Building Activities Project Settings

Using the UiPath.Activities.API package from the Official feed (https://pkgs.dev.azure.com/uipath/Public.Feeds/_packaging/UiPath-Official/nuget/v3/index.json), you can create and add your own custom activity project settings in Studio. For information on how to use the API, see Studio Activities SDK.

Note: The UiPath.Activities.API package must be used as a development dependency in your custom project. Read more about Development Dependencies.

Activity project settings encompass a set of options that can be adjusted on a project level directly from the Project Settings window.

Build Activity Settings

The following sample builds a set of settings for a music player sample activity.

Add the Tab and Section

using UiPath.Studio.Activities.Api;
using UiPath.Studio.Activities.Api.Settings;
namespace MyCustomActivityPack
{
    public static class SettingsCreator
    {
        // This is the key used to reference a tab, even across packages.
        internal const string CategoryKey = "DemoTabUniqueKey";
        // This is the key used to reference the setting, even across packages.
        internal const string CommentTextKey = CategoryKey + ".Comment";
        internal const string PresetKey = CategoryKey + ".Preset";
        internal const string ShuffleKey = CategoryKey + ".Shuffle";
        public static void CreateSettings(IWorkflowDesignApi workflowDesignApi)
        {
            var settingsApi = workflowDesignApi.Settings;
            // Add the category (a tab in the settings page)
            var category = new SettingsCategory()
            {
                Description = "Settings Sample",
                Header = "Settings Sample",
                Key = CategoryKey
            };
            settingsApi.AddCategory(category);
            AddMusicPlayerSection(settingsApi, category);
            AddMiscSettings(settingsApi, category);

This adds a tab and section to the Activity Project Settings window. The tab description is visible when hovering over the tab's tooltip:

Add Settings

• Expandable settings section:

  private static SettingsSection AddMusicPlayerSection(IActivitiesSettingsService settingsApi, SettingsCategory category)
          {
              var section = new SettingsSection()
              {
                  Description = "Settings for a music player",
                  IsExpanded = true, //set this to control default expansion
                  Title = "Music Player Settings",
                  // the key of a section has to be unique only within the category
                  Key = "Player"
              };
              settingsApi.AddSection(category, section);
              AddSimpleBoolean(settingsApi, section);
              AddSingleChoice(settingsApi, section);
              return section;
          }

This results in:

• Radio button for Boolean values:

  private static void AddSimpleBoolean(IActivitiesSettingsService settingsApi, SettingsSection section)
          {
              var booleanSetting = new SingleValueEditorDescription<bool>
              {
                  DefaultValue = true,
                  Description = "If active, the playlist is shuffled",
                  // The value returned by GetDisplayValue should be localized
                  GetDisplayValue = b => b ? "On" : "Off",
                  Key = ShuffleKey,
                  Label = "Shuffle"
              };
              settingsApi.AddSetting(section, booleanSetting);
          }

This results in:

• Multiple choice list of values:

  private static void AddSingleChoice(IActivitiesSettingsService settingsApi, SettingsSection category)
          {
              var booleanSetting = new SingleValueSelectorDescription
              {
                  DefaultValue = "pop",
                  Values = new[] { "classic", "pop", "rock" },
                  Description = "Sample single choice setting",
                  // The value returned by GetDisplayValue should be localized
                  GetDisplayValue = choice => choice + " music",
                  Key = PresetKey,
                  Label = "Mixer Preset"
              };
              settingsApi.AddSetting(category, booleanSetting);
          }

This results in:

• Input text field with validation:

  private static void AddSimpleString(IActivitiesSettingsService settingsApi, SettingsSection section)
          {
              var simpleStringSetting = new SingleValueEditorDescription<string>()
              {
                  Description = "A free text comment that can't contain the word 'invalid'",
                  // The GetDisplayValue obtains a localized screen representation of the underlying setting value.
                  GetDisplayValue = LocalizeSimpleSettingValue,
                  IsReadOnly = false,
                  DefaultValue = "There is no comment",
                  Label = "Comment",
                  Validate = ValidateSimpleStringSetting,
                  Key = CommentTextKey
              };
              // Add the setting to the section.
              // A setting may also be directly added on a category. It will appear as a setting without a section (top level setting)
              settingsApi.AddSetting(section, simpleStringSetting);
          }
  private static string LocalizeSimpleSettingValue(string s) => $"A localized value of <code>{s}</code>";
  private static string ValidateSimpleStringSetting(string arg)
          {
              if (arg?.ToLowerInvariant().Contains("invalid") == true)
              {
                  return "The sample string setting is invalid if it contains the <code>invalid</code> keyword";
              }
              return string.Empty;
          }

This results in:

Get Process ID and Logs

Using methods applied to the IExecutorRuntime reference, you can get information about the process ID which is being executed by the Robot, as well as execution logs. The following methods can be used:

• IRunningJobInformation - Collects information about the process which is being executed, and supports the following properties:
  • JobID - retrieves the process ID
  • ProcessName - retrieves the process name
  • ProcessVersion - retrieves the process version
  • WorkflowFilePath - retrieves the full path of the process
  • InitiatedBy - retrieves the source of a Job (Robot, Studio, Orchestrator, etc)
  • FolderId - retrieves the folder id of the process
  • FolderName - retrieves the folder name of the process
  • TenantId - retrieves the tenant id
  • TenantKey - retrieves the tenant key
  • TenantName - retrieves the tenant name
  • RobotName - retrieves the robot name
  • LicenseType - retrieves the robot license type
  • RuntimeGovernanceEnabled - provides info if runtime governance is enabled or not
  • InternalArguments - retrieves any internal arguments of the process
  • OrganizationId - retrieves the organization id
  • PictureInPictureMode - retrieves the type of Picture in Picture mode used. The following values are available:
    • Main - the process runs in the main Windows session
    • PictureInPictureSession - the process runs in the PiP session
    • PictureInPictureDesktop - the process runs in PiP virtual desktop mode
  • LogMessage - Generates Robot Execution Logs according to a Logging Level you specify. Read more about logs on this page. The following properties are supported:
  • EventType - the logging level to retrieve
  • Message - the message to display

The following code exemplifies the use of the LogMessage method:

public class MyLogMessageActivity : CodeActivity
{
    protected override void Execute(CodeActivityContext context)
    {
        var executorRuntime = context.GetExtension<IExecutorRuntime>();
        var jobInfo = executorRuntime.RunningJobInformation;
        executorRuntime.LogMessage(new LogMessage
        {
            EventType = TraceEventType.Warning,
            Message = $"Job {jobInfo.JobId}: My log message from workflow {jobInfo.WorkflowFilePath}"
        });
    }
}

Add the Project to Studio

To make the settings visible in Studio in the Activity Project Settings window, you need to publish your custom activities to a NuGet package and make it available to a feed defined in Studio, version 2019.10.1 or above.

Create the NuGet Package

1. Launch NuGet Package Explorer.
2. Click Create a new package (Ctrl + N). A split-window is displayed which shows Package metadata and Package contents. We need to add all dependencies in the latter section.
3. Right-click the Package contents section. A context menu is displayed.
4. Click Add lib folder. Notice a new lib item is created in the Package contents section.
5. Right-click lib and select to Add Existing File….
6. Load the external assembly (.dll) of your project.
7. Click Edit > Edit Metadata. The Package metadata section is displayed.
8. Fill in the fields as you see fit to better describe your project.
9. Fill in the Id field and make sure to include the keyword “Activities” so the package can be displayed in the Manage Packages window, in Studio.
10. Click File > Save. In our case, the .nupkg file is created.
    Note: Be sure to create an intuitive folder structure for your activities. All empty folders inside the custom activity get removed when used with Orchestrator.

Install the NuGet Package in UiPath Studio

Once the .nupkg file is created, add it to a custom feed in Studio, as explained here.

Open the Manage Packages window and install the package. Make sure the custom feed is enabled in Studio.

Sample Settings

Put together, the above-created tab, section, and settings are visible in the Activity Project Settings window:

Simply follow the link below to download the sample, which also contains an example of Creating Custom Wizards.

Download example