Local and Online Activities Feed

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Note:

An activities NuGet feed is provided in Orchestrator by default, so that each time you deploy a package to an environment, the Robot machine has access to all the activities it needs to execute the automation project. For more info, see the About the Activities Feed chapter.

Thus, depending on the parameters set in the NuGet.config file, that can be found in the C:\Program Files (x86)\UiPath\Studio folder, you can configure both the offline and online locations from where activities packages are to be retrieved through the Package Manager window:

• The Local parameter sets the location where the local activity packages are to be retrieved from. It is set by default to .\Packages, which is the Packages folder in the installation directory of UiPath Studio. This corresponds to the Local section of the Manage Packages window.
• The Gallery parameters sets the location where the online activities feed can be accessed from. It is set by default to the MyGet feed, https://www.myget.org/F/workflow/, which is the feed from where the Package Manager in Studio also gets its activities. This corresponds to the Gallery section of the Manage Packages window.

The UiPath.settings file is located in the %programdata%\UiPath folder.
When Studio is not connected to an Orchestrator, the UiPath.settings file contains the local activities feed location.

When it is connected to Orchestrator, UiPath.settings is automatically updated to contain the Orchestrator activities feed URL. The NuGet.config file, on the other hand, is not automatically updated.

When executing an automation project from Studio, the Robot performs the following steps:

1. It searches for the specified package version it needs to execute, in the following order: Local Projects folder (%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\UiPath\Projects folder), Orchestrator NuGet feed - if connected (by default - ~/NuGetPackages).
   a. In case it is connected to Orchestrator, if it finds it in the Orchestrator feed, it downloads it in the %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\UiPath\Projects folder.
2. It searches for the indicated versions of activities in the following order: Local (%LocalAppData%\UiPath\Activities), Orchestrator feed - if connected - (~/NuGetPackages/Activities), MyGet feed (https://www.myget.org/F/workflow/).
   a. If it does not find the indicated version at any of these locations, it looks for the highest available versions of the activities in the following order: Orchestrator feed - if connected (~/NuGetPackages/Activities), Local (%LocalAppData%\UiPath\Activities), MyGet feed (https://www.myget.org/F/workflow/).
   b. If it does not find the latest version in either of the locations mentioned above, an error is thrown.

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Note:

The location of the activity packs has changed from %programdata%\UiPath\Activities in 2016.2 to %localappdata%\UiPath\Activities in 2017.1.

This means that, when upgrading, the activity packs must be reinstalled to work properly.

Even if you did not choose to install the local activities feed during the install process, the C:\Program Files (x86)\UiPath\Studio\Packages folder is created regardless, containing the Core activities package. The Packages.config file, located in the same folder, contains the activity packs that are to be installed by default when opening Studio for the first time.

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Note:

All activities present on the machine, regardless where they are retrieved from, are decompressed and installed in the %localappdata%\UiPath\Activities folder.

Managing Packages

The package manager functionality enables you to download activity packages, libraries, frameworks, wrappers and others, view the ones already installed on your computer and update them, as well as add and remove your own.

These features are available through the Manage Packages window that you can open by clicking the Manage Packages button on the Activities panel.

An activity package is a bundle of activities that can help you automate a certain application (UiPath.Excel.Activities, UiPath.Word.Activities) or a category of apps (UiPath.Mail.Activities, UiPath.Terminal.Activities), or use certain technologies in your automations (UiPath.OCR.Activities, UiPath.FTP.Activities).

Details about packages and libraries are displayed in the right panel of the Manage Packages window, as you can see in the screenshot above.

In the lower left side of the Manage Packages window, there are several check boxes that have the following functions:

• The Filter Activities check box enables you to view only activity packages when selected. By default, this checkbox is selected. Clearing the checkbox displays all the other libraries that are installed, available, or can be updated.
• The Auto Update check box enables the installed library packages to be automatically kept up to date when selected. By default, this checkbox is cleared.
• The Include Prerelease check box displays the beta versions of library packages, if available, when selected. By default, this checkbox is selected.

To install activities packs, go to the Available category, and click the Install button next to the package that interests you. You are prompted to restart UiPath Studio so that you can start using the selected activities.

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Note:

An internet connection is required to download and install activities packs.

To uninstall activities, go to the Installed category, and click the Uninstall button next to the package that you no longer want to use.

Updating Packages

The Manage Packages button on the Activities panel displays an orange border when there are packages that need to be updated, as in the following screenshot.

All your activities can be automatically updated when a new version is available, by selecting the Auto Update check box, in the Manage Packages window.

Manually Updating Activities Packages

1. On the left side of the Manage Packages window, click the Updates category. The Manage Packages window displays all activities packages to be updated.
2. Select a version from the Available list for the package that interests you.
3. You can either:

• Click the Update button next to the package. The updated package is no longer displayed in this view.
• Update all the packages at once by clicking the Update All button.

Also, in the Available and Update categories, the panel in the right side of the Manage Packages window enables you to get a better handle on the version of the package that you wish to install. This can be done by selecting the desired version from the drop-down list and clicking the Update button.

This panel also permits uninstalling packages, by clicking the Uninstall button.

Adding Your Own Packages

1. In the Manage Packages window, in the left panel, right-click any category.

2. Select the Configure Sources from the context menu. The Package Source Settings window is displayed.
3. Click the Add button. A new blank package is added and an error message is displayed because the Name and Source fields are not filled in correctly.

4. In the Name field, type the name of the package.
5. In the Source field, type the local drive folder pathway, the shared network folder pathway or the NuGet feed URL of the package.

6. Click Apply. Your configuration is saved.
7. Click OK. The Package Source Settings window closes. Note that the Name is displayed in the Manage Packages window, as a new category.

Removing Your Packages

1. In the Manage Packages window, in the left panel, right-click any category.
2. Select Configure Sources from the context menu. The Package Source Settings window is displayed.
3. In the Package Source Settings window, select the package that interests you and press the Remove button.

4. Click Apply. Your configuration is saved.
5. Click OK. The Package Source Settings window closes. The package is removed from the Manage Packages window.