Selecting a Recording Method

When planning an automation task, select the recorder (or workbench) based on the type of process being automated. For example, for a process that is based on web applications to extract data from websites, select the web recorder.

To record a new task, click New.

A window displays several methods for record a task, including:

Screen Recorder

Record tasks that run on the same machine where the task is created by recording mouse clicks and keyboard operations. Screen recorder might be referred to as standard recorder in some legacy topics.

Important: The Screen Recorder is the most basic recorder. Recorded tasks depend on the UI location and screen resolution. If conditions change related to the target application, recorded tasks might not work.

Smart Recorder

Captures common UI objects used in both Windows-based and web-based applications. The objects include common UI controls such as buttons, text fields, and combo boxes. Some of the related technologies include HTML, .Net, WPF, Java, Flex, and Silverlight. The UI objects are saved as a set of Object Cloning commands.

Tip: The Smart Recorder captures automated web application, but it is strongly recommended to use the Web Recorder to capture web-based content.

Web Recorder

Records web-only tasks. If website controls on a page change location, the task adjusts to run without error. If the properties of the web controls change, the automation task can be updated to ensure that the task runs successfully.

Tip: Web Recorder only works with Internet Explorer. Automate web applications with other browsers such as Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge using Workbench.

Workbench

Create tasks manually. Assign relevant actions to the task using the commands provided in the editor.