Toolbox overview

The Toolbox is context-sensitive and displays only available items for use on the active project item. Depending on the currently active project item, it displays adjusted content; for example, you see the categories connected with the data handling in the Global Container view. Windows Form view shows application bars and windows form controls. In the automation, you have access to workflow tools, data manipulation, exception handling, and more.

The following image shows a Windows Form view on the Toolbox. This view contains only elements from the Windows Form category, and items from this group are visible in the Recent section. 

The Toolbox contains items divided into several categories. To navigate through the Toolbox, Pega Robot Studio provides an effective searching mechanism and two sections, allowing quick access to the most useful items: Favorites and Recent.  

You can search the Toolbox content as you enter a search phase. Entering the first two letters filters out the categories, while inserting the next letter shows the expanded categories with specific items.

The Recent section shows the ten most recently used tools. This part of the Toolbox is context-sensitive; for example, you see only data-associated items in a Global Container view. 

The automation developer can also mark frequently used items for the Favorites section to have them on hand. To add items to the Favorites section, right-click the item, and then select Add to Favorites. You can set up a different set of favorite tools for automation, Global Container, and Windows form views. Tabs do no inherit favorite tools from one another. For example, the Global tab has a different set of favorite tools than an automation designer. 

Toolbox items are grouped into categories. There are simple categories, such as Variables, and more advanced categories, such as Accelerators, that enclose compound elements containing Assisted Sign On (ASO) functionality or interaction framework. Some items from the Credentials category support ASO as well. 

The Data Handling category contains pre-defined methods for data manipulation. To work with a database or different data formats, use items from the Internal Data Sources and External Data Sources categories. The Pega category allows cooperation with the Pega Platform. 

Workflow provides decisioning, looping, and timing items to manage the process of the automation.

The Windows Forms category does not contain the common types of items: variables, properties, methods, events, and components. All the items added to the automation from the Windows Forms category appear under the Palette's Form section when the form is added to the automation.

In the following image, click the + icons to see details about the Toolbox items categories: 

Most Toolbox components are marked with letters that indicate type and purpose: V is for Variable, P is for Property, M is for Method, E for is Event, and C for is Component.

• You can create a local variable, add it to the Palette's local section, or create the variable as a global variable by adding it to the Global Container. For more details, see Automation Variables. 
• Properties and events are added to the automation as design blocks.
• Adding methods to the design surface creates a design block that an application developer must further configure by adding necessary input and output parameters. 

Components, depending on their type, behave in one of three ways:

• A component is automatically added to the Global Container, and Pega Robot Studio confirms this action with a dialog window. You can find an added element in the Global section of the Palette. To use a component, drag and drop it to the design surface and choose a required property, method, or event.
• A component is automatically added to the Local section of the Palette, from where you can drag and drop the component to the design surface. 
• A component creates the necessary block in the automation. 

In the following image, click the + icons to see details about adding example components and variables to the automation.