Community Edition A2019.20 Release Notes

Release date: 14 April 2021

Review the new features in the Community Edition A2019.20 release (Build 8846).

Community Edition

Important: This release includes a required update to your Bot Agent. Ensure that you complete the update to continue with your automation activities when upgrading from a previous release to this release.

Automatically update the Bot Agent | Manually update the Bot Agent

To verify which Bot Agent version is compatible with this release, see Compatibility with release builds.

What's new
Automate SAP-related tasks using SAP BAPI

Use the actions available in the SAP BAPI package to automate SAP-related tasks using SAP BAPI.

SAP BAPI package

Default names for output variables

When you configure an output variable for the following packages, the Control Room shows a descriptive default variable name. If you create several output variables, subsequent variable names are appended with a -1, -2, -3, and so on to avoid duplication.

  • Browser
  • CSV/TXT
  • Email
  • Excel advanced
  • JavaScript
  • Loop
  • Recorder
  • VBScript
  • Window
PDF split with blank pages supports scanned image documents (Service Cloud case ID: 00683923)

Use the PDF Split action to separate a blank page from pages with scanned images. With pixel-based split, you can now use Split document to split a PDF with blank page separators for scanned (image-based) documents.
SMTP port range expanded to include ports 1 through 65535

The Email package now supports ports in the range of 1 through 65535 for the SMTP server. You can use the Send email action by configuring the SMTP port in this range.
New actions in the Active Directory package
  • Update account options: Sets account attributes for the user.
  • Change user password: Use this option to change a user's password.

User account operations

Enhancement to Create user action in Active Directory package

You can now use the Create user action to create an Active Directory user with password.

Using the Create user action

Universal Recorder expanded support and new features

Use the Universal Recorder to perform the following:

  • Automate clicks and data retrieval in drop-down lists and combo boxes in Oracle EBS applications such as Compass.
  • Link an object that the bot cannot reliably identify to a nearby object (such as a link or button) that is easier for the bot to find. Use this feature in MSAA, UI Automation, or Java applications.
Support for new languages in variable names

You can now use Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, and Swedish characters in variable names.

Unicode range supported in variables

Search and add child bot in the parent bot

Search for a child bot in the public and private workspaces so that you can add it in the parent bot. You can search for the child bot from the Bot editor and the Run action of the Task Bot package.

Using the Run action | Task Bots

Obtain information about user that deployed the bot

Use the AATaskInvoker system variable to return the username, first name, last name, and email of the user that ran or scheduled the bot. If the bot is deployed to an attended Bot Runner, this variable returns information about the logged-in user. If the bot is deployed by a trigger, this variable returns information about the user who set the trigger.

System settings and parameters

New condition in If package (Service Cloud case ID: 00536088, 00690073,00717514, 00737243, 00702383)

Use the new Window with same title does not exist or Window with same title exist condition available in the If package to verify whether a window with the same title exists or whether the window title has changed.

If package

Google packages are now generally available

Google Calendar, Google Drive, and Google Sheets packages are now generally available in Automation 360, and contain these new actions:

  • Write from data table and Insert row/column actions in the Google Sheets package.
  • Each Google package contains a Connect action to authenticate your account before adding other actions from that package to your automation. This action replaces the deprecated OAuth action from the G-Apps package.
  • Each Google package contains a Disconnect action to terminate the connection.

Connect action for Google packages

Automation Co-Pilot for Business Users (Automation Co-Pilot)

What's new
Get Storage file action

The new Get Storage file action in the Automation Co-Pilot Web package enables you to download storage files to a bot device.

Process Composer package

Upload files in initial forms or tasks

Add the Select File element to forms to enable users to select and upload files in the initial forms or tasks in the web interface. Users can browse to upload a new file or replace an existing file. The uploaded file is shown as a hyperlink and redirects users to a new tab when opened.

Process Composer

Hyperlinks support for initial forms or tasks

Use the new Hyperlink element to add links to forms and access them in initial forms and tasks.

Process Composer

Configure a scheduler user for each process (Service Cloud case ID: 00713786)

As an Automation Co-Pilot administrator, you can now configure a scheduler user for each process to allocate the Control Room resources (devices and unattended Bot Runners) on the web interface. By default, the Global scheduler user is selected if a scheduler user is not configured for individual processes.

Configure scheduler user for Automation Co-Pilot

Update to properties panel for human task (Service Cloud case ID: 00718109)

As a Bot Creator, you can choose to not configure any actions in the human task by selecting the Make the form read-only check box in the Properties panel. The human task does not require any input and it is executed automatically to the next task.
Bookmark any page as landing page for Automation Co-Pilot on the web

The web interface is now enhanced to a new multiple page system so that you can directly bookmark any page (Requests, Tasks, or Recycle Bin) as your landing page. Also, the tabs in the web interface have been removed so that the requests are opened one at a time and not simultaneously. To perform multiple tasks, you can open the requests pages in different browser tabs.
Navigation enhancement in Automation Co-Pilot on the web

The web interface is now enhanced with a side navigation pane so that you can easily navigate to various pages (Processes, Requests, Recycle Bin, and Tasks).
New processes page (Service Cloud case ID: 00694786)

As an Automation Co-Pilot user, navigate to your assigned processes and create new requests by using the new Processes page in the web interface. Use the navigation bar to quickly access the page.
Enhancements to the Button element
  • Use the Disallow button click when this form is first loaded option to disable the Button element in a form when it is displayed for the first time during bot runtime.
  • Use the Subtle option in the Button type drop-down menu if you want the button element to appear as a link during bot runtime.

Using the Button element

Enhancement to the form logo

You can now use the Logos in footer field option to select up to two separate logos that are displayed in the footer of the form during bot runtime.

Create a form

Discovery Bot

What's new
Search for a business process from the Processes page

You can now use the search field to help you locate a specific process by name. The field is not case-sensitive. The search field is available from the Processes page.

Create a Discovery Bot process

View all captured images from the screenshot modal window

You can now navigate across all captured screenshots when you click an image in full size from the modal window. Click the pagination located below the image to select a step number or use the right or left arrows to quickly display all captured images.

Record a Discovery Bot business process

Process Discovery package is included in default packages

The Process Discovery package is now included in the default packages. You can preload the default package when you connect to your device. Preloading the package helps to speed the start time of the recorder the first time you begin recording a process

Prerequisites for Discovery Bot

Recorder enhancements

You can now perform actions such as double-click, drag-drop, click and hold, and text select when recording a business process. Actions performed using keyboard strokes are displayed in the Data field. Double-click is captured by the recorder and displayed in the screenshot from the Recordings page.

Note: The Discovery Bot recorder does not capture the drag-drop and click and hold actions from the Recordings page. To include these actions performed during the recording, you can document the individual steps in the Step description text field for the analyst.

Record a Discovery Bot business process

IQ Bot

Known limitations
IPv6 addresses are not supported for IQ Bot, so ensure that you use only IPv4 addresses.

Bot Insight

What's new
AAE_Admin role access to operations API from Power BI connector

The Power BI connector now provides the AAE_Admin user role access to the botrundata operational API. With this role, you can connect to the botrundata API and extract operational metrics to be analyzed and visualized within Power BI.
Enhancements to the publish (production) dashboard

Users with the AAE_Bot Insight Admin and AAE_Bot Insight Expert role can now edit the published dashboard. You can use the save as option to save the production dashboard as a custom production dashboard and add widgets to your custom dashboard. You can also delete a default production dashboard and a custom production dashboard.

Save a published dashboard | Delete a published dashboard

Important: The supported packages information is moved to this topic: Packages available in Automation 360.