Avoid selecting wrong element when identical elements present?

Help Activities
, ,
1

Hi,

The site has these elements present where the 4 or all boxes are identical:
image

I select this one:
image

I would like to know the technicals behind what makes the selector work in some cases when the target box is missing and sometimes does not:
image

Still works but selecting the wrong box:
image

Does not work:
image

I achieved this by disabling the elements in the developer panel(devtools/F12) in Edge.

Im asking this because I would like to know how can one be certain that the robot for example will not type in stuff in the wrong box in real life scenarios?

2

Use UiExplorer and look at the selectors of each of the boxes. See which attribute makes each box unique from each other

3

It looks like a complex UI, but @atomic you need to Check all the elements and Identify which is best for you, I can give you a solution when I can review the same but in your case, I can’t.

You get the solution but you need to understand the below best practices for selectors for window-based applications.

Uniqueness is Key:

  • Strive to create selectors that uniquely identify the target element. This reduces the risk of unintended selection.
  • Prioritize attributes like id, aaname (automation ID), or name if they hold unique values.
  • If these attributes aren’t unique, consider using a combination of attributes or leveraging positional information (idx).

Example (Unique id):

XML<webctrl aaname='' tag='INPUT' type='text' id='unique_text_box' />

Example (Combining Attributes):

XML<webctrl aaname='' tag='INPUT' type='text' class='common_class' idx='2' />

Relative Selectors (with Caution):

  • Use relative selectors with care, as they can become brittle if the UI structure changes.
  • If you must use them, ensure a stable parent element and avoid relying solely on positional information.

Example (Relative Selector):

XML<webctrl aaname='' tag='INPUT' type='text' parentid='unique_parent_element' />

Leverage UiPath Studio Features:

  • UiExplorer: Visually inspect the UI structure and identify unique attributes.
  • “Induce Element” Feature: Right-click an element and select “Induce Element” to generate more robust selectors.

Handle Dynamic Elements (if applicable):

  • If elements are dynamically generated, explore using idx cautiously or consider alternative approaches like waiting for specific content to load before selecting.

Additional Tips:

  • Wildcards (*): Use wildcards sparingly, as they can broaden the match criteria and potentially select unintended elements.
  • Custom Properties : Define custom properties to store dynamic values for selector construction.
  • Error Handling: Implement robust error handling to catch situations where the target element cannot be found.

Note: Idx selector is not recommended.

4

Thanks for your answer @mukesh.singh but I am not the one asking the question…

5

Try to use strict selector and give the unique attribute which u can get it from UI Explorer