Download information from a web page without using selenium or paladin

Aprins · April 26, 2024, 11:57pm

Is it possible to enter a web page and click to download information in Excel, without using selenium or paladin? I have a process that was done with automation anywhere, but they took away the tool and only left us with Knime and with automation anywhere There was a bot that downloaded information from a web page automatically.

AnotherFraudUser · April 27, 2024, 3:41am

Hi @Aprins,

Depends on how good you are with http requests and their parameters.

Using the REST nodes and entering the corresponding request parameters e.g. for a login you can automaten most websites without selenium

However that can be a bit more challeging depending on the website compared to selenium.

If it is just downloading a excel file from a page without login requirements in can be as easy as calling the correct url with the GET request node.
But really depends on the exact page setup

Alternative would be another selenium node e.g. the one from knime labs webinteractions

mwiegand · April 27, 2024, 7:42am

Hi @Aprins,

I understand the struggle when change is enforced. Though, using Knime for scraping is a very good choice, though. Even if the Selenium Nodes, whilst really worth the investment of 300 Euro annually, are not allow, it is possible using AF Utilities which provide a similar, albeit more rudimentary functionality:

@AnotherFraudUser don’t be shy suggesting your own nodes

On another note, did you (Aprins) tried using Google Sheets with Import XML? I long ago abandoned Excel and Google Sheets because Office is a pain in the ass.

Just because “everyone” uses it, doesn’t mean you must feel compelled to endure the same pain too. But to be honest, Excel as Knime and other tools, are all just tools and it depends on the users skills as well as choosing the right tool for the job.

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