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Input field types

Input field types

Configuring an action in the settings panel puts you in front of several kinds of input field. Each was designed for a particular purpose and gives you the right controls for it. This guide covers all of them.

Select (dropdown)​

A dropdown list with predefined options. Click it to open the list and choose one.

For example: the Load type field of Reload a page offers networkidle, domcontentloaded and load.

Mode selector ("Select the action:")​

Many actions have a special field called "Select the action:" (or something similar) that controls which other fields appear. It works as a mode selector and should be configured first.

For example: in Insert text, choosing By browser makes the Page or browser ID and Element selector fields available. Choosing By element replaces them with Element ID.

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Always configure "Select the action:" before anything else — it decides which fields you get.

Text​

A free-entry field for any value: a URL, a CSS selector, a file name.

For example: the Element selector field of Click element expects a CSS selector such as button#submit or input.name-field.

Number​

A field for numeric values, usually with minimum and maximum validation.

For example: the Delay in milliseconds field of Press a key takes any positive whole number.

Yes/No (toggle)​

A switch representing an option that is on or off. Click it to flip between the two.

For example: the Clear the input before typing? field of Insert text decides whether the field is cleared first.

Dynamic field (the type-picker icon)​

This is the Designer's most capable field. Its value can be defined in several different ways, chosen through the icon on the left of the field:

TypeIconWhen to use it
TextA text fileThe value is fixed and typed in directly. https://roberty.app, for instance.
NumberNumericThe value is a fixed number.
CodeBraces {}The value is computed by a JavaScript expression. new Date().toISOString(), for instance.
Another action's outputAn action iconThe value comes from the output of an action earlier in the flow.
Robot parameterA parameter iconThe value comes from a parameter or secret configured on the robot.
VariableA variable iconThe value comes from a variable created during the flow.
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The Code type is a real block of JavaScript — any character that would need escaping in a JS string (a quote, a backslash) needs escaping here too. That matters most in Windows file paths, where every backslash has to be doubled (\\). See Escape characters and backslashes for examples.

Using a dynamic field​

  1. Find the field with the type icon on its left.
  2. Click the icon to open the selection window.
  3. Choose the kind of value you want (Text, Code, an output, and so on).
  4. Configure the value for the type you picked.

For another action's output:

  1. Click the icon and open the Robot actions tab.
  2. Find the action whose output you want (actions are listed by ID).
  3. Expand it and select the output field you want (value, element, filePath).
  4. The field then reads actionId.field (e.g. getText.value).

For more on using action outputs, see Chaining actions.

Earlier-action selector (action dropdown)​

Some fields expect an earlier action as a reference — the Page or browser ID field, for example. Those show a filtered dropdown with only the compatible actions already in the flow.

For example: the Page or browser ID field of Click element lists only Open Browser, New tab, Get tab and Get iframe — the only actions that produce a browser session.

This kind of field makes referencing a specific action easy, and guarantees that only compatible ones can be picked.

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