URGENT NOTIFICATION RELATED TO USE OF CHROME AND EDGE BROWSERS AS PART OF BLUE PRISM PRA AUTOMATIONS

[CharlotteK]

This information was last updated on 6th of December 2022

Google (Chrome) and Microsoft (Edge) have announced that they are changing the way third-party browser extensions are supported. In June 2023, any browser extension that uses their Manifest V2 (MV2) standard will no longer operate unless action is taken.   

In response to this announcement, SS&C Blue Prism has created a new browser extension that supports Manifest V3 (MV3) for it's RPA product.  

It is recommended that customers who currently use either of these browsers as part of their automations adopt a MV3 compatible solution for use with SS&C Blue Prism by June 2023 and test their automations as part of that adoption/upgrade process.

In addition, customers should be aware that with MV3, Google (and Microsoft) have removed the capability to perform JavaScript invocation or injection. Customers who utilize that capability must either modify their automations to overcome the vendor-imposed restrictions or adopt the Blue Prism Browser Automation Agent solution, which offers continued support for this functionality. 

To help our community of users identify if they are impacted by this announcement - our product team has provided a utility that will determine if you are affected by this issue. We recommend that you run this utility, which can be found here https://digitalexchange.blueprism.com/dx/entry/3439/solution/manifest-v3-impact-assessment-utility

If the utility identifies you are affected (i.e., Using Chrome or Edge / utilizing the JavaScript insert/invoke function) please make sure your organization completes the survey sent to them by their account or customer success manager.

Note: this survey is intended for end-users of  SS&C Blue Prism RPA only. If you haven't received this survey and feel that you should have, please contact your SS&C Blue Prism representative. Information for SS&C Blue Prism partners is available on the Connect Partner Portal.

Our upcoming releases (7.1 and 6.10.5) will contain Browser Extension support for Manifest V3. 

[Note: these versions will also support those customers who could not apply the January 2022 Microsoft security patch update. Visit FAQs. http://portal.blueprism.com/customer-support/support-center#/path/-Featured-Articles/1784860762/-Solution-Windows-updates-from-11th-January-2022-causing-authentication-issues-in-Blue-Prism.htm] 

Our communication regarding this event will evolve in the coming weeks and months. In the meanwhile, please find the latest information in our Knowledge Base FAQs. Support Center | Blue Prism Portal

[06/12/22 Addendum]: Please follow the below links for official communications and timelines from:
- Google
- Microsoft

#BluePrismNews
#InsideRPA
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Charlotte Kennett
Director, Global Customer Marketing & Community
Blue Prism
Europe/London
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[JamesHall]

When will the new Blue Prism versions (7.1 or 6.10.5) be available for download?

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James Hall
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[CharlotteK]

Hi @James Hall - we don't have a set date for this yet, it's currently scheduled for Q2.
All the latest release plans and schedules are available here.​

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Charlotte Kennett
Director, Global Customer Marketing & Community
Blue Prism
Europe/London
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[Devendra_KumarP]

Thanks for sharing information.

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Devendra Kumar Prajapati
RPA Manager
Infosys
Chandigarh, India
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[_Amlansahoo]

Java Script invoke is completely not supported by chrome and Edge browser or it is not supported by Blue prism only? Is there any other way we can invoke JavaScript to the browser?

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Amlan Sahoo
Senior RPA Consultant
WonderBotz
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[DaveMorris]

It's a requirement by the browser. Any RPA tool that currently uses something like Insert JavaScript Fragment will stop working in 2023. The documentation for Chrome Manifest V3 indicates there is still some way to invoke code dynamically, but I feel like it's still going to be a parameterized thing where the actual methods/functions have to exist already in the extension. I didn't look into it much because it doesn't matter much to me unless I can use it in Blue Prism.

In any case, our best bet at this point is to go ahead and give Blue Prism any feedback we've been holding onto specifically about workarounds we've put in place using Insert JavaScript Fragment or Invoke JavaScript Function, and then Blue Prism can attempt to make that be built-in functionality. I've already sent a fair amount of feedback, and I plan to do more testing and provide anything else as well that I come across, and I definitely encourage anyone else to do the same.

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Dave Morris
3Ci at Southern Company
Atlanta, GA
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[RafaelRomero]

Hi, will the updated Chrome extension work with Blue Prism V7.0.1 ?

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Rafael Romero
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[chris.strong]

Hello Rafeal,

Re: Will the updated Chrome extension work with Blue Prism V7.0.1?

We will also be providing Manifest V3 extension support for Blue Prism 7.0 too

• It will probably be a separate extension to the one we make available with Blue Prism 7.1, as we generally provide separate ones per Blue Prism version to give you greater control over adopting changing within your automation environment.

Kind regards

Chris Strong

Blue Prism Product Manager

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Chris Strong
Product Manager
Blue Prism
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[RafaelRomero]

Perfect thanks @chris.strong​

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Rafael Romero
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[chris.strong]

Thank you Dave,

You're right, the more insights and feedback we have from our community of what the JavaScript is currently being used for, means we can focus our engineers on the things that matter most (in a Manifest V3 friendly way).

For the benefit of the Community: I'm the Blue Prism Product Manager who is leading on these Manifest V2 Sunset challenge.

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Chris Strong
Product Manager
Blue Prism
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