Build a flow step by step

A flow is a list of steps that a profile performs on its own, and you assemble it from a list rather than by demonstrating it. The path is RPA Plus in the left column, then New flow. People build one when the same dozen clicks happen every morning on twenty accounts.

Steps are chosen not recorded

There is no recorder that watches your clicks. Each step is picked from a list of kinds and told exactly what it works on, which is also why a flow stays readable a month later.

The order is the order you see, and steps can be moved up and down inside it.

Build the first flow

A flow has a name and a list of steps, and nothing has to be finished before it is saved.

1
Open the automation screen
The RPA Plus tab in the left column.
2
Press New flow
The button above the list of flows.
3
Give the flow a name
The Flow name field at the top of the editor.
4
Press Add step
The button above the list of steps.
5
Choose the step type
The Step type picker in the Add step window.

The kinds of step

The plain ones go to an address, wait, click, type text, scroll, extract text, take a screenshot, press a key and pause for a random while.

The others are heavier: repeat, if and else, for each element, tab control, cookies, running JavaScript and waiting for a request.

Values that differ per profile

A step value can hold a variable written in double braces, and the name of the profile and its group are already there to use. One step is then written once for everybody.

Values can also be given per profile, so one flow signs into twenty accounts without twenty copies of itself.

An exported file has no secrets

Variable values stay out of the exported flow, because that is where logins and passwords usually live. What travels is the shape of the work, not the keys to it.

The check before a run

Before you run it looks for the steps that would do nothing and look like a hang: a click with no target, a wait with no time, an empty loop.

It warns and it does not stop you saving. A half built flow is a normal state of a flow you are still writing.

What a run may not exceed

A hundred screenshots per profile per run, and past that the step says there were too many rather than filling the disk quietly. A step that runs JavaScript is cut off after a minute.

A step that navigates accepts web addresses only, and that is checked again after the variables are filled in.

What this does not do

It does not record your actions. Steps are chosen from a list and filled in by hand.
It does not retry a failed step. The profile is marked as failed and the run moves on to the next one.
It does not carry variable values into an exported file. Those usually hold logins and passwords.

Where this is decided

Each claim above is one place in the code and one stand.

A flow really executes on the shipped engine rather than against a stand in: apps/desktop/test/сценарий-живьём.js
The check before a run catches the steps that would hang: apps/desktop/test/flow-check.js
A flow that came from somewhere else cannot reach into this computer: apps/desktop/test/rpa-reach.js
The screenshot ceiling and the cut off of a JavaScript step live in one place: apps/desktop/src/main/main.js

Questions

Is there a recorder that captures what I do?: No. A flow is assembled from steps, and each one names what it works on, so it can be read and fixed later.
How many screenshots can one run take?: A hundred per profile per run. Past that the step reports that there were too many, and the number is stated rather than guessed.
My JavaScript step hangs.: It is cut off after a minute and the run carries on. The page itself is not interrupted, so write the step to finish on its own.
Can a flow open a file on my disk?: No. A navigating step takes web addresses only, and the rule is applied again after a variable has been filled in.

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