Frequently Asked Questions
Q: I found a bug. How can I report it?
A: Please write a mail to dev (at) batzill (dot) com.
Q: I have a question that's not covered here. How can I get help?
A: Please write a mail to dev (at) batzill (dot) com.
Q: Robotux always spits out a few errors at startup and doesn't work correctly
A: There are several approaches on how to deal with it. First, make sure that robotux
is not running. Possibly do a reboot. If all else fails, you might want to delete the ".config/robotux" directory in your home directory.
This will clear out all your stored macros, but should work as a last resort.
Q: Can I use Robotux on other distributions?
A: The code is distribution independent. However, most distribution don't have a packaging system that allows commercial software.
If you are a 'technical person' who knows what he's doing, you could use a Ubuntu live CD and boot it in a virtual machine.
You can then buy Robotux and install it. The packages will be cached in /var/cache/apt/archives.
You can copy the Robotux .deb package from there to your main distribution, extract it and you will get all files required to run it.
Note however, that the version from the software-center can only run from /opt/extras.ubuntu.com/robotux.
If you want it simpler, you can also forward me your proof of purchase and I will mail you a location-independent .tar.gz package back.
Feel free to contact me if you have questions about the process or need assistance.
Q: Does it only work with Unity? Or can I use other desktop environments?
A: Personally I've tested it with Unity, A: Xfce, LXDE and KDE. They all worked flawlessly.
As a rule of thumb, it should work on every desktop environment that supports some concept of
status icons, as this is required to control the program. Also, it's nice to use a desktop environment that supports
overlay/OSD notifications so you can quickly see what Robotux is currently doing.
IMPORTANT: It's currently not possible to run Robotux in Gnome-Shell out of the box.
Gnome-Shell doesn't provide status icons. I've had success by using the Top Icons shell extension.
It's not an optimal solution, but it does the job. If there is any better solution or if I was just too stupid to find
the classical status icons in Gnome Shell, feel free to tell me where they are.
Q: Why is Robotux not free/open source software?
A: Robotux is open source! It's licensed under the BSD license. So if you get the .deb package from someone else, feel free to
use and distribute it in whichever way you want. The price charged for the packages in Ubuntu Software center is a symbolic price and
I simply hope to get a few dollars to pay my development cost. But it's a low price, so please consider paying it, even if you are not forced
to do so. Also, the program is completely written in Python. So you will be able to review the source code anyway.
Q: I'm trying to automatically control a GUI program, but only the first/first few actions are done. Why?
A: The problem is most likely that you are playing back faster than the controled program can handle your input.
Example: If you click button X, a new window comes up in which button Y should be pressed and your playback speed is to high,
Robotux is probably clicking at the position where button Y is located before the button is even there or ready.
Try lowering playback speed to satisfy the slowness of the controled program. Especially when automating websites,
it's hard to predict loading times. I will write a second tool soon, specifcally for automating websites, which will automatically
be able to wait until pages are finished loading and stuff like that. If this is what you want, stay tuned!