DocsBlue Prism Browser Automation Agent 1.0: September 2022
About this release
The Blue Prism Browser Automation Agent is a complementary application to Blue Prism Enterprise that is launched by a compatible Blue Prism Manifest V3 (MV3) browser extension. This application is provided as a separate installer that will detect the installed version of Blue Prism and install the appropriate MV3 browser extension while removing selected Manifest V2 (MV2) extensions installed on the machine.
The application provides the ability to insert and invoke JavaScript on web pages via a Chrome or Edge MV3 browser extension and it can be used with any Blue Prism version from 6.5 to 6.10.5. The Blue Prism Browser Automation Agent is not valid for use with the Blue Prism Firefox browser extension as this is using MV2.
Applying this patch release
This component release must be installed on runtime resources and interactive clients within a Blue Prism environment to allow the automation of Chrome and Edge browsers with continued support of Insert and Invoke JavaScript functionality, after the removal of MV2 support for browser extensions. Unlike Blue Prism product releases, this update can be applied to individual runtime resources and interactive clients in an environment without installing it across the entire estate.
Upgrade notices
Processes may need to be updated to invoke JavaScript functions following an insert
When launching a browser from Blue Prism after installing the Browser Automation Agent and attempting to use the Insert and Invoke JavaScript functionality, in some scenarios a process using the Insert function may need to be updated.
When using the Insert JavaScript action in a Navigate stage in Blue Prism versions using a MV2 extension, if a JavaScript statement was inserted instead of a function definition, then this may have been evaluated immediately by the browser and executed. Due to the changes in MV3, a JavaScript statement is no longer inserted directly into the browser to be immediately evaluated and invoked, but it is stored inside the Browser Automation Agent to be used with an Invoke function instead.
When attempting to use the Insert JavaScript action to evaluate JavaScript statements, users will need to refactor these statements to be functions which can then be invoked using the Invoke JavaScript action. If the functions do not require arguments, then an empty set of arguments in the format "[{}]" should be entered in the Arguments input field of the Navigate stage.
Known issues
A list of any prominent issues with this release is maintained in the knowledge base – click here for more information.
Secure development policy
Blue Prism’s secure development process is a market-leading, embedded security culture, focused on delivering security excellence through four key principles:
- Education – Providing up-to-date knowledge, information, and training to the development team.
- Evaluation – Carrying out regular reviews of our products using industry standard frameworks and security tools.
- Elimination – Removing potential threats through the evaluation of standards, compliance, and performance.
- Evolution – Continued improvement of our security program, ensuring alignment with our product technologies and by reacting effectively to new and emerging threats.
Blue Prism secure development is based on OWASP ASVS, ISO 27034 and GDPR Article 25 standards and practices. For more information, see Blue Prism's comprehensive secure development process.
Enhancements
The following enhancements are included in this release:
|
Description of change |
Reference |
|---|---|
|
A new Blue Prism Browser Automation Agent installer provides the ability to insert and invoke JavaScript on web pages via a Chrome or Edge MV3 browser extension for Blue Prism versions 6.5 to 6.10.5 for Chrome and 6.9 to 6.10.5 for Edge. For more information, see the Blue Prism Browser Automation Agent installation guide. |
BP-9857 BP-10922 BP-10551 BP-10808 BP-10027 BP-11236 |
|
For Blue Prism versions earlier than 6.9, the Edge browser extension will not be installed by default during a simple install and will not be available on the Advanced install screen. For Blue Prism versions 6.8.x, the Blue Prism Chrome extension must be installed manually from the Chrome web store to use with Chromium-based versions of Microsoft Edge. For more information, see Upgrade notices for Blue Prism version 6.8. |
BP-11894 |
|
Insert and Invoke JavaScript functionality can be used by downloading version and browser-specific web drivers and installing them locally. To enable JavaScript functionality, the browser must be launched with remote debugging enabled. This applies to fixed ports in versions 6.5 to 6.7 and ephemeral ports in versions 6.8 to 6.10.5. For more information, see the Blue Prism Browser Automation Agent installation guide. |
BP-10359 BP-10743 |
|
An error message displays in the Windows Event Log when the web driver is not present, or does not match the Chrome or Edge browser extension version. |
BP-11595 |
Browser extensions
The table below shows when each Blue Prism extension compatible with this release was introduced and the browser version against which they were evaluated. See the browser compatibility matrix for the latest browser versions evaluated.
| Browser | Blue Prism extension versions |
Date available |
|---|---|---|
|
Chrome |
29 September 2022 |
|
|
Edge Chromium |
Blue Prism Extension 6.8 - 6.10 Manifest V3*
|
29 September 2022 |
|
Firefox |
N/A |
N/A |
*The Edge browser extension can only be installed for use with Blue Prism versions 6.9 and later using the installer. For Blue Prism versions 6.8.x, the Blue Prism Chrome extension must be installed manually from the Chrome web store to use with Chromium-based versions of Microsoft Edge. For more information, see Upgrade notices for Blue Prism version 6.8.
