Can run on: Windows
GUI Automation drives web, Windows and Java application interfaces through Windows-only automation APIs, so these steps require an agent running on Windows.
GUI: Start Browser
Description
Start Browser launches a web browser and navigates to a specified URL at the beginning of a GUI automation workflow. Use this step as the entry point for any web-based automation — it initializes the browser session that all subsequent web steps depend on. You can choose from Chrome, Firefox, or Microsoft Edge, and configure settings such as page load timeout, element delay, browser profile, and incognito mode. It also provides a Clear Browser Instance option to recover from abnormal terminations before starting a new session.
Note
Start browser step does not have option to specify default download directory and user profile preferences.
Configurations
| No. | Field Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Step Name | Name of the step. This must be unique in a single workflow. |
| 2 | Web Browser Name | You can select any one web browser name from the given list. |
| 3 | Checkbox: Start Node | Checkbox to specify if this step is a start node (no other input steps are connected to this step). |
| Browser Configuration: | ||
| 1 | Browser | Choose the browsers from list to initiate the application: • Microsoft Edge. • Google Chrome. • Mozilla Firefox. The field is mandatory. |
| 2 | Web URL | Specify URL to navigate after web browser is initialized. The field is mandatory. |
| 3 | Profile Name | Specify the profile Name. Use the field when you want to open the browser with some existing settings that are already applied in the browser with the help of profile. To get the profile name, type the following in the respective browser: • Mozilla Firefox: about:profiles • Google Chrome: chrome://version/ • Microsoft Edge: edge://version/ Note: The field name changes depending on the browser you select: • For MozillaFirefox: Profile. • For Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge: Profile Path. For example: Google Chrome/MicrosoftEdge C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Profile2 Profile2 is the profile Name. |
| 4 | Checkbox: Start in Incognito Mode | If the Start in Incognito Mode checkbox is checked, the browser will be started in the Incognito /Private mode. |
| General Settings | ||
| 1 | Page Load Timeout (in milliseconds) | The page load timeout in milliseconds for any web page across the workflow. Else the workflow errors out. The page load timeout can be overwritten by the Web URL Navigation step. The field accepts static or variable, and previous field value. Default Value: 60 seconds/ 60000. |
| 2 | Delay (in milliseconds) | The total delay in milliseconds for the entire workflow to execute. Delay to locate and perform any action on any web element step, else the workflow errors out. The field accepts static or variable, and previous field value. Default Value: 30 seconds /30000. |
| 3 | Clear Browser Instance | In case you manually terminate a browser, the browser is still initialized and when you run the workflow the start step will give an error as the browser is already initialized. Similarly, in case Browser terminates abnormally then you need to clear browser instance before you can start a new browser session. Enable Clear All Browser Instances checkbox to Clear All Browser Instances before starting the browser. |
| Custom Options tab: | Use the Custom Options table to pass custom Chrome or Edge command-line arguments and browser preferences at runtime, without changing any code. Add a row for each option you want to set, and specify the Type, Key, and Value. Important: From release 4.8, the Enable Auto Printing checkbox is not available in the step. Existing workflows migrate automatically to an Argument row (Key = --kiosk-printing), and printing continues to work as before in both UI and headless/scheduled runs. The --kiosk-printing flag now also applies to Edge, not just Chrome; Firefox ignores the flag. Remove the row if you don't want this behavior. Notes: • Add an Exit Browser step at the end of the workflow to clear the arguments and preferences you set, so they don't carry over to the next run. • All instances of browser must be closed while setting Argument or Preferences. • Custom Options supports only Edge and Chrome browser, so certificate errors are not bypassed in Firefox. To bypass certificate errors, use Type = Argument and Key = --ignore-certificate-errors. Example: • Run Chrome in kiosk-printing mode (no print dialog, immediate print): ◦ Type: Argument | Key: --kiosk-printing | Value: (blank) • Set browser window size: ◦ Type: Argument | Key: --window-size | Value: 1280,800 • Disable the "Save password?" prompt: ◦ Type: Preference | Key: credentials_enable_service | Value: false • Set default download folder (normal mode only): ◦ Type: Preference | Key: download.default_directory | Value: D:\Automation\Downloads • Disable Chrome's "safe browsing" check: ◦ Type: Preference | Key: safebrowsing.enabled | Value: false • Use a Process Studio variable in the value (path): ◦ Type: Preference | Key: download.default_directory | Value: ${Internal.Entry.Current.Directory}/downloads | |
| 1 | Type | Select the option type: Argument or Preference. • Argument: a browser command-line flag, for example --start-maximized. • Preference: A browser preference value, for example credentials_enable_service. |
| 2 | Key | For Argument, enter the flag name, including the leading dashes, for example --kiosk-printing. For Preference, enter the preference name, for example download.default_directory. Note: Do not use --remote-debugging-port, --user-data-dir, or --profile-directory as keys. The step adds these arguments by default. |
| 3 | Value | Specify the value for the preference. The value is required for preferences but optional for arguments. For Argument, the step combines the key and value as key=value. For Preference, enter the value. The step automatically detects whether it's text, a number, or a boolean.  Figure: Custom Options tab of the GUI: Start Browser step. |