Skip to main content

Recording and Input

Please read the Material Usage Rules on this site.

Project Recording​

Project Recording

This tab contains the settings that get activated when project recording is turned on.

Settings

Automatically Insert Directory Macro​

This setting works even when project recording is off.

ZennoDroid has environment variables. For example, {-Project.Directory-}, which stores the path to the directory where your project file is saved.

If the project isn't saved to disk, the variable contains an empty string.

When you turn on this setting, ProjectMaker will automatically insert the project directory macro wherever possible while creating a project. For example, in other settings or actions. The chosen path should either be in the same folder as the project file, or in one of its subfolders.

Recording Actions by Coordinates​

This setting controls whether all clicks inside the Emulator Window get recorded along with their coordinates when recording your project. The project will include touch emulation actions with the click coordinates filled in automatically.

The emulator's resolution must be the same when creating and running your project!

When you turn on this option, every click inside the Emulator Window will be saved to your project as a touch action using Image Search.

Color mode​

Image search will use one of the following modes by default:

  • RGB. Search by colored image.
  • Gray. Grayscale only.
  • Black. Black and white only.

Color mode

Our advice

To speed up the search, use either Gray or Black mode

Search area​

Choose the default area for image search:

  • Entire screen
  • Selected area of the screen
To reduce CPU load, it's better to search only in a designated screen area.

Delay Between Character Inputs​

Used in Keyboard Emulation and Set Value actions as the default setting.

Element Waiting Time​

Used in Set Value, Get Value, and Run Event as the default for the field "Wait for element no more than (sec)".

Element Search Timeout​

Used in the Image Search action as the default value for
"Wait for element no more than (sec)".

Input Methods​

The program has 4 ways to input characters from the keyboard. 4 Different devices handle character input differently, so having several options lets you pick what works best. The first three let you enter any symbols, including emojis; the last one handles only ASCII.

Details​

ADBKeyboard​

This uses a third-party keyboard that installs automatically when you connect your device. With it, you can type characters as if you were using a virtual keyboard.

AccessibilityService​

Uses UiAutomator2. Lets you set any value for the field that's currently focused. Technically, it doesn't input characters—it just changes the field's Text property to what you want.

Keep in mind

This won't work in apps that don't have a standard element tree. For example, in games.

Native input + Clipboard​

Inputs characters via the IInputManager and IClipboard interfaces. This method is pretty quick.

Note

Inputting Cyrillic/emojis only works on Android 7 and up. ASCII works on any device.

Input text​

Similar to the input text command, but includes all necessary text conversions so that special characters < > | ) ( and others get entered correctly. Only supports ASCII characters.

Recommendation

Character-by-character entry is slow, so it's better to choose an input method with no delay enabled.

What if ADBKeyboard didn't install?​

  1. You need to install the com.android.adbkeyboard.apk app on your phone (the file is in the main program folder). For example, use the Install App action.
  2. On your phone, go to your language input settings and enable AdbKeyboard.
  3. Run the Start VM action. This activates the keyboard. It'll pop up in any field where you need to enter text—you'll see a small Adb keyboard ON notification at the bottom.