Dossier is a cross-platform desktop application that automates repetitive admissions workflows in university student record systems. Instead of manually clicking through hundreds of student records, staff can load a spreadsheet and let the automation handle batch decision processing and document generation — reducing hours of manual work to minutes.
The app utilises Playwright, an open-source browser automation tool developed by Microsoft, to automate web browsers for testing, automation, and interaction with web applications—such as clicking buttons, filling forms, capturing screenshots, and navigating pages.
During admissions season, staff must process hundreds of student applications by:
- Searching for each student by number
- Clicking into their application (selecting the correct programme if multiple exist)
- Navigating to the Actions tab
- Clicking "Recommend Offer or Reject"
- Selecting the appropriate decision
- Clicking Process
- Repeating for every student...
Additionally, academic reviewers who need to assess applicants must manually open each student record, navigate to their documents, and click through individual PDFs one by one. For large cohorts, this means hours of repetitive clicking just to review application materials.
Dossier reads student data from an Excel or CSV file and automates the entire workflow using Microsoft Edge browser automation. It supports two core functions:
- Batch Decision Processing — Automatically processes Accept/Reject recommendations for hundreds of students, intelligently matching each to their correct programme application.
- Merge Overview — Automatically generates and downloads a merged overview PDF for each student, combining all their application documents (personal statement, CV, transcripts, references, etc.) into a single file. The resulting batch folder can be handed directly to reviewers, eliminating the need to navigate the system record by record.
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Drag and Drop Excel/CSV | Load student data from .xlsx, .xls, or .csv files |
| Smart Programme Matching | Automatically maps short codes (ML, CS, FT) to Portico codes (TMSCOMSMCL01, etc.) |
| Batch Decision Processing | Process multiple Accept/Reject recommendations in one run |
| Merge Overview | Generate and download merged overview PDFs for entire cohorts in a single batch |
| Persistent Login | SSO session saved between runs — no repeated MFA |
| Real-time Status | Live progress log with step-by-step visibility |
| Live Progress Counter | Real-time "Processed X of Y — Z remaining" with elapsed timer |
| Sleep Prevention | Automatically prevents OS sleep during batch runs — safe for overnight processing |
| Failure Recovery | Automatically recovers and continues to the next student if a record fails |
| Cross-Platform | Works on Windows, macOS, and Linux |
| Configurable | Adjust delays, headless mode, and more |
The interface features a modern glassmorphic design inspired by contemporary web frameworks:
- Acrylic blur effects — Frosted glass transparency on panels
- Soft shadows — Subtle depth with drop shadows
- Rounded corners — Modern card-based layouts
- Color-coded status indicators — Green (done), blue (processing), gray (pending)
- Smooth animations — Fade-in effects and progress transitions
- Cross-platform consistency — Identical look on Windows and macOS
Dossier is engineered for unattended, large-scale batch processing — designed to run reliably outside of business hours with zero manual intervention.
- OS Sleep Prevention — The app automatically inhibits system sleep for the duration of a batch run (
caffeinateon macOS,SetThreadExecutionStateon Windows,systemd-inhibiton Linux). No need to adjust power settings manually; the machine stays awake until the job completes, then normal sleep behaviour resumes. - Live Progress Tracking — A persistent footer displays the running count (
Processed 47 of 131 — 84 remaining), a continuously ticking elapsed timer, and a percentage progress bar. When the batch finishes, the footer shows total elapsed time and a success/failure breakdown. - Automatic Failure Recovery — If an individual record fails (timeout, missing data, unexpected page state), the app logs the error, navigates the browser back to a known-good state, and continues to the next student. One bad record does not halt the entire batch.
- Persistent SSO Sessions — Browser context is persisted between runs, so MFA/SSO login only needs to happen once. Subsequent runs reuse the saved session for up to 60 days.
These features allow staff to confidently run batches of 100+ records overnight without supervision.
Architecture Dossier follows the MVVM (Model-View-ViewModel) architectural pattern, providing clear separation of concerns for maintainability and testability.
Key Components:
Views — Avalonia XAML windows and controls (MainWindow, ProcessingWindow, SettingsWindow) ViewModels — Handle UI state and expose observable properties for data binding Models — Data structures for students, decisions, and programme mappings Services — Business logic for Excel parsing, programme matching, and Playwright automation
Dossier follows the MVVM (Model-View-ViewModel) architectural pattern, providing clear separation of concerns for maintainability and testability.
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ VIEW │
│ (Avalonia XAML - MainWindow, ProcessingWindow) │
│ │
│ ┌─────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ MainWindow │ │ ProcessingWindow │ │
│ │ - File panels │ │ - Progress bar │ │
│ │ - Settings │ │ - Student list │ │
│ │ - Start button │ │ - Status log │ │
│ └─────────────────┘ └─────────────────────────────┘ │
└──────────────────────────────┬──────────────────────────────┘
│ Data Binding
┌──────────────────────────────▼──────────────────────────────┐
│ VIEWMODEL │
│ (Event handling, state management) │
│ │
│ - ProcessingStudentViewModel │
│ - Observable collections for real-time UI updates │
│ - Command bindings for user interactions │
└──────────────────────────────┬──────────────────────────────┘
│
┌──────────────────────────────▼──────────────────────────────┐
│ MODEL │
│ (Business logic, data, services) │
│ │
│ ┌────────────────┐ ┌────────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ │
│ │ Models/ │ │ Services/ │ │ Playwright │ │
│ │ - Student │ │ - Excel │ │ - Browser │ │
│ │ - Decision │ │ - Automation │ │ - Portico │ │
│ │ - Programme │ │ - Mapping │ │ - Actions │ │
│ └────────────────┘ └────────────────┘ └──────────────┘ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
The app automatically converts spreadsheet short codes to Portico programme codes:
| Excel Code | Portico Code | Programme |
|---|---|---|
| ML | TMSCOMSMCL01 | MSc Machine Learning |
| CS | TMSCOMSING01 | MSc Computer Science |
| DSML | TMSDATSMLE01 | MSc Data Science and Machine Learning |
| FT | TMSFINSTEC01 | MSc Financial Technology |
| CGVI | TMSCOMSCGV01 | MSc Computer Graphics and Vision |
| RAI | TMSROBAARI01 | MSc Robotics and AI |
| AISD | TMSARTSINT02 | MSc AI for Sustainable Development |
| ... | ... | and more |
| Technology | Purpose |
|---|---|
| C# | Code Language |
| .NET 10 | Runtime framework |
| Avalonia UI 11 | Cross-platform UI framework |
| Playwright | Browser automation engine |
| EPPlus | Excel and CSV file parsing |
| Microsoft Edge | Automated browser (with SSO support) |
dossier/
├── App.axaml # Application XAML
├── App.axaml.cs
├── MainWindow.axaml # Main UI layout
├── MainWindow.axaml.cs # UI logic and event handlers
├── SettingsWindow.axaml # Settings dialog
├── SettingsWindow.axaml.cs
├── Program.cs # Entry point
├── Models/
│ ├── StudentRecord.cs # Student data model
│ ├── AppConfig.cs # Configuration model
│ └── ProcessingStudentViewModel.cs # ViewModel for processing UI
├── Services/
│ ├── ExcelService.cs # Excel parsing logic
│ ├── PorticoAutomationService.cs # Playwright automation
│ ├── SleepInhibitor.cs # Cross-platform OS sleep prevention
│ └── Interfaces/
├── Dossier.Tests/
│ ├── Models/
│ │ ├── StudentRecordTests.cs
│ │ ├── AppConfigTests.cs
│ │ └── ProcessingStudentViewModelTests.cs
│ ├── Services/
│ │ ├── ExcelServiceCsvTests.cs
│ │ └── ExcelServiceExcelTests.cs
│ └── Dossier.Tests.csproj
├── public/
│ └── images/ # Screenshots and logo
├── Dossier.csproj
└── Dossier.sln
The project includes a comprehensive test suite built with xUnit, covering models and services.
dotnet test Dossier.Tests/| Test File | Tests | What's Covered |
|---|---|---|
StudentRecordTests |
8 | Default values, Name computed property, enum values |
AppConfigTests |
6 | Default configuration values, property setters |
ProcessingStudentViewModelTests |
5 | Default state, INotifyPropertyChanged events, property updates |
ExcelServiceCsvTests |
19 | CSV parsing, tab/comma delimiter detection, fuzzy column matching, quoted fields (RFC 4180), edge cases |
ExcelServiceExcelTests |
8 | .xlsx parsing, sheet fallback, fuzzy headers, GetSheetNames() |
66 tests total — all passing.
dotnet publish -c Release -r win-x64 --self-contained true -p:PublishSingleFile=true -p:IncludeNativeLibrariesForSelfExtract=trueOutput: bin/Release/net10.0/win-x64/publish/Dossier.exe
# Intel Mac
dotnet publish -c Release -r osx-x64 --self-contained true -p:PublishSingleFile=true
# Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3)
dotnet publish -c Release -r osx-arm64 --self-contained true -p:PublishSingleFile=trueOutput: bin/Release/net10.0/osx-x64/publish/Dossier (or osx-arm64)
Self-contained builds include the .NET runtime (~100-150 MB). For smaller builds that require .NET to be installed on the target machine:
dotnet publish -c Release -r win-x64 --self-contained false -p:PublishSingleFile=trueThis produces a ~1 MB executable but requires .NET 10 Desktop Runtime on the target PC.
- .NET 10 SDK
- Microsoft Edge browser installed
- Playwright browsers installed
# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/dossier.git
cd dossier
# Restore dependencies
dotnet restore
# Install Playwright browsers (first time only)
dotnet tool install -g Microsoft.Playwright.CLI
playwright install msedge
# Build and run
dotnet build
dotnet run
# Run tests
dotnet test Dossier.Tests/- Load spreadsheet — Drag and drop or browse to select your Excel or CSV file
- Select worksheet — Choose the sheet containing student decisions (auto-selects "Dept In-tray"; skipped for CSV)
- Select mode — Choose "Process Accepts" or "Process Rejects"
- Click Start — The browser will launch and begin automation
- Complete MFA — On first run, complete SSO/MFA login (session saves for 60 days)
- Monitor progress — Watch the status log for real-time updates
- Load spreadsheet — Drag and drop an Excel or CSV file containing student numbers and programme codes
- Select "Merge Overview" mode
- Click Start — For each student, the app will:
- Navigate to their record and select the correct programme
- Open the Documents & Uploads tab
- Click "Create Overview.pdf" (or "Amend Overview.pdf" if one already exists)
- Wait for server processing to complete
- Click "Merge Documents" and confirm
- Download the merged PDF to
Desktop/LATEST_BATCH/ - Return to the search screen and repeat for the next student
- Collect results — All merged PDFs are saved to a single folder, ready for offline review
For Accept/Reject processing — requires StudentNo, Programme, and Decision columns:
| StudentNo | Programme | Decision | (other columns) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26034803 | ML | Accept | ... |
| 26045424 | CS | Reject | ... |
| 23014690 | ML | Accept | ... |
For Merge Overview — only StudentNo and Programme are required:
| StudentNo | Programme |
|---|---|
| 26034803 | ML |
| 26045424 | CS |
| 23014690 | DSML |
Click the ⚙️ Settings button to configure:
| Setting | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Headless Mode | Run browser invisibly | Off |
| Action Delay | Milliseconds between actions | 100ms |
| Portico URL | Login page URL | evision.ucl.ac.uk |
┌──────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────┐
│ Excel / CSV │────▶│ Dossier │────▶│ Portico │
│ (Student Data) │ │ (Automation) │ │ (Browser) │
└──────────────────┘ └─────────────────┘ └─────────────────┘
│
┌─────────────┴─────────────┐
▼ ▼
┌────────────────────┐ ┌────────────────────────┐
│ Accept/Reject │ │ Merge Overview │
│ 1. Search by ID │ │ 1. Search by ID │
│ 2. Match programme│ │ 2. Match programme │
│ 3. Click Actions │ │ 3. Documents tab │
│ 4. Process decision│ │ 4. Create/Amend PDF │
└────────────────────┘ │ 5. Merge Documents │
│ 6. Download PDF │
│ 7. Exit & repeat │
└────────────────────────┘
| Issue | Solution |
|---|---|
| Playwright not found | Run playwright install msedge |
| Wrong row clicked | Ensure Programme column matches short codes (ML, CS, etc.) |
| Login timeout | Complete MFA within 4 minutes |
| Browser closes unexpectedly | Check Status Log for error details |
Contributions are welcome. Feel free to open an issue or submit a pull request.
Distributed under the MIT Licence. See LICENCE for more information.
This tool is for authorised UCL staff use only. Ensure you have appropriate permissions before automating Portico interactions. The authors are not responsible for any misuse or unintended consequences.
