AISense Recorder best practices

To use the AISense Recorder optimally, review the best practices.

Configuring registered devices

Behavior

  • When you use the AISense Recorder for the first time on any device, either for recording or for playback, it downloads the required resources from the Control Room. This process might take a few or several minutes depending on the speed of your internet. The state of the process is indicated in the progress bar during recording and the Bot runtime window shows Downloading additional resources.
  • When you use a new package in a bot and if the package has any updated resources, it gets downloaded automatically that results in a delay in bot execution.
  • There is a delay in scanning or bot execution in the following cases:
    • The first execution will setup AISense environment which will take couple of seconds (based on machine configuration). User will observe some delay in scanning and bot execution.
    • Every time application changes, due to navigation or new controls loaded, AISense has to detect new available controls on the application screen, which will take couple of seconds (based on machine configuration). User will observe some delay in scanning and bot execution.
    • Parent and child bot execution: If child bot is using AISense Recorder, every time the child bot is executed, an AISense environment gets created to maintain isolation between bots. User will observe some delay in bot execution.

Methodology

  • Record the task at low speed. Click only after the red highlighter appears around the object.
  • Avoid dragging the windows during the recording process.
  • If AISense Recorder is downloading required resources from the Control Room in case it is deployed for the first time, do not close the Recorder window in between since doing so might corrupt the required resource files.
  • When the AISense Recorder is in Scanning state, avoid switching between applications.
  • When the AISense Recorder is in Ready state, move the mouse slowly over the object or control that you want to capture and make sure that it gets highlighted with the red rectangle and then click on it.

Capturing Combo box

The following are some best practises that you can follow when you use the AISense Recorder to capture combo boxes. Below are some of the combo boxes based on the application requirements.
  • Searchable combo box: The searchable combo box enables you to click in the text area and type. It then starts filtering the typed text from the list and allows you to press enter when a single result is available.
    • To automate this combo box control, during recording, highlight the combo box and click in the center of the combo box. The default action selected will be Select Item by Text. Finish the recording.
    • Go back to control room bot editor. Enter the text value along with Enter or combination of Down (down arrow) and Enter to simulate user like action. For example, if you are automating a searchable combo box which has a drop-down list item, then you can either enter the value in the searchable combo box and click Enter to select it or use the down arrow to search for the specific value and click Enter to select that value from the list.
  • Legacy combo box: The legacy combo box does not have a search functionality and it is mandatory to expand it by clicking triangular button on right side of combo box and select one of the value.
    • To automate this combo box control, during recording, highlight the combo box, it should also highlight the small triangular button on right side.
      Note: Ensure that it also highlights the small triangular button on the right side.
    • Click the button and wait.

      The Recorder must take sometime to identify expanded value. During this time, the recording icon in the Recorder window must be in the blinking state.

    • As soon as the small recording icon stops blinking, hover the mouse over the list box (expanded combo box) and make sure it highlights list values.
    • Select the specific values.
    • User can select any value and and later change it from the Bot editor window in the Automation Anywhere Control Room.

Using AISense Recorder with other packages

AISense Recorder is computer vision based object detection method of automating where it captures the image of the application that you want to automate. When you use AISense Recorder to automate applications that have objects like textbox with single underline or combobox without triangular button, the objects might not get detected. In such cases, we recommend you use a combination of AISense Recorder with other packages like OCR and Image Recognition packages or only OCR and Image Recognition packages to automate such use cases.

Client Control

AISense Recorder detects object on the application with specific feature set. When you click an area where there is no control, or click a control before it highlights with red boundaries, it will be recorded as CLIENT control. The client control is coordinate based capture of mouse click to replicate user click and is not standard AISense control. We recommend user to recapture control if captured as CLIENT control.