18.2 Running Local Triggers & the Event Inspection Tool

18.2 Running Local Triggers & the Event Inspection Tool

Core Concept: The exam description names "native event triggers: Run Local Triggers & Stop Local Triggers" and the Event Inspection Tool. Run and Stop Local Triggers control when an attended project listens for events, and the Event Inspection Tool shows which native events a UI element raises so you can configure an Application Event Trigger correctly.

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Run Local Triggers

Run Local Triggers initializes and starts all local triggers of the project, that is, every trigger workflow listening for events on the user's machine.

• Behind the scenes it generates a separate, read-only workflow named TriggerEventArgs at run time or while debugging. That workflow contains Trigger Scope activities that run all the project's triggers in parallel.
• It can be used inside a workflow, or invoked from another workflow with Invoke Workflow File.
• Activities placed after Run Local Triggers in the same workflow run only after the triggers stop.

The TriggerEventArgs argument

After the first run, each trigger workflow receives its own TriggerEventArgs argument with information about the event that fired it:

• The trigger type and trigger name.
• For user event triggers: the TargetElement that fired the trigger, with its Attributes, Selector, ImageBase64 (an image of the element), and DisplayDpiScaleFactor.
• For form triggers: the FormSourceId and the form's Instance Name, plus the form components involved.

Use these values instead of searching the screen again, for example to read which row of a grid the user clicked.

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Stop Local Triggers

Stop Local Triggers terminates the local triggers:

• It cancels all ongoing actions, including workflows that triggers started and that are still running.
• The activities of the main workflow continue as usual.

A typical design lets a "Close assistant" button on the side form call Stop Local Triggers, after which the main workflow saves its work and ends.

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Enable and Disable Local Trigger

When many triggers are active, or when triggers only make sense at certain stages of the user's work, use:

• Disable Local Trigger to pause one or more triggers that Run Local Triggers started.
• Enable Local Trigger to activate them again, including triggers whose Enabled property was False at start.

Example: the "Submit claim" trigger is disabled until the "Check policy" workflow has passed, then enabled.

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The Event Inspection Tool

Application Event Trigger needs an event type, and the available events depend on the element and its technology. A web element may expose different events than a Java or desktop element. The Event Inspection Tool shows which events the element really raises when the user interacts with it.

Opening and using it

1. Open UI Explorer, select a valid UI element, and select Inspect Events on the toolbar.
2. In the Event filter, choose the event types to monitor, such as Click, Key pressed, Focus gained, and Focus lost.
3. Start recording and interact with the element as the user would.
4. The Event list shows each captured event with its details.
5. Clear deletes the recorded events, and CSV exports them for analysis.

Then configure the Application Event Trigger with the event type you saw.

Native event families

Application Event Trigger supports native events from several technologies: WND (top-level windows), CTRL, JAVA, WEBCTRL, HTML, and UIA. For a top-level window, examples are Appeared, Disappeared, Title changed, State changed, and Location changed. Each event passes a matching argument type, such as TextChangedArgs for title changes or StateChangedArgs for state changes.

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Application Event Trigger Settings Worth Knowing

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Worked Example

A service desk agent should see customer details whenever they select a ticket row in a desktop ticketing tool.

1. With Inspect Events, the developer finds that selecting a row raises a State changed event on the row element, not a Click event on the grid.
2. The trigger workflow starts with an Application Event Trigger on the grid with Include children selected and the event type found in step 1, using Sequential Collapse so rapid row changes only process the latest selection.
3. The workflow reads the ticket ID from TriggerEventArgs and updates a side form with Set Form Values.

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Troubleshooting Checklist

• The trigger never fires: inspect the element's events with the Event Inspection Tool; the event you chose may not be raised by that element.
• The trigger fires too often: narrow the target, turn off Include children, or use Sequential Collapse so bursts collapse into one run.
• Workflows keep running after the user is done: call Stop Local Triggers from a close action.
• A stage-specific trigger fires too early: start it with Enabled set to False and enable it later with Enable Local Trigger.