Can't Spy Chrome Elements with Manifest Extension

[TLovett77]

My team is trying to make the change from the Chrome 6.9.1 extension to the newer Manifest extension. I ran the Blue Prism Browser Automation Agent for Manifest V3 Extensions tool, and it installed the Blue Prism BAA v2 Extension 6.5-6.10 extension. I can't seem to get it to spy anything in browser mode or highlight anything that was spied in browser mode in existing automations. UI mode seems to work normally.

We currently have Chrome version 131.0.6778.205 (64-bit) installed. We're on Blue Prism 6.9.1 (64-bit).

Are there steps to changing the extension that I'm missing? Any help would be appreciated.

[david.l.morris]

Check this article (https://docs.blueprism.com/en-US/bundle/blue-prism-documentation/page/browser-automation-agent/installation.htm) to verify specifically the "Launch a browser from Blue Prism" section.

The are a few things I'm aware of that could be the issue and are mentioned in that article, but I'll mention them here as well:
1 - Disable Startup boost in MS Edge (I don't think this applies to Chrome but I figured I'd mention it).
2 - Launch the browser from Blue Prism using a Navigate Launch stage.
3 - Make sure the BAA process is actually starting up / running. I haven't used BAA much in favor of trying the newer versions of BP that have this built in, but in the newer versions the process starts up underneath the Chrome/Edge process, but again the article gives some information on what to look for in Task Manager.

I would also restart the machine any time you run into issues to make sure you're starting from a clean slate.

The web driver and remote debugging port are important only if you need to use Insert/Invoke JavaScript, so those won't be your issue when elements just won't spy.

[TLovett77]

Hey Dave,

Thanks for responding. I've responded to your list below.

1. Done.

2. This is how I've been launching it to test.

3. I see the browser automation agent and the command processor under Chrome in the Task Manager.

I've restarted the machine as well.

Still no luck in browser mode. Any other ideas?

[david.l.morris]

The next thing I'd check is whether that version of Chrome truly isn't compatible. I feel like this is unlikely to be the issue, but I suppose it is worth checking.

Browser extension compatibility

That docs article indicates that 6.9 only supports up to Chrome 129.x. That doesn't mean it absolutely won't work for higher necessarily. I think it just means Blue Prism has not evaluated it or when they evaluated it, it did not pass whatever the threshold is for "working". The page doesn't distinguish between 6.9 and 6.9.1 though either.

I think what I'd try is to install an old version (129.x) of Chrome temporarily to see if it will at least work at all. You may have corporate policies that restrict you from staying on an old version, but I think a quick test should not be an issue. The point of this would be to verify for you that it is or isn't simply the version of Chrome before going further in troubleshooting.

Beyond that, at the moment, I'm unsure what else to check. I'd have to think about it. But it is also worth getting Blue Prism Support involved, if you haven't already submitted a ticket.