Executing a macro from PHP

Greetings - I am in the process of migrating an EDI (electronic data interchange) built on the iMacros model to (potentially) UI.Vision. I am in the early stages of developing this migration and having issues with executing CL API via PHP.

I have reviewed the API / CL interface and have a specific question - my operations are housed on a web / application server. When attempting to use the CL interface from either the local or remote (on-demand call), I get the #204 error that UI.Vision is not locally installed.

I have also attempted to use PHP to call a local BAT file to execute the API autostart page, however the browser never loads when using the PHP system command.

Is there sample code for iMacros / UIV interactions represented in PHP? I see them for python / VBS / etc…, but looking for examples for PHP as well.

Thank You!

I am no PHP expert, but overall it should all work very much like iMacros.

As a test: If you run some of the provided Powershell sample scripts, do they work ok on your machine?

@ulrich thanks for your response earlier - I’ve tested this with PowerShell and have not been successful, even with the default code provided using the basic implementation - there must be something at a more elementary level that I am missing in this application - do you recommend any tutorial base that may assist in wrapping my head around basic requirements?

Can you show a video of you running the Powershell script? What happens?

Greetings - after spending some additional time digging into this, I was able to get the PowerShell script working (after making some changes to the internal variables / file locations / etc…).

Going back to the original on-demand execution question - is there a suitable method for making calls from my existing PHP EDI framework to execute (and pass variables to and from) the UIV execution? I know the second part is a whole new thread, but wanted to mention it here.

Thank You.

The Ui.Vision API is just a command line call. And since PHP can call command line tools, it can start Ui.Vision, too.

iMacros model

Notes:

  • Just like with the iMacros Scripting Interface, make sure that the browser (and thus Ui.Vision) runs under regular user account. Built-in system accounts often have restricted internet and GUI access rights. (I am not sure which account type PHP uses by default).
  • Computer vision, XClick and XType real user simulation command need an unlocked desktop (similar to the iMacros DirectScreen commands)
  • In PHP, you need to recreate something like the PlayAndWait loop that you have our code examples. ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude can translate this code to PHP for you in seconds.

Greetings - it has been a bit but I’m back with some successes -

I am now functionally able to execute the PlayAndWait scripting using PHP & Python for execution. I have not gotten into variable exchanging just yet, but getting ready for that next phase.

When I execute the test Macro using this PHP & Python method, I never see the actual browser load into the desktop, yet the log file shows that it completes successfully.

Let’s say for example the test Macro logs into a website - I start by making sure I’m logged out of the website and then run the Macro using PHP + Python. The browser never launches, but if I manually launch the browser and go into that website, I’m now already logged into it - so it MUST be running in the background.

My question is - is there a way to see the event launch (browser)? Is there something I need to change in my configuration or PY file (I used the generic python example) so that I can see the logging in event take place?

Thank You!