Automation 360 v.30 Community Edition Release Notes

Release date: 21 September 2023

Review what's new in the Community Edition of the Automation 360 v.30 (Build 19678) release. Build 19678 replaces Build 19669.

We have released an updated build for a fix after the Automation 360 v.30 Community Edition Build 19669. For information about the fix in the updated build, see Updated release builds.

Note: When a Bot Agent update is required, the Bot Agent is automatically updated to the compatible version.

For more information on updating to this release, see these resources:

Updated release builds

  • We have released an updated Build 19688 that includes a fix for the Apache ActiveMQ remote code execution vulnerability. For more information, see Apache ActiveMQ Remote Code Execution Vulnerability CVE-2023-46604 (A-People login required).
  • Fix for a checkout and export issue after updating bot with more meta data when folder name and bot names are similar.

    (Service Cloud case ID: 02085658, 02086676, 02087581, 02087873, 02087885)

  • We have released an updated Build 19669 which contains the following:
    • Fix for Automation Co-Pilot issue for not displaying process with external dependencies on bot in the process editor.

      (Service Cloud case ID: 02087219, 02087722, 02087795, 02087354, 02087749, 02087942, 02087591, 02087593, 02088270, 02088622, 02088698)

    • Fix for Automation Co-Pilot issue for not displaying process created from the learning instance in the process editor.

      (Service Cloud case ID: 02087749, 02087795)

    • Fix for Automation Co-Pilot issue for not being able to submit a request using a form with validation rules built-in.

      (Service Cloud case ID: 02086037, 02087396)

Automation Workspace

What's new
Automation Command Center for Pro and Citizen Developers

Automation Command Center (ACC) is now available for Pro and Citizen Developers. As a key component of automation lifecycle management, Pro and Citizen Developers now have a personalized and centralized view to quickly access their automations. Additionally, help is available with direct links to other developer resources, such as Pathfinder Community and Automation Anywhere University.

ACC home page for Pro and Citizen Developers
Packages displayed in sorted order in Bot editor

When you use the actions menu (vertical ellipsis at the top-right) to select Packages in the Bot editor, packages now display in sorted order, making it easier to identify them. Packages are sorted on the Name field instead of the Short name field.
Packages sorted alphabetically within Bot editor (Service Cloud case ID: 01766378)
For easier navigation, professional developers can quickly find packages and actions that are now sorted alphabetically at the following places in the Bot editor:
  • Actions pane
  • When you use the actions menu (vertical ellipsis at the top-right) to select Packages, the list of used and available packages displays alphabetically.
  • When you use an If, Else if, Loop, or Wait for condition in a bot, the conditions and the iterators display alphabetically.
New Legacy Loop behavior option

For bots that were created using the Loop action in Automation 360 v.26 or earlier releases, you can now enable the Legacy Loop behavior option from the Administration > Settings to iterate the loop based on the specified value. When you enable this option and either increment or decrement the variable value in the end condition, loop iterations will not vary dynamically based on the new value generated.

Configure Settings
Debug enhancements
  • To follow the standard Debug convention across different integrated development environments, the Debugger tool has been renamed to Debug.
  • When you start debugging, in the Bot editor, you can now see a header bar below the bot name that displays the name of the bot being debugged. The header bar displays Now debugging and the bot name afterward. For example: Now debugging: MSGBot5
  • When you start debugging a bot, the Actions panel on the left side of the Bot editor automatically collapses. This helps in providing more horizontal area to view the actions added in the Bot editor while debugging.
    Note: Once the debugging stops, the Actions panel expands again.
API Tasks for creating automations

You can now create API Task automations in Automation 360 Cloud. API Tasks interact with an application directly via API. These API Tasks run on Cloud devices to provide better latency and faster processing time.

API Task is a new feature in v.30 and has limited availability in the United States (US East, US West, and US Sandbox) regions. To enable this feature, contact your customer support manager (CSM).

Automation Co-Pilot for Business Users

What's new
Ability to start a process using input variables in Process Composer

As a Pro developer, you can create and add input variables to start a process without having to build a form as the point of entry. You define input variables directly within the process itself which is particularly useful if your process requires complex variable types such as a dictionary, table, or list.

Add input variables to a process automation
What's changed
When local desktop automations are run from Automation Co-Pilot, the progress bar on the activity page now displays an accurate completed percentage for the executing automation. Previously, an indeterminate progress indicator was used.
Reference IDs available for all tasks

All tasks now have reference IDs that are visible in the URL which you can use to share the task with another user. The ID also allows users to access a task directly in a request, even if that task is already completed. Previously, only the last pending task of a request was accessible directly.

Document Automation

What's new
Custom data manipulation and validation through Document Extraction package (01936705)

The Document Extraction package now provides the Get Document Data and Update Document Data actions to allow customization of document fields. With the Get Document Data action, you can retrieve extracted data through a dictionary or JSON file, and use all the available packages to read values and customize them. After manipulating the extracted data, you can use the updated dictionary or JSON string (extracted values or coordinates) as input by using the Update Document Data action and update the documents on the server. This feature helps reduce manual verification efforts.

Get document data action | Update document data action
Copy learning instance option added to Document Automation

Copy an existing learning instance to reuse the learning instance fields, parser information, document type, language, and local associations in the learning instance copy. Additionally, you can copy the heuristic feedback training and validation rules, as required.

Create a learning instance in Document Automation
What's changed
Create custom roles and permissions in Document Automation

You are not required to use the system-defined administrator roles for Document Automation roles and permissions anymore. You can create custom roles with limited or no access to administrative permissions while adhering to your organization's security policies.

Document Automation users
Changes in IQ Bot Classifier package (01955258)
The IQ Bot Classifier package has been enhanced to improve its usability:
  • The package name has been changed to Document Classifier package.
  • You can track consumption on the license administration page for processed documents in the Document Classifier package.

Document Classifier package updates