Application Modeler Conversion tool

[NitinMourya]

Hi Team,

We are trying to convert Internet explorer Object into Chrome/edge compatible. Our objects have contained all spying mode (HTML, UIA, AA and region mode). 

For Conversion we are using Application Conversion tool provided in Digital Exchange. we used Conversion rule files provided in from BP. 

We are successfully able to Convert HTML to Web browser mode and its does work more and less.
but when its Come to UIA & AA there is no conversion for that. However UIA may work on some places but AA mode will not work as Chrome automation doesn't have that. 

Our concern is here, If my object does contain lot of AA mode spying then how we utilize this tool ?

Ca we change something in Conversion rule file so at least it will convert AA to UIA ?

Please assist us on high priority.

Thanks.

@VivekGoel​

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Nitin Mourya
Software Engineer
L&T Infotech
Europe/London
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[bruce.liu]

Hi Nitin,

Thanks for sharing with us your specific use case, i.e. converting from AA to UIAutomation using modern browsers like Chrome/Edge/Firefox, and your general interest in the Blue Prism Application Modeller Conversion Tool.

I have performed some preliminary research, and according to this Microsoft article, there appears to be some rules that would enable conversions of Blue Prism attributes from object spied using AA to UIAutomation. It does look like something would have value for a lot more Blue Prism customers out there in reducing their efforts and friction in moving away from Internet Explorer. What it is not known to me at this stage is the interoperability between these two modes in the area of element actions, and the overall effectiveness when when parsing AA object through this conversion process. That being said I do think this subject deserves some further investigations and research by us, potentially in the form of a PoC project, to test the feasibility of this conversion thoroughly. 

I hope you would appreciate the complexity of devising a new set of rules for a complete different application modeller modes that have not been attempted before. It does take time to develop rules that would stand the test in real life scenarios. But based on what I have seen so far, I am quite optimistic that we will be able to deliver something that would make your work a bit easier.

Leave it with us and we will get back to you when we have made progress. If you do not mind, we may reach out to you at some stage to involve you in early access to allow further improvement of the rules based on your feedback.

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Bruce Liu
Senior Product Consultant, Professional Services
Blue Prism
Australia/Sydney
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[DaveMorris]

Hi Bruce, I don't think converting AA to UIA is the way to go. I believe other Blue Prism reps have recognized the need for AA support in Chrome/Firefox/Edge automation. While that of course creates extra work in development of Blue Prism, it is likely the best solution because most of us have been confused why Chrome/Firefox/Edge automation doesn't replicate features in IE automation more closely. There are other examples as well, such as not having Match Reverse attributes in application modeller and the delayed support of Parent Document Loaded as well as no support for Document Loaded yet. While UIA is supposed to be a replacement for AA, they have completely different attribute values, and they aren't equivalent in terms of performance.

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Dave Morris
Cano Ai
Atlanta, GA
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[DaveMorris]

It occurs to me that a bit more information may be helpful. The reason I think it makes sense to add AA as a spy mode in Chrome/Firefox/Edge automation is that it is already possible to automate those applications using AA mode. If you create an object and then set up your application model to be for a desktop application as well as make sure you launch chrome with the flag --force-renderer-accessibility, then you can automate the elements in the webpage in Chrome using both AA and UIA. Right now, the workaround is to create two separate objects, one with a desktop app model and one with a browser app model for the same application in order to use the full range of spy modes available. In the desktop app, you would have Win32, UIA, AA, and SA. In the browser app model, you would have Win32, Browser mode, UIA, and SA. To me, it seems like it'd be almost a flip of a switch to allow the AA spy mode to be included in an application model for the modern browser apps.

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Dave Morris
Cano Ai
Atlanta, GA
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[bruce.liu]

Hi Dave,

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

I am not aware of other threads of discussions that may have happened and if we have officially made any commitment in offering AA mode in the future. But my view comes purely within the scope of the Application Modeller Conversion Tool, in the sense that I have the ability to offer a quick solution, possibly for the short term for those that may be in the middle of a massive conversion project from IE, a potentially easier way to get the job done. That being said, it may not always be the most suitable solution, and certainly from performance point of view as you have mentioned. It is just an option I think is worth offering. My position has little to do with the bigger product roadmap for Blue Prism, which I would refer to the team who is privy to it to comment.

I firmly believe there exists a way to map an element from AA to UIA, as demonstrated by the Microsoft article I quoted above, but a lot would be dependent on the attributes selected by the developer at the time AA element was defined. My advice is to use the tool to perform a conversion, test the results quickly and if it is not satisfactory for a certain application, then just look elsewhere it. It is the same as converting from IE to modern browser modes, success is not guaranteed but it certainly has the potential to minimise the overall efforts. 

On a related topic, I would also urge developers out there to consider avoid using UIA or AA mode for web spying. There exists techniques like XPath and CSS Selector that are native to HTML, which offer the best performance and compatibility in working with websites. If there are right skills in the team, and there is need to respy web elements previously done in AA or UIA mode, I would suggest look into XPath and CSS Selector instead.

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Bruce Liu
Senior Product Consultant, Professional Services
Blue Prism
Australia/Sydney
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[bruce.liu]

Hi Nitin,

I have created a new Conversion Rules file for the Application Modeller Conversion Tool. The asset can be found on the GitHub where it is currently being hosted. Before you can have a go at it, you must download an updated version of BPAMConversionToolPlugin.dll file, which can be found in the BP_AM_Converter.zip. All other files in the zip remain the same.

I would recommend you to have a read on the new readme page found at https://github.com/blue-prism/ApplicationModellerConversion, it contains important information on the usage as well as the logic developed.

It is important to note that the conversion rule is restricted to objects already in Chrome/Edge/Firefox mode. It is important you have used IE to Chrome/Edge/Firefox conversion rules beforehand on your object/release.

Any feedback, please let me know.

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Bruce Liu
Senior Product Consultant, Professional Services
Blue Prism
Australia/Sydney
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