Use the Click component

Simulate the click actions of a mouse device by using the Click component in RPA Desktop Design Studio.

Before you begin

Role required: none

About this task

The Click component uses the Inter-Process Communication (IPC) to send the click events to an application. Use it to click buttons, controls, or anything that typically expects a mouse click.

The properties of the Click component are common with other Actions UI components, to configure these properties, see Properties of Actions (UI) components.

Procedure

1. In the Toolbox pane, navigate to Actions (UI) > Click.
2. Drag the Click component to the Design surface.
3. In the Click component, click the camera icon ().
   The Press "CTRL+SHIFT" for selection message appears.
4. Press the Ctrl + Shift keys.
   The mouse device turns into a crossover icon ().
5. Drag the mouse device over the application to capture the area where the action will be performed and then release.
   Tip:

   Include a part of the image that does not change in your selection. This can help the automation find the capture area when the unchanging part is used as an anchor. To designate an anchor, see Step 7.
   The selected area is captured as an image in the Click component.
6. Drag the green plus icon () over the captured image and place on the location where the component will perform an action.
7. Optional: Add an anchor to the captured image by doing the following actions.
   An anchor is a unique identifier that enables the Click component to identify the content where the mouse device actions are simulated. Although adding an anchor is a good approach, it's optional. If you don't add an anchor, the Click component treats the whole captured image as an anchor. For more information on anchor, see the steps to use the Anchor.
   1. In the Click component, right-click the image, and click Add Anchor.
      The anchor appears as a yellow rectangle with red borders.
   2. Drag and place the anchor at the unique location on the captured image.
      Tip:

      To change the dimensions of the anchor, position the mouse device along the edge of the anchor until the mouse device turns into a diagonal two-sided arrow () and then drag the anchor.
8. Optional: Capture alternate images by doing the following actions:
   Alternate images prevent an execution failure when the Click component doesn't find the image that was captured first. In that case, the Click component then searches for alternative images to execute. You can add as many alternate images as you need.
   1. In the Click component, click the component settings icon ().
   2. In the ALTERNATE IMAGES window, click the add image icon ().
   3. Click the camera icon ().
      The Press "CTRL+SHIFT" for selection message appears.
   4. Press the Ctrl + Shift keys.
      The mouse device turns into a crossover icon ().
   5. Drag the mouse device over the application to capture the area where you want the component to perform an action and release.
      The selected area is captured as an image in the ALTERNATE IMAGES window.
   6. Drag the green plus icon () over the captured image and place on the location where you want the component to perform an action.
   7. To close the ALTERNATE IMAGES window, click OK.
9. Optional: To test the component, right-click the component bar and then click Run From Here.

Automate the clicking of an HTML button

The Click component automates the clicking of the Home HTML button on the window. As a result, the user navigates to the home screen or window.