Start Browser
Description
The Start Browser step initiates the web browser and navigates to the URL specified in Web GUI [Classic]plugin.
Configurations
| Field Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Step name | Name of the step. The name must be unique in a single workflow. |
| Web Browser name | You can select any one Web Browser Name from the given list. |
| Start Node | Checkbox to specify if this step is a start node (no other input steps are connected to this step) |
| Browser Configuration | |
| Browser | Web browser to initialize. Choose from the list: - Mozilla - Chrome - Internet Explorer -with Ignore IE Protected mode checkbox (Refer Note 3) - IE Mode 32-bit - IE Mode 64-bit -Microsoft Edge |
| Web URL | URL to navigate after web browser is initialized. |
| Default download directory | Any browser has a default directory path where all files are downloaded. This feature allows users to overwrite the default download directory. Once a new Default download directory is specified, any file downloaded will be stored in the specified directory. **Note:**The setting is only effective for the current browser instance. The option is unavailable for Internet Explorer. If you specify the profile directory or name, then the default directory path will not be considered. |
| Profile name / directory path | Specify the profile name or directory path. 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 or directory path, type the following in the browser: - Mozilla Firefox: about:profiles - Google Chrome: chrome://version/ - Microsoft Edge: edge://version/ **Note:**The field name changes depending on the browser you select: - Mozilla Firefox: Profile name. - Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge: Profile directory path. -Internet Explorer / IE Mode 32-bit / IE Mode 64-bit: The field is unavailable. When using the option, only one Web GUI workflow can be run at a time. In addition, none of the browser instances should be open, including normal browser window while running workflow because browser locks the profile directory and does allow to access the profile details when browser is already opened. The field is not supported on Linux. |
| Maximize browser window | Checkbox to specify if browser window is to be maximized. By default, the browser is not maximized. |
| Ignore IE Protected Mode Settings | Select the checkbox to ignore the IE in the protected mode settings. |
| General Settings | |
| 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. |
| Delay (in milliseconds) | The total delay in milliseconds for the entire workflow to execute. Delay in locating and performing any action on any web element step, else the workflow errors out. |
| Retry count | User can set retry count number and that will be globally used in all steps of Web GUI [Classic]for retrying on error. Whenever the execution of Web GUI [Classic]step ends up with an error it will retry execution number of time specified in start browser. If one doesn’t want to retry for some specific steps, retry count can be set to 0 by using ‘Set Retry Count’ Step. Use of ‘Web Set Retry Count’ is to modify the count specified in Start Browser. Steps after Web Set Retry Count will get newly set Retry Count. Following steps are excluded from the functionality of Retry Count: - Begin - End - CloseWindow - Robot Handling - SetDelay - SetRetryCount - URL navigation |
| Clear all browser instances | The option is also available in the Tools menu, as Clear all browser instances (Legacy web-gui plugin). When a Web GUI [Classic]workflow is run from Process Studio the entire browser session does not close implicitly, leaving the browser open even when there is an error during development and browser is manually or abnormally terminated. In case you manually terminate a browser, the browser driver 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 driver instance before you can start a new browser session. Enable Clear All Browser Instances checkbox to Clear All Browser Instances before starting the browser. |
| Notify on browser version change | Enable this checkbox to notify Workflow Administrator and Tenant Administrator if valid emails and SMTP is configured. |
tip
- In case of multiple Initialize Web Driver steps in single process/workflow, make sure different drivers are selected.
- If delay is specified as 0, default considered is 30 seconds.
- In case of IE, starting version 7, notion of 4 Security zones; namely Intranet, Internet, Trusted Sites and Restricted Sites was introduced. The following two scenarios are to be noted in Web GUI [Classic]using IE.
- The default behavior in Web GUI [Classic]using IE is to check “Enable Protected Mode” settings for all the zones and throw an error when this setting is different for any two zones.
- In Web GUI [Classic]with IE When “Enable Protected Mode” settings are different for different security zones and you navigate from one URL in one zone to another URL in different zone having a different setting for “Enable Protected Mode”, IE internally launches a new process and from that point on, automation fails as it loses the process handle. In case of Web GUI [Classic]‘Ignore IE Protected Mode Settings’ checkbox has been introduced in Web-GUI “Start Browser” step and Web-Spy to handle the two scenarios above.
- When “Ignore Protected Mode Settings” is CHECKED in Web GUI “Start Browser” step and Web-Spy. “Enable Protected Mode” setting check for different zones is ignored and it starts without error no matter what “Enable Protected Mode” settings for different zones are. We already have the feature to start Web GUI [Classic]with an initial Browser URL. If during entire automation, browser doesn’t navigate to some other URL but URL specified as initial Browser URL, zone switching never happens and automation works fine.