Use Application/Browser with UiPath Open Browser - A Beginner's Complete Guide to Browser Automation

Are you tired of the same web-related tasks every day? Does logging into the same sites, entering data, and downloading reports seem tedious? UiPath Open Browser automation can help you solve this problem!

Today, we'll take a closer look at the two main ways to open and automate browsers in UiPath Studio: the 'Open Browser' and 'Use Application/Browser' activities. This article will free you up from mundane repetitive tasks and allow you to focus on something more valuable!

UiPath Open Browser: The Beginning of Traditional Browser Automation

The Open Browser activity is the most basic way to get started with browser automation in UiPath Studio. It allows you to open a browser to a specified URL and perform a number of actions within it.

Learn about Open Browser key properties

• URL: Enter the address of the web page you want to open.
• BrowserTypeSelect the type of browser you want to use (IE, Chrome, Firefox, etc.).
• NewSessionDetermines whether to start a new browser session.
• Private: Determines if the browser should open in incognito/private mode.
• CommunicationMethodYou can choose between Native or WebDriver.

Open Browser is simple and intuitive, but more recently the Use Application/Browser activity has been used, which provides more powerful functionality (we understand that this is the only activity available in the latest version).

Use Application/Browser: The Key to Modern Browser Automation

Use Application/Browser activityis an evolution of Open Browser and is a powerful tool for automating many applications, not just browsers.

Learn the Use Application/Browser key properties

Let's take a closer look at the key properties of the Use Application/Browser activity:

Common Properties (Common)

• Continue on errorSpecifies whether to continue automation when an error occurs. The default value is False.
• Display name: The name of the activity as it appears in the Designer Panel. It is automatically generated, but can be changed manually.
• Timeout: Specifies the wait time, in seconds, for the activity to run. The default is 30 seconds.

Input Properties (Input)

Unified Target Application

• Arguments: Specifies the parameters to pass at application startup.
• File path: Specifies the full path to the executable file.
• SelectorAn XML fragment that stores the properties of a UI element.
• URL: If this is a web browser, specify the URL of the web page to open.

Input/Output Element

• Input Element: Specifies the target element passed in from the previous activity.
• Output Element: Outputs the target element specified by this activity.

Options

• CloseSelect when to close the target application after automation execution (Never, IfOpenByAppBrowser, Always)
• Input mode: Select how the robot interacts with the target application.
• Open: Select when to open the target application (Never, IfNotOpen, Always)
• Resize windowDefines whether to resize on application/browser initialization.
• Window attach mode: Defines where the internal activity will search for the target element.

Browser Options (Options - Browser)

• Incognito/private window: Specifies whether to open the browser in incognito mode.
• User data folder modeSpecifies the browser user data folder setting mode.
• User data folder path: Specifies the path to the user data folder for the browser to use.
• WebDriver modeSpecifies how WebDriver is used when opening a new browser session.

Using the right combination of these properties can help you effectively configure automation for different applications and browsers

UiPath Browser Extension: The Key to Automation

To properly control your browser with UiPath, you need to install the UiPath Browser Extension on your browser. This extension is an important tool that allows UiPath to recognize and manipulate elements of your browser correctly. It's easy to install.

1. In UiPath Studio, go to 'Home' > 'Tools' > 'UiPath Extensions'.
2. Select the extension for the desired browser and click 'Install'.
3. Enable the extension in your browser.
4. This ensures that UiPath and your browser work together seamlessly.

UiPath Studio Tutorial: Hands-on browser automation

Now let's apply what we've learned with a simple browser automation example. Let's use the Use Application/Browser activity to automate the process of accessing Google and entering a search query.

1. Add the 'Use Application/Browser' activity to your workflow, then open the Chrome browser.
2. In the Activity area, click Indicate application to automate to select the Chrome browser and enter "www.google.com" for the Browser URL (or you can enter it in the URL portion of the properties).
3. In your Chrome browser, preview the Google homepage.
4. Click the + in the Do area, search for and apply the "Type Into" activity, click Indicate in Chrome, click the Google homepage search bar, and confirm. In the "Type Into" activity area, type "Uipath Open Browser" in the Type this field.
5. Click the + shape under the 'Type Into' activity, search for and apply the 'keyboard shortcuts' activity, click Record shortcut and hit enter.
6. Press F6 to run the full activity, and you can see the search results as shown below.

With these simple steps, you can automate your web search process!

Organize

So far, we've covered the two main methods of browser automation with UiPath: Open Browser and Use Application/Browser. We've looked at the features and key properties of each activity, and covered the essentials of browser automation.

Now you too can use UiPath to efficiently automate tedious web tasks. With more practice and experience, you can create your own powerful automation solutions. With UiPath, your work efficiency will skyrocket!

If you're interested in learning more about Uipath Studio in general, check out the Using UiPath Studio: A Complete Guide to Screen Organization and Ribbon Menus Check out the post.