---
title: "Tap step"
slug: "tap-step"
updated: 2025-03-05T04:40:42Z
published: 2025-03-05T04:40:42Z
canonical: "help.autify.com/tap-step"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.autify.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Tap step

*※ Please note that parts of this page are machine translated.*

---

## What is “Tap” step?

Autify’s “Tap” step utilizes image recognition technology to identify elements based on their **appearance**, allowing for more precise element selection compared to previous methods. If the correct element is not present on the screen, an appropriate error is returned.

For cases where basing the process on the element’s appearance is not ideal (such as when there is a significant visual change) you can use **Xpath** to select elements **independently of appearance**.

### Simplify Scenario Maintenance With “Quick Element Update”

When reviewing test results, you might want to re-specify the element to be tapped. In these cases, using the **“Quick Element Update”** feature lets you fix scenarios more quickly.

For more detailed instructions on using “Quick Element Update,” refer to the following document:

- [Quick Element Update](https://help.autify.com/mobile/docs/en/quick-element-update)

          For customers who have been using Autify NoCode Mobile prior to December 2023

          

If you use the “Quick Element Update” feature on steps created using the previous Page Source Tap or ML Tap, the target element for tapping will be updated, and **that step will be changed into the new Tap step** described in this article.

### When Tap Steps Take a Long Time to Execute

Because Tap steps gather information used for Quick Element Update, they **obtain the page source** of the screen during test execution. If your app’s page source is **very large**, retrieving it may take time, causing the test’s execution duration to increase.

If you notice that your tests become slower, you can **skip** page source retrieval.

To skip page source retrieval for a **specific step**, choose the step in the scenario details screen and **uncheck** the box labeled **“Enable update element via XPath.”** ![enable update element.png](https://cdn.document360.io/a099d8a2-cfd2-42ca-9906-68b4a337f4a5/Images/Documentation/enable%20update%20element.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-07T12%3A15%3A01Z&se=2026-11-07T13%3A15%3A01Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=KAu7JCv5mzO3tczj%2FUTfQUcVJY%2FWujy8ezxD8evM9EE%3D)

To **skip page source retrieval by default** for all steps, you can configure it in the **workspace settings** screen. ![capturing page sources.png](https://cdn.document360.io/a099d8a2-cfd2-42ca-9906-68b4a337f4a5/Images/Documentation/capturing%20page%20sources.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-07T12%3A15%3A01Z&se=2026-11-07T13%3A15%3A01Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=KAu7JCv5mzO3tczj%2FUTfQUcVJY%2FWujy8ezxD8evM9EE%3D)

Please note that if you skip page source retrieval in a step, **element selection using XPath during Quick Element Update** will **not** be available for that step.