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Windows Applications

Warning

These methods are only supported on Windows OS.

Using the methods below, you will be able to interact with the elements of a running application.

To interact with the elements you can use selectors and specific identifiers. The table below defines the selectors that can be used to connect to an application and filter an element.

Important

The values of these attributes in an application can be viewed using spy tools.

See more details on inspecting apps using the Accessibility Insights for Windows tool.

Tip

In addition to the above tool for inspecting the application, it is possible to use print_control_identifiers, a pywinauto own method that returns the window control identifiers.

See more details in tutorial.

Selector Description
class_name Elements with this window class
class_name_re Elements whose class matches this regular expression
parent Elements that are children of this
process Elements running in this process
title Elements with this text
title_re Elements whose text matches this regular expression
top_level_only Top level elements only (default=True)
visible_only Visible elements only (default=True)
enabled_only Enabled elements only (default=False)
best_match Elements with a title similar to this
handle The handle of the element to return
ctrl_index The index of the child element to return
found_index The index of the filtered out child element to return
predicate_func A user provided hook for a custom element validation
active_only Active elements only (default=False)
control_id Elements with this control id
control_type Elements with this control type (string; for UIAutomation elements)
auto_id Elements with this automation id (for UIAutomation elements)
framework_id Elements with this framework id (for UIAutomation elements)
backend Back-end name to use while searching (default=None means current active backend)

Backend

The backend type refers to the accessibility technology supported by the application. You can choose between two available backends:

  • Win32
  • UIA

When to use each one?

Win32 is the backend used by default, it is often used for applications: MFC, VB6, VCL, simple WinForms controls and most old legacy applications.

UIA backend is often used for: WinForms, WPF, Store apps, Qt5 and browsers.

Some applications support both types, but they may perform differently when using them. You can use the spy tools as a reference to define which type is most appropriate for your application. See more details at this link.

Connect to an Application

You can connect to an instance of an open application. It is possible to use a combination of selectors and also pass the accessibility technology supported by the application (Backend).

Note

In addition to the above selectors, you can also use some specific connection selectors:

  • process: Process ID of the target
  • handle: Window handle of the target
  • path: Path used to launch the target
from botcity.core import Backend

app_path = "<path to the application .exe>"

# Opens the app.
bot.execute(app_path)

# Connecting to the application using the 'path' and 'title' selectors.
bot.connect_to_app(Backend.WIN_32, path=app_path, title="Main Window Title")

// Not yet implemented.

Finding Contexts

You can search for application windows and contexts, such as a main window or a more specific one.

# Searching for the main window.
main_window = bot.find_app_window(title_re="Main")

# Searching for some specific window.
popup_window = bot.find_app_window(title="Confirmation Window", class_name="ThunderRT6MDIForm")

// Not yet implemented

Finding Elements

You can search for application elements using the general context or a previously found parent context.

# Searching for some specific window.
popup_window = bot.find_app_window(title="Confirmation Window", class_name="ThunderRT6MDIForm")

# Searching for the element that is in the context of the found window.
btn_continue = bot.find_app_element(from_parent_window=popup_window, title="Continue", class_name="ThunderRT6CommandButton")

# Performing some operations with the found element.
btn_continue.click()

// Not yet implemented.

Tip

How easy it is to inspect and find element properties directly depends on the application's structure. In some cases, to retain control of the main window after an action in a secondary window, it will be necessary to redeclare the main window to regain control over it.

Info

The Application module is based on the functionalities of the pywinauto library, see more details about the methods available for each different type of element at this link.