- Release Notes
- Getting Started
- Setup and Configuration
- Automation Projects
- Dependencies
- Types of Workflows
- File Comparison
- Automation Best Practices
- Source Control Integration
- Debugging
- The Diagnostic Tool
- Workflow Analyzer
- About Workflow Analyzer
- ST-NMG-001 - Variables Naming Convention
- ST-NMG-002 - Arguments Naming Convention
- ST-NMG-004 - Display Name Duplication
- ST-NMG-005 - Variable Overrides Variable
- ST-NMG-006 - Variable Overrides Argument
- ST-NMG-008 - Variable Length Exceeded
- ST-NMG-009 - Prefix Datatable Variables
- ST-NMG-011 - Prefix Datatable Arguments
- ST-NMG-012 - Argument Default Values
- ST-NMG-016 - Argument Length Exceeded
- ST-DBP-002 - High Arguments Count
- ST-DBP-003 - Empty Catch Block
- ST-DBP-007 - Multiple Flowchart Layers
- ST-DBP-020 - Undefined Output Properties
- ST-DBP-023 - Empty Workflow
- ST-DBP-024 - Persistence Activity Check
- ST-DBP-025 - Variables Serialization Prerequisite
- ST-DBP-026 - Delay Activity Usage
- ST-DBP-027 - Persistence Best Practice
- ST-DBP-028 - Arguments Serialization Prerequisite
- ST-USG-005 - Hardcoded Activity Arguments
- ST-USG-009 - Unused Variables
- ST-USG-010 - Unused Dependencies
- ST-USG-014 - Package Restrictions
- ST-USG-020 - Minimum Log Messages
- ST-USG-024 - Unused Saved for Later
- ST-USG-025 - Saved Value Misuse
- ST-USG-026 - Activity Restrictions
- ST-USG-027 - Required Packages
- ST-USG-028 - Restrict Invoke File Templates
- Variables
- Arguments
- Imported Namespaces
- Recording
- UI Elements
- Control Flow
- Selectors
- Object Repository
- Data Scraping
- Image and Text Automation
- Automating Citrix Technologies
- RDP Automation
- Salesforce Automation
- SAP Automation
- VMware Horizon Automation
- Logging
- The ScreenScrapeJavaSupport Tool
- The WebDriver Protocol
- Test Suite - Studio
- Extensions
- Troubleshooting
Recording Types
There are five types of recordings available in Studio:
- Basic – Generates a full selector for each activity and no container. The resulted automation is slower than one that uses containers and is suitable for single activities.
- Desktop – Suitable for all types of desktop apps and multiple actions. It is faster than the Basic recorder, and generates a container (with the selector of the top-level window) in which activities are enclosed, and partial selectors for each activity.
-
Web – Designed for recording in web apps and browsers, generates containers and uses the Simulate Type/Click input method by default.
Note: It is recommended to run your web automations on Internet Explorer 11 and above, Mozilla Firefox 50 or above, or the latest version of Google Chrome. - Image – Used to record virtualized environments (such as VNC, virtual machines, Citrix, and more) or SAP. It permits only image, text and keyboard automation, and requires explicit positioning.
- Native Citrix - Is the equivalent of the Desktop recorder, but for Citrix environments. Only use this in your Native Citrix automation projects. Find out more about Native Citrix Support.
To see all the available types of recordings and select the one most suited for your project, click Recording, in the Wizards group of the Design ribbon tab.
All recording types come with their own controllers (or toolbars) that give you access to actions particular to each environment, but also some common ones.
The Desktop, Basic and Web Recording toolbars are quite similar and enable you to:
- Automatically record multiple actions performed on the screen
-
Manually record single actions, such as:
- Starting or closing an application or web browser
- Clicking an interface element
- Selecting an option from a drop-down list
- Selecting a check box
- Simulating keystrokes or keyboard shortcuts
- Copying text from a UI element or performing screen scraping
- Looking for elements or waiting for them to vanish
- Finding an image
-
Activating a window
The Image Recording toolbar enables you to:
- Click an image or text
- Simulate keystrokes or hotkeys
- Select and copy text from a window
- Scrape UI elements
- Look for elements or wait for them to vanish
- Find an image or wait for it to vanish
-
Activate a window
Note: The Image Recording toolbar supports only manual recording (single actions).
The Native Citrix Recording toolbar enables you to:
- Automatically record multiple actions performed on the screen
-
Manually record single actions, such as:
- Clicking an interface element
- Selecting an option from a drop-down list
- Selecting a check box
- Simulating keystrokes or keyboard shortcuts
- Copying text from a UI element or performing screen scraping
- Looking for elements or waiting for them to vanish
- Finding an image
- Activating a window
To figure out if you should use automatic or manual recording in your project, you should better understand the differences between the recording types and their capabilities.
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Automatic Recorder |
Manual Recorder |
|---|---|
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Keyboard shortcuts that you can use while recording:
- F2 – pauses for 3 seconds. A countdown timer is displayed in the bottom left corner of the screen. Can be useful with menus that automatically hide.
- Esc – exits the automatic or manual recording. If you press the Escape key again, the recording is saved as a sequence, and you return to the main view.
- Right-click – exit the recording.
