Task Templates(Version 8)

What are Task Templates?

There are two modes for users to set up tasks to pull out data with Octoparse. One is called Advanced Mode, and the other is called Task Template.

Advanced Mode, a highly customizable mode, is for users to manually set up tasks to deal with a variety of websites. 

Task Templates, on the contrary, are pre-built task templates for popular websites of different types. From the picture below, you can see some popular task templates for Amazon, Twitter, Google Maps, etc. By now, Octoparse has over 100 pre-built templates for users. You can just enter the keyword(s) or target page URL to get the data extracted without setting up crawlers yourself.

If your target website to scrape can be found in our list of task templates, then why not give it a try? You can apply for a free 14-day premium trial to test those templates since this is a premium feature!

How to use Task Templates

• Search on the home page or select a website icon
• Choose a template
• Enter the parameters required
• Click "Save & Run"
• Choose "Run on your local device" or "Run in the Cloud"

The task created can be seen after you refresh the Dashboard.

Types of Task Templates

Our task templates are not editable for users. If you want to modify a certain template, such as adding/removing some data fields, then you may need to contact us to adjust. Template modification is an extra-paid service if you need a template dedicated to your usage.

There are mainly two types of task templates, one is the OTD task template, and the other is JavaScript/Python template.

OTD task templates are tasks we build with Octoparse Advanced Mode. When you choose to run a template, an OTD task template will show options of "Run task on your local device" and "Run task in the Cloud". For example, eBay and Google Maps templates are OTD task templates. 

As for JavaScript/Python task templates, namely, are written by our data engineer team to deal with more complex websites, such as Amazon, Twitter, Instagram, etc. They are specially written to bypass stronger anti-scraping techniques. Please note that JS/Python templates can only be run in the Cloud. Also, most of public JS/Python templates are demo versions with limitations of usage. 

How to request a full template?

You may notice there are "Daily Quota" and parameter limits to the template. 

The demo templates are to show you what data fields the templates can capture. If the current version can satisfy your needs, you can continue using it with your current subscription.

If you need a version to remove limits, the full template requires an extra subscription considering the maintenance costs. If you are not sure whether the full version can satisfy your needs or not, feel free to contact us. We can suggest a package based on your project request. 

How to request a customized template or template revision?

We also provide template customization and revision service (extra-paid service).

If you need a new template, with which you can just enter parameters and wait for the data to be extracted, then you can refer to us on template customization service.

You can contact us and leave the following information so that we can help evaluate your request.

1. Website(s) you want to scrape

2. Data fields you need

3. Frequency of your project

4. Ultimate goal you want to achieve

Also, if you think our current template doesn't include the data fields you need, you can also let us know to see how we can fulfill your needs.

Last, if you find some templates not working, you're welcome to get back to us so that we can repair and update them.

Author: Vanny

Editor: Yina