ROBOTIC PROCESS

AUTOMATION DESIGN &

DEVELOPMENT
(18CS745)

MODULE 5
Exception Handling, Debugging, and
Logging
Referred Textbook: Alok Mani Tripathi, Learning Robotic Process Automation,
Publisher: Packt Publishing Release Date: March 2018 ISBN: 9787788470940
 ROBOTIC PROCESS AUTOMATION 1

MODULE 5
Exception Handling, Debugging, and Logging
Exception handling
Exception handling is a way to handle exceptions for a process that the program or the
procedure has failed to execute.
For handling exceptions in a program, the best practice considered is to use the Try catch
activity.
The Try catch activity can be found in the Activities panel.
By dragging and dropping the Try catch activity into the workspace, we can handle exceptions.
For handling errors in the Try catch block, we can divide the whole process into four parts just
to make it simpler:
 Drag and drop the Try catch activity
 Try block
 Catch block
 Finally block
These steps are illustrated in the following example:
1. Drag and drop the Try catch activity: Create a blank project. Drag and drop the
Flowchart activity into the Designer panel. Search for the Try catch activity in the
Activities panel and drag it into the Flowchart. Set it as the Start node:
 ROBOTIC PROCESS AUTOMATION 2

2. Try: When we double-click on the Try catch activity, dragged and dropped inside the
workspace, space for the Try activity appears, as shown in the following screenshot:

Inside the Try block, we have to drop the activity we want to perform. Drop a Write
line activity to test the working of Try Catch block, as shown in the following
screenshot:
 ROBOTIC PROCESS AUTOMATION 3

3. Catches: Inside the Catches activity, first we have to click on Add new Catch and
then click on Add Exception option, from which we have to select the type of
exception. In most cases, System.Exception is preferred. The following screenshot
shows the types of exception. There are many more exceptions which can be viewed
by clicking on the Browse for Types option:

Say the execution fails: for example, the Click activity is unable to be executed because
of the unavailability of a UI element. In such a case, we can use the Catches block in
order to either view the error that has occurred or for an alternative method to be used
if that particular error occurs. As shown in the following screenshot, we will drop the
activity in the Catches block. To print a message, we use a Message box:
When we click on Add new catch, we are asked to select the type of exception. We
have selected System.Exception. Now inside the exception block, we have dropped a
Message box activity. Entering exception.ToString will display the error that occurred
during execution.
4. Finally: When we have defined the exception for our sequence, the Finally block will
always work, regardless of whether the execution was successful or not. Suppose we
want to display a message to the user notifying that the process is complete. To make
sure that the whole Try catch activity is executed, we will just drop a Message box
activity in the area provided in the Finally block, as shown in the following screenshot:
 ROBOTIC PROCESS AUTOMATION 4

Common exceptions and ways to handle them

Unavailability of UI element:

When working on UiPath, especially on the web, we may encounter this type of error.
This is because the UI element was not found due to the dynamic behavior of the web page. To
handle this exception, we have to make changes in the selector attributes or we have to add
new attributes to the selector so that the UI element can be easily found.

For example, if we have a variable which is dynamically changing, we can use a

wildcard so that it can be easily found by the robot. We can edit the dynamic attribute of the
selector using wildcard characters. Another way is to attach it to the live element.

Handling runtime exceptions:

We may encounter runtime errors while working in UiPath. To rectify these errors, one
of the best practices is to use the Try catch activity, which can be used to handle exceptions at
runtime. By keeping an alternative inside the catch block, we can also overcome the error which
we encountered before.
 ROBOTIC PROCESS AUTOMATION 5

So placing your sequence or workflow inside the Try catch activity will help you handle
runtime exceptions.

Orbit reference not set to the instant of an object:

This type of error usually occurs when the default value required for some variable is
not provided. In that case, we are required to give a default value to the required variable, as
shown in the following screenshot. In the empty area indicated in the following screenshot, just
type the default value of the variable in order to overcome this error:

Index was outside the bounds of an array. Index out of the range

This error occurs when we try to iterate array elements by an index which is out of
range. This happens when we are not aware of the size of the array and we just randomly type
the index to access the element. To resolve this, we must check the size of the indexes of the
array or the collective list.

Image not found in the provided timeout:

This type of exception is thrown because the image was not found. This may be due to
a change of environment, such as resolution or theme settings. In this case, using some a
selector attribute or indicating an anchor will work well. Indicate Anchor will help us indicate
the UI element nearby so that the recorder can identify the correct image.
 ROBOTIC PROCESS AUTOMATION 6

Click Generic error - cannot use UI CONTROL API on this UI node please
use UI Hardware ELEMENTS method

This type of error occurs when the environment in which we are trying to use the Click activity
does not support Simulate or Send message activity (used by us to click the UI element).
Sometimes, either SimulateClick or the SendWindowMessages may be checked. In both
cases, when an exception is thrown we just have to uncheck the appropriate box.

Logging and taking screenshots:

UiPath has a multi-process architecture that offers to execute each workflow separately
in the executor. Executors are managed by UI robots. So, if any executor stops working, then
the entire process will not be affected.

Client logging

Client logs basically enable a server to record connections. These logs can be used by
content providers in various scenarios, such as to generate billing, to trace media server usage,
or to deliver suitable quality content depending on the speed of the client's server.

For client logging in UiPath, we have an NLog configuration file which makes it easy
and flexible to integrate with databases, servers, or any other NLog targets. Logging can be
configured with this NLog.config file.

UiPath Studio, Robot, and workflow execution generate log messages on the client side:

 Messages which are produced by the workflow execution are logged with the execution
logging source. Messages produced by UiPath Studio are logged as Studio Source and
those produced by UiPath Robot are logged as Robot logging Source.
 We can also access these logs from UiPath Studio.

We can access the stored logs by clicking on Open Logs in the EXECUTE option.

By default, these Logs are saved in %Local App %\Uipath\Logs :

 The automatic logging mechanism for all errors generated, including values of variables
and arguments, may be enabled in the UiRobot.exe config file, which is present in C:
 ROBOTIC PROCESS AUTOMATION 7

\Users\Username\AppData\Local\UiPath\app-17.1.6435, by setting the Log

parameter from 0 to 1 inside the <Switches> section.
 We have two activities that can be used for logging and these are the Log message and
WriteLine activities.

Server logging

If you have configured the UiPath server, then all logs generated by the execution are also sent
to the server. You can take a screenshot anytime by pressing Ctrl + PrtScrn.

Debugging techniques:
There are various techniques provided by UiPath Studio for debugging in order to check
whether the workflow is running successfully or to find out errors in order to rectify them. At
the top of the UiPath window, we can see various available methods of debugging inside the
EXECUTE block, as shown in the following screenshot:
 ROBOTIC PROCESS AUTOMATION 8

As shown in the preceding screenshot, there are various techniques for debugging. They are:

 Setting breakpoints
 Slow step
 Highlighting
 Break

Setting breakpoints:

While debugging a workflow, we can set breakpoints in between if we want to run the program
up to a specific location. This is useful when we have to stop before an activity ends completely.
In such a case, we should use a breakpoint on the previous activity, as shown in the following
screenshot:

The highlighted region indicates the breakpoint since the execution stops just after the
breakpoint. In order to continue any further, we have to click on the Continue button on the
top corner indicated by the arrow:
 ROBOTIC PROCESS AUTOMATION 9

When we click on Step into, the relevant part will start to execute; after we click on Step over,
execution will jump to the next part, and so on

Slow step:

This is an activity in the EXECUTE block through which we can reduce the execution speed
of a particular process or activity. This way, we can identify each and every process and keep
an eye on where to find the error. In the Output panel, all activities or steps can be viewed. The
following screenshot shows how to use the Slow step activity:
 ROBOTIC PROCESS AUTOMATION 10

As indicated by the arrow in the preceding screenshot, when we click on Slow step the
execution time for this particular step increases.

Highlighting:

Highlighting is used to highlight the steps we have taken during automation and to identify
each and every step in the workflow. It is very useful while debugging and its panel can be
found in the Options menu of the Execute section in the Ribbon:

Break:

The Break activity is used to break a process at a certain point. Suppose we have a sequence
performing seven activities together and we want to break the execution at a certain activity.
For this, we can use the Break activity, as shown in the following screenshot:
 ROBOTIC PROCESS AUTOMATION 11

While debugging, an option for Break is available (indicated by the arrow in the preceding
screenshot). We can break at any point we want to. If we want to continue any further, we just
have to click on Continue, as indicated by the arrow in the following screenshot:

Or we can stop the execution at that point by clicking on the Stop option.
 ROBOTIC PROCESS AUTOMATION 12

Collecting crash dumps

Collecting crash dumps basically refers to collecting information when your UiPath Studio
crashes. We can enable and disable crash dumps. These dumps provide us with information
regarding the UiPath crash.

Memory dumps are of two types:- full dumps and minidumps. Full dumps provide us with
complete information about the encountered crash while minidumps provide us with just the
main information regarding the crash.

When a crash is encountered, we first have to identify the process which has crashed. Usually,
a dialog will appear on the screen indicating the nature of the crash and the application
involved. A UiPath process could crash, such as UiStudio.exe, Uiexplorer.exe, or
Uilauncher.exe, or the target application you want to automate may crash.

Enabling crash dumps:

The following are the steps to enable crash dumps:

1. To enable crash dumps, we first have to download the EnableFullDump.erg file for
full dumps from
https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/416323/QuickAnswers/EnableFullDump.reg?t=151332
6308120

or the EnableMiniDump.erg file from

https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/416323/QuickAnswers/EnableMiniDump.reg?t=15133
26308120

2. Double-click the file and click Yes. Administrator rights are needed to access the
registry settings

3. The dumps folder is %TEMP% whose complete path is like

C:\\users2;username\AppData\Local\TEMP

4. When the application crashes, you will find the .dmp file in the TEMP folder. For
example, if UiExplorer crashes then a file such as UiExplorer.exe.7429.dmp will be
found in the TEMP folder
 ROBOTIC PROCESS AUTOMATION 13

Disabling crash dumps:

To disable crash dumps, perform the following steps:

1. Download the DiasableDump.reg file from

https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/416323/QuickAnswers/EnableFullDump.reg?t=1513326308
120

2. Double-click the file and click Yes to disable crash dumps, Administration rights are needed
for this action.

Error reporting:

A user may encounter an error in UiPath and want to report it.

Enterprise Edition customers
If you are an Enterprise customer, then you can report the error to the UiPath community in a
very simple way:
1. Just go to this link: https://www.UiPath.com/contact-technical-and-activations.
2. You will be re-directed to a page where you have to fill out a simple form containing some
basic details and then upload the file in which the error is encountered, as shown in the
following screenshot.
3. After uploading, just click on the Submit button. UiPath will respond to you with the proper
solution:
 ROBOTIC PROCESS AUTOMATION 14

Community Edition users

Since the Community Edition is free, UiPath does not provide support to Community Edition
users. However, all solutions to errors encountered can be found by going to the UiPath forum.
All types of errors and their solutions are properly discussed in the forum. You can also go to
the resources page and find the solution to your problem.
For this, visit https://www.UiPath.com/: