Data entry without opening browser

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1

I am exploring a new use case. I have a web form, which I would like to automate. The webform contains lots of free text fields, dropdowns, checkboxes and file upload buttons etc. There are almost 60+ fields to be keyed in and at the end click on SUBMIT and then continue with the next one.

I am looking for something other than the usual method of web automation by opening the browser and use type into and click activities etc. I am looking for something that will do this in the background without opening the browser.

These are something I explored:

  1. HTTP POST method - but the website does not have any apis associated with each fields, hence I am not sure how exactly it works if it works!!
  2. Use Headless property in open browser activity - but this method has a limitation to use only simulate click and send windows message only.

I am open to try any other methods (like a python script + UiPath) etc…

Thanks in advance!

2

If you want a solution that works quickly, you can try fill the fields with JavaScript by using Invoke JS script.

3

Thanks for the reply. I tried that too, but how exactly we can do exception handling in that case? Like, if the field is not active or check if an element exists etc.

4

You could do that in UiPath side before invoking the script, or then you need to do it within the script.

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5

Thanks, will have to try that out. What are your thoughts about using the hidden property in the open browser?

Is using http request not a valid choice for doing form data entry?

6

One downside is that, you won’t be able to take error screenshots. If it’s an unattended robot, I’d just open a visible browser.

Using API, sure if that’s available. If you mean using a HTTP request to post a form, that might also work but depends on how the page reacts to it, and what are the next steps in your flow after that.

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7

Btw, I am planning to run this attended mode in a virtual machine. So I will trigger the bot and minimize the VM window hence allowing the bot to run in background. But for some reason when minimized some elements are not getting identified. That’s the sole reason for me to explore any other options.

Actually the form contains 60+ fields which consists of free text, dropdowns etc. I am not seeing any api being called under network when inspect element was done.

This is what I did.

  1. Typed some free text
  2. Checked under network tab to see any api change happened? I didn’t saw anything, but maybe at the end once submit button is clicked most likely an api call will happen. But untill that I cant find anything l.

Am I doing this right way?

Within UiPath I tried POST to that particular field’s id by passing the value as parameter. But when previewed I am not getting 200 response.

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Is it a VM you run on your desktop or are you connecting to it via RDP? If the latter, you could try to change a setting in order to have GUI render even though the VM is minimized (this is about python, but it’s the same issue: python - Automation Scripts Fail when RDP(VM) is minimized - Stack Overflow).

Yes, to me that seems correct. Did you get any other response? Because if you do not give all required input, you might get an error response.

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Its a virtual machine, for which I use Microsoft’s remote desktop application to access. Do you think the python solution you mentioned will work for me?

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Since you are connecting with RDP, I’d give it a try.

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11

Hi @amithvs ,

Maybe you could check the below documentation as well on the Minimized RDP run :

https://docs.uipath.com/robot/standalone/2023.4/user-guide/executing-tasks-in-a-minimized-rdp-window

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