Add an interface trigger

Starts a bot when a predefined action occurs on a specific interface element, such as clicking a button or closing an application.

The following procedure is for a scenario where a trigger is configured to start a bot when the user clicks the New option in Microsoft Word. Before the trigger configuration, ensure the Microsoft Word application is open on your system. A complete list of supported events and objects is available at the bottom of the page.
Note: Interface triggers for objects are available only for native Windows applications.
Note: Interface triggers are supported on both attended and unattended Bot Runner licenses. However, the interface trigger will work for unattended Bot Runner users only if they have access to the associated default device and perform the predefined action on the specified interface element.

Procedure

  1. On the left pane, click Automation.
    A list of available bots and forms is displayed.
  2. Click Create new > Bot.
  3. Enter a name for the bot.
    All the bots are stored in the \Bots folder. (Optional) Click Browse to change the folder.
  4. Click Create & edit.
  5. In the bot builder page, click Triggers > Interface trigger.
  6. Drag Object into Drag a trigger here.
    The Interface trigger: Object editing panel appears.
  7. In Window detail tab, click Application.
    Note: For browser-based events, click Browser and select the correct browser tab. Interface triggers are supported on only Google Chrome and Edge Chromium browsers.
  8. Click the drop-down menu and select Taskbar under Preset to show applications in the menu that are open in your taskbar. You can then select Microsoft Word as the application for the interface trigger.

    If Microsoft Word is not displayed in the list, you can use the Refresh option to reload the list of applications and select .

  9. Click Capture object.
    This initiates a built-in web recorder that captures the object of your next click. In this scenario, Microsoft Word is displayed. Click New, which is then set as the trigger to start the bot.

  10. Click the Select main event drop-down menu to choose a specific event.
    In this scenario, New in Microsoft Word is considered a button and the following events are available:
    • Click: Triggers the bot when the user clicks the selected main event object.
    • Click with hotkey: Use one of the available key modifiers and select a key (alphabetical letters) from the drop-down menu. This combination is set as the hot key to trigger the bot.
  11. Optional: Select one of the available Control keys (Shift, Alt, Ctrl, Windows and AltGr) as an additional combination for the hot key to trigger the bot.
  12. Click Save.
  13. Click Run > Run with triggers.
    The preset trigger is created, and the bot is triggered when the user clicks New in Microsoft Word.

Next steps

Other events and objects can be used as triggers, and might be more suitable for your specific business needs.
The interface trigger supports the following events and objects from applications (Windows native, SAP Desktop, and Google Chrome browser).
Object Event
Button
  • Click
  • Click with hotkey
Textbox
  • Get focus
  • Lost focus
  • Hotkey when in focus
Hyper Links or Link like widgets
  • Click
  • Click with hotkey
Checkbox
  • Selected
  • Deselected
Radiobutton Selection change
Drop-down or combo menu Selection change
Tab
  • Click
  • Click with hotkey
List item Selection change
Menu bar
  • Click
  • Item click