PDF document Important points in UIPath

PDF will contain Native text or scanned copy data.

1.       Text and images will contain PDF documents

2.       Large texts or specific texts

3.       Read PDF text activity to read PDF text data but it won’t read image based data

4.       Read PDF will contain Range parameter, which will used for complete doc (ALL pages) or specific pages or one particular page.

OCR Based PDF activity

1.       Google or Microsoft or Abbyy

2.       Different engines have different parameters

3.       OCR quality is not good and it will more imply with original document

4.       Which is not preferable most of the time because of information will not segregated as per original PDF document

5.       Whenever possible to use non OCR methods

6.       OCR will read image along with text of the PDF documents

Screen scraping

1.        In screen scraping document will display as per original like spaces and lines as well

Specific element extraction In PDF document

1.       Get text activity will extract specific element

2.       Get text element will use selector to extract specific element for the similar PDF documents

3.       In selector Attach to live element will easy to fix for specific element

4.       In selector open ui explorer we can use to modify as per our requirements and it give new selector information.

Another Based activity

1.       Anchor based activity

a.       In Anchor based activity we will use find element activity to modify the selector for wildcard so that it can be useful when same doc contain different values

b.      Which contain Anchor position which will more useful, where the value is present and will pick it from easily

c.       It will work for same structure PDF file

d.      Which is more flexible compare with earlier ones

e.      It’s more reliable  

f.         

For screen scraping and Anchor based element PDF document should be in open status otherwise Uipath will through an error

How do I fix the "Trial Version Expired" error---UiPath(RPA)

If you already have a registered version of UiPath Studio but you're still getting the "Trial Version Expired" message,  you can easily resolve this issue by following two simple steps:

Step 1. Run the Activation.exe file by following this path: C:\Program Files (x86)\UiPath Studio\v8\UiPath. You might have a different version of UiPath. You can easily search for the Activation.exe file by typing it in the Search bar.

 

 

Step 2. This will pull-up a dialog box to update your registration. Enter the email address you used to register, and the registration code.

 

 

Step 3. Click the Activate button once done.

How to simulate Excel VLookup in a Datatable. Filter Datatable---UiPath(RPA)

Note: This Workflow was created with the 8.0 version.

Given this Excel file, we want to retrieve the value corresponding to a given index.

This is how it's done with UiPath:

Step 1: Read The Excel File

I used the Read Range Activity. Be sure to check the "Add Headers" property of the Read Range activity in order to be able to use column names later in your automation. Also, I used the workbook retrieved by the Open Workbook activity; the data is stored in a datatable.

Step 2: Set the lookup value

This is a simple assignment operation where we can change our lookup index:

Step 3: Lookup Using For Each

This is quite self explanatory. The key here is to set the correct condition: row("Index").ToString = indexToLookup 

Step 4. Lookup using Datatable Select method

Key points:

1. The select string is initalized with "Index = '{0}'":

 

2. The string.Format that will return the correct select: "Index = '2'":

3. The datatable.Select activity that returns an array of rows:  dtInput.Select(selectString)

Workflow attached:

VLookup.xaml

Input.xlsx

Email Automation. Mail Trigger Sample---UiPath(RPA)

Email triggers are the foundation of any email automation process. In the attached Mail_Trigger_Sample Workflow, the Inbox is checked every 60 seconds for fresh emails.

 

 

If a new email is detected and a certain condition is met (a specific Keyword is found in the Subject), then the message Body is passed as an argument to the Process_Email Workflow.

 

Workflow Steps:

1. Before running the Mail_Trigger_Sample workflow, you will need to set:

Email address:

 

Password:

 

Keyword:

Also, please make sure you set your MailFolder, Port, and Serverin the GetIMAPMailMessages activity properties. By default, the Workflow is configured to work with the Gmail settings.

 

 

2. When the Workflow is running, it checks your email for new messages (using the GetIMAPMailMessages activity). If no new email is found, it waits for 60 seconds and then it tries again. You can change the waiting time to other value, within the Delayactivity.

3. If a new email is found, it is marked as read (you can change that by un-checking the MarkAsRead property in the GetIMAPMailMessages activity) 

4. The Workflow then checks if the email's subject contains the keyword.  If there's a match, the Process_Email Workflow is invoked and the email body is passed as an argument (Body)

5. The Process_Email Workflow will pop up a window with the message body.

 

Note: The workflows are created & tested with UiPath Studio 8.

Attachments:

Mail_Trigger_Sample.xaml

Process_Email.xaml

Excel triggers - Get notified when a cell is updated---UiPath(RPA)

With UiPath you can monitor changes that take place on a specified file.

Monitor_Excel  workflow example focuses on monitoring the changes made to a specific cell from an Excel file.

When the Excel document is modified, the program looks in the F38 cell (where the "Total value of invoice" is stored). If that value has changed, it is sent as a parameter to the Excel_Value_Changed  workflow.

With this Excel automation  you will get notified each time the cell changes its value.

Workflow Steps:

1. In order to run the Monitor_Excel  workflow,  just save the files attached to this article (into the same folder) and run.

You can customize the workflow in order to use it with your own Excel file, by changing:

File name  - The name of the Excel file you will monitor

Path - The path to the folder that contains the file. In our example it is set to the current folder

Sheet and Cell  - "Invoice 1" and "F38" in our example

2. The program reads the total value of invoice (F38 cell) from the Excel document. This will be the initialValue  and we will monitor its change.

3. The monitoring of our Excel file starts - through the File Change Trigger activity. 

All possible change types will be considered (Created, Modifed, Deleted, Changed).

4.  The program will detect any change in the Excel document properties. When a change takes place, the program will again read the F38 cell.

Note: The modified Excel file should be saved in order to activate the trigger.

5. If the value in F38 is different than it was initially, it is passed as an argument to the invoked Excel_Value_Changed workflow. A pop up with the new value is shown.

6. The current value becomes the new  initialValue that will be monitored for change.

Note: The workflows are created with UiPath Studio 8.

Attachments: 

Monitor_Excel.xaml
Excel_Value_Changed.xaml
invoice-template.xlsx

How to do UI automation with locked screen---UiPath(RPA)

UiPath offers the possibility of executing an artifact even if the computer screen is locked. When a computer is in Locked Screen the Windows operating system does not create the UI of the applications that are still running underneath.

If your artifacts were developed for background automation then you will have no problems executing them under a locked screen. If they include any activity that works with Synthesize Input, Native or OCR scraping, or images, then you will need to make some changes in the way your workflow starts.

UiPath 7.5 comes with an application called TaskLauncher that allows you to start UiLauncher.exe and the artifact needed within a new Windows session, auto-logging a user if necessary. When the Windows session gets locked, TaskLauncher will automatically unlock the session to ensure that your workflow continues executing without errors.

The app can be found in %ProgramFiles%/UiPath Studio/v7/UiPath.Here you can find more information about it's arguments. Keep in mind that TaskLauncher works only if it is opened by a user with Administrator rights or SYSTEM, and the Windows system in Vista or higher.

You can automatically create a schedule in Windows Task Scheduling that starts the workflow by going into Setup tab and selecting Schedule Workflow.

This feature has been changed in the UiPath 8 version.

How to Integrate PowerShell into UiPath Workflows(RPA)

PowerShell is a complex framework developed by Microsoft that allows for task automation and configuration management.

We want to provide our users with the option to integrate PowerShell and its powerful capabilities into the UiPath workflows. Integration is made through the InvokePowerShell activity. Usage may differ from one workflow to another - you can invoke simple commands/cmdlets or run complex scripts and jobs.

In the attached example (ReadTextFile workflow), the InvokePowerShell activity is used two times:

1. To return all the .txt files from the current directory (the workspace of the workflow).
2. To get the content from each of the .txt files found in the current directory.

Workflow Steps

1. Create a .txt file (Example.txt), containing the text "PoweShell is awesome!". The WriteTxtFile activity is used.

2. Get the .txt files from the current directory using Get-ChildItemcmdlet with  2 parameters: Filter (to return only the .txt files) and Recurse. The parameters are set by adding them in the Parameters collection.

The result is a collection of FileInfo (it was changed using the TypeArgument property from Collection of PSObject to Collection of FileInfo).

3. Then we start a ForEach iteration, which will process each of the .txt files found at the previous step.

4. For each file, we will use InvokePowerShell activity with Get-Contentcmdlet that will read the content of the file and save it into the contents collection.

5. A message box with the first line of the file (index is 0  - contents(0).tostring) pops up.

We plan to develop more in the PowerShell area and we will try to improve both - the PowerShell activities pack and the specific documentation.

Note: The workflow is tested with UiPath Studio 8.

Attachments: 

ReadTextFile

How to work with java cells and tables---UiPath(RPA)

Starting with version 8, UiPath can work with Java tables in depth, scrapping data from rows or individual cells, iterating on columns and datatypes.

Task

For our example, we will use the table from Configure Java -> Java tab -> View as you can find that with a common "Windows address" (selector) on every machine running Java.

Steps to automate

1. Open Configure Java;  go to Java tab; click View button
2. You will see the list of installed java versions. You're free to add a new row for testing
3. The robot will read the list of java versions existing, from the first column of the table
4. This could be used for compatibility checks (of course, it's not the only way to check java versions)

Solution

1. In the Activities panel, search for Find Children and drag it to the workflow / sequence
2. Indicate which Java table you want to get information from. In our case it is the table of java versions from the settings. You can use UI Explorer or even easier, the Indicate on Screen button, to select the whole table element
3. In the Properties view of the activity, add a filter to specify which column you are intersted in. In this case it is the Platformcolumn

     4. In the same Properties panel, set the output to be saved as a variable.

       5. In the Activities panel, find the For Each element and drag in the workflow / sequence

       6. Set the variable created at number 4. in the second field so you can cycle on it

       7. In the Activities panel, find the Get Text element and drag in the workflow / sequence

       8. In the properties view, set the Element as item and the Output -> Value as itemValue. This way you will extract the value from the UI cell.

You can view the example Java_tables workflow file 

How to work with Windows Credentials---UiPath(RPA)

In Windows, you can view and manage your network-based logon credentials (i.e., usernames and passwords) using Credential Manager. 

With UiPath, you can automate the process of creating, querying and deleting the credentials through some dedicated activities.

The atached workflow shows a basic example of how to create a credential, get its details and delete it. Below is a short description of the workflow logic and the activities used.

Workflow steps

 

1. Using the Add Credential activity, we'll add a new Generic type credential - (we called it "CredentialTest"). Then we will set itsUsername and Password.

If we pause the workflow at this point and take a look into theWindows Credential manager, we'll see the credential we have just created.

2. Back to our workflow. We'll now get the credential's details - using Get Credential activity. We'll save the Username and Password in 2 diferent String variables (user and pass). 

We'll save the Result (which is Boolean type) in a variable (IsValidCredential) so we can use it later to check if the credential is valid or not.

3. If the credential is valid (IsValidCredential=True), we'll show its details in a Message box. Otherwise - an error message ("Credential not found!") will pop up.

4. Finally, we delete the credential we added in the first step - using the Delete Credential activity

Note: The workflow is created with UiPath Studio 8.

Attachments:

WindowsCredential.xaml

How to work with a dynamic array---UiPath(RPA)

If you want to work with a collection that doesn't have a fixed number of elements, you can use a list instead of an array.

A List expands as you add new items to it. You can add new items to a list using the Add To Collection activity (you will find it under Programming->Collection category).

The attached ListExample workflow shows you how to declare, init, add and display items from a list.

Workflow Steps

1. Initializing the list:

items=new List(of string)

2. Get the input for the list, using an  InputDialog activity.

3. The new element (name) is added to the items collection (with Add To Collection activity).

4. The robot asks if you want to continue adding new elements (using Message Box activity). The response is saved in the answer variable.

5. A decision is taken (using a Flow Decision activity): if the answer to the previous step was Yes, the workflow will return to step 2. A No answer will move the workflow to the next sequence (step 6).

6. The sequence will go through each item in the list.  It will pop up a window with the inputName of each element.

Note: This workflow was created & tested with UiPath Studio 8.

Attachments:

ListExample