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UI AUTOMATION - window name changes each time

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Posted on by JH-04071646-0

I cannot see a previous solution for this.

We are building a Application (not web) UI Integration where the data entry window title changes each time - the first few characters remain same but the last characters are the next incremental batch number.

How can I refer to this window in the automation - either by the first few characters or a handle ?

Thanks a million

John

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Power Automate Desktop

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VishnuReddy1997 2,656 Super User 2025 Season 2 on at

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Hi @JH-04071646-0,

Change the window selector like this.

:desktop > window[Name^="First Application name"][Process="EWeb"]

The ^ symbol inside [Name^="..."] is a "starts with" operator. It comes from CSS attribute selector syntax and is often used in automation tools like UIA selectors, CSS, or frameworks like Playwright.

So,[Name^="First Application name"] means:

Match any window whose Name starts with "First Application name"

For example, it would match:

"First Application name - Patient View"

"First Application name System Login"

Regards,

Vishnu Reddy

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Riyaz_riz11 3,844 Super User 2025 Season 2 on at

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Hi,

Solution 1: Use the Window Handle (More Advanced)

If your title might not be unique or you want a 100% precise match, you can get the window handle dynamically.

Steps:

Use Get Windows action:

This retrieves all open windows.

You get a list variable %Windows%.

Loop through the list to find the right window:

For each Window in Windows If Window.Title starts with "Data Entry Batch" Set variable TargetWindowHandle = Window.Handle Exit Loop

Use Attach Window by Handle:

Many UI actions in PAD can use the handle to target the correct window.

This is more robust if:

You have many similar windows.

Titles are not reliable.

Solution 2: Use UI Elements Instead of Title

In many cases, window title is not the only way to identify the window:

Use the UI element recorder to capture a control unique to that window.

PAD will automatically record a reliable selector, often using the process + class + hierarchy, not just the title.

This makes your automation:

More stable across batches.

Resilient if the title changes.

If I have answered your question, please mark it as the preferred solution ✅ . If you like my response, please give it a Thumbs Up 👍.
Regards,
Riyaz

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