Develop Reference

PyAutoGUI Shift-Down does Nothing

I have the following script that is intended to take a screenshot of a video every 5sec by taking a screenshot, then hitting shift-right to fast-foward to the next 5sec interval, repeat. It looks like the shiftdown is not working, as whenever i do it manually, it works but whenever I run the script, the right button works but no shift.
time.sleep(2)
while t < 20:
time.sleep(0.5)
pyautogui.keyDown('shiftleft')
time.sleep(0.5)
pyautogui.press('right')
pyautogui.keyUp('shiftleft')
time.sleep(2)
screenshot = pyautogui.screenshot()
screenshot.save(loc + str(t) + '.png')
t = t + 1
time.sleep(0.5)

I think you should use the pyautogui.hotkey() function instead.
Like this:
import pyautogui as pe
pe.hotkey('shift', 'left)
It basically does the same thing, it presses shift and left and does the thing.

Here's another answer that doesn't require installing pydirectinput. This answer applies to Windows only. From the comments in this question, having numlock or caps lock activated will break <shift> + <arrow> in pyautogui. To get around this, you'll have to detect if either numlock or capslock is active. To do that, you'll have to do Windows API calls. You can do the calls with built-in ctypes or pywin32
Here's an example for ctypes (ctypes code adapted from this answer):
import pyautogui
import time
mywin = pyautogui.getWindowsWithTitle("Notepad")[0]
mywin.activate()
time.sleep(2)
import ctypes
VK_CAPITAL = 0x14
VK_NUMLOCK = 0x90
user32 = ctypes.WinDLL('user32.dll')
if user32.GetKeyState(VK_CAPITAL):
# numlock is active, need to deactivate it before using <shift>+<arrow>
capslock = True
pyautogui.press('capslock')
else:
capslock = False
if user32.GetKeyState(VK_NUMLOCK):
# capslock is active, need to deactivate it before using <shift>+<arrow>
numlock = True
pyautogui.press('numlock')
else:
numlock = False
pyautogui.keyDown('shift')
pyautogui.press('right')
pyautogui.keyUp('shift')
if capslock:
pyautogui.press('capslock')
if numlock:
pyautogui.press('numlock')

If you are using Windows AND if you are willing to try a different module, pydirectinput seems to work better than pyautogui for <shift>+<arrow> key operations. I got the idea from this answer
The example below uses an open copy of Notepad. In Notepad, <shift> + <arrow> will select text. For this example to work, you'll want a some spaces in your file and the cursor would have to be to the left of at least one space.
import pyautogui
import pydirectinput
import time
mywin = pyautogui.getWindowsWithTitle("Notepad")[0]
mywin.activate()
time.sleep(2)
pydirectinput.keyDown('shift')
pydirectinput.press('right')
pydirectinput.keyUp('shift')

How to clear pycharm output terminal with code? [duplicate]

Is there a way to clear the "Run" console in PyCharm?
I want a code that delete/hide all the print() made previously.
Like the "clear_all" button, but without having to press it manually.
I have read that there is a way to do it in a terminal with os.system("cls"), but in PyCharm, it only adds a small square without clearing anything.
Also, I don't want to use print("\n" *100) since I don't want to be able to scroll back and see the previous prints.

In Pycharm:
CMD + , (or Pycharm preferences);
Search: "clear all";
Double click -> Add keyboard shortcut (set it to CTRL + L or anything)
Enjoy this new hot key in your Pycharm console!

Pycharm Community Edition 2020.1.3
You can right click anywhere above the current line on the console, and choose the "Clear All" option. It'll clear the console

How to
Download this package https://github.com/asweigart/pyautogui. It allows python to send key strokes.
You may have to install some other packages first
If you are installing PyAutoGUI from PyPI using pip:
Windows has no dependencies. The Win32 extensions do not need to be
installed.
OS X needs the pyobjc-core and pyobjc module installed (in that
order).
Linux needs the python3-xlib (or python-xlib for Python 2) module
installed.
Pillow needs to be installed, and on Linux you may need to install additional libraries to make sure Pillow's PNG/JPEG works correctly. See:
Set a keyboard shortcut for clearing the run window in pycharm as explained by Taylan Aydinli
CMD + , (or Pycharm preferences);
Search: "clear all"; Double click ->
Add keyboard shortcut (set it to CTRL + L or anything)
Enjoy this new hot key in your Pycharm console!
Then if you set the keyboard shortcut for 'clear all' to Command + L use this in your python script
import pyautogui
pyautogui.hotkey('command', 'l')
Example program
This will clear the screen after the user types an input.
If you aren't focused on the tool window then your clear hot-key won't work, you can see this for yourself if you try pressing your hot-key while focused on, say, the editor, you won't clear the embedded terminals contents.
PyAutoGUI has no way of focusing on windows directly, to solve this you can try to find the coordinate where the run terminal is located and then send a left click to focus, if you don't already know the coordinates where you can click your mouse you can find it out with the following code:
import pyautogui
from time import sleep
sleep(2)
print(pyautogui.position())
An example of output:
(2799, 575)
and now the actual code:
import pyautogui
while True:
input_1 = input("?")
print(input_1)
pyautogui.click(x=2799, y=575)
pyautogui.hotkey('command', 'l')

Easy Method:
Shortcut: Control K,
Right click on terminal and clear Buffer

There's also another way of doing it using the system class from os. All you need to do is have this code:
from os import system, name
# define our clear function
def clear():
# for windows the name is 'nt'
if name == 'nt':
_ = system('cls')
# and for mac and linux, the os.name is 'posix'
else:
_ = system('clear')
# Then, whenever you want to clear the screen, just use this clear function as:
clear()
However, in order for this functionality to work in pycharm, you need to enable "Emulate terminal in output console". You can find this under edit configuration of the file where you want to use the clear function, then it's under Execution option. Here's a screenshot: pycharm screensho

You could just do a ("\n" * 100000000), so it'll be impossible to scroll back.

In PyCharm terminal you can type 'cls' just like in linux terminal.
For Python Console (where you see the output) assign a shortkey for "clear all" in File -> Settings -> Keymap -> Other -> "Clear all"
You can also click somewhere on the PythonConsole -> Right button -> clear.
Hope it helps

I just relised that instead of going to the trouble of setting up a shortcut, you could just set up a command using PyAutoGUI to click on the trash bin on the side of the window e.g
note, to install pyautogui click on the end of the import pyautogui line, then press alt+enter and click install pyautogui.
import pyautogui
# to find the coordinates of the bin...
from time import sleep
sleep(2) # hover your mouse over bin in this time
mousepos = pyautogui.position() gets current pos of mouse
x,y = mousepos # storing mouse position
print(mousepos) # prints current pos of mouse
# then to clear it;
pyautogui.click(x, y) # and just put this line of code wherever you want to clear it
(this isn't perfect thanks to the time it takes to run the code and using the mouse, but it is reasonable solution depending on what you are using it for.)
I hope this answer is helpful even though this is an old question.

Just click the trash can icon to the left of the command window and it clears the command history!

In PyCharm 2019.3.3 you can right click and select "Clear All" button.This is deleting all written data inside of the console and unfortunately this is manual.

Sorry to say this, here the main question is how to do it programmatically means while my code is running I want my code to clear previous data and at some stage and then continue running the code. It should work like reset button.
After spending some time on research I solved my problem using Mahak Khurmi's solution https://stackoverflow.com/a/67543234/16878188.

If you edit the run configuration you can enable "emulate terminal in output console" and you can use the os.system("cls") line and it will work normally.

Iconman had the easiest answer.
But simply printing "\n" * 20 (or whatever your terminal height is) will clear the screen, and the only difference is that the cursor is at the bottom.
I came here because I wanted to visually see how long each step of a complex process was taking (I'm implementing a progress bar), and the terminal is already full of scrolling logging information.
I ended up printing ("A" * 40) * 20, and then "B" and "C" etc., and then filming it. Reviewing the video made it easy to see how many seconds each step took. Yes I know I could use time-stamps, but this was fun!

pywinauto with a popup window

Im working through pywinauto, not a great developer but I can write some of the basics in python. Im getting hung up though. I have a popup that is causing me to not be able to press ok on and really not sure what direction I need to look
Really a two part question:
How can I move over to this popup IF it occurs, this wont always be the case as sometimes those files may not exist.
I tried using app.Confirm.Ok.click() and also app.Confirm.type('{ENTER}') neither worked.
How can I add in variables that I could call from an external .txt file for things like the "localhost" I included there in my code?
Code here:
from pywinauto import application
import time
app = application.Application()
app.start("Install.exe")
app.SelectLanguage.Ok.click()
app.Platform.Iacceptthetermsinthelicenseagreement.click()
app.Platform.Next.click()
app.Platform.Next.click()
app.PlatformInstallationOptions.Next.click()
app.PlatformSpecifyCertifcate.comboBox.select(0)
app.PlatformSpecifyCertifcate.Next.click()
app.PlatformConfigurationDatabaseOptions.type_keys('{TAB}')
app.PlatformConfigurationDatabaseOptions.type_keys('{TAB}')
app.PlatformConfigurationDatabaseOptions.type_keys('localhost')
app.PlatformConfigurationDatabaseOptions.type_keys('{TAB}')
app.PlatformConfigurationDatabaseOptions.type_keys('{SPACE}')
app.PlatformConfigurationDatabaseOptions.type_keys('{TAB}')
app.PlatformConfigurationDatabaseOptions.type_keys('Config')
app.PlatformConfigurationDatabaseOptions.Next.click()
app.PlatformSpecifyHTTPSBindingCertifcate.type_keys('{TAB}')
app.PlatformSpecifyHTTPSBindingCertifcate.type_keys('{TAB}')
app.PlatformSpecifyHTTPSBindingCertifcate.type_keys('{RIGHT}')
app.PlatformSpecifyHTTPSBindingCertifcate.type_keys('{SPACE}')
app.PlatformSpecifyHTTPSBindingCertifcate.Next.click()
app.PlatformAdvancedWorkflowSettings.Next.click()
app.PlatformPlatformLanguage.Next.click()
app.PlatformInstanceDatabaseOptions.type_keys('{TAB}')
app.PlatformInstanceDatabaseOptions.type_keys('{TAB}')
app.PlatformInstanceDatabaseOptions.type_keys('localhost')
app.PlatformInstanceDatabaseOptions.type_keys('{TAB}')
app.PlatformInstanceDatabaseOptions.type_keys('{SPACE}')
app.PlatformInstanceDatabaseOptions.type_keys('{TAB}')
app.PlatformInstanceDatabaseOptions.type_keys('Instance')
app.PlatformInstanceDatabaseOptions.Next.click()
app.PlatformTimeZone.Next.click()
app.WebApplicationOptions.type_keys('{TAB}')
app.WebApplicationOptions.type_keys('{TAB}')
app.WebApplicationOptions.type_keys('{TAB}')
app.WebApplicationOptions.type_keys('{TAB}')
app.WebApplicationOptions.type_keys('{UP}')
app.WebApplicationOptions.Next.click()
app.WebApplicationOptions.type_keys('{ENTER}')

confirmWin = .app.window(title_re = u'Confirm') #Check your window header object name.
# Use timeout based on average pop up time in your application.
if confirmWin.exists(timeout=10, retry_interval=1):
confirmWin.set_focus()
yesBtn = confirmWin[u'&Yes']
# Check the object name of the Yes button. You can use Swapy tool(It is deprecated but it works, else you can use inspect.exe)
yesBtn.click()
else:
print('Confirmation pop up did not appear')
This should work :)

Python, Pyautogui, and CTRL-C

I am attempting to complete a simple process of opening a web/browser based document, selecting a field within said document, and then copying it so that it goes into my operating system's clipboard. Here's the specs :
Windows 7
Google Chrome ( latest stable )
Python 3.5
pyautogui for keyboard/mouse control
Here is the field I am trying to work with ( http://screencast.com/t/jt0kTagb ). When that little arrow is clicked it pops open to reveal a calendar to pick a date. If you click directly in the field instead it highlights the field's contents. When I manually press CTRL+C in this situation the field's contents go right into the clipboard as expected.
I've tried two methods of getting the field to go into my clipboard. The first was leveraging pyautogui's keyDown/up and press functions which essentially looked like :
imageCoord = noClick("img/date.png")
x, y = pyautogui.center(imageCoord)
pyautogui.click(x, y + 20)
pyautogui.keyDown('ctrl')
pyautogui.press('c')
pyautogui.keyUp('ctrl')
I then attempted to just use the app menu that appears if you right click on something which looked like this:
imageCoord = noClick("img/date.png")
x, y = pyautogui.center(imageCoord)
pyautogui.click(x, y + 20, button='right')
pyautogui.press("down", presses=2)
time.sleep(1)
pyautogui.press('enter')
Lastly I tried the pyautogui.hotkey() function which looked like this :
imageCoord = noClick("img/date.png")
x, y = pyautogui.center(imageCoord)
pyautogui.click(x, y + 20, button='right')
pyautogui.hotKey('ctrl', 'c')
In all three events the field is indeed selected and as best as I can tell the keypresses are going through as all other presses/functions that happen prior go off without a hitch.
The problem that I am facing is that when I do this manually in the same fashion as both of those scripts above I am able to get the contents. When I use the scripts, the clipboard is never updated/populated with the field's contents. Is there something I am overlooking or not considering when working with Python and Window's clipboard?
In the end all I am trying to do is put that value into an excel sheet. Any advice would be appreciated!

I have also discovered this issue on a different automation script, and have been working on troubleshooting it for several days. I'm also on Python 3.5 and Windows 7. I can rule out that it has anything to do with Google Chrome, as my particular script is actually working with SAP.
The documentation for pyautogui on Read the Docs (https://pyautogui.readthedocs.io/en/latest/cheatsheet.html#keyboard-functions) gives a direct example of using Ctrl + C to copy text to the clipboard, so I can verify you're not actually doing something wrong. I believe you're just looking at a bug here.
I have opened an issue on the project's GitHub page:
https://github.com/asweigart/pyautogui/issues/102

Use the PyAutoGui module.
pip install PyAutoGUI
We can easily use HotKey combinations.
See docs: https://pyautogui.readthedocs.io/en/latest/keyboard.html#the-hotkey-function
Pressing Ctrl+C
>>> import pyautogui
>>> pyautogui.hotkey('ctrl', 'c')

I found the solution!
pyautogui.keyDown('ctrl')
pyautogui.keyDown('c')
pyautogui.keyUp('c')
pyautogui.keyUp('ctrl')
In my script I had to use root.update() after.

Using Sikuli to take automated screenshots of a window?

Simple question here: I'd like to use Sikuli to take a screenshot of a window on a mac, which would be done by hitting CMD+SHIFT+4 then hitting Space, then clicking a window.
For the CMD+SHIFT+4 I'm having trouble. This doesn't work:
keyDown(KEY_META)
keyDown(Key.SHIFT)
wait(1)
type("4")
wait(1)
keyUp(Key.SHIFT)
keyUp(KEY_META)
Anyone have any ideas? I'm open to other routes of hitting the key combo, for instance, I know to copy this works well:
type("c",KEY_META)
But, it doesn't accept three arguments.

type("4", KeyModifier.CMD+KeyModifier.SHIFT)
Or, even better:
import shutil
import os
screenshotsDir = "absolute-path-to-a-folder"
img = capture(some_region)
shutil.move(img, os.path.join(screenshotsDir, "some-name.png"))
where some_region is:
some_region = SCREEN # for whole screen
or
someRegion = App.focusedWindow() # for the frontmost window
This has the advantage, that you can control the file name of the shot.

Have found a better solution, which actually works:
screen = Screen()
scr_img = screen.capture(screen.getBounds())
scr_img.save("C:\Screenshots", "screenshot")
Screen.capture() returns an instance of ScreenImage class with methods:'save', 'saveInBundle', 'getFile', 'getFilename'. The method save() adds an unique number to a supplied prefix parameter.