Add a Web Table Action

The web table action lets you to identify the columns in a table that you are interested in. Add more actions to interact with the table cells.

Use Cases

Consider a table that contains invoice numbers in one column and a hyperlink in another column. Use a web table action to identify the two columns. Then, use a get text action to get each invoice number, and use a click element action to select each link. Include both of these actions within a foreach loop, which lets you iterate on multiple rows of data.

For a real-world scenario, see Use Case: Save Values After Iterating on a Table.

Requirements and Output

  • You can use this action only for a UI element that is coded as a table.

  • You must create a web table definition, but the timing is up to you.

    The web table definition identifies the table that the robot interacts with. If the table changes, update the web table definition as needed.

    You can create the web table definition either as part of defining the web table action or before.

    Then, when you add a web table action to a robot, you choose the web table definition to use.

  • This action returns an output: A collection of HTML table rows for the columns that you select. Each row consists of key-value pairs:

    • The key is a column name.

    • The value is the XPath of a row cell.

  • Only the get text and click element actions can interact with the XPath values that this action returns.

(Optional) Step 1. Create a Web Table Definition

If you want to create the web table definition before adding the web table action, see Create a Web Table Definition.

Otherwise, you can create the web table definition when you add the web table action. Keep reading for step-by-step instructions.

Step 2. Add a Web Table Action

Note:

You must use the low-code capabilities to add this action to a robot. Keep reading for step-by-step instructions.
  1. Open the robot to edit.
  2. Add the action to the robot.
    1. On the canvas, point to an action, and click +.
      A mouse cursor points to an action in the canvas and hovers over the plus sign button, which appears at the bottom of the rectangle that represents the action. A plus sign button also appears at the top of the rectangle, for adding an action after the current action.

      A menu of available actions appears.

    2. Select Web Table.

      A Web Table action appears on the canvas, and the Web Table panel appears.

  3. In the panel, enter a Name and Description for the action.

    The Name appears on the action in the canvas and should help you and others understand the goal of the action.

  4. On the Input tab, perform one of the following tasks.

    • If you already created the web table definition that the action interacts with, select it.

      1. Click within the Web Table field, and select Web Table Web table definition.

        The Web table definitions panel appears.

      2. Drag a web table definition to the Web Table field.

    • If you haven't created the web table definition yet, create it.

      1. Verify that the table in the application is coded as a table element in the page's HTML.

        For help understanding the HTML of a page, see View the HTML Code for a Page.

        If the table was coded using div elements and the page's CSS transforms the content into a table, you can't identify it using a web table definition. Instead, use the get text action and save the individual values as a variable collection. See Add a Get Text Action.

      2. Click within the Web Table field, and select Web Table Web table definition.

        The Web table definitions panel appears.

      3. Select either Create (if you have no web table definitions) or + (if you have one or more web table definitions).

      4. In the panel, enter a Name and Description.

        The name should help you and others identify:

        • The application where the table appears.

        • The page where the table appears.

        • If necessary, the table's location on the page.

      5. Identify the first column of data that the robot must interact with.

      6. You don't need to identify every column in the table. Instead, just identify the columns that the robot interacts with.

        1. In another browser window or tab, open the application where the robot works.

        2. In the web table definition, click within the Header field, and select Target a page element Target a page element.

          The Target a page element panel appears.

        3. In the panel, from the Select browser tab to target drop-down, select the application where the robot works, and select Go. You might need to scroll down to find the application.

          The application opens.

        4. In the application where the robot works, point to the header of the first column that the robot interacts with, but don't select it yet.

          For example, if the field is shaded purple and the magnifying lens icon appears, don't click yet. The recorder is still collecting information.

          A table header is shaded purple, and a magnifying lens icon appears above it

        5. After the shading turns green, the icon changes to a target, and the mouse icon changes to a hand, select the UI element.

          x

          For more tips, see Quick Start for Building Robots.

          The recorder enters a value in the Header field in the robot.

          Tip:

          Your settings determine whether Oracle Integration reuses targets for previously selected UI controls. You can override these settings, if needed. Reusing a target offers benefits. For example, you can update a target one time, and all actions that use the target get the update.

        6. Click within the Row 1 field, and repeat the previous steps to target the first row in the column to target.

        7. Click within the Row 2 field, and repeat the previous steps to target the second row in the column to target.

      7. If the robot must interact with one or more additional columns in the table, identify the additional columns.

        1. Next to Columns, select Add Install icon.

        2. Repeat the previous steps to identify the header and first two rows of the column that the robot interacts with.

        3. Add more columns as needed until you've identified all the columns that the robot interacts with.

  5. On the Input tab, specify whether to capture any screenshots as part of the action.
  6. On the Output tab, review the variable name that the table information is saved to.

    The web table action creates a custom data type and variable. The properties of the data type are the columns that you identified in the web table action. The variable is a collection of the data type that the web table action created.

  7. On the Pre Validate and Post Validate tabs, specify whether to complete any validation before and after the action.
  8. Click OK.
  9. Above the canvas, select Save.

Your next steps depend upon your goals: