Actions palette content for bot creation

Actions, packages, and dependencies

Actions are grouped into packages based on the technology they automate. For example, the Excel advanced package contains Excel-related actions, such as Open workbook, Go to cell, and Delete cell, which you can insert in the Bot editor to automate a spreadsheet process.

Each package is upgraded and enabled individually to support new functionality. New bots are built with the default version. Existing bots are not automatically updated. They run using the same package version that they were built with until the Bot Creator manually upgrades to the new version.

When the Control Room deploys a bot, the packages used to create the automation are collected and sent to the Bot agent on the destination device. The Bot agent caches the packages so that it does not require updates each time the bot runs.

To shorten the runtime the first time a bot runs on a device, preload the packages using the Preload packages option in the Bot editor. The system loads the packages to \ProgramData\AutomationAnywhere\GlobalCache on the local machine for quick access at runtime.

After an action from a package is used in a bot, that package becomes a dependent file of that bot.

• Learn more about managing packages in Manage packages.
• Developers can learn more about creating packages in Package Software Development Kit (SDK).
• Learn more about managing bots and package dependencies in Bot dependencies.

Working with actions

Each action in a package provides minimum compatible Control Room and Bot agent version information when you create bots. So you can update your bots and reduce runtime errors caused by an incompatible Control Room or Bot agent version.

You can configure actions in the Bot editor. Double-click the action to view the fields and features that you can configure, and double-click or drag an action to insert it into the automation.

Move the mouse over the vertical ellipsis at the top right of an action icon to access the following features:

Copy action

Duplicate the action.

Cut action

Copy the action and remove it from the bot code.

Paste after action

Paste the copied action below the selected action.

Note: This option only appears when there is an action in the clipboard.

Delete action

Remove the action from the bot code.

Disable action

At run time, bot ignores the action until you enable it.

Enable breakpoint

Pauses the bot for debugging purposes.

Debugger features

You can edit multiple actions at a time, using the toolbar at the top of the Bot editor.

Find in this bot (Search box)

Search for any text or action such as package name, action name, string name, or variable name in the Flow, List, or Dual view of the task bot. You can search the text across multiple pages of the bot and do not require loading the pages manually. This feature is useful for viewing or editing a bot with longer code lines to determine where the searched text, such as variables, strings, or actions is used and in which line.

Note:

• With this feature, you can search only within the lines of the code in the Bot editor.
• The search is not a case sensitive.

Copy items

Copy actions to a clipboard so they can be duplicated within the bot.

Cut items

Copy the actions and remove them from the bot code.

Paste items

Paste one or more actions after the highlighted action. If you have not highlighted an action, the actions are appended to the end of the automation sequence.

Note: This icon is only enabled when there are actions in the clipboard.

Copy to shared clipboard

Copy actions, triggers, and metadata to a clipboard that is shared between bots.

Paste from shared clipboard

Paste actions, triggers, and metadata from another bot.

Note: This icon is only enabled when there are actions in the shared clipboard.

Resources

To learn more, access the course titled Did You Know that You can Install and Upgrade Commands without Re-Installing the Enterprise Application? from Automation Anywhere University: RPA Training and Certification (A-People login required). This course introduces you to packages, benefits, and installation.

Watch the following video on how to use actions in Automation 360: