This post is part of the New Functionality In Microsoft Power Automate 2023 Wave 2 series in which I am taking a look at the new functionality introduced in Microsoft Power Automate 2023 Wave 2.
The 3rd of the new functionality in the Desktop Flows section is UI automation – Simulate actions.
Users may use the machine that the automation is being executed in attended mode as UI automation actions will be performed in the background, without the need to have the UI element visible on the screen. Subsequently, the user can continue their work without any interruption or issues while automation is running.
Enabled for: Admins, makers, marketers, or analysts, automatically
Public Preview: –
General Availability: Oct 23, 2023
Feature Details
UI automation actions will have a new parameter that will specify the execution mode. Execution modes will be:
- Auto
- Simulated
Auto mode is the one that currently is being used. Power Automate for desktop finds the UI element to interact with and performs the action according to the element’s type, but in most cases this is being performed with a physical step, imitating the mouse and keyboard actions.
Simulated mode will perform the action programmatically, without physical interaction with the UI element; therefore, UI elements will not be brought into the foreground, and the mouse and keyboard will not be used. The user will be able to use them. Actions supported are:
- Click UI Element in window
- Populate text field in window