This manual is for users and administrators who plan to deploy AFD Robot Evolution in a Windows environment. It details the installation and configuration options available.
AFD Robot Evolution makes using address management, bank, email, and phone validation within Windows applications easy. Once you have installed Robot, simply type the postcode into any field in a form, and Robot will automatically insert the address into the correct fields.
Robot can also validate Bank details, phone numbers and email addresses right within your application, see the section Bank Account / Card Number Validation, Phone Validation, Email Validation for more information .
We advise that Robot is installed on a single machine for testing purposes before rolling it out to your client PCs.
Please note that AFD Robot Evolution requires a connection to an AFD Postcode Evolution server. If you already have one of our desktop products installed, then you should use AFD Robot Desktop, which can be downloaded here.
Simply follow these steps to get AFD Robot Evolution setup on a single machine:
If you are using more than one product, it is recommended you have a different entry for each type, for example:
| Hotkey type | Type of data used | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ctrl, Alt, Shift + | Combination of keys to action call | |||
| Show notification | System tray notification when hotkey is activated | |||
| Evolution Setting | Select the corresponding evolution setting to the Hotkey type or use default |
| Hotkey type | Type of data used | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ctrl, Alt, Shift + | Combination of keys to action call | |||
| Show notification | System tray notification when hotkey is activated | |||
| Evolution Setting | Select the corresponding evolution setting to the Hotkey type or use default |
Email validation can be done at different levels – this can be set in the “task” section when you select an Email Validation hotkey type. The default is “Live” as this is our most comprehensive and recommended task.
Full – Validates email format and domain.
Live – Our most comprehensive check, validating email format, top-level domain, and server response for the full email address.
Top Level Domain – Validates email format is correct and the top-level domain exists.
Format – Validates if the email address format is correct only.
Local – Validate email format, top-level domain and for well-known domains conduct additional checks of the local portion of the address.
You can type a sort code and account number, or a debit/credit card number into an input field in an application and Robot will detect if that number is valid and inform you of the result. This helps cut down on errors, as you can follow-up incorrect numbers at the point of entry. Bank Account and Card number validation will also work in Classic Mode applications.
You will be required to set a hot key to use this functionality. (Please refer to Hotkey Setup.)
If you are using AFD BankFinder then by default, pressing CTRL + ALT + B will activate the Bank Robot FastFind search.
Note that correct validation of a number does not guarantee that the account or card actually exists or has sufficient funds to clear a transaction, it verifies that the number is in the correct format.
You can type in multiple phone numbers into defined input fields within an application and Robot will detect if those numbers are valid and inform you of the result. This helps cut down on errors, as you can follow-up incorrect phone numbers at the point of entry. Phone validation will work in Classic Mode applications validating the most recent keystrokes entered only.
You will be required to set a hot key to use this functionality. (Please refer to Hotkey Setup.)
We recommend you use Phone Validation in Fields Mode where possible, see Customising How Robot Inserts.
Once happy with your settings, you can simply enter the form data then press your hotkey to trigger validation. You will receive a pop-up box with a message showing you whether the phone number is valid.
You can type an email address into your application and Robot will detect if it is valid or not. You will need to set a hot key to use this functionality. Please refer to the Hot Key Support for Reverse Searching section of this manual. This helps cut down on errors, as you can then follow-up an incorrect email address at the point of entry. Take note that Email Validation will also work in Classic Mode applications.
You will be required to set a hot key to use this functionality. (Please refer to Hotkey Setup.)
We recommend you use Email Validation in Fields Mode where possible, see Customising How Robot Inserts.
Once happy with your settings, you can simply enter the form data then press your hotkey to trigger validation on all fields that have been set as an email field. You will receive a pop-up box with a message showing you whether the email number is valid. In addition to the validation message, you will see further information regarding your inputted email.
A simple mistake in typing an email address makes it impossible for an email to reach the right recipient.
LocalChecked
Indicates if the local part of the address has been checked (1) or not (0).
AcceptsAll
Indicates if the actual address is verified if applicable (0) or if it accepts all emails (1).
FormVerified
This helps add confidence for corporate email addresses where the server accepts all fields or refused the validation request. It attempts to verify if the format is in-line with those used.
| Value | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| Present | The email address is present on the website – therefore as good as a live validation. In this case, we will also update the other values to reflect this and give a full positive response. | |
| Format | The email address is in the format of those present on the website (e.g., if other emails are firstname.lastname@afd.co.uk this will return “true” for others in the same format). | |
| Fail | The email address differs from other formats found. | |
| (blank) | This field is blank if the check is unnecessary (e.g., full live verification occurred), or not possible (e.g., there is no website configured for the domain or none or too few email addresses found to verify). |
Note: This is only done on email addresses that AcceptsAll=1.
Spelling
Indicates if there is a spelling error detected.
NonStandard
Indicates if non-standard characters are present
Example email address: john!??{@afd.co.uk.
Note: This is only for valid email addresses.
Reachable
Indicates if the mail server is reachable.
Dummy
Indicates if the address is likely to be a dummy/test email address.
Throwaway
These are known domains that allow accounts to be created that self-destruct after a certain time, intended for sign-ups, etc.
Generic
Indicates if the address is a known generic email.
Example email addresses: support@afd.co.uk, accounts@afd.co.uk, etc.
The “Need Assistance?” button will provide the option to send a request to AFD Support for help setting up your application. There is also an option to use TeamViewer, if you chose to install it during the installation process – this is only to be used if directed by AFD Support.
To discuss your individual circumstances and best methods of roll-out that fits within your own setup and working practices, please contact our support team for assistance.
Please speak with a member of Technical Support if you would like to use Robot with any of our installed desktop products. The compatible products are: Names & Numbers, Postcode Plus, Postcode, Plotter and BankFinder.
By running Robot.exe with the command-line parameter “-config”, you can access global configuration settings for Robot.
An application that does not have fields, but uses a large text area (similar to Notepad) is known as a classic application. AFD Robot will not be able to detect any fields so will treat the application as a Classic Application; and will insert the address into a block starting from the left margin and where the cursor is.
An application that has fields is known as a Form Based Application. AFD Robot will automatically detect these fields if using “Fields Mode”.
A hot key is a series of one or several keys that invoke software or an operating system operation.
A proprietary computer software package for remote control, desktop sharing, online meetings, web conferencing and file transfer between computers.
We serve thousands of organisations and a network of hundreds of partners across multiple industry sectors, enabling them to have full confidence in their contact data.