How to extract full static text from an Edge page into a String using ServiceNow RPA?

[arsalanfava]

I am using ServiceNow Zurich RPA Desktop Design Studio with Universal App Connector and Microsoft Edge.

My automation successfully reaches a page containing a large multiline text body. My goal is to extract the entire visible text into one String variable so I can parse the values.

What I tried:

• Captured the full text area using Windows UIA.
  • Element type is detected as Group.
  • No GetText method is available.
• Captured it using Active Accessibility.
  • Element type is detected as Grouping.
  • GetValue returns an empty String.
• Captured smaller individual text lines.
  • GetValue still returns empty.
• Installed and enabled the ServiceNow RPA Edge Extension in the exact Edge profile used by the bot.
• UAC Edge mode still does not detect any open Edge windows.

The text is static webpage content, not an editable field.

Is there a supported ServiceNow RPA method to retrieve the full visible page or element text into a String?

If Edge DOM detection cannot be made to work, is the recommended fallback:

I am trying to avoid OCR and capturing every line individually.
Thanks

[Rafael Batistot · Accepted solution]

Hi @arsalanfava 

May you try this GetText function. 

https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/yokohama/integrate-applications/rpa-hub/use-actionsui-get-text.htm...

[arsalanfava]

Thanks for the recommendation. I tested Actions (UI) > Get Text in Zurich Desktop Design Studio with UAC 9.0 and Microsoft Edge.

I tested:
- Full multiline text area
- One short non-sensitive line
- Green extraction marker directly on the text
- With and without an anchor
- Output connected to a String variable
- Direct validation that Length > 0

Runtime logs say image recognition succeeded and Get Text completed successfully, but Extracted Data is always empty.

Safe tests confirmed:
Extracted length: 0

Validation also fails with:
Validation Error: Get Text returned an empty String.

Can you confirm whether Actions (UI) Get Text supports text rendered inside Microsoft Edge/Chromium pages, or whether another property or supported non-OCR method is required?

[Rafael Batistot]

Hi @arsalanfava 

One other option is to run a script that captures the text directly from the DOM, for example: document.body.innerText.

https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/xanadu/integrate-applications/rpa-hub/execute-rpa-script.html

[Vikram Reddy]

Hey @arsalanfava,

To get that whole block into one String, stop chasing it through UIA and Active Accessibility and instead get the Universal App Connector reading Edge in DOM mode. Static page text rendered inside a plain container often exposes as Group/Grouping with no TextPattern or populated Value property behind it, which is exactly why GetText and GetValue keep coming back empty, DOM read bypasses the accessibility tree entirely and reads the actual text node. Since UAC isn't seeing any open Edge window yet, work through this first:

• Confirm the ServiceNow RPA Edge extension shows enabled (not just installed) at edge://extensions, in the exact profile and session the bot service runs under.
• Open the target Edge window before you add the Universal App Connector action in Studio, then select it from the open-window list. UAC only enumerates apps that were already open and active when you start capturing, that's documented behavior, not a quirk.
• Fully restart Edge after enabling the extension, a mid-session toggle doesn't always attach to windows that were opened earlier.
• Once UAC attaches in DOM mode, capture the container element and use Get Text (or Get Attribute for its text content) against the container itself, not the individual lines.

If the page genuinely can't be reached via DOM even after that, for example canvas-rendered or hardened content, the supported fallback is the OCR Text action in Design Studio. You lose exact whitespace formatting, but it's built for this and beats scripting each line separately.

Thank you,
Vikram Karety
Octigo Solutions INC