Bubbles & Mouse/Keyboard Control

As an RPA developer, the main question to ask yourself when setting the properties of a bubble is: What propels the flow forward? Who controls the bubble’s timing and decides when to close it – the user, or the robot?

If the bubble timing is user-controlled, this means that while the bubble is displayed, the user is given control over the mouse and keyboard. This allows the user to freely click on, hover over, and type in the application for the duration of the bubble action.

If the bubble is robot-controlled, this means that the robot has control over the mouse and keyboard while the bubble is displayed. The user does not have control to perform any actions on the application but must allow the robot to control it.

User-controlled timing

A bubble is user-controlled when it is set to hide On button click.

A user-controlled bubble appears before or after the step’s core action or another bubble, and disappears when the user clicks one of its buttons. Once the button is clicked and the bubble disappears, the robot resumes control of the mouse and keyboard, and proceeds to the next action in the wizard flow.

User-controlled bubbles:

  • Contain interactive buttons

  • Can contain input fields

  • Appear one at a time in a wizard, in the order defined by the RPA developer

  • Cannot appear at the same time as the core action or another user-controlled bubble

  • Can appear at the same time as robot-controlled bubbles

  • Can be anchored or non-anchored

  • Can proceed when the user clicks on/hovers over the anchored object

Robot-controlled timing

A bubble is robot-controlled when it is set to hide by any option other than On button click.

A robot-controlled bubble does not pause the wizard at runtime. The robot continues to work while the bubble is displayed, and the user is not given control of the mouse or keyboard. If the user attempts to use the mouse or keyboard while the bubble is displayed, the wizard is paused.

A robot-controlled bubble can be timed to disappear after a few seconds, or when another bubble is closed.

Robot-controlled bubbles:

  • Do not contain buttons or input fields

  • Are useful for tips and explanations that do not require user interaction

  • Cannot appear at the same time as the core action

  • Can be timed to disappear after a few seconds

  • Can be set to hide at the end of a subsequent step

  • Can appear at the same time as other bubbles or tooltips

  • Can be anchored or non-anchored