Pre-General Availability: 2024-09-02

Define the Fields of an Action

If you're new to designing robots, spend some time familiarizing yourself with your options for defining the fields for an action.

On This Page

• How to Define Field Values
• Examples
• Additional Options When Defining an Action

How to Define Field Values

The following table helps you understand all the available options and how to apply them.

Some fields include only some of these options.

Goal	More information
Use a value from a robot connection Robot connections	In a robot action, select within the field to define, and select Robot connections . This option is sometimes in the More options menu. The Robot connections panel appears. In the list, expand the entry for a robot connection. Drag a parameter for the robot connection to the field.
Choose an element in a user interface Target a page element	To select a field using the recorder: In a robot action, select within the field to define, and select Target a page element . This option is sometimes in the More options menu. In the application that the browser needs to work in, point to the field where the robot needs to enter its user name, but don't select the field yet. For example, do not select the UI element while the magnifying lens icon appears and the field is shaded purple. The recorder is still collecting information about the UI element. After the icon changes to a target, the shading turns green, and the mouse icon changes to a hand, select the UI element. Tip: Your settings determine whether Oracle Integration reuses targets for previously selected UI controls. You can override this setting, if needed. Reusing a target offers benefits. For example, you can update a target one time, and all robots that use the target get the update.
Use an input property from the robot trigger Input	In a robot action, select within the field to define, and select More options , and then select Input . The Input panel appears. From the Properties list, select a property, and drag it to the field.
Use an output property from the robot trigger Output	In a robot action, select within the field to define, and select More options , and then select Output . The Output panel appears. From the Properties list, select a property, and drag it to the field.
Use a project-level variable Variables	In a robot action, select within the field to define, and select Variables . This option is sometimes in the More options menu. The Variables panel appears. If the variable to use doesn't exist yet, create it. See Create a Variable. From the Available variables list, select a variable, and drag it to the field.
Hard code a value by typing text	In general, Oracle recommends using placeholder values rather than hard-coded values. Placeholder values are easy to reuse and update. However, you can hard-code a value if needed when defining a robot action. In a robot action, select within the field to define. Enter the value for the field.
Include an expression in a field	If you need to take action on a value, such as by using it to obtain a different value through a calculation, you can include an expression in a field. See Guidelines for Expressions.

Examples

Action	Example
Open browser	The URL field has offers several options for defining a value.
Enter text	The Text field offers several options for defining a value.
Log	The Message field offers several options for the data to include in the activity stream.

Additional Options When Defining an Action

Each action has additional options that are specific to the action. For details, see Add an Action to a Robot.