Target Not Found error

When Nintex Bot executes an action that interacts with an on-screen element, it uses algorithms and applies rules to find the one element to target that has properties that match the action properties. If it cannot find the element or if less than or more than one element is found, you may receive a Target Not Found error. Review the content on this page to determine where targeting is failing and then resolve the targeting errors.

Important: Nintex Bot must find only one unique element to target in order for the action to successfully execute.

Sometimes, elements cannot be targeted due to application restrictions or the unique way in which an application works. If you are unable to resolve a Target Not Found error, contact Support and provide them with details about when you received the error. If Support is unable to resolve the error, or if there is an issue with Nintex Bot, provide them with your service or line of business and they will escalate the issue to the Development team.

Tip:

To target an application, you must have a Windows session open to act as a "real" user. Think about what actions a human would have to complete to get to the place in the application that you are targeting and then train Nintex Bot to do that.
If Nintex Bot cannot find the desired element, target the control before the element and then send tabs in the action to move the cursor to the correct target element.

Determine the targeting technology

To find the target element, Nintex Bot continually determines which targeting technology is being used to interact with the Microsoft Windows application that is being targeted with the mouse and then it stores this information in the action. Nintex Bot uses algorithms to apply rules to search for the one element on the screen with the properties that match the targeting information stored in the action. There are different rules, properties, and algorithms for each targeting technology. It is very important to find the technology to target because different technologies use different codes to find and manipulate targets when running a botflow.

The following targeting technologies use the target selector to create actions:

UI Automation (UIA). This newer technology uses the parentage (the container for the target element) to find the target. It starts with the top parent window (the application) and looks for each child element until the target element is found. For more information on UIA, go to Search. Examples include:
- WPF, i.e., Xperience
- XAML, i.e., Calculator
- Microsoft Windows applications (if the UIA Targeting Override option is selected)
Emulator. For more information, go to Emulator. Examples include:
- Rumba
- IBM
- Attachmate
- Blue Zone
- Avia
- CAIL
- Reflection
PDF. For more information, go to PDF and Target Adobe Acrobat DC and Adobe Reader DC. Examples include:
- Adobe Reader
- Adobe Acrobat
- PDF Document
Excel. For more information, go to Excel. Examples include:
- Excel workbook
- Excel application
Web browsers. Examples include:
- Google Chrome. This technology will find the document and then examine it to find the element that matches the stored properties such as Element Name, Element ID, TagName, Element Type, Element Caption (depending on the TagName), and Element ClassName. If you are using table targeting, the rules for the table will be used instead of the element rules.
- Internet Explorer. This technology will find the document and then examine it to find the element that matches the stored properties such as Element Name, Element ID, TagName, Element Type, Element Caption (depending on the TagName), and Element ClassName. If you are using table targeting, the rules for the table will be used instead of the element rules.
- Microsoft Edge.
- Nintex Automation Cloud Forms.
SAP. For more information, go to Target SAP.
Microsoft Windows: This older technology uses Windows API calls to find the target. It starts with the top parent window and looks for each child element until the target element is found. All of the child window properties are saved in the action.

If you are unsure which technology you are targeting, drag the Selector over the item and when it is boxed, release the mouse. Wait for Nintex RPA LE to return to the screen and for the target to be visible in the Image View. At the bottom of the Image View, click Details to open the target details and view the technology under the General heading.

Refine rules

After you determine the targeting technology, you can refine the rules for targeting that technology. Nintex Bot uses the target details and the rules (i.e., a set of instructions) to locate the target element. Rules are saved in the action properties and are different for each technology. Nintex Bot takes its best guesses at targeting, but you need to refine the targeting with rules and then modify those rules to improve targeting. The default rules that Nintex Bot uses to find target elements are based on best practices, but because of technical complexities, are not always correct. You can access and customize rules at any time to improve targeting results. After your rules are refined during the design process, you can automate and run botflows without further refinement in the future. For more information on accessing rules in the Build Pane, go to Build Pane.

Rules can be as simple as text, name, ID, and class for a simple Windows control to as complex as a full parentage for a UIA table.

Although you want as much detail in your rules as possible to make targeting more accurate, if Nintex Bot does not find a target element that aligns with the rules, then your rules are most likely too specific. If Nintex Bot finds multiple target elements based on the rules, then your rules are most likely too broad. Either way, you will receive a Target Not Found error.

If you received a Target Not Found error, refine and tweak the rules and attempt to get the mouse or keyboard to find the target element:

Right-click on the action and select Edit.
Click Rules.
View the target rules to determine if they include values that are dynamic and change.
Review proper names, dates, and numbers in the rules because they can cause targeting issues.
Review URLs, class names, and names and modify the method that is used to find the target element with one or more of these rules:

Tip: Open a text editing program and copy and paste text and URL strings in your rules into it to aid in visual comparisons and finding issues that are breaking your rules.
- Class: Turn on/off this rule and determine if the target element can now be found. By default, class is ignored because class name states in URLs can make finding the target element more difficult sometimes. If class is on and you ignore it, try using a Best Match or Left Match rule instead.
- Ignore. Keep in mind that ignoring an element is different than attempting to find an exact match to nothing. After you modify this rule, execute the action to test your changes and determine if the target element can now be found.
- Exact Match. Keep in mind that finding an exact match to nothing is different than ignoring an element. Try placing or removing quotes around an Exact Match. After you modify this rule, execute the action to test your changes and determine if the target element can now be found.
- Best Match. New Google Chrome actions default to Best Match. However, are you ignoring a Best Match? Modify this rule to not ignore a Best Match or to find a Left Match. After you modify this rule, execute the action to test your changes and determine if the target element can now be found.
- Left Match. Adjust the Length to specify the number of characters that you want Nintex Bot to compare against the target value.
- Right Match. Adjust the Length to specify the number of characters that you want Nintex Bot to compare against the target value.
- If available, click the Magic Wand and insert a variable or other information from the Expression Builder into a rule.
Example:
- You create an action that runs successfully on a webpage. However, when you load a separate instance of the exact same webpage and run the action, the target is not found because one of the target properties changed, like the element ID or element name. Determine what changed and then refine the rules to ignore the dynamic parts of the target property but continue to enforce the property match for the parts that are static.
- You are targeting an application that contains user accounts that have URLs with usernames in them, like https://www7.fdic.gov/idasp/advSearchMain[%Username].asp. Click the Magic Wand to the right of the target rule and insert a Username variable from the Expression Builder into the URL rule. When completed, Nintex Bot will evaluate the URL using the embedded token, for example, https://www7.fdic.gov/idasp/advSearchMainLinda.asp.
- To better understand Left Match and Right Match, consider targeting a web table where the value in the URL is https://www.w3schools.com/html/html_tables.asp. If you change the match value to Left and the Length to 21, Nintex Bot will compare the URL value to https://www.w3schools. If you change the match value to Right and the Length to 21, Nintex Bot will compare the URL value to /html/html_tables.asp.
If you are targeting tables, check all Column names and exclude any that may change.
If you are targeting a WPF application using UIA technology, check the complete parentage from the targeted control to the top application window and ignore or adjust rules as necessary.
If you are uncertain about the need to adjust rules, close and reopen the application, open a different web page or customer, retarget the control, and recreate the action. Then, edit the recreated action, open the rules, and compare the rules against the original action rules to see if any thing has changed. Adjust rules as necessary.

After refining a rule, save and close the action, and then reopen the action to see if the preview of the target is visible and if your refinements will be successful when the action is executed.