Configure the Process Discovery Agent

The Process Discovery Agent is installed on a computer to gather user activity information in specified applications and store the data in a database.

Note Some assistive technology applications, such as screen readers or anti virus software may detect the Process Discovery Agent and either produce warnings or prevent the Agent from running. To allow the Agent to run, approve the Process Discovery Agent as a safe application or select the "Do not show this dialog box again" option when a warning is shown.

Configuration window

To edit the connection settings, right-click the Process Discovery Agent icon Process Discovery agent icon in the notification area in the notification area and select Configure. The opened Kofax RPA Process Discovery Agent window contains the Management Console connection settings and shows the agent's status messages. The window also contains the following buttons:

  • Quit: Stops the Agent and exits the program completely.

  • Help: Opens the "Configure Process Discovery Agent" topic in help.

  • About: Opens a window with the agent's version and log file information.

  • Start recording and Stop recording: Starts or stops recording user actions.

Management Console connection settings
Contains connection settings to connect to the Management Console.
  • URL: URL and port of the Management Console to connect to as follows:

    http://localhost:50080

  • Group: Process Discovery group name specified in the Management Console.

  • User: Login username.

  • Password: Login password.

    Note You can leave the User and Password fields empty if user management is not enabled in the Management Console and login credentials are not required.
Status

The following table lists Agent recording and connection statuses.

Component

Status

Agent

Not started: The Agent is not running.

Recording is being started: The Agent is starting and all required connections are currently being established.

Recording to local storage: The Agent is running, but the connection to either the Management Console or the database cannot be established. The Agent is storing collected information on the computer where it is running. The Agent periodically tries to reconnect.

Recording to remote storage: The Agent is running, all the connections are established successfully, and collected data is stored in the Agent database.

Recording disabled: The Agent is running, but does not record any user actions. Recording is disabled in the Recording mode setting in the Management Console.

Failed: The Agent could not record user actions during the last try.

Management Console

Not connected: The Agent is not connected to the Management Console. Possible reasons are:

  • Recording is not started.

  • Management Console URL is not specified.

  • Process Discovery group is not specified.

Connecting: The connection to the Management Console is currently being established.

Connected: The Agent is connected to the Management Console.

Connection failed: The Agent could not connect to the Management Console during the last try. Possible reasons are:

  • Unable to connect to the specified host. Make sure the Management Console server is up and running.

  • The specified port is not open or not reachable. Make sure the Management Console is running on the specified port.

  • Invalid username or password. Specify correct Management Console username and password.

  • The Management Console does not support the resource path. Make sure it is correctly specified.

The Agent periodically tries to reconnect.

Incorrect settings: In case this message is displayed, make sure the Process Discovery Group settings in the Management Console are correct. The Agent ties to connect and apply the settings from the Management Console periodically.

Management Console version does not match the Agent version: The Agent cannot work with the current Management Console. Management Console and Agent versions must match. The Agent periodically tries to reconnect.

Database server

Not connected: The Agent is not connected to the database, because the connection to the Management Console is not established.

Connecting: The connection to the database is currently being established.

Connected: The Agent is connected to the database.

Connection failed: The Agent could not connect to the database during the last try. Possible reasons are:

  • The database address is specified incorrectly in the Process Discovery Groups settings in the Management Console.

  • The database has undefined schema. Recreate it or change settings in the Management Console.

  • The database schema is for the previous version Agent. Recreate the schema or change settings in the Management Console.

The Agent periodically tries to reconnect to the database.

Start and stop recording

You can start and stop recording by clicking Start recording and Stop recording, respectively.

If the Management Console settings are configured, click Start recording to start the Agent. First, the Agent always tries to connect to the Management Console to get the group settings. Next, the Agent connects to the database. If the connection is established successfully, the Agent starts recording and after several seconds the window is minimized to the system tray. Otherwise, the Agent performs the following:

  • If the Management Console settings are not configured, the Agent starts recording and stores all collected data locally.

  • If the Management Console settings are defined, but the Agent could not connect to the Management Console, the Agent starts recording and stores all collected data locally trying to reconnect periodically until the connection is established.

  • If the Agent cannot connect to the database, it stores all collected data locally trying to reconnect periodically. When a connection to the database is established, the collected data is moved to the database.

If the connection to the Management Console or remote database is lost during the recording process, the Agent tries to reconnect until the connection is established.

Quit the Agent
To stop the Agent and exit the program completely, click Quit.
Note Clicking the Close button in the configuration window minimizes it to the system tray.

About window

This window lists the Agent's version and log file information.

To open the About Kofax RPA Process Discovery Agent window, either right-click the Process Discovery Agent icon Process Discovery agent icon in the notification area in the notification area and select About, or click About in the configuration window.

Agent version
The Agent version is displayed next to the Version label in the About Kofax RPA Process Discovery Agent window.
Open log

Opens the Agent's log.

Open crash dump directory
Opens the directory with the memory information file on disk. This dump file can help developers to debug the cause of a crash.
Open documentation
Opens the Agent's documentation in the Kofax RPA help.

Start Task

The Start task option on the Agent's shortcut menu denotes the beginning of a task the employee performs, such as filling a form, answering a customer's request, preparing a report, and so on. When the task is finished, the user must click Stop task. The task performance can be displayed on the Analytics for Kofax RPA dashboard. Starting and stopping tasks helps to better analyze the actions performed while the work is done.

Cancel Task

If you want to cancel started task, click the Cancel task option on the Agent's shortcut menu.

Open help

To open the Agent's documentation, either right-click the Process Discovery Agent icon Process Discovery agent icon in the notification area in the notification area and select Help, click Help in the configuration window, or click Open documentation in the About Kofax RPA Process Discovery Agent window.