Using Capture area action from Screen package

Use the Capture area action in the Screen package to capture a screenshot of the application window area.

Procedure

To capture a specified area of an application window, perform these steps:

  1. In the Actions palette, double-click or drag the Capture area action from the Screen package.
  2. Specify the window in which to capture an object.
    Choose from the Application, Browser, or Variable tab.
    OptionDescription
    Application Select from a list of currently active windows. This option shows a list of all the application and browser windows that are open on the Bot Creator device.
    Browser Select from a list of supported browser tabs.
    Note: This option supports Google Chrome, Chromium-based Microsoft Edge, and Internet Explorer browsers. For all other browsers, use the Application option.
    Variable Select an existing window variable to specify the title of the application window title.
  3. Optional: Insert a wildcard character (*) in the Window title field to search for window titles that can change. You can specify one or more wildcards (*) at the start, middle, or end of the value.
    For example, to perform an operation on any window that has Microsoft in the title, use a wildcard to indicate any string by adding it before or after the value: *Microsoft*. The bot first searches for the exact window title (Microsoft), and if it does not find a match, it searches for windows with the term Microsoft anywhere in the title.

    You can use a regular expression (regex) to identify a window title. Select the regular expression condition as either String or a Pattern and then enter the value. By default, the Window title field is case-sensitive.

    To identify a browser title, you can enable the Case sensitive option to match the letter case, or disable the option to identify a window title where the letter case does not match.
    Note: Ensure that the minimum Bot Agent version installed on your system is the version that was released with Automation 360 v.26. If you have a Bot Agent version released with Automation 360 v.25 or earlier, then by default, the window title will be identified only with matching letter case (case-sensitive).
    For example, to match all window title names beginning with a word followed by - Notepad, you can enter the String value as * -Notepad, or use Pattern value as ((\w)\s)*document-Notepad for only those window titles that match this pattern.
    Note:
    • When you use a regular expression of type String with -title as the input value for a window title in any action, the bot might encounter a run time error. To prevent the run time error, ensure that when you add the string input as *-title, the application with the specific title is open. The asterisk (*) is just a character, not a wild card character.
    • When you use a regular expression of type Pattern with -title as the input value for a window title in any action, the bot might encounter a run time error because the input value *-title is incorrect.

      Ensure that you use valid regex patterns.

    Note: During runtime, verify that the Task Bot identifies the correct window. If it does not, do the following:
    1. Open the application or browser window.
    2. Drag a Window > Get active window title action above the Recorder > Capture action.
    3. Insert a string variable into the Assign the window title to variable field.
    4. Drag a Window > Set title action below the Window > Get active window title action.
    5. In the Window field, insert the window variable generated by the Recorder > Capture action.
    6. In the New window title field, insert the string variable from the Get active window title action.
    7. Click Save.
  4. Optional: Select the Resize window option to specify the window dimensions.
    This option delivers a more reliable bot. It resizes the window to the dimensions at which the task was recorded, which enhances the ability of the botto identify the target object.
    • If the window is maximized when you record the task, this option is not selected.
    • If the window is not at the maximum size when you record the task, this option is selected, by default, and the width and height fields are automatically filled with the dimensions of the window.
    Note: This option is available only for windows that can be resized. It is not available for the Desktop or Taskbar options.
  5. Click the Capture region.
    The pixel coordinates of the captured area are displayed in the X, Y, Width, and Height fields. You can modify these values.
  6. Browse to select the File path to save image.
    The following file extensions are supported: png, bmp, jpeg, tiff, gif, and wmf.
  7. Click Overwrite file to replace an existing file with the same name.
  8. Click Save.