RPA.Windows

Clears control anchor set by Set Anchor

This means that all following keywords accessing elements will use active window or desktop as root element.

Mouse click on element matching given locator.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Default value	Description
locator	WindowsElement, str	null	String locator or element object.
wait_time	float, None	None	time to wait after click, default is a library wait_time, see keyword Set Wait Time
timeout	float, None	None	float value in seconds, see keyword Set Global Timeout

Exception ActionNotPossible is raised if element does not allow Click action.

param locator:	String locator or element object.
param wait_time:
	time to wait after click, default is a library wait_time, see keyword Set Wait Time
param timeout:	float value in seconds, see keyword Set Global Timeout
return:	WindowsElement object

Examples

Click  id:button1
Click  id:button2 offset:10,10
${element}=  Click  name:SendButton  wait_time=5.0

Closes current active window or logs a warning message.

return:	True if close was successful, False if not

Examples

${status}=  Close Current Window

Closes identified windows or logs the problems.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Default value	Description
locator	WindowsElement, str, None	None	String locator or Control element.
timeout	float, None	None	float value in seconds, see keyword Set Global Timeout

param locator:	String locator or Control element.
param timeout:	float value in seconds, see keyword Set Global Timeout
return:	How many windows were found and closed.

Examples

${closed_count} =     Close Window    Calculator

Get control of child window of the active window by locator.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Default value	Description
locator	WindowsElement, str, None	None	string locator or Control element
foreground	bool	True	True to bring window to foreground
wait_time	float, None	None	time to wait after activeting a window
timeout	float, None	None	float value in seconds, see keyword Set Global Timeout

param locator:	string locator or Control element
param foreground:
	True to bring window to foreground
param wait_time:
	time to wait after activeting a window
param timeout:	float value in seconds, see keyword Set Global Timeout
return:	WindowsElement object

Examples

Control Window   subname:"Sage 50" type:Window
# actions on the main application window


Control Child Window   subname:"Test Company" depth:1

Controls the window defined by the locator.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Default value	Description
locator	WindowsElement, str, None	None	string locator or Control element
foreground	bool	True	True to bring window to foreground
wait_time	float, None	None	time to wait after activating a window
timeout	float, None	None	float value in seconds, see keyword Set Global Timeout
main	bool	True	on True (default) starts the search from desktop level, on False it will continue to search for child elements given the set anchor or current active window

This means that this window is used as a root element for all the following keywords using locators.

Returns WindowsElement.

param locator:	string locator or Control element
param foreground:
	True to bring window to foreground
param wait_time:
	time to wait after activating a window
param timeout:	float value in seconds, see keyword Set Global Timeout
param main:	on True (default) starts the search from desktop level, on False it will continue to search for child elements given the set anchor or current active window
return:	WindowsElement object

Examples

Control Window   Calculator
Control Window   name:Calculator
Control Window   subname:Notepad
Control Window   regex:.*Notepad
${window}=  Control Window   executable:Spotify.exe

Double mouse click on element matching given locator.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Default value	Description
locator	WindowsElement, str	null	String locator or element object.
wait_time	float, None	None	time to wait after click, default is a library wait_time, see keyword Set Wait Time
timeout	float, None	None	float value in seconds, see keyword Set Global Timeout

Exception ActionNotPossible is raised if element does not allow Click action.

param locator:	String locator or element object.
param wait_time:
	time to wait after click, default is a library wait_time, see keyword Set Wait Time
param timeout:	float value in seconds, see keyword Set Global Timeout
return:	WindowsElement object

Examples

${element}=  Double Click  name:ResetButton

Drag and drop the source element into target element.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Default value	Description
source_element	WindowsElement, str	null
target_element	WindowsElement, str	null
speed	float, None	1.0	adjust speed of operation, bigger value means more speed
copy	bool, None	False	on True does copy drag and drop, defaults to move
wait_time	float, None	1.0	time to wait after drop, default 1.0 seconds

param source:	source element for the operation
param target:	target element for the operation
param speed:	adjust speed of operation, bigger value means more speed
param copy:	on True does copy drag and drop, defaults to move
param wait_time:
	time to wait after drop, default 1.0 seconds

Examples

# copying a file, report.html, from source (File Explorer) window


Drag And Drop
...    name:C:\temp type:Windows > name:report.html type:ListItem
...    name:%{USERPROFILE}\Documents\artifacts type:Windows > name:"Items View"
...    copy=True

Example:

# moving *.txt files into subfolder within one (File Explorer) window
${source_dir}=    Set Variable    %{USERPROFILE}\Documents\test
Control Window    name:${source_dir}
${files}=    Find Files    ${source_dir}${/}*.txt
# first copy files to folder2
FOR    ${file}    IN    @{files}
    Drag And Drop    name:${file.name}    name:folder2 type:ListItem    copy=True
END
# second move files to folder1
FOR    ${file}    IN    @{files}
    Drag And Drop    name:${file.name}    name:folder1 type:ListItem
END

Bring the current active window or the window defined by the locator to the foreground.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Default value	Description
locator	WindowsElement, str, None	None	string locator or Control element

param locator:	string locator or Control element
return:	WindowsElement object

Examples

${window}=  Foreground Window   Calculator

Get attribute value of the element defined by the locator.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Default value	Description
locator	WindowsElement, str	null	string locator or Control element
attribute	str	null	name of the attribute to get

param locator:	string locator or Control element
param attribute:
	name of the attribute to get
return:	value of attribute

Examples

${id}=   Get Attribute  type:Edit name:firstname   AutomationId

Get a Control Windows element defined by the locator.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Default value	Description
locator	WindowsElement, str, None	None	Locator as a string or as an element object.
search_depth	int	8	How deep the element search will traverse. (default 8)
root_element	WindowsElement, None	None	Will be used as search root element object if provided.
timeout	float, None	None	After how many seconds (float) to give up on search. (see keyword Set Global Timeout)

The returned element can be used instead of a locator string for other keywords accepting the locator parameter. Keyword Get Attribute can be used to read element attribute values.

If locator is None, then the returned element will be in this priority:

1. root_element if provided.
2. Anchor element if that has been previously set with Set Anchor.
3. Current active window if that has been set with Control Window.
4. Last resort is the "Desktop" element.

param locator:	Locator as a string or as an element object.
param search_depth:
	How deep the element search will traverse. (default 8)
param root_element:
	Will be used as search root element object if provided.
param timeout:	After how many seconds (float) to give up on search. (see keyword Set Global Timeout)
returns:	The identified WindowsElement object.

Example: Robot Framework

*** Tasks ***
Set Text Into Notepad Window
    Windows Run    Notepad
    Control Window      subname:Notepad
    ${element} =    Get Element    regex:"Text (E|e)ditor"
    Set Value    ${element}    note to myself

Example: Python

from RPA.Windows import Windows

lib = Windows()
lib.windows_run("calc.exe")
one_btn = lib.get_element("Calculator > path:2|3|2|8|2")
lib.close_window("Calculator")

Get a list of elements matching the locator.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Default value	Description
locator	WindowsElement, str, None	None	Locator as a string or as an element object.
search_depth	int	8	How deep the element search will traverse. (default 8)
root_element	WindowsElement, None	None	Will be used as search root element object if provided.
timeout	float, None	None	After how many seconds (float) to give up on search. (see keyword Set Global Timeout)
siblings_only	bool	True	Filter for elements on the same level as the initially found one. Turn it off for a global search. (True by default)

By default, only the siblings (similar elements on the same level) are taken into account. In order to search globally, turn siblings_only off, but be aware that this will take more time to process. For more details on the rest of parameters, take a look at the Get Element keyword.

param locator:	Locator as a string or as an element object.
param search_depth:
	How deep the element search will traverse. (default 8)
param root_element:
	Will be used as search root element object if provided.
param timeout:	After how many seconds (float) to give up on search. (see keyword Set Global Timeout)
param siblings_only:
	Filter for elements on the same level as the initially found one. Turn it off for a global search. (True by default)
returns:	A list of matching WindowsElement objects.

Example: Robot Framework

*** Tasks ***
Get Headers On Same Level
    Set Anchor      id:DataGrid
    @{elements} =   Get Elements    type:HeaderItem
    FOR    ${element}    IN    @{elements}
        Log To Console    ${element.name}
    END

Get All Calculator Buttons Matching Expression
    Windows Run    Calc
    Control Window    subname:Calc
    @{buttons} =    Get Elements    class:Button regex:.*o.*
    ...     siblings_only=${False}
    Log List    ${buttons}
    ${length} =     Get Length      ${buttons}
    Log To Console      Number of buttons: ${length}

Returns the current Windows major version as string.

Examples

${ver} =     Get OS Version
Log     ${ver}  # 10

Get text from Control element defined by the locator.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Default value	Description
locator	WindowsElement, str	null	String locator or element object.

Exception ActionNotPossible is raised if element does not allow GetWindowText action.

param locator:	String locator or element object.
return:	value of WindowText attribute of an element

Examples

${date} =  Get Text   type:Edit name:"Date of birth"

Get the value of the element defined by the provided locator.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Default value	Description
locator	WindowsElement, str	null	String locator or element object.

The ActionNotPossible exception is raised if the identified element doesn't support value retrieval.

param locator:	String locator or element object.
returns:	Optionally the value of the identified element.

Example: Robot Framework

${value} =   Get Value   type:DataItem name:column1

Example: Python

from RPA.Windows import Windows

lib_win = Windows()
text = lib_win.get_value("Rich Text Window")
print(text)

List all element attributes.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Default value	Description
locator	WindowsElement, str	null	string locator or Control element

param locator:	string locator or Control element
return:	list of element attributes (strings)

List all window element on the system.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Default value	Description
icons	bool	False	on True dictionary will contain Base64 string of the icon, default False
icon_save_directory	str, None	None	if set will save retrieved icons into this filepath, by default icon files are not saved

param icons:	on True dictionary will contain Base64 string of the icon, default False
param icon_save_directory:
	if set will save retrieved icons into this filepath, by default icon files are not saved
return:	list of dictionaries containing information about Window elements

Examples

${windows}=  List Windows
FOR  ${window}  IN  @{windows}
    Log  Window title:${window}[title]
    Log  Window process name:${window}[name]
    Log  Window process id:${window}[pid]
    Log  Window process handle:${window}[handle]
END

Maximize the current active window or the window defined by the locator.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Default value	Description
locator	WindowsElement, str, None	None	string locator or element

param locator:	string locator or element
return:	WindowsElement object

Examples

${window} =    Maximize Window  # Current active window
Maximize Window    executable:Spotify.exe

Right mouse click on element matching given locator.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Default value	Description
locator	WindowsElement, str	null	String locator or element object.
wait_time	float, None	None	time to wait after click, default is a library wait_time, see keyword Set Wait Time
timeout	float, None	None	float value in seconds, see keyword Set Global Timeout

Exception ActionNotPossible is raised if element does not allow Click action.

param locator:	String locator or element object.
param wait_time:
	time to wait after click, default is a library wait_time, see keyword Set Wait Time
param timeout:	float value in seconds, see keyword Set Global Timeout
return:	WindowsElement object

Examples

${element}=  Middle Click  name:button2

Minimize the current active window or the window defined by the locator.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Default value	Description
locator	WindowsElement, str, None	None	string locator or element

param locator:	string locator or element
return:	WindowsElement object

Examples

${window} =    Minimize Window  # Current active window
Minimize Window    executable:Spotify.exe

Print a tree of control elements.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Default value	Description
locator	WindowsElement, str, None	None	The root of the tree to output.
max_depth	int	8	Maximum depth level. (defaults to 8)
capture_image_folder	str, None	None	If set, controls' images will be captured in this path.
log_as_warnings	bool	False	Enables highlighted logs (at the beginning of the log file as warnings) and increases visibility in the output console.
return_structure	bool	False	A flattened tree with all the elements collated by level will be returned if this is enabled.

A Windows application structure can contain multilevel element structure. Understanding this structure is crucial for creating locators. (based on controls' details and their parent-child relationship)

This keyword can be used to output logs of application's element structure, starting with the element defined by the provided locator as root. Switch the return_structure parameter to True to get a tree of elements returned as well. (off by default to save memory)

• The printed structure displays a tree prefixed with "depth" - "position" so you know how deep (0 means root) in the tree you are and on what position (1-indexed) the child you're looking for is.
• The returned structure is a dictionary with all the children flattened per depth level. Additionally, these WindowsElement objects contain a relevant locator composed of "root > path" which will help to identify the element in the tree.

Portal example: https://robocorp.com/portal/robot/robocorp/example-windows-element-path

param locator:	The root of the tree to output.
param max_depth:
	Maximum depth level. (defaults to 8)
param capture_image_folder:
	If set, controls' images will be captured in this path.
param log_as_warnings:
	Enables highlighted logs (at the beginning of the log file as warnings) and increases visibility in the output console.
param return_structure:
	A flattened tree with all the elements collated by level will be returned if this is enabled.
returns:	Optionally a dictionary of children per depth level when return_structure is enabled.

Example: Robot Framework

*** Tasks ***
Display Element Structure
    ${tree} =   Print Tree      Calculator > path:2|3|2|8
    ...     return_structure=${True}
    Log To Console      ${tree}

Example: Python

from RPA.Windows import Windows

lib = Windows()
tree = lib.print_tree("Calculator > path:2|3|2|8", return_structure=True)
print(tree)

Window restore the current active window or the window defined by the locator.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Default value	Description
locator	WindowsElement, str, None	None	string locator or element

param locator:	string locator or element
return:	WindowsElement object

Examples

${window} =    Restore Window  # Current active window
Restore Window    executable:Spotify.exe

Right mouse click on element matching given locator.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Default value	Description
locator	WindowsElement, str	null	String locator or element object.
wait_time	float, None	None	time to wait after click, default is a library wait_time, see keyword Set Wait Time
timeout	float, None	None	float value in seconds, see keyword Set Global Timeout

Exception ActionNotPossible is raised if element does not allow Click action.

param locator:	String locator or element object.
param wait_time:
	time to wait after click, default is a library wait_time, see keyword Set Wait Time
param timeout:	float value in seconds, see keyword Set Global Timeout
return:	WindowsElement object

Examples

${element}=  Right Click  name:MenuButton

Take a screenshot of the element defined by the locator.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Default value	Description
locator	WindowsElement, str	null	String locator or element object.
filename	str	null	image filename

Exception ActionNotPossible is raised if element does not allow CaptureToImage action.

param locator:	String locator or element object.
param filename:	image filename
return:	absolute path to the screenshot file

Examples

Screenshot  desktop   desktop.png
Screenshot  subname:Notepad   notepad.png

Select value on Control element if action is supported.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Default value	Description
locator	WindowsElement, str	null	String locator or element object.
value	str	null	string value to select on Control element

Exception ActionNotPossible is raised if element does not allow Select action.

param locator:	String locator or element object.
param value:	string value to select on Control element
return:	WindowsElement object

Examples

Select  type:SelectControl   option2

Send keys to desktop, current window or to Control element defined by given locator.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Default value	Description
locator	WindowsElement, str, None	None	Optional string locator or element object.
keys	str, None	None	The keys to send.
interval	float	0.01	Time between each sent key. (defaults to 0.01 seconds)
wait_time	float, None	None	Time to wait after sending all the keys. (defaults to library's set value, see keyword Set Wait Time)
send_enter	bool	False	If True then the {Enter} key is pressed at the end of the sent keys.

If locator is None then keys are sent to desktop.

Exception ActionNotPossible is raised if element does not allow SendKeys action.

param locator:	Optional string locator or element object.
param keys:	The keys to send.
param interval:	Time between each sent key. (defaults to 0.01 seconds)
param wait_time:
	Time to wait after sending all the keys. (defaults to library's set value, see keyword Set Wait Time)
param send_enter:
	If True then the {Enter} key is pressed at the end of the sent keys.
returns:	The element identified through locator.

Examples

Send Keys  desktop   {Ctrl}{F4}
Send Keys  keys={Ctrl}{F4}   # locator will be NONE, keys sent to desktop
Send Keys  id:input5  username   send_enter=${True}
${element}=   Get Element   id:pass
Send Keys  ${element}  password   send_enter=${True}

Set anchor to an element specified by the locator.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Default value	Description
locator	WindowsElement, str	null	string locator or Control element
timeout	float, None	None	timeout in seconds for element lookup (default 10.0)

All following keywords using locators will use this element as a root element. Specific use case could be setting anchor to TableControl element and then getting column data belonging to that TableControl element.

To release anchor call Clear Anchor keyword.

param locator:	string locator or Control element
param timeout:	timeout in seconds for element lookup (default 10.0)

Examples

Set Anchor  type:Table name:Orders depth:16
FOR  ${row}  IN RANGE  200
    ${number}=  Get Value   name:number row ${row}
    Exit For Loop If   $number == ${EMPTY}
    ${sum}=  Get Value   name:sum row ${row}
    Log   Order number:${number} has sum:{sum}
END
Clear Anchor

Set view focus to the element defined by the locator.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Default value	Description
locator	WindowsElement, str	null	String locator or element object.

param locator:	String locator or element object.

Examples

Set Focus  name:Buy type:Button

Set global timeout for element search. Applies also to Control Window keyword.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Default value	Description
timeout	float	null	float value in seconds

By default, the library has a timeout of 10 seconds.

param timeout:	float value in seconds
return:	previous timeout value

Examples

${old_timeout}=  Set Global Timeout  20
${old_timeout}=  Set Global Timeout  9.5

Enable or disable mouse movement simulation during clicks and other actions.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Default value	Description
simulate	bool	null	Decide whether to simulate the move. (OFF by default)

Returns the previous set value as True/False.

param simulate:	Decide whether to simulate the move. (OFF by default)
returns:	Previous state.

Example: Robot Framework

*** Tasks ***
Disable Mouse Move
    ${previous} =   Set Mouse Movement      ${True}
    Log To Console   Previous mouse simulation: ${previous} (now enabled)

Example: Python

from RPA.Windows import Windows

lib_win = Windows()
previous = lib_win.set_mouse_movement(True)
print(f"Previous mouse simulation: {previous} (now enabled)")

Set value of the element defined by the locator.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Default value	Description
locator	WindowsElement, str, None	None	String locator or element object.
value	str, None	None	String value to be set.
append	bool	False	False for setting the value, True for appending it. (OFF by default)
enter	bool	False	Set it to True to press the Enter key at the end of the input. (nothing is pressed by default)
newline	bool	False	Set it to True to add a new line at the end of the value. (no EOL included by default; this won't work with send_keys_fallback enabled)
send_keys_fallback	bool	True	Tries to set the value by sending it through keys if the main way of setting it fails. (enabled by default)

Note: An anchor will work only on element structures where you can rely on the stability of that root/child element tree, as remaining the same. Usually these kind of structures are tables. (but not restricted to)

Note: It is important to set append=${True} if you want to keep the current text in the element. Other option is to read the current text into a variable, then modify that value as you wish and pass it to the Set Value keyword for a complete text replacement. (without setting the append flag)

The following exceptions may be raised:

• ActionNotPossible if the element does not allow the SetValue action to be run on it nor having send_keys_fallback=${True}.
• ValueError if the new value to be set can't be set correctly.

param locator:	String locator or element object.
param value:	String value to be set.
param append:	False for setting the value, True for appending it. (OFF by default)
param enter:	Set it to True to press the Enter key at the end of the input. (nothing is pressed by default)
param newline:	Set it to True to add a new line at the end of the value. (no EOL included by default; this won't work with send_keys_fallback enabled)
param send_keys_fallback:
	Tries to set the value by sending it through keys if the main way of setting it fails. (enabled by default)
returns:	The element object identified through the passed locator.

Example: Robot Framework

*** Tasks ***
Set Values In Notepad
    Set Value   type:DataItem name:column1   ab c  # Set value to "ab c"
    # Press ENTER after setting the value.
    Set Value    type:Edit name:"File name:"    console.txt   enter=${True}

    # Add newline (manually) at the end of the string. (Notepad example)
    Set Value    name:"Text Editor"  abc\n
    # Add newline with parameter.
    Set Value    name:"Text Editor"  abc   newline=${True}

    # Clear Notepad window and start appending text.
    Set Anchor  name:"Text Editor"
    # All the following keyword calls will use the anchor element as a
    #  starting point, UNLESS they specify a locator explicitly or
    #  Clear Anchor is used.
    ${time} =    Get Time
    # Clears with append=${False}. (default)
    Set Value    value=The time now is ${time}
    # Append text and add a newline at the end.
    Set Value    value= and it's the task run time.   append=${True}
    ...    newline=${True}
    # Continue appending and ensure a new line at the end by pressing
    #  the Enter key this time.
    Set Value    value=But this will appear on the 2nd line now.
    ...    append=${True}   enter=${True}

Example: Python

from RPA.Windows import Windows

lib_win = Windows()
locator = "Document - WordPad > Rich Text Window"
elem = lib_win.set_value(locator, value="My text", send_keys_fallback=True)
text = lib_win.get_value(elem)
print(text)

Set library wait time for action keywords.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Default value	Description
wait_time	float	null	float value (in seconds), e.g. 0.1

The wait_time is spent after each keyword performing mouse or keyboard action.

Library default wait_time is 0.5

Returns value of the previous wait_time value.

param wait_time:
	float value (in seconds), e.g. 0.1
return:	previous wait value

Examples

${old_wait_time}=  Set Wait Time  0.2

Use Windows run window to launch application.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Default value	Description
text	str	null	text to enter into run input field
wait_time	float	3.0	sleep time after search has been entered (default 3.0 seconds)

Activated by pressing win + r.

param text:	text to enter into run input field
param wait_time:
	sleep time after search has been entered (default 3.0 seconds)

Examples

Windows Run   explorer.exe

Use Windows search window to launch application.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Default value	Description
text	str	null	text to enter into search input field
wait_time	float	3.0	sleep time after search has been entered (default 3.0 seconds)

Activated by pressing win + s.

param text:	text to enter into search input field
param wait_time:
	sleep time after search has been entered (default 3.0 seconds)

Examples

Windows Search   Outlook