PAD causing the application to flicker (possibly changing focus on the window)

[chrisevans10]

We've got a legacy application that we are using with PAD. It works fine in all areas for automation bar one window. To get to this window, you have to open two other windows first. PAD is detecting the appropriate UI elements that we need to fill in and is able to fill them in successfully.

However, when it is doing so, the application window flashes very rapidly and PAD seems to wait around 3-4 seconds per UI element before it fills it in. Just before PAD fills in the data in the UI element, the flashing stops. Then it fills in the UI element. Then the flashing starts again for 3-4 seconds for the next UI element.

My impression is that there is some sort of focus issue occurring between the main application window and this sub window and that there is some kind of built in timeout within PAD that once reached, it tries a different method to get to the UI element. I've attempted pre-focusing the correct window by clicking on it but this doesn't resolve it either.

Has anybody experienced anything like this before and any tips on what I might try to resolve?

Thanks

[chrisevans10]

As a follow up, I've recorded this video. You can see the flickering and how it seems to minimize/reopen the legacy application and then how this stops right before it begins inputting on the UI element chosen. I have also used inspect.exe to look at the path chosen for the UI elements and it is correct.

[Pavel_NaNoi]

Could be a number of things occurring, will need a bit more testing:

 - If you think its a focus issue, try using the "Focus window" action and aim it at the application, if it doesn't help, its probably not that.

 - Maybe the selectors are having a fit, try making them more generic by going into the first few ones and ticking some boxes off.

 - Also are you in a virtual environment running PAD from your PC and not the VM?

 - Finally this might be just a window 11 issue, the OS isn't exactly perfect at the moment.

[chrisevans10]

Hi. Thanks for the reply. I have tried the focus window and reducing the selectors with no luck. The environment is a PC rather than a VM. Good shout re Windows 10 but unfortunately I have just tested it on a colleagues machine and get the same issue!

[Pavel_NaNoi]

Just found someone else with the flickering issue and they've mentioned it was window 11, however since its not in your case try some other methods of interacting with the legacy software, e.g.:

- Use a move mouse to image action with a click, see what happens

- Use send keys action to select something or write text, see what happens.

Let me know if either of those work, or don't work.

if its the former, probably a UI element issue, otherwise its likely a new PAD bug for this specific software.

[chrisevans10]

Yup move mouse to image works fine and so does write text. I'm actually using both of those as a temporary workaround for now (using a mixture of tab, clicks etc to navigate) but of course it's not likely to be as reliable as being able to pick up on the UI elements themselves.

It's strange how it is still able to ultimately determine the element and fill it as required - it's just the flashing and delay that is the problem. The rest of the application can be automated fine and UIPath is able to automate these specific windows.

[Pavel_NaNoi]

Yeah seems like a PAD UI Selectors issue by the looks of it then, one last thing to try out:

Run this via the run button in the PAD console (where you see all your automations) rather than the debug method, see if that still causes the bug,

if that doesn't work we'll probably need someone more versed in the intricate details of UI Elements, as I'm out of ideas at that point 😅

[chrisevans10]

Sadly that one doesn't work either! We do have a support contract with Microsoft so have raised it to their team. I'll post back here with what they say, unless anyone else has any suggestions! 🙂 Thanks for your help though.

[cesarwal]

Hi, Chris

Have you found a solution to this issue?

I have the exact same problem with the application window flickering / flashing.

The only difference in my case is that the legacy app is running on a Windows 10 VM

Thanks,

[chrisevans10]

Hi

I have not found a solution but I am in contact with the developers via support who are looking at it, presently with a low priority as it is assumed to be unique to the application I am working with. If the same is happening for you, I'd recommend you contact MS support via your support package for your organisation so we can get the same issue raised for attention.

If you don't have support via MS, I'd be happy to take an email from you with a Dropbox or similar and I'll pass it along under my thread as additional evidence of the same issue? They require of a video of what is happening and an anonymised flow exported as follows:

• On the Power Automate Portal, navigate to the "Solutions" tab and create a new "Solution".
   
• Open the Solution and go to "Add existing", to add the Desktop Flow to it. (add existing -> automation -> desktop flow)
  Should the original Desktop Flow contain sensitive information such as passwords, feel free to create a copy of it via the Console of "Power Automate Desktop", delete the sensitive data and insert this one instead to the Solution.
  
  
• Use the "Export solution" option in order to export this Solution in a zip file. During the export, you can choose "Unmanaged".

I also simplified the flow from my upload so it featured just the parts that were problematic.

Best wishes

Chris

[GTR]

Hi Chris, I have the same issue. It seems to start when a child window in the legacy application opens, it's fine when jut the parent window is open. Unfortunately, most of the interaction is in a child window. It slows down to a frustrating level and flickers. I've tried Windows 10 and 11 and high spec desktop PC and Azure E2as_V4 VM. It's even slower on the VM. Any updates or advice would be well appreciated. 

[momlo]

Hi, I've seen this with some of my apps too, not real issue to me thought - more aesthetic things, but PAD does what is supposed to do 😛

[GTR]

Just for clarity, PAD inputs 5-7 times slower with this issue and with the volume I'm looking at, this costs days in time.

[momlo]

yeah, I know, my response was a bit of fun

Definitely worth chasing MS to see if they can fix to improve performance

[GTR]

I'm now finding this problem is even worse running on a VM and causes my desktop flows to fail due to the screen flicker causing screen controls to disappear. In one example a radio button popup disappears as the screen flickers so the flow is unable to select a radio button and fails. Higher spec machines reduce the flicker but it's still present and problematic causing fails. 

I'm assuming it's something in the way the legacy system is designed but would be good to identify exactly what causes the secondary windows to trigger this issue and how to prevent. Any help will be hugely appreciated...

[sagar12233]

Hi Team,

We have automated windows application using PAD version 2.16 and the same was working fine.

However, later our IT teams updated the PAD application to latest version 2.25 and since then we are facing flickering issue when multiple sub windows are open in the mentioned windows application.

Not only the screen is flickering but PAD waits for almost 5-7 seconds before performing any specific activity (eg: while updating text in textbox or changing DropDown or Radio Button click)

And sometime due the flickering issue the click or requested action happens on different position making the flow to break.

Seems like the mentioned issue is happening only to windows application only and not with browser based application, request Microsoft to fix the issue or provide us with some resolution for the same.

Thanks a lot in advance.

[Atharvazd]

Recently i have updated PAD to 2.25 and it seems to be behaving the same as mentioned above with the windows application, it flickers between multiple windows and also it is very slow while entering the data in fields. Due to flickering PAD also fails to execute he click on ui element/ press button action during the run which otherwise works fine.

Please get in touch if this has a solution or can be handled in a better way.

[Pawan_khajuriya]

Hello @chrisevans10 ,

Any update regarding this Issue, as I am also facing the same.

[sagar12233]

Hi Pawan,

please refer the attached solution, feel free to get in touch with me on my mail id: mhatre.sagar71@gmail.com