Unable to Detect "Save Print Output As" Window in Background During Automation

[Avyan.Sharma (Avyan Mukesh Sharma)]

Hello UiPath Community,

I am facing an issue while automating a desktop application where I need to save a PDF using “Microsoft Print to PDF.” During the automation, there is a step where the “Save Print Output As” dialog box opens up, as shown in the attached screenshot. However, I am unable to detect this dialog box using the “Check App State” activity because it opens in the background, and the automation fails to interact with it.

Challenges:

• The “Save Print Output As” dialog appears in the background, making it hard to detect with standard activities like “Check App State.”
• The application I am automating is slow in generating the PDF, which causes delays before this dialog box appears, further complicating detection and interaction.
• This step is crucial as it is the only way to download the PDF, and I need to automate this without manual intervention.

Attempts Made:

• Tried using “Check App State,” but it doesn’t detect the window when it opens in the background.
• Attempted using delays and retry scopes, but they are not reliable due to varying load times of the application.

Questions:

1. Is there a way to bring the “Save Print Output As” dialog to the foreground automatically using UiPath?
2. Are there any alternative approaches or activities that can reliably detect this window, even if it opens in the background?
3. Any suggestions on handling slow load times to ensure the automation waits until the dialog box is fully available for interaction?

Your insights or any guidance on how to handle this scenario would be highly appreciated!

Thank you in advance!

[ashokkarale]

@Avyan.Sharma,

@Avyan.Sharma

Is there a way to bring the “Save Print Output As” dialog to the foreground automatically using UiPath?

Use Activate activity.

Activities - Activate

@Avyan.Sharma

Are there any alternative approaches or activities that can reliably detect this window, even if it opens in the background?

Activate activity is the solution.

@Avyan.Sharma

Any suggestions on handling slow load times to ensure the automation waits until the dialog box is fully available for interaction?

Configure Timeout property as pr need. This will ensure your activity will wait till the window appears. For example I set it to 60 seconds, if your window appears before that, it will move to next actions without waiting till timeout.

Thanks,
Ashok

[ashokkarale]

@Avyan.Sharma,

You can refer this solution also.

How to effectively bring application window to the front?

UiPath.Core.Activities.Activate provides the functionality to bring a window to the foreground. If you are already within an Open Application or Application Scope, it is as simple as dragging the activity in.

Thanks,
Ashok

[SorenB]

Hello @Avyan.Sharma

Please try with an “Use Application/Browser” activity with this window selector:

And then drag an “Activate” activity within this Use Application as @ashokkarale suggests.

Regards,
Soren