Using Search Patterns in a Workflow

You can create search patterns in the Search Pattern, Pattern Select, and Pattern Gallery Action Steps by capturing a screenshot. The menu bars for these Action Steps include a Capture button () for this purpose.

Clicking Capture freezes the screen content like a screenshot and a small window with the title Capture Patterns appears. Then, you can select the search pattern by clicking and dragging to specify the area that contains the pattern. The selection surrounded with a blue rectangle is no longer transparent gray and you can move or resize it using the mouse or the keyboard. Press Shift+Arrow key to move the selection. Press Ctrl+Arrow key to resize the selection by moving the right and bottom edges.

Select more than one search pattern by clicking and dragging multiple times. If the selected image detail is too small, not adequately differentiated, or if it contains too few of the features needed to recognize a search pattern, the search pattern definition window shows a red cross with a red background.

Click Accept selection & continue to add the applicable pattern to the wizard for the relevant Action Step. The wizard enables you to specify names and color spots for each of the captured patterns.

To cancel the recording of a search pattern at any time, click the close button (X) in the upper right corner of the Capture Patterns window.

After you capture at least one search pattern, the Delete selected pattern option shows. This option removes the border around the previously selected pattern (or the last search area defined).

By default, RPA Builder only captures the pattern features for search patterns and color plays no role in pattern-based searches. However, sometimes you may find that it is necessary to determine when the color in a certain position in the search pattern is correct. For example, the text of an error message needs to be in red, or a traffic light symbol needs to appear green rather than yellow or red. In order to guarantee this, there is an option to define a Color Spot for a Search Pattern. In the case of a Search Pattern with Color Spot, the pattern-based image search is successful only if the color in a defined position matches a predefined color.

When you hover a search pattern in the wizard for the relevant Action Step, an overlay menu bar shows at the end of the image.

Click the Color Spot Picker () to open a window where you can select the color spot to use with the search pattern.

As you move the mouse over the image, the Live values section updates showing the following information:

To define the current selection as a Color Spot, either click the left mouse button or press Insert or Space on the keyboard.

To delete the Color Spot, use the Delete or Backspace key.

When you select a Color Spot, it shows in the Selected Color Spot section on the left side of the window.

The following settings lessen the restrictions on Color Spots:

Pattern Strip is a UI module that is used across all the wizards for the Search Pattern, Pattern Select, and Pattern Gallery Action Steps. The Pattern Strip consists of a list of Search Patterns, the associated options, and a menu bar. The menu bar buttons vary according to the Action Step and the quantity and selection status of the search patterns.

Use the mouse to click and select search patterns. A white check mark appears on a blue background in the top-right corner to highlight a selected item. Click again to undo the selection.

Buttons for functions relating only to the selected patterns appear on the menu bar only if at least one pattern is selected.