Task Builder Actions Panel

A task is something that performs a number of sequential steps that are necessary to reach a desired outcome. The Actions panel houses all of the available actions and associated activities that make up the steps to be performed during task execution. Actions and activities are assembled visually by dragging them from the Actions panel onto the Steps panel (or by simply double-clicking the desired action/activity) and entering their properties. When this is accomplished, the action becomes a task step. This panel also contains a My Actions view which puts your favorite, recently used and most used activities along with any saved snippets in a convenient location for easy access.

Actions view

The Actions view is comprised of over 400 built-in actions and activities, which range from starting an application, opening a web page, focusing on a window, uploading or downloading files, sending and receiving email, simulating mouse or keyboard activity and much more. Actions and activities are arranged in a hierarchical format so that users can browse through them conveniently. To view a list of activities (or sub-actions), expand the main action by double-clicking its associated icon or by clicking the small arrow to the left of the action. For more details, see Finding & Organizing Actions.

Once the desired activity is found, simply drag it onto the Steps panel or double-click it to make it a task step. In addition, the action itself can be dragged into the Steps panel. Doing so will display the properties dialog where an activity can be selected from a list. For more details, see Setting Action Properties.

Search dialog

The bottom portion of the Actions panel contains an intuitive search dialog that enables you to define search criteria and provide more efficient and effective searches. It supports dynamic search filtering, allowing you to enter all or part of an action's name and view only actions that contain matching text.

To find an action/activity

1. Click inside the Search dialog or press CTRL+SHIFT+F on your keyboard.
2. Enter all or part of an action's name. The list is updated as you type each letter. The list is updated as you type each letter.
3. To empty the Search dialog of its contents, do one of the following:
• Click the "X" button located on the right side of the Search dialog (this button only appears when the Search dialog is populated with characters).
• Press ESCAPE on your keyboard.

Context menu

By default, the Actions view displays all available actions in ascending alphabetical order and associated activities (or sub-actions) are hidden from view. Alternately, all actions can be viewed in descending alphabetical order and expanded to display all activities individually. All options that assist in locating and administering Automate Desktop actions as well as customizing the Actions panel are contained in a context  menu that you can open by right-clicking a specific action or an empty portion inside the window Actions panel.

Item	Description
Add Step	Adds the selected action/activity to the Steps panel and automatically places it at the end of the task (for example, last step). This option is available only when a right-click is performed on a specific action/activity.
Insert Step	Inserts the selected action/activity directly above the currently highlighted step in the Steps panel. This option is available only when a right-click is performed on a specific action/activity.
Sort A to Z	Sorts the individual action folders in ascending or descending alphabetical order.
Expand All	Expands all categorized folders. This option is available only if the Categories option is enabled.
Collapse All	Collapses all categorized folders. This option is available only if the Categories option is enabled.
Add to Favorites	Adds the selected action to your Favorites list. This option is available only when a right-click is performed on a specific action.
Help (F1)	Opens the selected action's help topic. This option is available when a right-click is performed on a specific action. Selecting an action and pressing F1 also opens that action's help topic.

My actions view

Automate Desktop's array of structured actions and activities can automate virtually any type of business process one can think of. Nonetheless, most developers find themselves utilizing just a handful of activities specific to the needs of their business or department. The My Actions view allows easy access to such activities by way of Jump Lists. That way, you don't have to scroll through numerous actions or type a keyword in the Search bar to find an activity. Simply select the activity from the appropriate list in the My Actions panel. For additional details, see My Actions.

Favorites

The Favorites folder can be used as a placeholder for a collection of preferred actions and activities. Favorites can be created and managed by the user themselves. When an activity is defined as a favorite, a copy of that activity is added to the Favorites list. That way, users won't need to spend time searching through the long list of available actions. They can simply select the activity from their Favorites list. Users can also reorder their favorites by title or create folders/sub-folders to consolidate common favorites into specific categories, forming a more organized development environment. Actions and activities can be added to your favorites by way of the Actions panel or Steps panel. Once added, any favorites can be incorporated into task steps by way of drag and drop or by a double-click action.

To add an action or activity from the Actions Panel to Favorites

• Drag the desired action from the Actions panel onto the Favorites folder or any sub-folder.

OR

• Right-click the desired action and select Add to Favorites from the context menu.

To add steps from the Steps Panel to Favorites

• Drag the desired steps from the Steps panel onto the Favorites folder or any sub-folder. To select more than one step, hold down CTRL during selection.

OR

• Right-click the desired steps and select Add to Favorites from the context menu.

Snippets

For those who use specific activities that contain commonly used properties or settings, such activities can be saved in the Snippets folder. Snippets provide an easy way to implement frequently used code into a task. Instead of re-entering the properties for a specific activity or series of activities every time they're added as task steps, users can save existing steps as a snippet and simply drag and drop the snippet wherever it is needed in any task. A snippet can consist of one or more steps. Once a snippet is added to a task, its contents act as normal steps (that is, they can be reorganized or deleted or their properties can be modified as needed). Users can reorder their snippets list by title or create folders/sub-folders to consolidate common snippets, thus, creating a cleaner development environment.

To add one or more steps from the Steps Panel to Snippets

1. Drag the desired steps from the Steps panel onto the Snippets folder or any sub-folder or simply right-click the desired steps and select Add to Snippets from the context menu. To select more than one step, hold down CTRL during selection.
2. Enter a unique name for the new snippet.

The Recent folder is populated with the most recently used actions and activities. The Frequent folder is populated with the most frequently used actions and activities. Similar to Snippets and Favorites, these folders are designed to make it easier and more convenient for you to find what you want by placing the actions and activities that you mostly use in a convenient location. By default, 10 items are displayed in the Recent and Frequent folders.

Context menu

Right-clicking an action located inside the My Actions panel will display a context menu with the following options.

Item	Description
Create Folder	Creates a folder at the current position. Allows you to better manage the actions and activities you use the most. This option is available only if a right-click is performed on an activity from your Favorites or Snippets  list.
Remove	Removes the selected activity from its current position. This option is available only if a right-click is performed on an activity from your Favorites or Snippets  list.
Reorder by Title	Reorders existing sub-items by title. Active only if a right-click is performed on a parent item.
Clear	Removes the selected activity or snippet from the My Actions panel.
Clear All My Actions	Clears the My Actions panel of all activities and snippets