Match Rules Overview

Every time an application runs a new user interface it is rendered by the underlying program. To end users, the interface is displayed the same because certain characteristics, such as the type and position of application user interface elements (such as labels, buttons, lists), remain the same. However, from a technical perspective, the application user interface elements are different for every instance of the application.

To effectively automate an application, a Pega Robotic Automation developer must be able to identify an application user interface element across multiple application instances, just as a user would. Additionally, the developer must distinguish between unchanging or persistent data that should be used to identify an element and changing or transient data that should be ignored.

Studio provides an advanced matching system that uniquely identifies application user interface elements across multiple instances of an application using a set of rules that capture the necessary persistent data. Developers can customize matching behavior by adding, removing, or modifying these rules.

For more information, see the following topics:

Topic	Description
Interrogation and Matching of Windows and Web Applications	Provides an overview of how matching occurs and how match rules are applied.
Match Rules Tab - Targets Pane	Describes the items listed in the Targets pane of the design page and defines the functions available in this area.
Match Rules Tab - Selected Target Pane	Describes the items listed in the Selected Target pane of the design page.
Match Rules Tab - Match Rules Pane	Describes the pane which lists the match rules the system uses to identify the object.
Match Rule Definitions	Lists Windows and web application match rules and definitions.
Windows Match Rules	Lists the default match rules used to match Windows targets.
Web Application Match Rules	Lists the match rules used for common web targets.
Working with Match Rules	Describes ways match rules fail to identify targets.
Modifying Match Rule Properties	Describes how to modify the Window Text match rule using the Match Rule Editor.
Add Additional Match Rules	Describes how to add match rules to uniquely identify a target.