Learning Microsoft Power Automate

Chapter 8. Desktop Flows

Power Automate cloud flows are powerful, but they don’t work in certain situations. For example, data may be stored in a source that doesn’t have a connector or an API that can be used in a cloud flow to access the data. Or you may be trying to automate a manual process that someone does using a computer, terminal, or web page. The solution for these instances is Power Automate Desktop (PAD), which lets you create automated desktop flows that access information through the UI or a web browser on a computer desktop.

Using PAD, you can record actions performed on a computer desktop or a web browser. After creating the recording, you can edit the desktop flow. You can also create a desktop flow by dragging and dropping actions onto a workspace. These desktop flows can then re-run the actions on demand as needed. PAD provides a simple way to automate daily, repetitive tasks that you complete on your computer. This process of recording steps and replaying them is called Robotic Process Automation (RPA), which we discussed earlier in the book. But what is RPA, and how does it differ from the regular cloud flows that are built in Power Automate?

What Is Robotic Process Automation (RPA)?

RPA refers to the use of software robots known as “bots” to automate routine, repetitive tasks that are normally performed by human workers. RPA technology is designed to mimic human interactions with digital systems, allowing organizations to automate manual, time-consuming, ...