock off Function keys F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 F6 F7 F8 F9 F10 F11 F12 F13 F14 F15 F16 F17 F18 F19 F20 F21 F22 F23 F24 Arrow keys Up Down Left Right Quickpress Quick ALT Quick CTRL Quick SHIFT Numeric pad Num Pad 0 Num Pad 1 Num Pad 2 Num Pad 3 Num Pad 4 Num Pad 5 Num Pad 6 Num Pad 7 Num Pad 8 Num Pad 9 Num Pad Divide Num Pad Multiply Num Pad Minus Num Pad Add Num Pad Decimal Point Num Pad Separator
		Hold key	Input - Hold key	Use this action to hold the specified keys down until a Release key step is encountered. The available options are: Shift (default) Ctrl Alt Gr Alt Windows key
		Release key	Input - Release key	Use this action to release the specified keys that were previously held down using a Hold key step. The available options are: Shift (default) Ctrl Alt Gr Alt Windows key
Run application action		Run	Run - Run	Use this action to run the application, program, or document specified. If a document is specified, the application associated with the document will be used to open it. To configure this action, click the folder icon, and then browse to the desired file (for example, filename.exe).
Open web browser action		Open	Web Browser - Open	Use this action to open a web browser at the specified URL and establish a session of where to correlate subsequent browser-related steps. Web browsers supported by this action are: Chrome Edge Firefox

Example 1

This sample recording launches the Notepad application from the desktop, enters text in the Notepad text editor, saves the file as "new file.txt", and then exits Notepad.

1. The first step in the recording uses the Position interaction to move the mouse pointer to and double-click on the desktop shortcut icon for the Notepad application.

2. The second step uses the Wait action to pause the recording until the Notepad application opens.
3. The third step uses the Position interaction to move the mouse pointer to and single-click on the Notepad text editor window to apply focus to it.
4. The forth step uses the Keyboard input action to enter "This is a sample sentence." in the Notepad text editor window.
5. The fifth step uses the Control interaction to move the mouse pointer to and single-click on the Notepad's File menu.
6. The sixth step uses the Control interaction to select the Save As command from the File menu.
7. The seventh step uses the Wait action to pause the recording until the Save As dialog opens.
8. The eight step uses the Control interaction to enter "new file.txt" in the File name box of the Save As dialog.
9. The ninth step uses the Control interaction to move the mouse pointer to and then single-click on the Save button in the Save As dialog.
10. The tenth step uses the Control interaction to move the mouse to and single-click on the Notepad's File menu.
11. The eleventh and final step uses the Control interaction to select the Exit command from the File menu to close the Notepad application.

Example 2

This sample recording launches the Edge web browser at www.helpsytems.com and then uses the website's Search button to navigate to the Automate Desktop product line page.

1. The first step in the recording uses the Web interaction to open the Edge browser to www.fortra.com.

2. The second step uses the Web interaction to click on the Search button (magnifying glass icon), located on the www.fortra.com home page.

3. The third step uses the Web interaction to apply focus to the search box.

4. The forth step uses the Keyboard input action to enter "automate" in the search box.

5. The fifth and final step uses the Web interaction to select the Automate Desktop product line from the list of search results.