The essence of ZennoPoster is projects execution - a set of commands, such as move to the specified URL, set the login data in the field, save a variable value to the file, etc..
Project creation starts from “Actions recording” tab of ProjectMaker. After you clicking the red button “Start record” your actions are recorded. At the side panel “Project” you can see what actions have already recorded, remove the unnecessary, etc. There are two ways to record a project: classical, as in the previous version ZennoPoster, or with IntelliSearch. It is also possible to perform some actions on a web page by using the features “Search by picture” or emulate keystrokes and mouse clicks.



IntelliSearch - system that searches key fields on a web page and classify them. We recommend to use it by default. IntelliSerch allows you to record a project very quickly, simply by clicking “Yes” if a field is determined InteliSerch correctly or indicate the correct type, if it was wrong.IntelliSearch is more resistant to changes on a web page than the classic search, but sometimes it does not find all of the fields that are needed. IntelliSearch helps you to find not only fields, but also links. More detail in the main article.

The classic action recorder simply records what you do on the web page - fill in the ​​fields, click on links, etc. We recommend that you use this method only in case of problems withIntelliSearch. Still, this method can be useful when you need to create a project for a particular web resource, and this project should be light in terms of computer resources (relevant only for the Pro version of ZennoPoster).
In classic recorder you can use actions designer. With it you can fine-tune the search for a web page components, to handle some unusual cases.

Also, during the recording, you can change browser settings (the corresponding button). Изменения опций браузера тоже запишутся в проект. Changes in browser settings, too, can be written into the project. For example, you can disable images, flash, etc., then the project will run faster and consume fewer resources in the performance of memory, CPU and Internet traffic.
You can record the project via proxy by setting them before loading the page. It may be necessary, for example, if you automate a site that allows visit it from a specific country only. Read more in the relevant section.
If you create a parser, you will need a page text, you can view it by clicking the corresponding button menu. In the window you can select the type of text, and move on to compiling the regular expression to parse.

There are a few web page text types:

• Source text - the original text loaded from the server, you can see it in any browser, clicking the button “Show page source”. The distinguishing feature of this text is that it doesn't execute JavaScript, and frames are not loaded.
• DOM text - the text that is gotten after executing all JavaScripts, it corresponds to a full HTML tree, it executes ​​all JavaScripts and all DOM texts of frames are included.
• Page text - the text that users see. It contains all executed JavaScripts and frames text.

If you automate registration, you will need to fill in various data fields (name, username, gender, age, city, etc.). You do not need to invent them by yourself or load from files not during project recording neither run time. If you use the IntelliSearch this data set automatically from the profile. Profile created for the convenience of personal data generation, with the correct statistical distribution of names, as well as location. While using a classical recording your actions, simply select the desired options in the menu as shown in the screenshot:



Also you will come across with the need of captcha recognition. It is very easy to create an action for captcha recognition: IntelliSearch, most likely, will find a captcha, you only need to confirm this choise and enter the captcha value in the window (read more).
If you use classic recording - simply mark captcha on the page. To do this, select the appropriate item from the context menu, and captcha recognition action will be added to the project. It also opens the window to enter characters you see in the captcha. Once you mark and enter captcha, in the menu will appear one more item - “Captcha recognition result”, mark it too.



After completing registration you can create a test, whether it was successful. You need to find some text on the page, confirming that the registration is successful (for example, “Thank you for registering for our service”).

Select this text and click the right mouse button. In the menu that appears, select “Create check of text presence”. Two actions will be added: the first one takes page text and searches a selected text, the second one compares found text with empty line. Based on the test result you can do specific actions. For example, in the case of successful registration, save the data. To save the data variables are used, read more.



When you automate registration on any site, e-mail verification is very often required. There is a specific system to verify e-mail in ZennoPoster. Its essence lies in the fact that the program logins in to the server and searches for an email that corresponds to the current registration, if the email is found, then it parses its text (or a few texts). Read more.

When you finish your recording, click “Stop” button, and you project is copied to the editor, where you can edit it - add or remove actions, make a test run.
To test the project there is built-in debugger, to run it click the button “Run debug” in the editor. Instance will be opened and additional buttons will become active. By clicking “Next” you go by all project actions one by one. One action happens per click, so you can monitor detailed, step by step project execution to find errors if there are. Active action is highlighted by blue frame. To enter the captcha manually you need to click the “Enter captcha manually” and enter the captcha in the window. During debugging, the project can not be edited, but you can see the results in the log, which recorded details of each executed action.

It also displays a list of variables with current values.
Click on an action by right mouse button and set a breakpoint. After that you can execute a project not step by step but to a breakpoint.




Also you will need to handle files, there are some actions to do that.
The most convenient way to process text in a project by using tables and lists, it is also possible to save the whole list or table to the file. If you want to save some specific data contained in the variables, you can use the action “Files” - write to a file action from the “Data” category.


Do not forget to save the project during editing, or in case of force majeure all data may be lost!