UI Automation

Click, type, select, scroll and check things on the active tab, step by step, from a list of actions you build or record.

What it does

UI Automation runs the actions in Actions one after the other on the active tab. For each action it:

1. waits for the Target Element to appear, up to Wait timeout (2,000 ms by default). If it never appears, that action is skipped and the next one runs;
2. scrolls the element into view and shows a small label on it, so you can see what is happening;
3. performs the action.

Actions are paced at about two seconds apart, so pages have time to react. The incoming item is passed on unchanged when the list is done.

Available actions

Action	What it does	Extra settings
Click, Double Click, Right Click	Click the element.
Type	Put text in a field, replacing what is there, or adding to it when append is on.	Text, append
Clear	Empty a text field.
Check, Uncheck	Tick or untick a checkbox or radio button.
Select	Choose an option in a drop-down list.	Value (suggests the list’s options)
Hover	Move the pointer over the element, for menus that open on hover.
Focus, Blur	Put the cursor in the element, or take it out.
Key Press	Press a key, with optional modifiers.	Key (Enter, Escape, Tab, a…), Ctrl, Shift, Alt, Meta
Scroll Into View	Scroll until the element is visible.
Scroll To	Scroll the page to a position.	x, y
Trigger	Send a page event to the element.	Event Name (with suggestions)
Drag & Drop	Drag the element onto another one.	a second Target Element: where to drop
Press & Hold	Press and hold on the element.	Hold (ms)
Wait For Element	Wait until the element is visible, present (attached) or gone (detached), up to Wait timeout.	State
Wait Delay	Pause; no element needed.	Delay (ms)
Assert Exists	Check that the element is on the page.	On failure: stop or continue
Assert Text	Check that the element’s text contains or equals a value.	Expected text, Match, On failure

Value changes (Type, Clear, Check, Uncheck, Select) tell the page the field was edited, so sites built with modern frameworks see them.

When to use it

• Repeat a routine on a website: open a menu, pick a filter, click “Load more”, accept a dialog.
• Fill fields that are not part of a real form, or custom drop-downs, by clicking and typing.
• Check that a page shows what you expect (Assert Text) before the workflow goes on.
• For standard forms, Form Fill and Submit Form are quicker to set up.

Inputs and settings

Setting	Type	What it does
Actions REQ(required)	Recorded page actions	List of UI automation actions to perform.

Build the list by hand (add an action, choose Action, then pick the Target Element with the crosshair button), or record it.

Recording actions

1. Open the page, then in the node’s settings press Record actions.
2. Use the page as you normally would: click, type, choose, press keys, drag.
3. Press Stop recording.

Each interaction is added to Actions with a selector chosen to keep working on later visits. While recording, the element under the pointer is outlined so you can see what will be targeted. Recording continues when a click opens another page, so you can record a flow across several pages in one go.

Known limits:

• File uploads cannot be recorded or replayed: browsers do not let a script choose a file.
• Embedded frames from another site are not recorded.
• Drag & Drop replay is best effort: some pages do not react to a simulated drag the way they react to a real one.

Outputs

• Output

The incoming item, unchanged. To read the result of your actions, add Get Element Data or Get All Text after this node.

Dependencies and credentials

None. This node needs no connection and has no slots for other nodes.

Example workflow

1. Tab Control, Operation = Open, opens a store’s search page with Wait For Load on.
2. UI Automation with three actions: Type wireless headphones into the search box, Click the search button, then Wait For Element on .results with Wait timeout = 8000.
3. Get Structured Data reads the results list.

Common issues

• An action does nothing. Its Target Element was not found within Wait timeout, so it was skipped. Check the selector with Ping on the page, or raise Wait timeout for slow pages.
• Actions after a page change do not run. The actions run inside the page, so when an action opens a new page the rest of the list stops. End the list at that click, then continue in a second UI Automation node after Wait For Element or Tab Control with Wait For Load.
• A failed assertion did not stop the workflow. With On failure = stop, the remaining actions are skipped, but the node itself still finishes without an error. To stop the workflow, check the page afterwards with Get Element Data and an IF node.
• Key Press Enter does not submit the search. Key Press sends a simulated key to the element; browsers do not submit forms for simulated keys. Click the search button instead, or use Submit Form.
• The node fails outside the extension. This node runs in the browser extension; install it or run the workflow from the extension.

Related nodes

• Form Fill and Submit Form: standard forms in one step each.
• Wait For Element: wait for the page to react, with a result you can check.
• Get Accessibility Tree: find the buttons and fields to target.
• Tab Control: open or switch to the right page first.