Robots are used to perform actions that would normally be done by employees. They interact with a variety of windows, drop-down menus, text fields, check marks, and many other elements.
Just as an employee, the robot must know the specific windows and fields where an action should be executed. Selectors are used to solve this problem. Each user interface element (for example, a button) and its parent elements are characterized by attributes. A selector stores those values (elements and their attributes). Using this information, the robot can find a given element and execute the desired action on it.
Selector values have an XML structure and consist of at least one node that represents the UI element of interest. In addition, parent elements can be added to assure that the chosen element is identified correctly. If all parent elements are included, the selector consists of all nodes up to the window of an application or browser.
When an activity must be indicated, selector values are used. These can be edited in the Properties pane under Selector Value (1). The Selector Editor can be opened by clicking on the symbol next to the value field (2).
