Web Recorder Functions (Playwright)

Overview

This section provides the commands available in Playwright scripts created with Web Recorder. These functions let you automate and interact with web applications and are grouped into categories to help you find what you need quickly.

In most cases, you do not need to work with these functions directly if the Web Recorder captures and plays back the required actions successfully. This page is intended primarily as an advanced reference for users who need to review, adjust, or extend recorded functions, such as when the recorder does not capture an interaction correctly, when conditional logic needs to be added, or when a recorded step needs to be adjusted:

1. Basic Functions: Core actions like opening pages, locating elements, and performing simple operations.

2. Mouse and Keyboard Functions: Simulate user interactions, including clicks, typing, scrolling, and dragging.

3. Browser Functions: Manage browser contexts, tabs, and sessions.

4. Control Flow Functions: Add logic to your automation scripts, including loops, conditions, and waits.

Basic Functions

StartBrowser

Starts a browser within an application script. We support Microsoft Edge and Chrome; the application uses whichever version of these browsers is installed on the target machine. Note that Firefox is currently not supported.

Syntax

StartBrowser()

Code example

await StartBrowser();

StopBrowser

Stops a browser within an application script. 

Syntax

StopBrowser()

Code example

await StopBrowser();

Navigate

Navigates the open browser to a specified URL and automatically measures the time required to complete the navigation.

Syntax

await NavigateAsync(string url, string timerName);

Code example

await NavigateAsync(url: "https://loginvsi.com", timerName: "Website_LoginVSI");

Locator

Identifies a specific element on the page by retrying to locate it until the specified timeout is reached. Use this method as a starting point for actions such as click, hover, type, or get text.

Syntax

Locator(string selector, int timeout);

Code example

Locator("input[autocomplete='username']", timeout: 10);

StartTimer

Creates a custom timer to measure the time one or more actions take within a script. The timers are reported back to the Login Enterprise server as measurements and can be used to trigger a notification if the measurement is over the configured threshold. Measurements are displayed in the Login Enterprise dashboard and charts. StartTimer must be stopped with either CancelTimer or StopTimer.

Syntax

StartTimer(string name);

Code example

StartTimer(name:"Create_New_File");
StopTimer(name:"Create_New_File");

StopTimer

Stops a timer started by StartTimer. The StopTimer name should be the same as the StartTimer.

Syntax

StopTimer(string name);

Code example

StartTimer(name:"Save_File_To_Network");
StopTimer(name:"Save_File_To_Network");

CancelTimer

Cancels a timer. The CancelTimer name should be the same as the StartTimer.

Syntax

CancelTimer(string name);

Code example

StartTimer(name:"Create_New_File");
CancelTimer(name:"Create_New_File");

SetTimer

Helps create your own custom timers. In many cases, you can call an external value for a system resource, such as CPU utilization %, and have it appear in the Login Enterprise reporting.

SetTimer does not require a start and stop function as it collects an integer at the time it is executed.

Syntax

SetTimer("name", value);

Code example

int myCounter = {some code that gets a Windows performance counter in milliseconds};
SetTimer(“MyTimer”,myCounter);

Wait

Waits for X seconds before continuing the script.

Syntax

Wait(double seconds);

Code example

Wait(10);

Log

Logs to the console if you are using the Scriptrunner. When using it as part of the Login Enterprise appliance, it logs to %temp%\LoginPI\Logs.

Syntax

Log(string message);
Log(object component);

Code example

Log(message:"Log Message");
Log(component:MainWindow);

Abort

Exits the script and throws an error message. The error will be shown as an 'Application failure' on the Login Enterprise dashboard, under events.

Syntax

ABORT(string error);

Code example

ABORT(error:"An error occurred");

ShellExecute

Runs a script or application in the Windows Shell. Only the first parameter is required; all remaining parameters are optional.

Syntax

ShellExecute(string commandLine, string workingFolder = "", bool waitForProcessEnd = true, int timeout = 180, bool forceKillOnExit = true);

Code example

ShellExecute("mspaint", waitForProcessEnd: false, timeout: 15, forceKillOnExit: false);

CreateEvent

Generates a custom event on the Appliance, shown in the results page of a Continuous, Load, and Application Test.

Syntax

CreateEvent(title:"", description:"");

Code example

CreateEvent(title:"Windows Update Available", description:"Update is available on hostname x");

GetEnvironmentVariable 

Retrieves an environment variable. The GetEnvironmentVariable can be stored in a variable to use multiple times in your script. Note that if a continueOnError is not set and if you do not have permission to retrieve the variable, the script will stop.

Syntax

GetEnvironmentVariable(variableName:"", continueOnError:false);

Code example

var TempEnv = GetEnvironmentVariable("temp", continueOnError:true);
Log ($"The environment path = {TempEnv}");
Type ($"{TempEnv}");

TakeScreenshot

Creates custom screenshots that are sent to the Login Enterprise appliance as Events. This functionality can be used to verify an application's visual output. You must enable “Custom Screenshots” in the Test configuration to allow this function. This function is not available for Load Tests.

The Event created has a subject of “The script screenshot '{name}' was created”. The description is the {description} field in your function call. The screenshot bitmap is attached to the Event.

Syntax

TakeScreenshot(name:"", description:"");

Code example

 TakeScreenshot(name:"Notepad",description: "Check if notepad has loaded the correct file");

Mouse and Keyboard Functions

Some functions in this section include a timeout parameter. This parameter specifies how long the script will retry locating the target element before failing.

By default, the Web Recorder sets the timeout to 5 seconds, but you can adjust it either globally or on a per-action basis.

Type

Types text or presses keys.

Syntax

await TypeAsync(input: "text", cpm: 0);

Code example

await TypeAsync(input: "some Text", cpm: 0);

Key Combinations

Key combinations can be performed using the typing function. For example, the Ctrl+V (paste) command appears in the script as:

await TypeAsync(input: "{Control+v}", cpm: 0);

Press

Presses keys, such as Key up/down, tab, etc.

Syntax:

PressAsync(key)

Code example:

await PressAsync("Tab");

KeyCodes

Valid keys for PressAsync()

F1
F2
F3
F4
F5
F6
F7
F8
F9
F10
F11
F12

Insert
Cancel
Help
Backspace
Tab
Clear
Enter
Shift
Control
Alt
Delete
Pause
Space
PageUp
PageDown
End
Home
ArrowLeft
ArrowUp
ArrowRight
ArrowDown
Escape
Meta

LeftClick

Performs a left-mouse click on the specified element.

Syntax

Locator(selector).ClickAsync(options)

Code example

await Locator(selector: "#password-input").ClickAsync(new(){Timeout = 5 });

RightClick

Performs a right-mouse click on the specified element.

Syntax

RightClick(double x, double y, bool continueOnError = false);

Code example

await Locator(selector: "#password-input").RightClickAsync(new(){Timeout = 5 });

DoubleClick

Performs a double-mouse click on the specified element.

Syntax

Locator(selector).DoubleClickAsync(options)

Code example

await Locator(selector: "#password-input").DoubleClickAsync(new(){Timeout = 5 });

Mouse Scroll

Scrolls the page relative to the current mouse position by the given number of pixels horizontally (x) and vertically (y).

Code example

// Horizontal scroll at (0,0)
await ScrollAsync(x: 0, y: 0);

// Scroll down at (0,659)
await ScrollAsync(x: 0, y: 659);

// Scroll up at (0,-32)
await ScrollAsync(x: 0, y: -32);

Hover

Moves the mouse pointer over the specified element. It is used to trigger hover effects like tooltips, dropdowns, or style changes.

Syntax

Locator(selector).HoverAsync()

Code example

await Locator(selector: "#password-input").HoverAsync();

Control Flow Functions

If Else vs Try Catch

Creates conditional logic in your scripts. If the condition is true, the code within the If block executes. If the condition is false, the code within the Else block executes. Note that the Else statement is not mandatory.

Code example

var Condition = MainWindow.FindControl(title:"Condition");
if (Condition != null)
{
Type("Condition is true");
}
else
{
Type("Condition is not true");
}

Challenges:

Finding a control may throw an exception if the control is not found. If "Continue on Error" is not enabled, this will terminate the workflow.

Solution

Reword the script using a Try...Catch statement. This approach can eliminate inconsistent pop-ups and allow the script to continue running even if a control is not found.

Code example:

Try{
var Condition = MainWindow.FindControl(title:"Condition");
Condition.Click();
}
catch{
Log("Was unable to find conditional window");
};

While

Executes a block of code in a loop as long as the specified condition evaluates to true. The condition is evaluated before each iteration of the loop.

Code example:

In the following example, we specify an integer variable that equals zero. While the number is less than 10, we log the number to the console and add +1 to it until it evaluates to false.

int number = 0;
while(number < 10)
{
Log(number);
number++;
}

ForEach

Iterates through each item in an array of values.

Code example:

In the following example, we iterate through 3 sample values.

string[] example = {"example 1","example 2","example 3"};
foreach (string value in example)
{
Log(value);
}

Additional uses

When working with a browser application, collecting all web selectors can be beneficial. You can then use a ForEach loop to find a specific condition or to identify a particular selector from an array of many.