Release Notes

What's new

Workforce Agent Core v8.0.2 / Service Helper v1.23.0.

Changes to Workforce Agent Core

• Security improvement: the password used for desktop connections is now handled more securely.
• Updated dependencies.

Changes to Service Helper

• Updated FreeRDP to the latest version for improved desktop connection stability.
• Updated dependencies.

What's new

This release focuses on security improvements, dependency updates, and a runtime upgrade.

• Update to Electron 40 and Node 24
• Upgrade RCC to v21.2.0
• Windows service helper updated to 1.23.0
• Security and dependency updates

Download from here and check our documentation here.
Have a splendid day! 🚀

Security releases regarding dependency package cryptography. Other security updates have been included as well and because of that multiple package releases have been done.

• package rpaframework 28.6.3

• package rpaframework-google 9.0.2

• package rpaframework-hubspot 1.0.2

• package rpaframework-openai 1.3.3

• package rpaframework-pdf 7.3.3

• package rpaframework-recognition 5.2.5

• package rpaframework-windows 7.5.2

Also as mentioned on 03 Apr 2024, the dialogs package has been now removed from repository.

Since Robocorp was acquired by Sema4.ai in January 2024, we have been busy building the vital components of AI Agents to become generally available. You can read more about our vision for building, running, and managing enterprise AI Agents on our website.

As we gear up for our first Sema4.ai product launches, we have restructured some of the components we previously offered, without removing any features from the current Robocorp Automation platform users.

The Robocorp Code extension for VS Code has become the Sema4.ai extension for VS Code

The new Sema4.ai extension for VS Code retains all the functionality of Robocorp Code. In addition, it will get a lot of new AI agent-related features moving forward.

🔔 Your action is needed! 🔔

• Remove the Robocorp Code extension from the VS Code. This is done by navigating to Extensions from the left sidebar, locating Robocorp Code, and clicking “Uninstall”.

• Install the new Sema4.ai Extension from the Marketplace, or by searching for it through the VS Code Extensions panel.

Robocorp Code is deprecated and will not receive any updates after September 30, 2024. Please make sure to install the new Sema4.ai extension by this date. This change has no impact on your current automations deployed to the Control Room - they continue to operate normally.

Apart from supporting everything the automation developer needs for building the Tasks, here are some recent additions:

• AI Actions complete workflow: from bootstrapping from the provided templates to debugging to publishing them to Sema4.ai Studio.

• Completely renewed inspectors and recorders for web, Windows, Java and image-based automations. Have a look at the recording of our recent Product Hour Live for all the details.

• Better environment management when working on Python - when you change any dependencies, it’ll ask if you want to update the environment.

For a detailed list of features, visit the change log.

Rebranding AI Actions and Action Server

Thank you to the community members for the great feedback during the developer preview period. You all helped us shape the Actions and Action Server to be a top-notch method for connecting new capabilities to AI agents.

To prepare for general availability, we have made the following naming changes:

• AI Actions and Action Server moved from robocorp/robocorp GitHub repository to sema4ai/actions.

• Renamed Robocorp Action Server to Sema4.ai Action Server.

• PyPi package changed from robocorp-actions to sema4ai-actions.

This brings slight changes to using the packages, while features remain the same or more.

Working on a Mac, you should remove the old versions and install a new:

In your Action code, the import changes like this:

We have added loads of new features in the Actions and Action Server, and here are some of the most important ones.

• Hot reload of actions when the package directory changes

• Support for parsing Custom Types in Action Server UI action run view

• Console output added to Action Server UI action run view

• Support OAuth2 secrets as Action arguments, and in the Action Server UI

• Stable public URL link to Action Server UI if started with --expose

• Support for action-server package build, extract, metadata, and update (for publishing to future Sema4.ai products)

• Automatic version handling by the Sema4.ai platform

• Customizable action display names in openapi.json using @action(display_name="<Action name>")

• An environment built only once, no longer checked/made pristine on server start to save time

For full details, have a look at the change log in the repository.

Early Access to AI Agents

We are excited to bring you the best of automation and unlock your journey towards AI Agents. To stay updated on the new releases from Sema4.ai, sign up for early access to Sema4.ai Agents here.

• Update rpaframework-core to version 11.3.3 including webdriver-manager upgrade to version 4.0.2. This should fix the issue with downloading the latest Chrome driver version.

• (in rpaframework 28.6.1) Library RPA.Robocorp.Vault (#1199): Proper error message if caused by SSL truststore patching bug.

Couple of reminders when using Selenium browsers and handling webdrivers:

• the matching webdriver can be always placed into robot root folder and that will be used if it is compatible with the selected browser (can be downloaded from here). BUT remember that open_available_browser method will automatically try to download and use correct webdriver

• the Chrome's new search engine selection startup popup can be bypassed by giving argument for the Chrome (examples in Python and Robot Framework syntax)

Python

Robot Framework

More and more complex enterprise setups highlighting improvement points for configuring networks and Workers.

• Added the ability for users to delete profile from Profile Management

• Added the ability to remove .service.json file if the user wants to

• The Worker configuration changes are disabled in the interface

Download from here and check our documentation here.

Have a splendid day! 🚀

• Library RPA.Browser.Selenium (#1191):

  • Fix/workaround for Chromium browser all instances not closing after the run. Which affects methods open_available_browser and open_chrome_browser. The default behavior can be changed with new parameter sandbox=True.

• Library RPA.Excel.Application (#1191):

  • Enhance find with new parameters search_type, start_after, and exact

  • Allow open_workbook to load workbooks from URLs

  • Improve all RPA.*.Application.quit_application methods to perform garbage collection before calling app.quit() to avoid problem with unreleased COM objects

  • Add rgb_to_excel_color(red, green, blue) method to get a suitable color value for Range.Font.Color and Range.Interior.Color

👉 Our next Product Hour Live session on April 24th will dive deeper into Inspectors so join us there.

The complete Inspector set is now available in the VS Code Extension, as we've added the Java Inspector and Image-based locator support.

The creation of Java locators is quite similar to that of Windows locators. You can hover over elements to pick items and then browse the element tree in the Inspector. Create locators out of rules on the UI or write the locator directly and test. We do not yet have the code generation available in the Inspector, but that is simple enough in the VS Code code editor.

👉 Checkout our documentation on the new Inspectors for details

We have also integrated the Image-based locator support in the VS Code extension. As before, we see Image-based automation as a last resort, so we heavily recommend trying out the other types of locators and even hotkey sending before returning to image-based automations.

• Library RPA.Word.Application (#1159):

  • Add keyword Select current paragraph for selecting the current paragraph.

  • Add keyword Select paragraphs for selecting previous/next paragraphs.

  • Add keyword Copy selection to clipboard for copying the selection to the clipboard.

• Library RPA.Excel.Application (#1158):

  • Add keyword Remove hidden columns and rows from given range.

  • Add keyword Merge range for merging cells in a range.

  • Add keyword Unmerge range for unmerging cells in a range.

• Library RPA.Cloud.Google (#1157, rpaframework-google 9.0.0):

  • Fix problem with method intellisense in Python development environments.

  • Add keyword Detect Tables for detecting table-like structures in spreadsheet’s sheets.

  • Add keyword Get Sheet Formulas for getting formulas from a sheet.

  • Add keyword To A1 notation for converting column number to A1 notation.

Action Server is developing fast towards general availability, with 10 releases in the past 7 weeks! It's time for a recap of the biggest new features and updates. To follow the plans and progress in detail, head to the GitHub Project, and check out the changelog.

New Action Package format

We've introduced a new configuration file and format: package.yaml. It replaces the previous conda.yaml (and other) files, and simplifies the configuration of Action Packages along with their Python environments to a single file.

Run command action-server package --update in your project folder to automatically upgrade to a new format.

Robocorp Code for VS Code supports Actions

We've added proper support for developing Actions (and Packages) to our VS Code extension. You can now access commands like Create Action Package, Run and Debug Action from the Command Palette.

In addition, you can now start the Action Server locally from VS Code. When running Actions, VS Code helps you create test inputs in devdata folder so that you don't need to repeat giving the inputs separately every time.

Custom data models as Action inputs and outputs

You can now use custom pydantic models as inputs/outputs of an @action. This opens many possibilities besides previously supported simple str, int, float and bool. Most commonly used LLMs create solid JSON inputs for function/tool/action calls; supporting those now in the Actions is a breeze.

For example you could define a class for "Prospect" like this

Then you can use it as an input argument in one or more actions just like this:

When using the Annotated types shown above, you only need to describe the fields once in your custom model, and they will be automatically included in the OpenAPI spec that gets exposed to AI Assistants like Custom GPT. Check out this cookbook example on how to use custom models, or head over to our Youtube channel for a video on how to use the Actions with OpenAI Custom GPTs!

Robocorp ReMark - Generative AI assistant is now available as a widget inside Robocorp Documentation and Portal 🎉

The new widget streamlines your workflow while browsing the documentation. You can get help from ReMark for multiple topics for your automation projects. ReMark can help you generate and debug Python code, tailored for automation use cases. It recognizes the page you are browsing and automatically suggests questions you might be interested in.

Benefits of the ReMark widget

• Smooth operation while browsing the documentation without the need to jump to a separate page

• Recognition of the content you are browsing - automatically suggests topics you might be interested in

• Available instantly when you need it and can be minimized when not needed

• Easy to continue the conversation at the full page site, your conversations from the widget all land to ReMark.

Check it out e.g. here, the bottom right corner: https://robocorp.com/docs

• Library RPA.Excel.Application (#1152): Add keyword Write data to range for writing data to range(s) in a spreadsheet. This will be significantly faster than using Write to cells keyword for large data sets.

• Library RPA.Word.Application (#1152):

• Add keywords starting with Move_ for positioning cursor position in a document.

• Add keyword Find text for finding text in a document.

• Add keyword Paste from clipboard for pasting text from clipboard to a current cursor position.

• Add keyword Get current line to get text from the current line.

• Add keyword Get number of lines to get number of lines in a current document.

• Refactor keyword Write text to take cursor positioning into consideration.

EU1 instance (cloud.robocorp.com) database has now been updated and the maintenance window is over. Update was started at 10:28 EET and completed 10:52 EET. Everything should now be operating normally.

Reminder related to the comms we sent out 2 weeks ago: we're performing a mandatory database update on EU1 instance (cloud.robocorp.com) which will have an impact on the system usage. This can show up as e.g. errors on UI or some API calls failing, and even some runs failing altogether. Runtime environments for robots runs are not directly impacted at all. Some robot operations like accessing the Vault can be interrupted.

We’re working to minimise the impact on customer operations. The actual update should not take more than 15mins.

The update will be performed between 10:00 and 13:00 EET on 21.02.2024

Robocorp Inspector includes Locator Manager, which streamlines the process, allowing you to edit, validate, and delete locators—all within a single, integrated package inside our Robocorp Code extension for VS Code, eliminating additional installation steps.

In our Inspectors, we balance recording, automatic locator generation, and giving the full power to the developer also to solve complex cases. The recording and UI are there to help and make the simple cases… well, simple, but it also allows you to directly edit and write the locator yourself and use the validation tools to see the results.

🪟 For Windows automations

✅ Parent-Child Rule Creation: Effortlessly define relationships between elements to enhance accuracy.

✅ Interactive Field Selection: Directly select fields to create rules, eliminating guesswork.

✅ Real-Time Validation: Instantly verify the effectiveness of your locators to ensure reliability.

✅ Screenshot Capture: Automatically save screenshots for reference, providing a visual confirmation of your locator.

🌐 For browser automations

✅ Recording: Seamlessly record your browser activities, and the Inspector generates accurate locators on the fly

✅ Strategy Adjustment: Switch between locator strategies and methods flexibly, ensuring the most robust solution for your needs.

✅ Locator Validation: Validate your locators within the tool quickly, ensuring optimal performance

✅ Code Generation: Copy and paste generated Python code directly into your project, saving time and reducing the potential for errors

✅ Screenshot Capture: Automatically takes screenshots to help recall the associated elements for your stored locators

...Image and Java locator supports will be following shortly.

TL;DR: We are transitioning from Robot Framework and moving all our focus to Python. Existing bots developed in Robot Framework will continue to operate as usual. We'll provide critical updates related to Robot Framework-specific issues until Feb 15th 2025, according to our one-year LTS plan for Enterprise customers. All our new developments will be directed towards Python's dynamic and expansive ecosystem. We recommend our users develop all new automations on Python.

Robocorp platform will be Python-only

Advancements in Generative AI and LLMs have revolutionised how we approach problem-solving and automation. We realized the potential of Python as a language for automation and AI early. Last year, we announced that we invested heavily in Python on our platform, ensuring that, at minimum, everything that was possible using Robot Framework would be available for Python developers. We have reached that date now.

👉 Today marks a significant milestone in our platform's evolution. As part of this transition, we're announcing discontinuing support for Robot Framework on the Robocorp platform. While we will continue to offer bug fixes and security updates for Robot Framework related features until February 15th, 2025, official support will cease thereafter. It's crucial to understand that automations developed with Robot Framework will remain fully functional within the Robocorp ecosystem. 👈

Robot Framework has served us well, providing a solid foundation for automation - all based on Python. However, by focusing on Python only, we allow our customers to enjoy scale and speed that only comes with an ecosystem as vibrant as Python.

What will happen in detail?

There is no immediate impact on existing bots: Automations built on Robot Framework will continue functioning as usual, ensuring your ongoing operations are not disrupted.

We announce a deprecation of Robot Framework on the Robocorp platform on Feb 15th 2024, with one-year long term support guaranteed for Enterprise customers (until Feb 15th 2025). The old Robot Framework bots will continue working even after this; we simply do not issue fixes to Robot Framework-related tooling anymore.

Our developer tooling going forward only supports Python. However, we will issue CVE fixes for the following year.

• Language Server Protocol (LSP) for Robot Framework extension for VS Code remains open-source and available, but we cease to support new features or new versions of Robot Framework.

• Robocorp Code Extension will support only Python code generation in the inspectors/recorders and its other features. The same will apply to the ReMark developer AI assistant.

• Our documentation site will be focused on Python tutorials and examples. However, we will keep a snapshot of current Robot Framework examples and docs until 2025.

We will restructure our automation libraries over time to focus on Python and to remove the dependency on Robot Framework that exists today in RPA Framework. This work was already started mid 2023 with the introduction of robocorp libraries. See details of all automation libraries here.

• RPA Framework (our open-source project with the automation keywords many of our users have gotten familiar with) remains available and supports RPA use-cases (like Java apps, Excel, Outlook, PDFs and much more). However, examples and documentation are added only in Python going forward.

• Some RPA Framework libraries will be deprecated as there are better ways to accomplish the same functionality directly with well-maintained Python libraries. This will be communicated later.

Our recommendation for action

While there are no immediate consequences to currently running Robot Framework bots, we recommend our customers take the following action:

• Start developing new automation workflows in Python. All three certification courses are available now in Python and are a great starting point for developers.

• Review the “Switch to Python” page for detailed instructions on what is new, and decide if your organisation will implement any existing Robot Framework automations in Python. We do not require this, but in some cases, it will help with maintenance.

Relevant links

• Read the full blog post with more details

• Switching from Robot Framework to Python page

• Python automation certification courses

• ReMark code generation assistant

• Snapshot of Robot Framework-related documentation

Updates:

• When the "use desktop" option is enabled from Control Room, create a proxy executor only when the worker is running with "--service" CLI argument

• By default a service created with Service Helper "setup-desktop" command will set the worker to run with this argument

• Better error handling when fetching CA certificates from system store

You can find the detailed changelog for Workforce Agent Core here.

Enable/Disable Processes

You can now disable (and enable) any Process in the Control Room: useful if the process targets a system that needs maintenance and you don't want to run automations needlessly. Disabling the process will prevent the start of new runs via the UI, API, schedules or triggers. Any ongoing runs will progress as usual until completed.

Here's how it works:

Git Task Package Update via API

For the Task Packages connected to Github or Gitlab, you can now programmatically update the Git reference (tag, commit or branch) via the API. This makes it much easier to roll out task package updates as part of your CI / CD pipeline. Read more from the API docs.

• Library RPA.Excel.Application (#1149):

• Add new keyword Create Pivot Field for creating pivot fields for the pivot table.

• Add new keyword Create Pivot Table for creating pivot tables in a spreadsheet.

• Add new keyword Create Table for creating a table in a spreadsheet.

• Add new keyword Find for finding a value in a range.

• Add new keyword Get Pivot Tables for getting pivot tables in a spreadsheet.

• Add new keyword Get Range for getting a range in a spreadsheet.

• Add new keyword List Tables for listing tables in a spreadsheet.

• For all RPA.*.Application libraries (#1149): Add new utility keyword for Robot Framework syntax Set Object Property

• Security dependency fix given the bump of cryptography package to version 42.0.2. (#1149)

Read pull requests linked above for more information.

In this release, we are introducing Enable / Disable for Workers to make maintenance operations more convenient, a new self-service option for MFA, along with some UX updates.

Enable / Disable Workers

Due to popular demand, we have added a functionality that lets you temporarily disable Workers. Any ongoing work at the time of disabling the worker will be completed, but new work will not be allocated to this Worker while the status persists. This enables you to conveniently do maintenance operations, e.g., updating Workers or target systems, without having to change the related process configurations. When the Worker is re-enabled, it will continue processing the pending work.

When disabling a Worker, you can optionally enter a reason, which will be visible in the Worker Event Log. Also the related events are generated in the Workspace Audit Log, along with the information of the actor.

Self-service option for MFA

We have added a new self-service option for MFA, which lets you to require entering an authenticator code to be able to access the Control Room to enable an additional layer of security. The MFA can be enabled from the user settings, after which you will be guided through the setup. Organization and Workspace administrators are able to see which users have the MFA enabled from the member list.

Features

• Enable / Disable Workers
• Self-service option for MFA

Updates

• UX Improvements:
  • Settings pages have been updated to match the rest of the Control Room
  • You can now select a role when inviting users to an Organization