What's new in version 3.5

Three new OCR functions have been added (not available in WinTask Lite):

• CaptureOCR$, captures what is seen in the specified window, OCRizes the content and returns the text as analysed by the OCR engine.

• CaptureAreaOCR$, captures what is seen in the specified area of the specified window, OCRizes the content and returns the text as analysed by the OCR engine.

• UseOCREngine, specifies which OCR engine will be used by subsequent OCR function calls.

 

How works OCR: WinTask can now use two different OCR engines. Our internal one is delivered with our software but is not accurate when a big rectangle has to be OCRized. All our OCR functions can use now the OCR engine delivered with Microsoft Office 2003 or 2007. When an OCR function is called, WinTask checks first if a UseOCREngine line exists in the script above the call. If such a line is there, the OCR function uses the specified OCR engine. If no UseOCREngine is used in the script, the OCR functions use our internal OCR engine.

If you have Office 2003 or 2007 and do not know if Office OCR engine is installed on your PC, you can look at How to install Office OCR engine topic.

 

The new Encrypt function encrypts a string (not available in WinTask Lite).

An additional optional parameter, a timeout, has been added to MsgBox function: if after the specified timeout, no button has been clicked, the msgbox dialog box vanishes.

MsgFrame function has been redrawn in order to display a small rectangle around the displayed text instead of a blue empty title.

ExistHTMLElement can now test too if a Table exists or not.

 

WinTask 3.5 had been built with a new version of InstallShield, a new version of the Compiler and a new version of Visual Studio. Those new versions have needed a re-writing of string management, and impacted External function. And too:
VERY IMPORTANT: if you want to run scripts built with previous versions of WinTask, you have to recompile them using WinTask 3.5 version.

The minor fixes included in version 3.5 are listed below:

• GetFrameSource$ and CaptureHTML do not crash anymore IE when a lot of data are on the page.

• ExtractBetween$ extracts now correctly when the strings to extract between are only one character long.

• Capture$ was not capturing a text when it was a one-line text displayed at the top left of the window.

• DateToDate function was not working properly with negative intervals.

• TaskEdit does not crash anymore when switching from a Unicode script to an ANSI script.

• A data exchange memory zone was not freed properly with virtual memory decreasing slowly.

• WriteExcel returns now a -3 error code if it tries to write to an opened Excel file.

 

 

What's new in version 3.4b

Functions managing XML files have been added (not available in WinTask Lite):

• GetXMLAttribute, retrieves the content of an attribute in the specified XML file.

• SetXMLAttribute, modifies or adds an attribute in the specified XML file

• AppendXMLNode, adds a node in the specified XML file

• EnumXMLChildren, enumerates the child node descriptors for the specified XML node

• EnumXMLAttributes, retrieves the attribute names and attribute values for the specified XML node

 

GetPageSource$ could not retrieve the source of frames when the page was including frames, the new function GetFrameSource$ retrieves the source of the specified frame. The function GetFrameSource$ is not available in WinTask Lite.

 

The minor fixes included in version 3.4b are listed below:

• StartBrowser with the parameter 3 maximizes properly IE under Vista

• The listboxes in the Functions wizard (Language window with Show wizard checked) are now correctly displayed under Vista

• The Encrypted Functions wizards have been slightly modified for a better understanding

• CreateExcelFile(param$) when param$ is not initialized does not crash anymore

• The Text Synchro with the Ticks unit has been fixed - however we recommend to avoid the Ticks unit as it takes a lot of CPU

• Capture$ function takes into account the Null character (in very rare circumstances, due to this character, the capture was not capturing all the string)

• The OCR wizards have been slightly modified for a better understanding

• If ClickOnText function cannot capture the text, the wizard suggests now to use ClickOnTextOCR

• GetProcessCPULoad function returns - 3 if the specified process does not run

• SelectHTMLItem under IE6 selects now correctly the specified item even if a scrolling is needed to display the listbox

 

Finally, the possible error codes for all the functions managed by #IgnoreErrors are now listed under Language reference chapter, Error codes list topic. For the functions which in case of an error does not stop execution when #IgnoreErrors=0, their possible return codes are still listed in their individual help topic.

 

What's new in version 3.4a

Microsoft Windows Vista is now supported.

The following Wintask features are not currently supported in the Windows Vista environment:

• WinTask Scheduler (but Windows Vista Scheduler can be used to schedule a WinTask script when a desktop is opened, the command line to specify in Windows Scheduler is "c:\program files\wintask\bin\TaskExec.exe" "c:\program files\wintask\scripts\my_script.rob". Note that if the script needs a dekstop because it fills a web form, it sends keystrokes to an application,.. a desktop must be opened when the scheduled task starts. The automatic logon is not supported within Vista due to the new UAC Security restrictions)

• SendEmail function

•  UAC dialog boxes cannot be automated (the dialog box displayed when a program temporarily needs administrator rights) as Vista makes those dialog boxes modal and the user cannot work on any other application before having answered to the UAC dialog box

 

A new WinTask Service (WinTaskAdmin service) has been added which is started when the PC starts. This service is used to allow the Services functions (StartService, StopService, IsServiceStarted) and the Registry functions to work without full admin rights as Vista does not give full admin rights even when you are the local admin of the PC. This new service is too used by GetCPULoad and GetProcessCPULoad functions.

 

Those functions have been added in version 3.4:

• UseWindowRegEx, specifies the window to which subsequent keyboard, mouse and menu actions are directed, using Regular Expressions to specify the window title part of the window name (function not available in WinTask Lite)

• DateBetween, returns the number of specified time intervals between two dates

• DateToDate$, returns a new datetime value based on adding an interval to the specified date

 
SplitIntoArray function can now return the number of items of the resulting array.

 

What's new in version 3.3

IE7 is now supported, there are a lot of differences with IE6 as even the IE window names have changed. If you receive an HTML descriptor not found error when you run an existing script under IE7, record again the script part which reports an error, it will generate the correct HTML descriptor for IE7.

Those functions have been added:

• SaveTargetAs, simulates a right click on an HTML element and selection of Save Target as option in the context menu

• SavePictureAs, saves an HTML picture element on hard disk

• SelectedHTMLItem$, returns the selected item in an HTML list/combo (not available in WinTask Lite)

• ExistHTMLELement, checks if the specified HTML element exists or not (not available in WinTask Lite)

• SelectedItem$, returns the selected item in a listbox/combobox (not available in WinTask Lite)

• ExecExcelMacro, executes silently the specified macro in the specified Excel workbook and then saves

Three string functions have been added:

• InstrRev, returns the position of a substring within a string, searching backward through the string

• Replace$, finds and replaces some or all occurrences of a substring within a string

• SplitIntoArray, converts a string into an array of strings.

 

MsgFrame and MsgFrameTitle functions have new parameters to display the message in different parts of the screen. A wizard has been added to generate easily the MsgFrame/MsgFrameTitle syntax - you can access it by double clicking the function name in Language window (click Language icon in WinTask Editor toolbar).

 

Scheduler (not available in WinTask Lite) can now notify by email when a scheduled task did not run successfully. A new Email notification Tab has been added for this option. If a Policy screen is displayed when the user logs, Scheduler is now able to click automatically the OK button on this screen.

 

The list of more recent files opened in Editor shows up to 9 scripts (instead of 4).

 

In version 3.3a, 3 new functions have been added:

• ClickOnTextOCR, clicks a text recognized by the OCR engine - always use the wizard for this function to be sure that the text is correctly recognized by the OCR engine (not available in WinTask Lite)

• SendEmail, sends an email using the SMTP server defined in Email notification tab within WinTask Scheduler (not available in WinTask Lite)

• CloseExcelCom, closes the Excel instance launched by ReadExcel or WriteExcel - to be used if Excel is launched by a Shell whereas before in the script a ReadExcel of WriteExcel have been used.

 

What's new in version 3.2

WinTask supports now Windows 64-bits for applications running in the 32 bits kernel.

A Pause on OCR text has been added (not available in WinTask Lite) : you can access this new synchronization by menu Insert/Synchronization/On OCR text (or Pause OCR text icon in the Editor toolbar). It allows to pause until a text captured as an image is displayed at execution.

A Capture wizard has been added : you can access it by menu Start/Capture wizard (or Capture icon in the Editor toolbar). It generates the correct lines in the script for the Capture you want to achieve. From the long captured string, it's possible to extract only a part of it using ExtractBetween$ function. This new function is generated automatically through the Capture wizard or you can invoke it directly as any WinTask function.

For beginners, a Your first script wizard has been added. By default, this wizard is loaded when you open WinTask. If you don't want anymore this wizard, just check the checkbox Don't show this wizard anymore and click Close button, you will come back to the usual Editor window. At any time, you can recall the script wizard by menu Start/New Script wizard.

Trim$ function is added, it deletes the leading and trailing spaces from a string.

HardCopy function is added (not available in WinTask Lite), it generates a screenshot file when invoked.

GetPageSource$ (not available in WinTask Lite) returns in just one function the source code of the current web page. Using it in conjunction with ExtractBetween$ new function allows to extract any data from a web site.

CopyLink function (not available in WinTask Lite) returns the actual link of a clickable link (simulates a Copy shortcut on a clickable link).

We changed some keyboard shorcuts to follow the Microsoft usual ones, so now Control+S saves a script, Control+P prints a script (but so note that it's now Control+E to call Spy).

A Go to line option (shortcut Control+G) has been added in Edit menu, you can go directly to the specified line in the script.

SetReadPos and EOF functions have been fixed to support Unicode files.

 

What's new in version 3.1

Functions for encrypting passwords are added in this version (Not available in WinTask Lite). A new menu option Insert/encrypted string opens the Password encryption dialog box. In this dialog box, you type the password string, click Generate button for encrypting the string and Paste into the script button inserts within the script the encrypted string.

Encrypted strings can be used in 3 new functions:

• SendKeysEncrypted, same use as SendKeys but for an encrypted string

• WriteEditEncrypted, same use as WriteEdit but for an encrypted string

• WriteHTMLEncrypted, same use as WriteHTML but for an encrypted string

WriteEditEncrypted is automatically generated in Recording mode for HTML fields seen as password type. The two other encryption functions can be generated using their wizard (in Language window, check Show wizard checkbox and double click the desired function).

 

Two functions are added to the ones existing dealing with windows handles:

• GetFocusWindowHandle returns the handle of the window which has the focus

• GetTopWindowHandle returns the handle of the window which is on top

 

Scheduler can now be installed and configured using remote desktop from a 2000/XP PC to a Windows 2003 Server PC. A Remote desktop with admin rights has to be used, but a remote desktop in console mode is not supported.

New columns are added to Scheduler main window:

• Next run column tells when the next run will occur for the scheduled task

• Last run result column tells if the last run of the scheduled task has been successfull or the error code is reported if not successfull. The details of the errror can then be seen in Event Viewer/Application (application WTScheduler)

• Last run column tells when was the last run for the scheduled task

 

Those bugs have been corrected:

• Capture$ in a Dos box window captures now properly the text of the Dos window

• Add$, Subtract$, Multiply$, Divide$ work properly even with strings using Ucase$

 

In version 3.1a, HTML descriptors now support SPAN, DIV and TD tags.

OverHTMLElement function has been added for a correct recording/replay of dynamic menus (menu options which are displayed only when the mouse is on the main menu).

 

What's new in version 3.0

Main modification in version 3.0 is the support of Unicode. All the internal code has been rewritten for a Unicode internal support. From the user point of view, especially English users, nothing changes and they can work as in version 2.6 ; their scripts will still be created using ANSI coding unless specified when saving a script.

ATTENTION: as Windows 98/ME does not support Unicode, WinTask 3.0 does not work under Windows 98/ME. The last version working under 98/ME is WinTask 2.6.

For users needing Unicode support due to a non-English alphabet or not-European alphabet, they can now create scripts as Unicode and so record and replay/capture non-English or not-European characters. Telling that a new script must use Unicode is done within Configure Recording dialog box.
Before writing to a Unicode file which is not yet created, you have to create it first using CreateUnicode function. CreateUnicodeFile function has been added to create an empty Unicode file ; then Write function will know that it has to write in this new file using Unicode encoding.

Important modifications have been done too on IDE (our Editor TASKEDIT). They include:

• Scroll wheel mouse support

• Tabbed Editor

• Compilation window is now dockable - Play icon (or Start/Run menu option) compiles and runs immediately if no compilation error is detected. Use Start/Compile only menu option if you want to compile and use the dialog box Compilation as it was in version 2.6 (or press Ctrl+F7).

• Line numbering in a left column

• Multiple comment lines using /*.....*/

• Bookmarks insertion (Edit menu)

 

Other enhancements are:

• Support of Windows 2003 Server SP1.

• Proper compilation when scripts are very long.

• InputBoxSecret$, new function which prompts for a password, hidden field.

• Pause wizards allow the user to change the maximum timeout for the pause to fail. Additionally, the error message statement when the pause fails can now be modified.

• In bitmap synchronization wizard, the path used for saving bitmap file is now the last path used.

• During Preview of a bitmap file in bitmap synchronization wizard, used CPU is not any more 100 %.

• Launching Internet Explorer dialog box includes a new checkbox to check if the url to load prompts for a userid and password - it prevents the timeout error at replay because the page cannot be loaded due to a security window

• The recording of a click on an icon displayed on desktop replays now correctly.

• CaptureBitmap returns an error when there is not enough disk free.

• Pause statements in a loop running for hours do not generate any more an execution error.

• CaptureBitmap in a Java application now works properly.

• Text synchronization under Windows 2003 Server SP1 now works properly.

• Capture functions work correctly under Windows 2000 with all the updates following SP4

• Scheduler launches correctly scripts under Windows 2003 Server with SP1 embedded

What's new in version 2.6

Version 2.6 now supports Windows 2003 Server.

The new installation process does not need any more to reboot the PC if you plan to use WinTask Scheduler. You cannot install WinTask Scheduler from a remote PC.

New functions have been added:

• KillApp kills the specified application.

• KillAppChildren kills the specified application and its children processes.

• CheckedW returns the status of a radio button or a check box.

• FileAttr$ returns the attribute of the specified file.

• CreateExcelFile creates an Excel worksheet

 

Spy can be used to truncate window names, and a new Validate button is available to test the truncated name for the specified UseWindow.

A wizard for capturing Web data in an Excel file is added when using Spy on an HTML table.

Tick units are now supported in Pause statements. IMPORTANT : as ticks are now supported, the block
repeat

....
pause x ticks

until ...

will return a compilation error, as the compiler does not know if the until is for the Pause line or for the repeat construction. To correct the compilation error, either move the pause x ticks line at another place than just above the until line, or add an EndPause line such as :

repeat

....
pause x ticks
EndPause

until ...

 

Serial port statements now support COM1 to COM8 (instead of COM1 to COM4).

 

In version 2.6a, the function CheckedHTML has been added which returns the status of a checkbox or a radio button in an HTML form.

And Scheduler can now unlock the screen when a task starts.

 

What's new in version 2.52

If a script fails at execution, after #ExecTimeout seconds, the script specified in #ScriptAfterTimeout$ is launched. This mechanism is useful for cleaning up the environment before re-running a script which has failed.

It is now possible to specify system variables values when calling TaskExec for running a script. And there is a silent mode: in case of any error, TaskExec does not display any error message, it just returns a non-zero return code.

A new system variable #HideTrayIcon hides the runtime icon in system tray if initialized to 1.

A general error handling mechanism has been implemented through the syntax OnAction Error: at execution, if an error occurs, the routine defined in the OnAction Error is called. New system variables are available when an error triggers this routine OnAction Error: #ErrorCode, #ErrorFunction$, #ErrorMsg$, #ErrorScript$, #LastErrorLine.

 

What's new in version 2.51

WinTask now includes a COM library, so you can call many WinTask functions from scripting languages. The help for this new feature dedicated to advanced programmers is in the Help menu under "WinTask as a COM object...".

 

Some functions have been added or modified for Web automation:

• the #IgnoreHTMLCase system variable tells whether case is important for HTML descriptors.

• The CurrentPage$ function returns the current Web page.

• ListHTMLItem$ retrieves the content of an item in an HTML listbox or combobox.

• StartBrowser can now be launched minimized or maximized.

 

Compiler limits have been extended in WinTask Pro version (not in WinTask Lite).

The word PauseTrue is accepted by the compiler and so can replace the previous word PauseOK.

The wizard "Intermediate" mode (menu Configure/Wizard) is now displayed by default: a small toolbar is displayed during Recording mode, and so by a simple click, you can insert synchronizations or stop Recording mode. To deactivate this "Intermediate" mode, select menu Configure/Wizard and check None.

A new feature is available while Recording: you can now insert lines into the script while you record. By pressing a key (Alt+i by default) or by clicking an icon, the Insert lines dialog box is displayed, you type the lines you want, and when you resume Recording mode, the lines are inserted automatically into the script. See Insert lines into the script.

A lot of new complex script examples are now listed under the folder advanced_script_examples (under WinTask main folder).

Scheduler has been enhanced and can now start a new desktop even if screen saver is activated. When a script fails at execution when started by the Scheduler, an error 21 is still reported but the exact error message is also reported in the system log.

 

What's new in version 2.5

This new version merges the two Recording modes: Web Recording mode and normal Recording mode (Internet Explorer 5.5 or above is required). So now, you can automate simultaneously actions on standard Windows applications and actions on Web pages. An obvious automation process could be a data retrieval from a Web page and an insertion in an Excel worksheet. See Web, how to capture data for a step-by-step example.

A ClickHTMLElement function has been added which simulates a mouse click on an HTML Web object. It uses a HTML descriptor for specifying uniquely on the Web page the HTML element to be clicked. This descriptor is generated automatically in Recording mode or you can use Spy for finding it. A WriteHTML function has also been added for simulating a user typing text in a Web form input field. The SelectHTMLItem function selects an item in a Combobox/Listbox within a Web page.

 

What's new in version 2.42

A new Web Spy has been added for specifying HTML elements and two capture functions are now available: CaptureHTML and CaptureTableHTML. Internet Explorer 5.5 or above is required for these new features.

The new function UsePage specifies the Web page where the captures must be done and the system variable #UsePageExact specifies if at replay, only the Web page with exactly the same page title must be used or if a Web page starting with the same title can be used.

In order to find any HTML element on a Web page, an HTML descriptor is now available. As usual, it can be generated automatically by using Spy component.

 

What's new in version 2.41

Version 2.41 now supports Windows XP.

Four new functions for measuring response times have been added: StartTimer, StopTimer, ResetTimer, and Timer.

Realtime Recording mode is now available.

WinTask Scheduler includes a holiday list valid for all the scheduled tasks.

Some performance problems have been corrected in loops with more than 1000 captures.

The stack size has been increased to 100 K.

Several help topics have been added: global and local variables, parameters passed from one script to another, Scheduler under Windows 98 or ME, Controlling the speed of playback, running a script by pressing a key, ... and some more script examples are available, for instance a toolkit for Web automation.

 

What's new in version 2.4

Three changes have been made in WinTask Editor:

1. A new menu option in order to start Recording mode by launching first a program ; it creates a Shell statement for launching a program directly instead of recording Windows menu Start (which is not reliable).

2. A new synchronization, Synchronization on window: with such a synchronization, the script resumes its execution only when a specific window appears or disappears. Using the OnAction statement (not available in WinTask Lite), a specific action can be performed every time a specific window is displayed (for instance to manage error message windows).

3. A wizard is now available for each individual statement.

 

Many new functions have been added:

• File/directories functions: DirTree which is an enhancement of the Dir function for getting a list of files or directories ; ExistDir for testing whether a directory exists; SelectDir$ which opens a dialog box for selecting a file or folder.

• ShellWait function which launches an application and waits until it has ended before resuming script execution.

• Functions that manage window handles: GetWindowHandle, UseWindowHandle, GetWindowName$. These are useful, for instance, when automating software installations where window names vary from one installation to another (the EXE name or the window title vary).

• Two functions CapsLock and NumLock lock/unlock Caps/Num key; NumLock is not supported under Windows 98/ME.

The algorithm for finding the proper window at execution has been slightly modified as explained in Window name.

An optional parameter, NoActivate, can be used with Sendkeys. If NoActivate is used, the specified keystrokes are sent without verifying to which window they are sent.

Finally, FileCopy has been improved in order to allow locked files to be replaced at next reboot, which is sometimes necessary when you automate a software installation.

NT/2000/XP/2003 UPGRADE NOTE: If you are upgrading from a previous version and running the NT/2000/XP/2003 Scheduler from WinTask, please un-install Wintask through the Control Panel, THEN REBOOT, then re-install the new version AND REBOOT. Your scripts and tasks will be preserved, although it is a good practice to recompile your scripts with the new version.

Please send any enhancement requests for the next version of WinTask to info@wintask.com