Steps
Steps is the way to build what an action does without writing code. An action written as Steps is a list: each row is one thing to do, such as Send keys, Type text or Wait, with its details filled in below it. When the action runs, the steps run from top to bottom.
This action opens a new browser tab, waits for it, types a search and presses Enter.
Who Steps is for
Steps is for everyone who doesn't want to write a script. You pick steps from a list, fill in fields, and the editor checks what you type as you go. The most common steps are one click away as chips, and every builtin, variables, conditions and loops are there too, in Simple and Advanced mode alike.
The same Steps editor is used wherever Input.Observer runs something: an action on the Actions page, a snippet, an app group's before and after scripts, the global events, the Macro recorder and the Sandbox.
Steps and Script
Steps and Script are two ways to write the same thing. A step calls one of Input.Observer's builtins, the same builtins a script calls, and follows the same rules for values. The differences:
- Steps has no arithmetic and no building text from pieces. A step's field holds a value, a variable or one of a fixed set of readings such as Target window, never a calculation.
- Steps has Repeat while…, Repeat until…, Exit the loop and Stop the steps, which Script doesn't.
- A list of steps can be translated into a script, but not the other way.
When your action outgrows Steps, see From Steps to Script. The Script language reference covers the script language and every builtin.
In this section
| Page | What it covers |
|---|---|
| The Steps editor | The step list, the selected step's fields, and what Simple and Advanced mode show. |
| Adding and arranging steps | Adding steps, and moving, removing and expanding them. |
| Step parameters | Filling in a step's fields, and keeping its result. |
| Variables | Keeping a value in one step and using it in a later one. |
| Conditions | Running steps only when something is true. |
| Repeating steps | Running steps a number of times, while or until something is true. |
| Worked recipes | Complete actions, one step at a time. |
| From Steps to Script | When to switch, the code view, and translating steps. |
| Problems the Steps editor reports | Every message the editor shows, and how to fix it. |
Try steps safely on the Sandbox page before you give them a trigger. It runs them against pretend windows and replays what happened.
- The Steps editor — The step list, the selected step's fields, the chips that add steps, and what Simple and Advanced mode show.
- Adding and arranging steps — The chips that add steps, the list of all builtins, where a new step lands, and moving and removing steps.
- Step parameters — The fields of a step: what each kind accepts, choosing a value from the menu, the checks as you type, and keeping a step's result.
- Variables — Save a value in one step and use it in a later one: Save result as, Set variable, the four value types, and naming rules.
- Conditions — Run steps only when something is true: If and If… otherwise… blocks, the three kinds of condition, reversing a condition, and stopping early.
- Repeating steps — Run steps a number of times, while a condition holds or until it does, and leave a repeat early.
- Worked recipes — Complete actions built from steps: close a tab, type a signature, move a window to the next screen, maximize or restore, media keys, and more.
- From Steps to Script — When an action outgrows Steps, the code view that shows steps as text, and translating steps into a script.
- Problems the Steps editor reports — Every message the Steps editor shows: what causes it and how to fix it.