~4 min4 / 12

UI Automation Activities

Unified activities that work identically on both desktop (Win32, WPF, WinForms, UWP, Electron — via FlaUI/UIA3) and web (Chrome/Edge — via Playwright/CDP). The same Click, Type Into, and Get Text activities work in both contexts; the engine is selected automatically based on the parent container scope (Use Application Browser injects the desktop engine, Launch Browser injects the web engine).

Use Application Browser

Container that opens (or attaches to) a desktop application and provides the desktop automation context to all child activities. Equivalent to UiPath's Use Application/Browser activity.

ParameterTypeRequiredDescription
AppPathStringYesExecutable path or process name (e.g., notepad.exe, C:\\App\\app.exe)
ArgumentsStringNoCommand-line arguments to pass on launch
WaitForReadyBooleanNo (default: true)Wait for the application to be ready after launch
BodyActivity sequenceYesDesktop automation activities to execute in scope

Click

Simulates a mouse click on a UI element. Works for both desktop controls (via UIA3) and web elements (via Playwright) depending on the parent container scope.

ParameterTypeDefaultDescription
SelectorSelector XML / StringUiPath-style XML selector for the target element
ClickTypeSingle | Double | RightSingleType of mouse click
InputMethodSimulate | WindowMessages | HardwareEventsSimulateHow to deliver the click at the OS level
TimeoutMsInt3230000Max milliseconds to wait for the element to appear

Type Into

Types text into a focused input field. Supports variable references and special characters.

ParameterTypeDefaultDescription
SelectorSelector XML / StringTarget input element
TextStringText to type. Supports ${'$'}{variable} references.
ClearFirstBooleanfalseClear existing content before typing
InputMethodSimulate | WindowMessages | HardwareEventsSimulateTyping delivery method
TimeoutMsInt3230000Max wait for element
workflow
1Type Into:
2 Selector: <ctrl automationid='txtEmail' controltype='Edit'/>
3 Text: "{userEmail{'}'}"
4 ClearFirst: true

Get Text

Reads the displayed text or value of a UI element into a variable.

ParameterTypeRequiredDescription
SelectorSelector XML / StringYesElement to read
OutputVariableStringYesVariable name to store the extracted text
TimeoutMsInt32NoMax wait (default: 30000 ms)

Wait For Element

Pauses execution until an element reaches a specified state — or throws if timeout is exceeded.

ParameterTypeDefaultDescription
SelectorSelector XML / StringElement to wait for
Statevisible | enabled | clickablevisibleRequired element state
TimeoutMsInt3230000Max milliseconds to wait before throwing

Hover

Moves the mouse cursor over an element without clicking. Useful for revealing tooltips or dropdown menus.

ParameterTypeRequiredDescription
SelectorSelector XML / StringYesElement to hover over
TimeoutMsInt32NoMax wait (default: 30000 ms)

Select Item

Selects an option from a combo box, list box, or <select> element.

ParameterTypeRequiredDescription
SelectorSelector XML / StringYesThe dropdown/list element
ItemStringYesVisible text of the option to select
TimeoutMsInt32NoMax wait (default: 30000 ms)

Send Hotkey

Sends a keyboard shortcut to the focused window or a specific element.

ParameterTypeRequiredDescription
HotkeyStringYesKey combination, e.g. Ctrl+S, Alt+F4, Ctrl+Shift+N
SelectorSelector XML / StringNoFocus this element before sending the hotkey (optional)
workflow
1Send Hotkey: Hotkey="Ctrl+S" // Save document
2Send Hotkey: Hotkey="Alt+F4" // Close window
3Send Hotkey: Hotkey="Ctrl+Shift+End" // Select to end

Extract Table

Extracts structured tabular data from a UI grid, DataGrid, or web <table> into a DataTable variable.

ParameterTypeRequiredDescription
SelectorSelector XML / StringYesThe grid or table container element
HasHeadersBooleanNo (default: true)Treat the first row as column headers
OutputVariableStringYesDataTable variable to store the extracted data

Take Screenshot

Captures a screenshot of the full screen, a specific window, or a UI element.

ParameterTypeRequiredDescription
SelectorSelector XML / StringNoCapture only this window/element (full screen if omitted)
SavePathStringNoFile path to save the image (.png). Stores in variable if omitted.
OutputVariableStringNoVariable to hold the image for further processing

Execute JavaScript

Executes a JavaScript snippet in the current browser tab. Only available inside a Launch Browser container.

ParameterTypeRequiredDescription
ScriptStringYesJavaScript code to execute. Use return to produce an output value.
OutputVariableStringNoVariable to store the script return value

Navigate To

Navigates the current browser tab to a new URL. Only available inside a Launch Browser container.

ParameterTypeRequiredDescription
UrlStringYesTarget URL

Close

Closes the current application window (desktop) or browser tab (web). Use at the end of a container scope to cleanly shut down the automation target.

Unified activities — one activity, two enginesYou do not need separate web and desktop activities. Drop a Click or Type Into inside a Use Application Browser container for desktop, or inside a Launch Browser container for web. The engine is resolved automatically from the parent scope.
Was this helpful?