PAD Live Web Helper doesn't do anything in Chrome

[realbluesky]

Hi - Total PAD noob here. Tech savvy but not a web dev. Trying to get started extracting data from a Chrome page.

I have Installed Chrome extension and re-booted. Extension icon is blue.

I'm in the "Extract data from a web page" interface, and my instance is selected. When I click into the page (or any webpage) the Live Web Helper pops up as it should.

However, I don't get any interaction, like frames being outlined or elements being recognized on mouseover or selection, nothing. When I right click elements I just get their usual Chrome right click options. Something is clearly not connected.   

Help?

[realbluesky]

OK. maybe this is the problem...

I am running: Windows 10 Business

the prerequisites are: Windows 10 Home, Windows 10 Pro, Windows 10 Enterprise, Windows Server 2016, or Windows Server 2019.

So am I just out of luck?

[VJR]

Hi @realbluesky 

I am using Win 10 Home, the one from the list, but still face this issue sometimes.

It requires doing it multiple times.

Are you using the "Add UI element" from the right hand side

or using the Web Recorder button on the top?

If one does not work then choose the other and vice versa.

Also are you looking at any specific website so that I can try out and see if its got to do something with the way the webpage is built or an issue with PAD?

[realbluesky · Accepted solution]

Thanks. I figured out the problem.

I have two different Chrome profiles (work & home) running at the same time. My flow needed to connect to an open "work" webpage, and I told PAD to attach to the page "by title", and manually populated the title to join to.

What I didn't realize was that it was never connected, and I gave up on Chrome and got it to work in Edge.

Now, smarter, I went back to Chrome and can see that PAD was only recognizing open pages on my "home" profile. When I opened the page under my "home" Chrome profile, I was able to actually select the page title from the dropdown, and achieve a connection and properly select page elements.

Three things I learned which might help somebody:

(1) PAD is seriously lacking in the user-friendly department. It should indicate (for web connections) that (a) selecting from the dropdown is required, and (b) whether or not connection has been achieved.

(2) PAD only seems to recognize one open Chrome profile, so if you have two open profiles and its not working, try the other one.

(3) When I tried to work on my second monitor, the highlighted page elements were out of sync with my mouse position. Working on the laptop monitor fixed the issue (might have been able to also solve it by making the second monitor primary.)

[realbluesky · Accepted solution]

Note: I found that if you have Windows 10 Business, that actually means you have "Pro" for the purposes of PAD prerequisites. This is an oversimplification of the case, if anybody feels the need to expand on it go right ahead. 🙂

[aldair_tvt]

Hi @VJR,

you just saved me! I'm a newbie in PAD and i stayed for almost 2 days stuck trying to use the Action 'Extract data from...' to get a table from a website and facing a 'Live web helper' catching nothing from nowhere. It recognized the itens at the pages but doesn't catch nothing. But before use this Action (Extract...), i tried to use another one, the 'UI Elements' and added it. But it didn't serve for me. So, i deleted the Action that was using that 'UI Element' and leave element. I just forgot about it. Then, my battle started with 'Extract data....' and the 'Live web helper'. Searching for some solution, I finded your comment and did go back to the PAD. I deleted the UI Element, try the 'Extract data...' and.... worked it!
That is it: if you did use 'UI Elements' and saved any elements there for something and after try to use the 'Extract data from web page' Action and the last one isn't working for nothing, go back, delete the 'UI Elements' that will work. It worked for me.
May the God of Israel bless you!