Search

Adding the Search action An instruction within a botflow. to a botflow Automated steps that you can design for each bot that will run. selects a list from a target An element within an application Nintex RPA LE interacts with, such as a button, text field, or checkbox. and searches the list for a list item, folder, or Reckon APS software column. There are two Selector Tool Allows you to choose the target element the botflow interacts with, such as a button, text field, or check box. settings available for the Search action:

Setting Description Best Used For
None Default setting for the Selector tool.
  • Targeting lists.
  • Targeting columns in Reckon APS software.
UIA Targeting Override Optional setting available by selecting UIA Targeting Override under the Tools menu on the Menu Bar.

  • Targeting folders.

Searching lists

Using the Search action, you can search a list for a specific list item, which then returns a true or false value for if the item exists in the list. For example, you can drag the Selector Tool onto the list of fonts in Notepad and search for the font, Tahoma.

Searching columns in Reckon APS software

Using the Search action when targeting Reckon APS software, you can target a column in a multi-column document to search for a specific column status. For example, you can drag the Selector Tool onto a list of columns in Reckon APS software to search for a column with a Closed status.

Searching folders

Using the Search action with UIA Targeting Override selected, you can search a list of folders for a specific folder and then expand that folder with a double-click. For example, you can drag the Selector Tool in UIA Targeting Override onto the Windows (C) folder in Windows File Explorer and search for the Users folder.

Jump to: 

Use Nintex RPA LE with Microsoft UI Automation with the Search action

Microsoft UI Automation is an accessibility framework for Microsoft Windows and is available on all operating systems supporting Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF). The Nintex RPA LE Selector Tool also supports Windows applications based on Extensible Application Markup Language (XAML), Silverlight, and Windows Forms (WINFORM).

The differences between the Selector Tool with and without the UIA Targeting Override option selected are:

  • Not Selected: The highlighted area around the targeted element encompasses a number of list items, which is useful for targeting lists, such as a list of fonts in Notepad.

  • Selected: The highlighted area around the targeted element may be smaller and more focused on a specific item, which is useful for targeting a specific folder in a list of folders, such as a list of folders in Windows File Explorer.

Add a Search action to a botflow

  1. Drag the Selector Tool () onto the target application to display the Target Preview.

    A preview image displays visually confirming what you targeted.

  2. From the Data actions list, select Search.

    The Action Builder window for Search displays.

  3. Set the Search Options/Settings:

    • Text: Type a search term in the field or use the Expression Builder () to build the action settings using variables or other token values.
    • Start at: Select the search starting point from the drop-down list.
      • First item: Starts the search from the first item in a list.
      • Current item: Starts the search from the currently selected item in a list.
    • Column (only for Reckon APS): If the target has more than one column, the Column field and drop-down list display so that you can select a column to search.
    • Ignore case: Ignores the search term letter case.
    • Ignore surrounding spaces: Ignores any beginning or ending spaces surrounding the search term.
    • Partial match: Returns partial matches based on the search term.
    • Use wildcards: Allows for the use of wild card characters, such as an asterisk (*) or question mark (?), in the search term.
    • Selection (only for Reckon APS): If the target has more than one column, the Selection field and drop-down list display so that you can select a column to search.
    • Interaction: Select the required interaction from the drop-down list:
      • None (available for both UIA Targeting Override and for Reckon APS): Has no interaction. This is useful if you want to search for an item and verify whether or not the item was found.
      • Click: Clicks the search results.
      • Double Click: Double-clicks the search results.
      • Get Value (available for both UIA Targeting Override and for Reckon APS): Retrieves a column value, such as a status. This is useful when the status of a Reckon APS column is needed.
    • Save to: Type a location to save the search results or use the Expression Builder () to build the action settings using variables or other token values.

      • Note: If the Search action fails and the Save to field is blank, the botflow stops.  If you saved the search results in a field or variable, that field or variable is updated with a False value and the botflow continues running.

  4. If needed, adjust the Rules to modify how Nintex RPA LE finds the application target.
  5. If needed, adjust the Timing Settings to fine tune how the action runs.
  6. View the action Details.
  7. If needed, adjust the Run Switch to add the action without running it.
  8. (Optional) Add an action Note.
  9. Click OK to add the Search action to the botflow.

This example shows how to add a Search action to a botflow using Windows Notepad.

  1. Open Windows Notepad and Nintex RPA LE.
  2. Click Format in the Notepad menu and select Font.
  3. Drag the Selector tool () onto the Font list.
  4. From the Data actions list, select Search.
  5. Type "Tahoma" in the Text field.
  6. Adjust the Run Switch to Don't Run.
  7. Click OK to add the Search action to the botflow.
  8. Click Play () to run the botflow.

    The Search action finds the "Tahoma" font in the Font list.

This example shows how to add a Search action to a botflow using Windows File Explorer.

  1. Open Windows File Explorer and Nintex RPA LE.
  2. Select UIA Targeting Override from the Tools menu.
  3. Drag the Selector tool () onto the Windows (C) folder in Windows File Explorer.
  4. From the Data actions list, select Search.
  5. Type "Users" in the Text field.
  6. From the Interaction drop-down list, select Double Click.
  7. Set the Timing to Wait forever.
  8. Adjust the Run Switch to Don't Run.
  9. Click OK to add the Search action to the botflow.
  10. With the Windows (C) folder selected and expanded in Windows Explorer, click Play () to run the botflow.

    The Search action finds and expands the Users folder in the Windows (C) folder.

Search action field and button descriptions

 

Field or button Description
Selector Tool

The Selector Tool allows you to choose the target element the botflow interacts with, such as a button, text field, or check box.

Ensure that your machine's Windows Settings (Start Menu > Settings) are set as follows when using the Selector Tool:

  • Windows Display Scale and layout set to 100% (Settings > System > Display).
  • Windows Display Make text bigger set to 100% (Settings > Ease of Access > Display).

You can use the Selector Tool to:

  • Click a button in an application.
  • Send information to a web page or Windows application.
  • Copy information from a web or Windows application.

Drag the Selector Tool from the Task Pane Area to create and manage actions within a specific task. onto the desired application target An element within an application Nintex RPA LE interacts with, such as a button, text field, or checkbox. and select the appropriate action from the Build Pane Area to add new actions and edit existing actions..

Smart Target and Screen Target options

The Selector can be used with the Smart Target or Screen Target options. The options are displayed as shown in the image below. Smart Target is selected by default.

  • Smart Target: Smart Target sets the target based on the selected element and is used to reliably and most accurately locate and interact with the element.

  • Screen Target: Screen Target sets the target based on a specific fixed X/Y coordinate on the entire screen. Use this as a potential alternative to target an element when the application’s element can't be targeted with a Smart Target due to application limitations. For example, target a cell within a table that can not be selected with Smart Target or use it to target an image in a screen by getting the X/Y position of the image as a variable to click on.

Selector Tool
Selector Tool in UIA Targeting Override

The Selector Tool with UIA Targeting Override enabled allows you to choose the target element the botflow interacts with, such as a Windows File Explorer folder.

Ensure your machine's Windows Settings (Start Menu > Settings) are set as follows when using the Selector Tool:

  • Windows Display Scale and layout set to 100% (Settings->System->Display).
  • Windows Display Make text bigger set to 100% (Settings->Ease of Access->Display).

If you are not getting the desired results when using the Selector Tool to target a Windows application, select the UIA Targeting Override setting available under the Tools menu on the Menu Bar.

This setting uses Microsoft's User Interface Automation (UIA) and may provide better Nintex RPA LE support for your targeting requirements.

Selector Tool

Using the Selector Tool in UIA mode provides support for targeting nested directories in certain Windows applications.

Drag the Selector tool from the Task Pane Area to create and manage actions within a specific task. onto the desired application target An element within an application Nintex RPA LE interacts with, such as a button, text field, or checkbox. and choose the appropriate action from the Build Pane Area to add new actions and edit existing actions..

Selector Tool
Build Pane

The Build Pane displays after you select a targeted element in a Windows application. In the Build Pane, you can:

Selected target elements display in the Build Pane with a list of actions supported by the targeted item. The Build Pane also displays how long the item has been targeted.
Recent Target

The most recent target may be accessed by clicking the Recent Target button to the right of the Selector
Tool.

This is useful when creating Microsoft Excel, Emulator, and Web table targets allowing you to create new actions with existing targets.
Field or button Description
Search Options/Settings

Set the Search action options and settings:

  • Text: Type a search term in the field or use the Expression Builder () to build the action settings using variables or other token values.
  • Start at: Select the search starting point from the drop-down list.
    • First item: Starts the search from the first item in a list.
    • Current item: Starts the search from the currently selected item in a list.
  • Column (only for Reckon APS): If the target has more than one column, the Column field and drop-down list display so that you can select a column to search.
  • Ignore case: Ignores the search term letter case.
  • Ignore surrounding spaces: Ignores any beginning or ending spaces surrounding the search term.
  • Partial match: Returns partial matches based on the search term.
  • Use wildcards: Allows for the use of wild card characters, such as an asterisk (*) or question mark (?), in the search term.
  • Selection (only for Reckon APS): If the target has more than one column, the Selection field and drop-down list display so that you can select a column to search.
  • Interaction: Select the required interaction from the drop-down list:
    • None (available for both UIA Targeting Override and for Reckon APS): Has no interaction. This is useful if you want to search for an item and verify whether or not the item was found.
    • Click: Clicks the search results.
    • Double Click: Double-clicks the search results.
    • Get Value (available for both UIA Targeting Override and for Reckon APS): Retrieves a column value, such as a status. This is useful when the status of a Reckon APS column is needed.
  • Save to: Type a location to save the search results or use the Expression Builder () to build the action settings using variables or other token values.

    • Note: If the Search action fails and the Save to field is blank, the botflow stops.  If you saved the search results in a field or variable, that field or variable is updated with a False value and the botflow continues running.
Rules

Some actions have rules required to locate a target and vary based on the targeted application. Rules of a targeted application element are configured and saved with the action. The rules are then used to locate the proper targeted element, such as a Microsoft Excel workbook. Other notes about rules:

  • Some targets provide no rules.
  • Most targets provide at least the text of the target, such as 'Log in' for a log-in screen action.
  • Some targets provide a name to identify the target (a unique developer-defined control name).
  • Some targets provide an ID (a unique identifier that locates an item based on how it appears in the target).
  • Some rules include parents to aid in finding the targets.
  • All targets use the following rules:
    • Ignore: Ignores the value of the selected rule.
    • Exact Match: Uses an exact match when considering the value of the rule.
    • Best Match: Uses a best match when considering the value of the rule and uses a variety of information to locate the target.
    • Left Match: Uses leading characters when considering the value of the rule based on a specified number of leading characters.
    • Right Match: Uses trailing characters when considering the value of the rule based on a specified number of trailing characters.

To set up the most common rules:

  1. Click Rules on the Build Pane Area to add new actions and edit existing actions. or Action Builder Provides access to the tools needed to add and modify actions or instructions within a botflow. .

    2. The Rules window displays the rules available for the selected targeted application.

  2. Select Use Smart Targeting to enable smart targeting with up to six rules. With this feature, you can:

    • Select to Ignore or find an Exact Match for rules.

    • Click the arrows next to the rules to change the order and priority in which the rules are followed. After the target has been found, the rest of the rules are ignored.

    • Manually edit rules. This is an advanced feature should only be used if you know how Google Chrome queries work.

    • If tables can be bridged, select Yes or No next to Table Bridge to turn on or off this feature. Bridging web table searches allows you to search, move highlight, get list, and complete other actions across multiple tables on a web page that have the same number of columns. It also improves targeting on web pages and apps (for example, in Salesforce and Navigator).

    • If you want to enable legacy smart targeting rules, select Apply Fallback Legacy Targeting. This option allows you to enable old targeting rules when the Nintex Bot selector fail to find the target. Nintex Bot will fail the action instead of using the Best Match rule. The default is deselected.

  3. Adjust the available rules, as required.
  4. Select Ignore Invisible Elements to turn on a legacy targeting rule that ensures that Nintex Bot only considers visible elements (elements that can be seen) and disregards all invisible elements (elements that have "visible:hidden" and/or "display:none" style properties) during action execution. When selected, this setting disregards all cached/invisible elements in the dom as these elements can be the original target (the target element used to create the action). Selecting this setting can improve reliability during the action execution when interacting with elements that look identical but are actually overlaid. Note that this feature is only available for targeting using Google Chrome technology (Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge).
  5. Click OK to save the rules.
Preview All actions created using the Selector tool include a preview of the targeted element.
Details

When directed by Nintex Support, click Details from the Preview Panel of the Action Builder. If needed, Nintex Support will supply additional information.
Timing Settings

Some actions have timing settings and vary based on the targeted application. The timing settings of a targeted application element are configured and saved with the action. The timing settings are then used to control when the action starts.

  1. Click Wait up to 1 sec.
  1. Open the Time drop-down list and select the required setting:
    • Do not wait: Immediately attempts to execute the action and applies any error settings or rules.
    • Wait up to: Waits up to one (1) second to execute the action per any configured rules. The time specified is the wait time prior to continuing the botflow. In the event of an application being unavailable, the action adheres to the error settings. Time units include numeric settings for seconds, minutes, and hours.
    • Wait forever: Waits until the target application is in a ready state and applies any error settings or rules.
  1. Click X to close the drop-down list and save the setting.
Note

(Optional) Type a Note to document any special instructions or functionality.    
Run Switch

The Run Switch toggle controls how Nintex Bot runs an action when adding or editing an action in a botflow.

  • Run: To run the action automatically when you click OK, switch the toggle to Run.

  • Don't Run: If you do not want to run the action automatically when you click OK, switch the toggle to Don't Run.
OK/Cancel Click OK to save the action, or click Cancel to discard the action or any changes.