Nintex RPA Release 21.4

Release Date: August 2021

We’re pleased to announce some great new features and performance improvements in Nintex Nintex RPA Release 21.4.

Support Announcement

  • RPA versions prior to 19.5 are no longer supported.

  • Personal Queues (tasks created using "Add automation task to queue" in Hybrid mode) are not supported (see more details here).

  • The option to Generate a keytab via a dedicated button in the installer is no longer supported. Instead, we provide you with the option to copy the commands to generate a keytab (see the updated step in the Installation and Upgrade Guide > Authentication Platform Security).

New Features and Enhancements

Introducing Console Plus

Get acquainted with the new and simplified Task and Robot management in Console Plus. The new console includes a new and smart Queue Manager mechanism that does all the heavy lifting for you. From now on, the Robots work for the Queues that you create.

Major highlights include:

  • A shift in Robots task assignment - From working in groups to working for Queues

  • Create as many Queues as you desire and let the Queue Manager handle the tasks

  • New prioritization levels ranging from 10 (highest) to 1 (lowest) that allow for more customization and flexibility

    • Change task priority at any time - Something came up and you need to have a task completed now? No problem, simply change the priority to "Run Immediately".

  • No more ghost robots! Using the auto recovery process, the Unattended automation service keeps the robots communication up and running as long as it is possible

  • Option to run tasks immediately - Need to run a specific task ASAP? We added an easy and simple way to do it.

  • Live data updates in real-time (no need to refresh the page anymore!)

See Robots, Queues, Tasks and Triggers smartly linked

Introducing Dynamic Commands

No more dependencies or limitations when working with advanced commands. The new commands are dynamic, and they know how to move. Yes! now you can simply run a dedicated installer to deploy new/fixed command onto Studio, without the need to upgrade the whole RPA solution.

  • Experiencing an issue with a specific command is resolved easily by simply replace that command with a fixed one.

  • Missing a specific command? We 'll create it, you'll run the Dynamic Command Installer, and there you have it.

We've already created the first batch of Dynamic Commands that includes:

  • Excel - The new commands are offering faster execution, easy troubleshooting and you don’t even need to have Excel installed!

  • UI automation - More options, more power. FlaUI2 and FlaUI3 are both supported inside a single command and offer a wider range of discovered objects and tables. This is relevant to both recording and playing automation.

  • Folder  - We took everything out, cleaned it, refactored it and added automation testing to fit our new standards

Available Dynamic Commands

We can execute from remote – Citrix connector [BETA]

We are now offering a new native way to support Citrix (both application and desktop publish). The new Remote Controller, using the Dynamic Commands, allows a seamless user experience when recording and executing any task on a Citrix server. The Remote Controller also serves for other remote servers in the future. At this stage we offer limited UI Automation commands.

Microsoft Edge Chromium is now supported

Since Microsoft declared the EOL of Internet Explorer, Edge Chromium was identified as the official inheritor for many companies. As a result, we now officially support MS Edge Chromium (sharing the same extension as Chrome). Note that there is no plan to remove the IE functionality you’re familiar with today.

All you need to do is install Kryon's connector and start recording.

Office 365 authentication for email connections

Basic Authentication was enabled by default on most servers and services, which makes it easier for attackers armed with today’s tools. This has led Microsoft to publish an announcement and update their security by shifting to a modern Authentication supporting MFA. Following this change, we've updated the authentication method as relevant to support the new Microsoft update.

Note, this change only affects Microsoft Exchange Online.

more details

The stateless communication layer – WCF Removal

Forget about unique ports and many of the old configurations. We eliminated The Discovery and Controller services, tossed away the Player and Studio services and replaced it all with the latest modern technology (GraphQL). Improved stability and easy troubleshooting are only the cornerstone of the improvements enabled by these changes.

High Availability - [Active] [Active]

Nintex RPA Unattended solution is now available in active-active mode.

  • The performance has significantly improved when shifting between the servers since both servers are up.

  • The active-active mode also allows for triggers to be activated on both servers which eliminates any possible trigger-activation issues as both servers are up.

New in UI Automation

  • UI Automation Extract Table - A new optimized selector

  • UI Automation Detect Table Size - Automatically detect table size (both columns and rows)

  • UI Automation Controls - Mapping UI Controls covering common use cases

  • Citrix Support - UI Automation Dynamic Commands now support Citrix

Citrix Support

  • Certified server Installer is now available (Citrix Remote Controller)

  • A seamless experience of recording and playing UI Automation and Excel commands (DAC)

  • Client installer for both Robot and Studio (Citrix Remote Driver)

Automated Migration

Fully automatic migration for pre v21.4 upgrades. We reduced all the migration manual steps to none. Simply run the installation and the rest is on us.

LogOn Expert

LogOn Expert is upgraded to the latest version available.

OAUTH Authentication

Oath Authentication is now available from the console vault as well.

New in Documentation

Topic

Details

Where?

Security Event Log

A list of database queries to retrieve security event log from Aerobase and RPA databse on user actions and wizard changes

Admin User Guide > Managing Users

Java Manager

Instructions on running the Kryon Java Manager that installs the Java Access Bridge to diagnose and repair the connection to Java applications.

Installation and Upgrade Guide > Appendices

Dynamic Commands User Guide

A Dedicated User Guide for the 1st BETA release

RPA 21.4 Documentation

Sever and client system requirements

Updated the system requirements for server and client installation

System Architecture & Requirements

RPA usage assumption

Added a table of Robot usage assumption and Wizards load on which we've based the newly modified system requirements of server and client installation

System Architecture & Requirements > Nintex RPA usage assumption

API Examples

Added API examples to the API Reference Guide

API Reference Guide > API Examples

High-Availability installation

Updated the High-Availability (Active-Active) installation step

Installation and Upgrade Guide > High-Availability step

System Architecture

Updated System Architecture Diagram

System Architecture & Requirements > System Architecture

Citrix configuration

Added instructions to the Citrix configuration:

Logoff Citrix workspace and login back after DVC configuration

Citrix User Guide

Automatic realm and users migration in Aerobase for multi-tenant

Updated instructions for quick and automatic users and realm migration in Aerobase

Installation and Upgrade Guide > Automatic user and realm migration in Aerobase for multi-tenant

Working with Microsoft 365 Exchange Modern Authentication

Added relevant instructions addressing the new Microsoft 365 Exchange modern authentication method and how to configure manually and through Credentials Vault

Studio User Guide

New in Support Tools

Java Manager - One tool, two clicks and its ready to use

Meet the single tool you’ll need to install, diagnose and repair JAB (Java Access Bridge). You can find it under the Server installation, in the public repository or run the Studio/Robot installation with a parameter to enable it.

more details

Customer Feature Requests

Backup your work- AutoSave is now available for shared folders

The Studio AutoSave mechanism now enables you to automatically backup wizards you are working on, on a shared storage.

Sort your triggers tasks view by date

You can now choose another way to sort the information on the trigger tasks page

Watch it live - View log actions in real-time

Using the “log an action” advanced command, you can now watch the task page in Console Plus and get real-time updates on the task progress. View live data and robots work progress easily.

Adding armor to our UI Automation force – new FlaUI3 engine

We've added the latest version of FlaUI, the engine used for UI Automation connectors. The latest update now enables more functionality and can interact with more, previously not supported components systems.

Upgraded Python versions

We updated the Python version to 3.7.9 used in the Advanced Commands and it is now up-to-date.

Supporting end-cases where dynamic image exist next to the password fields

If you are using the "Insert Password" command to insert a password into a field that is adjacent to a dynamic image (a changing image), then you know that there is a chance the Robot won't identify the password field correctly due to the changing image. In such cases, we've got you covered with a new configuration you can turn on to eliminate such miss-identification cases.

more details

Bug Fixes

#

BUG FIXED

More Details

BUGS FIXED IN HOT-FIX v. 21.4.5

11567

Initializing variables in a task, appears empty at wizard

It is now possible to use Initializing variables for a task

11568

Call Web Service AC not passing an object type

Advanced command “Call Web Service” is passing the object type as expected

11650

Users rights are not respected for the robot

User roles are now saved following an upgrade

11654

.NET advanced commands are not detecting all of the objects

We have fixed an issue where .NET advanced commands were not detecting all of the objects

11655

LeoMigrationTool is not converting wizards with Java commands

LeoMigrationTool is now supporting wizards with Java commands

11656

Logon Expert is not keeping workstations unlocked

Logon Expert is now keeping workstations unlocked by configuration

11765

Ticket is not renewed seamlessly when embedded wizard is triggered

Error message for ticket authentication renewal for unattended robots was removed

BUGS FIXED IN HOT-FIX v. 21.4.3

10239

Trigger created with Error "The trigger is not currently working properly. Check the configuration of your trigger."

-

10985

Robot shortcut doesn't have the "Start in" value

After installation, the robot shortcut does not contain the "Start in" value so the Tesseract files couldn't be found.

6006

Attended Robot UI opens outside of the display area

The attended Robot UI should open in the middle of the display area, or at a position before the last exit. Instead, it opens outside of the display area.

6747

Functionality issues in advanced commands "Set Java object value" and "Click on Java object"

Wizards might stop running when reaching a step containing one of the two commands

11093

Using a slash (\) in a variable in "Set HTML value" advanced command to separate between lines doesn't render as expected (doesn't escape)

The slash is (\) prints as text instead of escaping

5875

Time trigger shows alert with no error in logs.

Error message in logs are expected to follow any actual error/alert message in the UI. In this case, the UI presents an error/alert that cannot be found on logs.

8404

Error message might appear as part of a Wizard running results when working with Azure, even though the wizard completes successfully.

-

4706

Inserting a wrong expression/value is some parts of the Console doesn't alert the user that the expression/value is unsupported unless the changes are saved.

The UI should indicate immediately of wrong expressions inserted to allow the user to correct before saving.

10864

Tesseract languages folder (Tesseract_tessdata) is missing after installation

-

5467

Prolonged Robot freeze and error message of "Kryon not responding" when starting a wizard from a URL

-

10394

Studio unexpected error and crashing when duplicating wizard

-

10616

"Go to step" advanced command results with infinite loop if the target step is disabled

-

10673

Error screen might not appear when a wizard get to the fault "Windows not found" or "Object not found"

-

10716

If the database disconnects and then reconnects, the Triggers might require a manual disable-enable action to resume working

Triggers should resume working automatically when the connection is working. In this case, triggers needed a manual intervention to resume working.

9863

Active triggers might not resume working after server fail-over in High Availability environments

-

10788

Libraries and categories in Console don't sort in accordance with the sorting in Admin and Studio

-

10892

Catalog/Wizard picker expands all available catalogs by and wizards by default

The picker should show minimized lists by default for easier navigation. Instead, the picker automatically expands all lists.

10895

Login screen doesn't show when starting the Robot/Studio application

-

BUGS FIXED IN HOT-FIX v. 21.4.2

10665

The returned variables for the Get automation task status advanced command doesn't return the correct values.

When obtaining the "Return status", the result is always returned as ERROR and the "Return executing robot" is returns a blank.

8686

Login issues when attempting to login to wizard catalog in Studio

-

9362

Global Function ERROR on .NET Advanced Command

.NetPlugin does not work in Global Function if they are used in a Wizard

9090

Slow performance of UI selectors

The selection of UI elements is laggy instead of being more responsive

8794

Cannot change credentials type in trigger settings

Once the trigger set to work with the credentials vault it cannot be reverted to manual credentials.

8702

404 error response received when calling "/discovery/"

404 error thrown by discovery when calling “/discovery” endpoint

8697

Unexpected time trigger behavior when setting the schedule hours

The available range of hours is 1-59 instead of 1-24

8579

UI OBJECT option doesn't work as expected on wizards created in v5.25 and migrated to a later version

Wizards don't run as expected and the UI Object option doesn't recognize the object as expected

8505

Low Java advanced commands performance and Robot freeze during long-running wizards

-

8431

Split advanced command doesn't work as expected when character position to split a variable

When using the split command, if we are trying to split a variable using the character position option by using another variable instead of an absolute number, the advanced command returns an error "Character position can contain a number or a single variable" and doesn't allow the user to proceed

8430

8429

"Get Email" advanced command and email trigger don't work as expected with Microsoft Exchange 2010 and 2016

Get email AC returns "GENERAL ERROR" when filtering conditions. When activated, the Email triggers throw a warning that the trigger isn't working correctly.

8414

Robot crashes randomly when using

Kryon application causes .NET application error and the subsequent Robot crashes

8412

Java advanced commands don't work on the EBS Oracle Application

Although the Java ACs are able to detect object, an error is throws and the wizard doesn't perform the expected action when running.

8345

Set UI object value advanced command doesn't work g as expected in Microsoft Dynamics

When attempting to set the PR value, the value isn't saved as expected.

8344

7426

Unable to properly view the Task Run History as expected in Console Plus

  • Task data, summary, and Robot changes aren't properly displayed on task history page

  • Inaccurate display of rows number

8343

Unable to select a wizard from the list when a trigger or a task in Console Plus

Clicking the "Choose" button doesn't retrieve a list of wizards.

8327

Open URL advanced command doesn't return Handle number

The URL opens in a new window and the Handle number is set to "0" regardless of whether the URL is opened in a new window or new tab.

8309

Email trigger doesn't save as expected after switching from credentials vault mode to manual mode

When creating email trigger in Console Plus, you can choose between "From vault", or "Manual" options.

If the trigger was previously set to "From vault", and then you attempt to change it to "Manual", the change isn't applied nor saved.

8255

Unexpected error when importing a wizard that contains Java advanced commands

-

8250

When executing a wizard o a split screen, the application windows move to the center of the screen.

-

7790

Extremely slow performance when using RPA Visual recording on Firefox

when using Studio to record visual steps in Firefox, the computer slows down significantly.

7717

7701

Unable to show Trigger settings or data on Console Plus

The console is unable to show trigger settings, even though the run history is shown.

After a short delay, the message "Data cannot be retrieved" is shown instead of the trigger settings.

The issue is caused by triggers that have special characters like "\".

7708

Random crash of Robot

-

7661

RPA "Click Blocked" general fallback is missing from Studio

-

7599

"ReplaceAllDBConnection" batch file doesn't work as expected

When executing the "ReplaceAllDBConnection.bat" to replace the connection string on the RPA server, not all DBConnection files are updated.

7591

If the email subject contains a dash (-), the Get Email advanced command returns incorrect messages when using the subject to find messages

-

7576

Robot unable to read message key and content from email trigger if the email was sent using SMTP from external clients like PowerShell, Linux mail, and custom Java application

-

7144

The 'Pause' advanced command cannot be used properly if the OS region format is set to German.

The 'Pause' advanced command cannot be used with integers like "1", "2", "3", etc or decimals like "2.4", "3.5", "5.2", etc if the OS Region Format is set to German, but only "10", "20", "30", etc seconds.

7062

When using "Get Table Data" advanced command, the option to set a variable or a number as a value for an entire row/column doesn't work as expected.

  • The row number field doesn't work with numbers nor with variables.

  • The column number field works only with numbers and not with variables.

6879

Importing a large number of users using the Admin Tool doesn't change the user status as set in the imported CSV.

The "Import from CSV" feature in the Admin tool should allow importing users including overriding user status as set in the CSV. When importing, the user status set in the CSV doesn't change in the Admin as expected.

6723

When clicking the "Test" button in "Copy from Excel" advanced command, an unexpected pop-up appears on screen.

-

6047

Same wizard output file is different when running on Studio than when running on Robot.

The expected result is having the same output when running the same wizard on Robot (client) and on Studio.

5989

Unable to deactivate a user if the license limit is reached

-

5002

UI Automation picker might capture the wrong element and perform slower than usual

-

4905

Global Function variables are not unique in the variables list

The view variables button in the Global Function feature should show a list of unique variable in use by the Global Function.

4865

"Breakpoint has been reached" message appear when an application is closed on the client machine

When closing different client applications (Studio/Robot/Admin), a "Breakpoint has been reached" error message appears.

4422

Irrelevant and/or inconsistent errors received when using Excel advanced commands to write in a file

Occasionally, the command is unable to write in a file, and the error message can vary from "CELL ERROR" to "READ ONLY".

3995

ExcelHelper requires to enter password manually for protected files

The Excel instance is expected to run in the background if the correct password was provided in the advanced command editor. This bug causes the Excel instance to open with a password prompt.

9276

Unable to edit the advanced commands section using shortcut via the Edit button

It is not possible to edit a Step Start or Step End section via the Edit button in the Flow pane is without first switching to another section.

BUGS FIXED IN HOT-FIX v. 21.4.1

 

Controller service randomly crashes

Controller service might randomly crash every 24-32 hours.

 

Saving "Excel Worksheet Actions" Advanced Command fails

The 'Error description' field in the command stays empty even after entering a variable and saving.

 

Inserting the dollar ($) sign in "Show debug message" Advanced Command doesn’t retrieve list of variables

After defining variables, and then attempting to retrieve the list of variables by inserting $ in the "show debug message", the list isn't retrieved.

 

Python installed on RPA clients lack PIP files

When attempting to open CMD and run "python -m pip --version" in Python folder in Studio/Robot, the message "No module named pip" is received.

 

"Run program" Advanced Command doesn't run as expected on some machines

The "Run program" command might result with errors on some machines.

 

Some e-mail messages result with error when trying to get email fields data using the "Get Email Message" command

When viewing the content of message_key the body field is empty.

 

Unable to pass GUID parameter in "Call REST API method" Advanced Command

-

 

Tasks might run twice even if the first run ended successfully.

Tasks aren't supposed to run a second time if the first run was successful.

 

Export from Studio might fail if the wizard includes credentials that were previously edited in ConsoleX

-

 

Unable to connect to RabbitMQ if password contains "At" sign

Console Plus is unable to connect to RabbitMQ if the admin password contains the "At" sign (@)

 

"Insert username into active field" Advanced Command doesn't work properly if there are more than one CV defined for the same application

-

 

Unable to record a video of a wizard in Studio

The video recording functionality in Studio (Studio > Tools > Record a video) doesnt work as expected and result with "video recording was not complete" error.

 

"Open URL" Advanced Command fails on websites with authorization required

When running the "Open URL" command on a website with authorization required, the error "401 Unauthorized" or "403 Forbidden" is received.

 

"Insert password", "Insert Username", and "Generate New Password" advanced commands require intervention after upgrading to 21.4

Due to code change, existing wizard that already contain the mentioned commands might encounter error when running.

 

Unexpected behavior when editing the filter field of an existing email trigger

When attempting to edit the filter field of an email trigger by adding a new filter row and deleting the previous one, the newly saved filter might keep both rows as filters instead of just the newly added one.

 

Triggers migration isn't available when upgrading to 21.4

Triggers don't migrate from previous version to 21.4 upon upgrade.

 

Same wizard output file is different when running on Studio than when running on Robot.

The expected result is having the same output when running the same wizard on Robot (client) and on Studio

BUGS FIXED IN v. 21.4

 

Unexpected time trigger behavior

The available schedule hours to set range from 1-59 instead of 1-24

 

UI OBJECT option doesn't work as expected

In Windows 7, the UI OBject commands might not work as expected as objects might not get recognized as expected.

 

"No connection to the database. Try checking the connection string." - Data fetch error

The database fails to fetch data provided by connection string.

 

Robot unable to download Excel files from the "MESILA" system

Excel processor stays running in the background which 'locks' the Excel.

 

Cannot open task directly from Triggered tasks view

The TaskID and the Task Name appear as plain text, and are not clickable hyperlinks.

 

"Get Email" advanced command returns incorrect messages

If the email subject contains a dash (-), the command might return incorrect email messages.

 

HTML commands might capture images as blank

Using an HTML command to capture an image might show a blank image in the selector.

Known issues

#

Issue

More Details

Workaround

11186

Wrong RabbitMQ configurations after upgrade from 20.3

-

-

11163

Using Credential Vault on mail triggers doesn't work as expected

Triggers fails to retrieve the CV mapping for TenantID or CompanyID, resulting in failure to connect to e-mail server.

User manual credentials instead of CV.

11162

Email triggers marked with 'has attachments' are falsely identified as e-mails without attachments

The email trigger might create a task for emails without attachment identifying it as "with attachment".

-

11161

Tasks might get stuck in queue although the Robot is connected and in idle

-

-

11090

Find function inside the studio might not highlight the found item inside the Advanced Command view

-

-

11082

When the "Find" window opens in Studio, the text-box is not focused as it is expected to be - "Find" fields are grayed out

-

-

10763

When Edge and Chrome open in parallel, the Robot/Studio cannot find the proper window upon running a wizard

-

-

10722

Kryon Terminal Server Robot service pauses and cannot be started manually after installation

-

Restart all services

10543

RPA clients installer overrides Java configuration causing the Java installer to not install properly

-

Reinstall Java after client installation

10759

User might experience login issues connecting to Robot

Users created in Aerobase and Okta might experience login issues when attempting to login to Robot

-

10031

Unexpected Studio crush when using "insert password" via credential vault

-

-

9767

Login to Citrix via a Robot/Studio machine takes more time than usual

-

-

9742

Adding the Install-Java parameter (ENABLE_JAVA_MANAGER=true) to client installation doesn't initiate the automatic Java installation as expected

The Java Manager installation isn't triggered. Instead, a Java Manager zip file is created.

Extract the Java Manager zip file and Install it manually after client installation is complete .

9713

RabbitMQ folder located on a drive other than the selected one

If the RPA installation is configured on a drive other than C, the RabbitMQ folder might still install its components on drive C. This happens particularly when upgrading and selecting to install Nintex RPA on a drive different than the existing default one (C).

-

9073

DbUpCli might fail running scripts if SQL server collation is case sensitive (name does not contain CI)

-

-

9248

Personal Queues (tasks created using "Add automation task to queue" in Hybrid mode) are not supported after upgrading to 21.4

Tasks previously created in Hybrid mode using the "add automation task to queue" AC will not return the information or appear in the personal queue after the upgrade.

-

 

Some triggers might not open when upgrading to 21.4

In some edge-cases, there is possibility to encounter corrupt triggers, particularly if the triggers were converted from schedule triggers to file triggers. Such triggers might not open after upgrading.

Re-create the triggers after upgrading.