Interactivity - Press

Declaration

<AMINTERACT ACTIVITY="press" WINDOWTITLE="text" WINDOWCLASS="text" WINDOWHANDLE="number" ACCESSIBILITYENGINE="text (options)" OBJECTPROPERTIES="Toolkit=text,Type=text,Class=text,FrameworkId=text,Name=text,AutomationId=text,Value=text,Role=text,Description=text,X=number,Y=number,Width=number,Height=number,IndexInParent=text,ParentPath=text,Occurrence=number" />

Related Topics   

Overview

Presses a button, page tab, link, or column header on a window. This action can be used in place of the Interactivity - Move mouse to object action along with the Input - Click mouse action (where it can be used) because it moves the cursor to the desired object and presses it within a single action.

Practical usage

Generally used to press a button, folder tab, page link, or other clickable control on an application Window. Using this action is superior to using the Input - Move mouse or Input - Send keystrokes actions (where it can be used) because it natively communicates with the target control and the application is not required to be in the foreground for the event to occur.

Parameters

General

This activity comprises Automate Desktop's Window Dissection technology to facilitate the discovery of existing window objects and controls. To select the target control:

  1. Ensure the window that contains the desired control is open and in the foreground (in front of all other open windows).
  2. Drag and release the magnifier icon over the control. If the control is supported by this activity, a green border appears around it.
  3. Upon release, the Edit portion of the editor is populated with identified control properties. Individual properties can be enabled/disabled and their values can be further modified. The values for all disabled properties are lost at the time the activity is saved.

Edit

Property Type Required Default Markup Description
By window title Text Yes (Empty) WINDOWTITLE="Microsoft Edge" If enabled, specifies the title of the window that the control search is restricted to. If disabled, this parameter is ignored. Click the down arrow to select a title from the drop-down list or manually enter a title in the text box. This parameter supports wildcard characters (* and ?). For example, entering *Microsoft Edge* restricts the search to only windows containing the text Microsoft Edge in its title.
By window class Text No (Empty) WINDOWCLASS="Outlook Express Browser Class" If enabled, specifies the class of the window that the control search should be restricted to. If disabled, this parameter is ignored. Click the down arrow to select a window class from the drop-down list or manually enter a window class in the text box. This parameter supports wildcard characters (* and ?). For example, entering *Microsoft Edge* restricts the search to only window classes containing the text Microsoft Edge.
By window handle Number No (Empty) WINDOWHANDLE="555735" If enabled, specifies the handle of the window that the control search is restricted to. If disabled or set to 0, this parameter is ignored. Use this parameter to distinguish a particular window from other instances containing an identical title/class.
Accessibility engine Text (options) No Auto
  • ACCESSIBILITYENGINE="auto"
  • ACCESSIBILITYENGINE="ui_automation"
  • ACCESSIBILITYENGINE="active"
  • ACCESSIBILITYENGINE="java"
The accessibility engine that this activity uses to programmatically collect accurate information about a user interface in order to interact with it. The available options are:
  • Auto - Starting with UI Automation, Automate Desktop detects the accessibility engine to use based on the control properties.
    NOTE: Some controls might not be compatible with this option and will require one of the other accessibility engine options to be manually selected for best results.
  • UI Automation - UI Automation is used, which is Microsoft's standard for exposing information about its user interface.
  • Active - Active Accessibility is used, which uses an older Microsoft engine for exposing information about its user interface.
  • Java - Java Access Bridge is used, which is a technology that enables certain Java applications and applets to be visible to assistive technologies on Microsoft Windows systems.
Browse Button No -- -- Provides the option to manually traverse the list of available controls for a window selected either by the magnifier icon, or manually by the By window title property.

In some cases, the desired control cannot be selected using the magnifier icon. If this occurs, use the magnifier icon to select any control and click Browse. Select the desired control from the list in the Object Browser and click OK. The Object properties for the selected control is now populated.

Controls can also be selected without the aid of the magnifier icon by enabling the By window title property and manually selecting the window the desired control is located in from the list. After selecting a window, click Browse. Select the desired control from the list in the Object Browser and click OK. The Object properties for the selected control is now populated.

NOTE: It is not recommended to select a control without using the magnifier icon. Doing so can result in selecting a control that is not supported by this activity and causes the step to fail when attempting to run it.
Object properties Text No (Varies) OBJECTPROPERTIES="Toolkit
=WindowsAccessibility,Type=data,
Class=DockingPane,Name=Line,
Value=text,X=300,Y=200"
Contains standard Window Dissection parameters used to describe objects, controls, or text inside a window. This section can define additional characteristics in order to precisely designate a window or matching object. To enable/disable a specific property, select or clear the associated checkbox. To modify the value of a specific property simply enter the desired value in the Value field.
Toolkit Text No (Empty)
  • TOOLKIT=UIAutomation
  • TOOLKIT=WindowsAccessibility
  • TOOLKIT=JavaAccessibility

If enabled, specifies that the toolkit (a set of basic building units for graphical user interfaces) is examined when determining a matching object. If disabled, the toolkit is ignored.

The toolkit that appears is based on the Accessibility engine:

  • UI Automation - UIAutomation
  • Active - WindowsAccessibility
  • Java - JavaAccessibility
Type Text No (Empty) TYPE=PushButton If enabled, specifies that the object type (button, check box, trackbar) is examined when determining a matching object. If disabled, the type is ignored.
Class Text No (Empty) CLASS=SysTreeView32 If enabled, specifies that the object class (XTPToolBar, SysTreeView, MDIClient) is examined when determining a matching object. If disabled, the class is ignored.
FrameworkId Text No (Empty) FRAMEWORKID=WPF If enabled, specifies that the object framework ID (the framework technology used to create the object) is examined when determining a matching object. If disabled, the framework ID is ignored.
Name Text No (Empty) NAME=Cancel If enabled, specifies that the object name (a unique identifier for an object) is examined when determining a matching object. If disabled, the name is ignored.
AutomationId Text No (Empty) AUTOMATIONID=System If enabled, specifies that the object automation ID (a unique identifier for an object) is examined when determining a matching object. If disabled, the automation ID is ignored.
Value Text No (Empty) VALUE=1 If enabled, specifies that the object value (which usually coincides with the Name property) is examined when determining a matching object. If disabled, the value is ignored.
Role Text No (Empty) ROLE=desktop pane If enabled, specifies that the object role type (the control type provided by the Java Accessibility bridge) is examined when determining a matching object. If disabled, the role type is ignored.
Description Text No (Empty) DESCRIPTION=JScrollPane If enabled, specifies that the object description (the description given for an object) is examined when determining a matching object. If disabled, the description is ignored.
X Number No (Empty) X=80 If enabled, specifies that the object X coordinate (a given number of pixels along the horizontal axis of a window starting from the extreme left side) is examined when determining a matching object. If disabled, the X coordinate is ignored.
NOTE: The X and Y coordinates are relative to the specified window as opposed to the screen.
Y Number No (Empty) Y=90 If enabled, specifies that the object Y coordinate (a given number of pixels along the vertical axis of a window starting from the top-most portion) is examined when determining a matching object. If disabled, the Y coordinates is ignored.
NOTE: The X and Y coordinates are relative to the specified window as opposed to the screen.
Width Number No (Empty) WIDTH=711 If enabled, specifies that the object pixel width will be examined when determining a matching object. If disabled, the pixel width is ignored.
Height Number No (Empty) HEIGHT=421 If enabled, specifies that the object pixel height will be examined when determining a matching object. If disabled, the pixel height is ignored.
IndexInParent Text No (Empty) INDEXINPARENT=1 If enabled, specifies that the object index in parent number (the numeric identifier of a child object located within a parent object) is examined when determining a matching object. If disabled, the index in parent number is ignored.
ParentPath Text No (Empty) PARENTPATH=50032|50033 If enabled, specifies that the object parent path (the sequence of control type identifiers that lead to the object) is examined when determining a matching object. If disabled, the parent path is ignored.
Occurrence Number No (Empty) OCCURRENCE=1 If enabled, specifies that the object occurrence (the numeric identifier of an object, useful when multiple matching objects are found) is examined when determining a matching object. If disabled, the occurrenceis ignored.

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 sample task runs the following steps:

  1. A Web Browser - Open activity opens a web browser and goes to https://fortra.support.com.

  2. An Interactivity - Set text activity sets the text Automate in the search box.

  3. An Interactivity - Press action presses the Search button.

Copy
<AMWEBBROWSER URL="https://support.fortra.com" SESSION="BrowserSession1" BROWSER="edge" />
<AMINTERACT ACTIVITY="set_text" WINDOWTITLE="Fortra Support Portal - Google Chrome" OBJECTPROPERTIES="Toolkit=UIAutomation,Type=50004,Class=,FrameworkId=,Name=Search Fortra Support,AutomationId=,Value=,ParentPath=50033|50030|50025|50025|50025|50025|50025|50025|50004,Occurrence=,X=,Y=" TEXT="Automate" />
<AMINTERACT ACTIVITY="press" WINDOWTITLE="Fortra Support Portal - Google Chrome" OBJECTPROPERTIES="Toolkit=UIAutomation,Type=50000,Class=,FrameworkId=,Name=SEARCH,AutomationId=,Value=,ParentPath=50033|50030|50025|50025|50025|50025|50000,Occurrence=,X=,Y=" />