Artifacts help you to reduce maintenance efforts by storing the shared selector values in a central repository, the RPA Platform, for use by your workflows.
Consider the following scenario:
Several workflows use the same software. An update changes the user interface of that software, which affects the selector values within the workflows. Without artifacts, you would have to update each individual workflow with new selector values.
With artifacts, you only need to update the selector values in the affected artifact.
Another benefit is that artifacts allow you to build a process without needing access to the application or Web site being automated. Of course, this is only possible for applications and Web sites and their elements for which artifacts are already stored in the repository.
The application is the container for artifacts. The following artifact types are available:
-
Application Artifacts contain either a URL to a Web site, if the application is a Web site, or the path to the application to launch. Therefore, you can use application artifacts in the Open Application or Open Browser scope activities.
-
Window Artifacts contain the selector value for the window on which the bot performs its actions. You can use window artifacts with the Attach Window activity.
-
Element Artifacts contain selector values for all available elements in a window, such as buttons, drop-down menus, or any other element in the DOM.