Add focus() function to set application to be in focus in foreground [done]

[Vic-Lau]

Hi @kensoh Mr.Kensoh, As the title:

1. Chrome version: 113.0.5672.127, Sometimes r.close() can't close chrome, How can I ensure that chrome will be closed?
2. How can I ensure that chrome keep top on desktop?
3. How to switch between multiple windows in chrome?

[kensoh]

Hi @Vic-Lau!

1. I haven't come across this feedback by users, is this still happening for you? When r.close() is run, it will run a script that kills off all TagUI RPA related processes, including Chrome. The next time this happens, look for the tagui folder src/end_processes.cmd under r.tagui_location() then double click that batch file to see if it helps to close. If not, maybe on your PC there is some unique configuration that the batch file can't kill Chrome.

2. By default, Chrome will be launched and be on the top of desktop. Some ideas would be see if you can set Chrome to be always on top using Chrome settings or plugin. Or you can use visual automation to click on the Chrome item in taskbar to force it to be in the foreground.

3. If you are using normal XPath, using popup() and switch between different tabs. If not, you can use visual automation to click on the tab you want. For creating multiple tabs in the first place, you need to either click a link that opens another tab, or use dom() to force a new tab to open. See example here - RPA Challenge - code design and optimisation to run 20-30X faster #120 (comment) (look for the dom() function in this example)

[Vic-Lau]

Hi @kensoh Mr.kensoh, Please forgive my description, these are not problems, just some suggestions~ :

1. I still get this problem occasionally, I'll keep testing, maybe I'll modify end_processes.cmd.
2. For example, every time I open chrome and want to maximize the window, I will execute r.keyboard('[alt][space]' r.keyboard('x')), but if chrome is not activated (not only keep top, but also activated), the code is invalid, I think similar situations will often appear in complex businesses. I have considered using visual automation to deal with it, but it will be very cumbersome. Have you considered adding the function of window activation?
3. I understand your solution. Actually query 3 is similar to query 2. Chrome opens multiple tabs, When I want to switch and activate the tab I wanted, popup() can't do it. In addition, dom() is forced to open and Instead of switching. Have you considered adding a Tab ID parameter to popup() to activate the function of the tab?

[kensoh]

Hi @Vic-Lau, how is it for 1?

For 2, I don't think Chrome API allows making the Chrome browser in focus, that has to be done from OS level. Can you try to r.wait() for some time before doing the keyboard shortcuts? Alternatively, consider editing the tagui_config.txt file to set the browser window size. File found in the tagui/src or .tagui/src folder under r.tagui_location()

For 3, popup() can only set the context but it doesn't make it appear in front, I don't think that can be controlled from Chrome API. Thus only keyboard to send Alt+Tab or using visual automation to click onto it will bring it in front. Automation can still continue without the tab being in front.

[kensoh]

Closing issue for now because there isn't anything actionable, but do let me know your thoughts so I can see if something can be improved within the constraints of Chrome API or other workaround.

[Vic-Lau]

Hi @kensoh Mr.Kensoh emm... 1 is not clear yet~~~, 2 and 3 I have also compared some RPA products in the past few days. I think it is correct that this Query is closed, because although 2 and 3 are solved in some RPA products, But TagUI as an RPA engine or the RPA language, It only needs to provide the most basic implementation, and it should not involve product requirement solutions, so I will consider using TagUI and Python to encapsulation general method to implement similar requirement in the future, So thank you for your reply. Best Wishes~

Closing issue for now because there isn't anything actionable, but do let me know your thoughts so I can see if something can be improved within the constraints of Chrome API or other workaround.

[kensoh]

What other RPA products did you try? Many RPA tools are based on Windows, so the complexity is lesser than solution like rpa package that can run on Windows, Mac, Linux.

I think you can use r.run() to run some Windows command to set an application to be in focus. Check out the link below and try, should be doable.

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/35988863/using-command-line-batch-to-switch-to-focus-on-app

[Vic-Lau]

Aliyun-RPA，iS-RPA etc... iS-RPA link: https://support.i-search.com.cn/article/1608274445197
I will try it, Thx~

What other RPA products did you try? Many RPA tools are based on Windows, so the complexity is lesser than solution like rpa package that can run on Windows, Mac, Linux.

I think you can use r.run() to run some Windows command to set an application to be in focus. Check out the link below and try, should be doable.

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/35988863/using-command-line-batch-to-switch-to-focus-on-app

[kensoh]

Do both aliyun rpa and is rpa run on mac and Linux too? That will increase software complexity by a lot to stay consistent across OSes. But anyway, hard to compete with China commercial products. China tech products that can survive the national competition would have to be very very good.

[Vic-Lau]

No, Both only support Windows OS, So TagUI has better scalability, Also very awesome👍!
I'm not trying to compete, Just because the activation function is good.