Edit a task recorded with the Universal Recorder

After recording a task, edit the Capture actions to change the window, capture a different object, select a new action, enable background processing, enter a different wait time, or save the output to a variable.

To edit a recorded task, perform the following steps:

1. Open the bot that contains the recorded actions you want to edit.
2. Click the Capture action that you want to edit.

Make the following changes, as necessary:

3. Change the window selection to the Currently active window option.
4. 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 either as a String or Pattern for each regular expression condition and enter the value. By default, the Window title field is case-sensitive. You can enable Case insensitive regex flag to identify a window title that is not case-sensitive.

   For example, you can enter the String value as ((\w*)-Notepad for all the window title names starting with ((\w*)-Notepad, or use Pattern such as ((\w)\s)*document-Notepad for only those window titles that match this pattern.

   Note: During runtime, verify that the TaskBot 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.
5. 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.
6. Review the Object properties table.
   Below are the list of object properties that are selected by default based on the technology type:

   Note: The below list does not include all the properties but includes the most commonly used and important properties based on the technology type.

   Technology type	Object Properties	Description
   HTML Technology	Control type	This is a read-only property that shows the type of object captured, for example, text box or button.
   	DOMXPath	It is the path that is used to locate the control or object that is captured. DOMXPath can be of two types: Relative XPath and Absolute XPath. Absolute Xpath: It contains the complete path from the root element to the desired element. For example, an absolute Xpath for this topic would be /html/body/div/div[1]/main/div[2]/div/div/div[2]/div/div/div[1]/div/article/main/article/div/p[1] Relative Xpath: This is a shorter path that refers to an element you want to identify. A relative path starts with a // symbol. For example, the relative XPath for this topic would be //*[@id="cloud-using-recorder-action"]/div/p[1] For example, if you want to find the DOMXPath of a particular element on Google Chrome browser, perform these steps: Select the element for which you want to extract the XPath. Right-click the element and select Inspect. Right-click the highlighted element in the Element tab. Go to Copy > Copy Xpath to copy the relative path and select Copy > Copy full Xpath to copy the absolute path.
   	Path	It is a numeric representation of the position of a particular control in an application. For web applications, the best practise is to use DOMXPath from the search criteria when comapred to Path.
   	HTML name and ID	These properties are used to identify an HTML object
   	HTML inner text	The DOM innerText Property is used to set or return the text content of a specified node and its descendants
   	HTML tag	HTML tags are like keywords that define the way web browser formats and displays the content. For example, if the captured text has an HTML code: <h3 class="search_results-title">Search results for ״string package״</h3>, then enter h3 in the HTML tag field.
   MS_ACTIVE_ACCESSIBILITY Technology	Control type	This property is used only as a reference to ensure that the correct object is captured
   	Path	It is a numeric representation of the position of a particular control in an application
   	Name	This specifies a name of an element and works as an identifier
   	ID	This specifies the ID of an element and works as an identifier
   JAVA Technology	Control type	This property is used only as a reference to ensure that the correct object is captured
   	Path	It is a numeric representation of the position of a particular control in an application
   MS_UI_Automation Technology	Control type	This property is used only as a reference to ensure that the correct object is captured
   	Path	It is a numeric representation of the position of a particular control in an application
   	Name	This specifies a name of an element and works as an identifier
   	ID	This specifies the ID of an element and works as an identifier

   The bot uses the selected properties to identify the object control at runtime.
   1. Verify that the Control Type matches your intended object.
      For example, when capturing a table from a website, ensure the Control Type and HTML Tag values are TABLE.
      If the Control Type does not match your intended object, recapture the object control.
   2. Select and assign values to the object properties that you want to include in the object search.
      For a more reliable bot, we recommend that you select only the properties that have static values (such as Name, Class, Type, HTML ID, and DOMXPATH), and deselect the properties that have dynamic values (such as HTML Href, Path or Value), which are subject to change and cause bot errors.
      It is a best practise to use the wild card character (*) or variable in object property values to search for objects whose properties are dynamic and changes frequently.
7. Select the Action from the drop-down list.
   For a full list of possible actions by object, see Actions performed on objects captured with Universal Recorder.

   • If you record a click and keystrokes in a text box with a Control Type of PASSWORD_TEXT, the Recorder does not capture the keystrokes entered into the field. Instead, the action selects the Set text option and offers options to securely input the password. We recommend that you store the password in the Credential Vault and insert it into the action as a credential. Credentials and credential variables in the Bot editor

     If you navigate to the text box using the TAB keystroke instead of a click in an MSAA or SAP application, the Recorder is able to identify fields with a Control Type of PASSWORD_TEXT.

     We recommend setting a delay time when using the Set text action to enter keystrokes into a text field.

   • If the selected Action supports background processing, a Run in the background option appears. Background processing
8. Optional: Enter a value in the Wait for control field to specify the number of seconds the bot must wait for the object control to appear on the application window.
9. Optional: Assign the output to a variable.
   The Control Room suggests a descriptive default variable name based on the action you selected in step 8. For example, if you selected Get property, the suggested output variable is PropertyValue. If you create several output variables, subsequent variable names are appended with an "-1" to avoid duplication.
10. Perform the Steps 3 through 9 for the other actions that you want to edit in the bot.
11. Click Save.