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Studio Web User Guide
Automation CloudAutomation Suite
Last updated Oct 22, 2024

Managing the data in a project

The Data Manager allows you to manage the data in an automation project. This data includes:

  • Variables - Store data and pass it between activities in a project.
  • Arguments - Store data and pass it into or out of a project.
  • Entities - Data stored in records from the UiPath® Data Service, a centralized data modelling and storage service.
  • Connections - Links between your automation and external applications.
To access the Data Manager for a project, click the docs image icon on the upper-right side of the page.


Variable and argument types

Variables and arguments have different types depending on the data they store. There are multiple types of variables and arguments that you can create in Studio Web, the following being the most commonly used:

  • Text - Stores text data. This type can be used to store any text-based information such as employee names, usernames, and any other string.
  • Number- Stores numbers without decimals. You can use it to perform calculations, equations, and comparisons.
  • True or false - Also called Boolean, this type has only two possible values, true or false. These enable you to make decisions and control the flow of your automation.
  • Number with decimal- Similar with number, but useful when you need to use decimals for more precision.
  • Date - Stores an instance in time represented by the date, hour, and minute.
  • File - Stores a file or folder as a resource you can use in your project.
  • List - Stores multiple values of the same type (text, number, true or false, number with decimal, date, or file). You can manipulate lists in your project by adding or removing values.
  • Array [] - Stores a fixed number of multiple values of the same type (text, number, true or false, number with decimal, date, or file).
  • Dictionary - Stores a collection of key-value pairs. You select the data type for both the keys and the values (text, number, true or false, number with decimal, date, or file). The data type can differ between keys and values.

If you need to use a different data type, when you create a variable or an argument, select Advanced types to explore all available data types.

Advanced data types

The date and time data type enables you to store information about any date and time. Keep these guidelines in mind when working with date and time formats:

  • To output a date (without time), select the DateOnly advanced data type. For example, you can use:
    • DateOnly.FromDateTime(DateTime.Now)
    • DateOnly.FromDateTime(DateTime.Parse("2024/05/30"))
  • To output a date with time, select the Date advanced data type. For Date outputs, the time zone is mandatory. If no time zone is specified, the output is rejected as not ISO compliant. For example, you can use:
    • DateTime.SpecifyKind(DateTime.Now, DateTimeKind.Local)
    • DateTime.SpecifyKind(DateTime.Parse("2024/05/30T12:24:00"), DateTimeKind.Local)
The last parameter can be either DateTimeKind.Local or DateTimeKind.Utc. Do not use DateTimeKind.Unspecified, as it lacks time zone information.

Managing variables

You can use the Data Manager to manually create and manage variables. Variables that are automatically generated for activity outputs can be managed from the Data Manager after they are used in an activity.

Creating a variable

  1. In a project, click docs image on the upper-right side of the page.
  2. Click docs image next to Variables.

  3. Provide the following information:

    • Variable name - Enter the variable name.
    • Scope - The context in which the variable can be used. All variables are currently Global (available in the entire workflow)
    • Type - The data type.
    • Default value - The default value.
  4. Select Create.

Editing a variable

  1. In a project, click docs image on the upper-right side of the page.
  2. Under Variables, expand the variable you want to edit.

  3. You can edit the following information:

    • Type - The data type.
    • Default value - The default value.

Renaming a variable

  1. In a project, click docs image on the upper-right side of the page.
  2. Under Variables, select Actions docs image next to the variable, and then select Rename.

Deleting a variable

  1. In a project, click docs image on the upper-right side of the page.
  2. Under Variables, select Actions docs image next to the variable, and then select Remove. Please note that you can't remove automatically generated variables.

Changing a variable into an argument

  1. In a project, click docs image on the upper-right side of the page.
  2. Under Variables, select Actions docs image next to the variable, and then select Change into Argument.

Managing arguments

Creating an argument

  1. In a project, click docs image on the upper-right side of the page.
  2. Click docs image next to arguments.

  3. Provide the following information:

    • Argument name - Enter the argument name.

    • Direction - The argument direction:

      • In - The argument can be used to pass data into the project. This is the default option.
      • Out - The argument can be used to pass data out of the project.
      • In/Out - The argument can be used to pass data both into and out of the project.
    • Type - The data type.
    • Default value - The default value.
  4. Select Create.
Note: You cannot set the default value of Out and In/Out arguments from the Data Manager. Use the Set Variable Value activity to set a default value for these types of arguments.

Editing an argument

  1. In a project, click docs image on the upper-right side of the page.
  2. Under Arguments, expand the argument you want to edit.

  3. You can edit the following information:

    • Direction - The direction of the argument.
    • Type - The data type.
    • Default value - The default value.

Deleting an argument

  1. In a project, click docs image on the upper-right side of the page.
  2. Under Arguments, select Actions docs image next to the argument, and then select Remove.

Changing an argument into a variable

  1. In a project, click docs image on the upper-right side of the page.
  2. Under Arguments, select Actions docs image next to the argument, and then select Change into Variable.

Managing entities

Studio Web integrates with the Data Service to make it easy to process entity records. Data Service activities are available to create, update, query, get, or delete entity records. You select the entity to use directly from Data Service activities in your projects, and the entities are then added to the Data Manager.

To view and manage entities added to your project:

  1. In a project, click docs image on the upper-right side of the page.

  2. Select next to Entities to expand the list of entities.

    The name and number of records of each entity is displayed.

  3. You can manage entities from the Actions menu as follows:

    • To create an entity that is missing from the tenant, select Actions next to the entity, and then select Create missing entity.
    • To update all entities, select Actions next to Entities, and then select Update entities.
    • To remove an entity from the project, select Actions next to the entity, and then select Remove from project.
    • To view an entity in the Data Service, select Actions next to the entity, and then select Show in Data Service.
    • To view all entities in the Data Service, select Actions next to Entities, and then select Show all entities.

Managing the connections used in a project

  1. In a project, click docs image on the upper-right side of the page.

  2. The connections used in the project are displayed under Connections. This includes Integration Service connections as well as UI automation connections.

For each Integration Service connection, you can see the connection name, which activities use the connection, the activities and properties where user-specific data is used, and for some activities, you can click the icon next to each entry to scroll to the activity where the connection is used in the project. If a connection is invalid, the icon is displayed next to the connection,

To more easily identify connections, you can add a few details that describe the role of each connection by selecting See more > Add purpose.

To identify connections more easily, select the Connection purpose button next to a connection. Inside the connection purpose window, you can add a few details that describe the role of the connection, or you can delete the purpose of the connection. You can also hover over the Connection purpose button in the Data Manager to see details about the purpose. Hovering over a connection also shows information about the properties of that connection.

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