Use the SetEnvironmentVariable component

Create or update an environment variable as part of an automation Workflow by using the SetEnvironmentVariable component in RPA Desktop Design Studio. These variables persist across activities and can be retrieved later using GetEnvironmentVariable.

Before you begin

Role required: none

About this task

You can configure the properties for the SetEnvironmentVariable component. For more information about these properties, see Properties of the Environment components.

Procedure

1. In the Toolbox pane, navigate to Utilities > Environment.

2. Drag the SetEnvironmentVariable component to the Design surface.

3. To configure the input fields, see Configure port properties.

4. Connect the data and control ports of the SetEnvironmentVariable component to the corresponding ports of the other components as described in the following table.

   Port type	Purpose of connection	Mandatory?
   Data In (variable)	Takes the environment variable name from a previously executed component.	Yes
   Data In (value)	Takes the environment variable value from a previously executed component.	Yes
   Control In	Connects to the Control Out port of one or more components.	Yes
   Control Out	Connects to the Control In port of another component or the default end component.	No. Connecting the port is optional.

5. To test the component, under the DESIGN tab, click Run.

GetEnvironmentVariable component

You want your robot to process files and save logs to different folders depending on whether it's running in Development or Production mode.

1. At the start of the automation, use SetEnvironmentVariable to define the following variables:

   • ENV_MODE = Development
   • LOG_PATH = C:\RPA\Dev\Logs This variable defines if robot is running in the development mode, where to store the log files.

1. Later in the workflow, when saving log files, use GetEnvironmentVariable to retrieve the value of LOG_PATH.

   The robot dynamically stores the log files as per the value in the LOG_PATH variable.

2. In production, simply update the environment variable setup to:

   • ENV_MODE = Production
   • LOG_PATH = C:\RPA\Prod\Logs

The robot now logs to the production folder automatically, because it reads the `LOG_PATH` value from the environment variable.

Parent Topic:Environment