Automate Opening a Windows Program Using an RPA Process
Learning Objectives
After completing this unit, you’ll be able to:
- Use the Run Program action step to start a program.
- Use runtime parameters to make action steps more robust.
In this unit, you continue to learn how to build the RPA process implementation. You learn how to configure a MuleSoft RPA bot to run the Chrome web browser and open it to a particular webpage. The techniques covered here can be used to run any Windows program with a MuleSoft RPA bot.
Ways Users Open a Windows Program
Now that you’ve started to learn about action steps used to implement an RPA process, consider the sequence of user actions. These user actions might include mouse actions and keyboard actions to carry out steps to open a Windows program. As a user, here are some ways you might launch an application.
- Locate and click the application icon on the Windows desktop. Click or open the Start Menu, then browse for the application.
- Search for the application’s executable command in File Explorer, then double-click the application’s executable command.
- Navigate through the file system to the application folder, and then double-click the application icon.
- Navigate through the file system to the application folder, right-click the application icon, and then run as an administrator.
- Open a command prompt and navigate through the file system to the application folder, and then run the application. You may need some additional startup arguments.
- Open a Run Command dialog box and type in the path to the application. You may need some additional startup arguments.
The advantage of the last option is that it doesn’t depend on the Windows desktop screen resolution and doesn’t require navigating through folders. The disadvantage is that you must know the exact path to the application’s executable command and the exact spelling. If you are certain the application’s installation location and the name of the application’s executable command will not change, there is an action step that lets you directly launch an application from the Run Command dialog box.
Automate Opening a Windows Program
The Run Program action step is used to automate the process of opening a Windows program using the run program Windows application.
To do this manually, follow these steps.
- Click the Windows button.
- Scroll to and open the Run Program application.
- Type in the name of the program to execute including any parameters.
- Click OK.
Although a user can also double-click an executable file or a shortcut to achieve the same goal, a bot breaks if files on the system are moved around. Furthermore, if additional steps are required after double-clicking to open a program, such as maximizing the application window, this introduces additional work for a bot developer and makes the RPA process more complex. It’s often a best practice to use the Run Program application as described here.
Open a Browser
When opening a browser window, consider using incognito mode to avoid complications that may arise from cached information. It is a best practice to maximize the window before searching for elements because the size of the window determines where elements are placed by the browser.
Walkthrough
Take a look at this video demonstration showing the solution to the challenge in the previous unit. It also demonstrates how to open the Chrome browser using the Run Program application. The action step is configured to use incognito mode, maximize the window, and navigate to https://www.mulesoft.com/community. You also learn how to favorite an action step and provide visual indicators for the steps that have been completed.
If you wish to follow along, first follow these steps to implement the solution from the challenge in the previous unit, then check out the walkthrough instructions.
