Is there any way to update all object repo screens in all workflows in a project without manually opening them all?
For example, lets say I update a browser screen URL and selectors. At the moment to update all workflows that use that browser screen object repo, I have to manually open each workflow file in Studio, which then automatically updates the Use Application/Browser activity.
But I don’t want to have to manually update all of the relevant workflows, because there might be 10+ workflows that use that screen, so it can really annoying and boring to open and save each workflow just to update the screen.
Is there no way to do this automatically? I wish there was a button or something like that I could press that would automatically update all of the Use Application/Browser activities to that new screen URL and selector.
Hi @sven.wullum1, thanks for your response. And yes, I am using the Object Repository as I mentioned in my original post. The problem is that the Object Repository activities do not update in all of my workflows automatically, and that I have to manually open each workflow for them to update, but that is a tedious process and can be error prone.
Hi @Anil_G, thanks for your response. Unfortunately the Project Dependencies Mass Update tool, which I use every so often, does not do anything to actually update each of the activities in workflows to the latest object repo version. All the PDMU tool does is update the library, but even if I do that, I still need to go into each workflow in order to update the activities that are imported from the library.
@loginerror, do you have any ideas about this issue or situation? This is a pretty big limitation in UiPath Studio as it really wastes a lot of time on low-value busy work.
Hi again, @Anil_G, unfortunately that does not work as you expect. Have you tried it? Whether you are updating the object repo through a library dependency update, or just editing and updating the object repo directly within the project, the workflows are not updated unless you go open them and then Studio automatically updates the activities, but only if you open each workflow individually. I guess I will need to record a video of the problem to show it to you.
I’m pretty sure this is just a limitation in UiPath Studio, but I wonder if the coded automations work in the same way or if they directly update the object repo screen without having to open the coded automation workflow…
Hey @sven.wullum1, unfortunately that is not the solution, because I would agree that it would make sense that the activities would automatically update when you update the object repo screen or activities, but they do not…
I’m not sure what you mean “update the activities.” There is no such thing. The activities are just a visual interface to configure underlying code. It’s the underlying code that is being run. How the activities appear in Studio is irrelevant. Updating the dependency version in the project.json (which is what the mass update tool does) will use the new library during execution.
Just for my curiosity I made a test of repo update.
1/ I have a test process that just opens a browser screen defined in repo library.
2/ I have two repo library versions:
in ver1 the browser screen opens google.com
in ver2 the browser screen opens uipath.com
3/ I published test process with repo lib ver1 linked
4/ I ran test process - it openned google.com page
5/ I swapped repo lib to ver2 simply by updating project.json and published the test process
6/ I ran test process - it openned uipath.com page
So it all works as expected: it is not needed to touch the process in case an object in repo lib change.
I recorded a video to show you what I mean. Can you watch it and try to recreate the issue?
Do you see how when I update an object repo screen (or any activity, I’m sure), that in order to update the workflow to use the latest object repo value, I have to manually open that workflow and save it before the object repo item in that workflow is updated?
This is really annoying and I wish UiPath studio would automatically update those items without having to open each workflow to update.
This bug means that if you simply update a library, or any object repo items, that you have to manually open every single workflow that uses that object repo in order to update the activity or screen or whatever.
I submitted a technical support request to UiPath Support for them to take a look at this since I went through the effort to make the video…
Details:
UiPath Studio doesn’t automatically update workflows when updating object repo items
Lack of automatic update mechanism for UiPath Studio workflows when updating Object Repository items such as screens and related activities.
Issue:
When updating an object repository screen (e.g., modifying a browser screen URL and selectors), or any other object repo activities in a project, such as Click, Type into, etc, the current workflow in Studio requires manually opening each workflow file in Studio and then saving them to trigger the update of the activities and screens. This manual process is time-consuming and inefficient, especially for projects with numerous workflows utilizing the same screen objects.
Expected Behavior:
There should be a feature or a button in UiPath Studio that allows users to automatically update all Use Application/Browser activities and other related activities across all workflows in the project to reflect the latest changes made to the object repository screens. This would eliminate the need for manually opening and saving each workflow individually.
Possible Solution:
Implement a feature within Studio that allows users to bulk update all references to a modified object repository screen and any related activities across all workflows in the project. This could be in the form of a dedicated button or an automated synchronization tool that detects changes in the object repository and applies them project-wide without manual intervention.
Ideally this could also happen automatically when you update libraries.
And here’s a screenshot showing the difference of opening the file and then saving it in order to update the object repo item in the workflow. If you don’t open the workflow, then the activity will not be updated to the latest object repo activity settings.
Thanks for your continued discussion. I agree that it might not be a bug, but it’s also not a straightforward handling of the object repo files. I always assumed (and I’m sure most users assume) that if you update the object repo that all items would be updated automatically across workflows.
But that’s not the case, and I don’t think this behaviour is described in the documentation.
So this would be a fantastic feature to add to Studio. Maybe it could be added to the “Analyze File / Analyze Project” dropdown, as a “Update Object Repo Activities” button so that you can manually trigger the update of all workflows.
Hi all, just to report an update, I talked with @teodora.baciu from the UiPath UI Automation product team.
She showed me that when you update the Object Repo items, that they are in fact used when running the automations without opening the workflow file. So the workflows are automatically updated when you update an Object Repo item, but the only thing is that the workflow if it’s connected to git will NOT show any changes to the workflow file, even though the object repo screen or selector is updated and working.
@teodora.baciu said that she and her team will work on making this better so that it is more simple and shows the changes to the workflow files, but in the meantime the object repo does appear to work as expected, it is just that it doesn’t LOOK like anything has been updated.
