Power Automate Desktop is a new Windows 11 tool with the ability to automate many different tasks. Power Automate's predecessor was Microsoft Flows. With Power Automate, users can automate repetitive and manual tasks to save time and effort.
First, to run Power Automate you need at least 2GB of RAM and 1GB of free storage, .NET Framework 4.7.2 or later, an up-to-date web browser, and an Internet connection.
1. Power Automate is pre-installed on Windows 11, so to open it, you just need to press the Start button then type power automate and then Enter to open the application.
2. When you first start the application, you will have to wait a while for it to check for updates.
3. Then you will have to log in to your Microsoft account to be able to use it.
4. After completing the steps to enter your email and login password, you will have to choose the country and then Get started.
5. The main interface of Power Automate Desktop will appear so from here you can create your own automation flows.
In Power Automate Desktop, sequences of automation actions are called flows.
Here are the details on how to create an automation flow:
1. To create a new flow, click the + New flow button in the upper left corner.
2. Enter a name for the new flow and then click Create.
3. This will open two windows, one is the My flows window where you can create and manage your flows and the other is the flow edit window, where you record/edit the flow you just created. If the second window does not appear, you can double click on the flow name you want to edit in the My flows page to open it.
4. The flow editing window is divided into 3 parts.
The left pane is called Actions, which contains over 370 pre-made actions.
The middle pane is the Main section where you can adjust the workflow and flow activities.
The right-hand pane is named Variables, which contains the input/output variables when you're building a flow.
In the Main section, right above there are icons corresponding to the Save, Run, Stop, Run by action, Web recorder and Desktop recoder buttons.
You can build flows in 3 ways, one is to drag and drop tasks from pre-built flows from the left pane and the other is to use the task logger. The third way is to combine both ways to create flows that you like.
Example 1: Creating a flow using Power Automate
Now, to show you how Power Automate works, TipsMake.com will show you how to create a simple flow using the task recording feature. We will create a flow that automatically plays music using Sportify.
1. First at the flow editing interface, click on Desktop recorder.
2. Desktop recoder window will appear. You click Record and start performing the action to record.
3. You perform actions at a moderate speed so that Power Automate can record the action most accurately. Here, I will press the Search button on Windows 11 and search for the term Spotify. When you press the Search button, you should wait a few seconds for the Search window to appear completely before entering the keyword.
4. When the Spotify application appears, click and wait for the application to open. After the application is finished, you continue to search and open your favorite Music Album.
5. After you are done, click Finish to complete. During recording, you can pause and start recording if you need to do something else out of the stream.
6.The Desktop recoder window will disappear and you will be returned to the flow editing window. Here you can add, edit, test and save the flow you just created.
Example 2: We have created and shown a detailed approach on how to record a simple flow process followed by an example on ‘How to automatically clear the Recycle bin‘.
1. In the Power Automate Desktop window, click on the Desktop recorder icon.
2. When the Desktop recorder window opens up, click on the Start recording.
Now, just do the steps you want this flow process should perform. Power Automate will reckon these steps and record them.
Example
We have created a simple automation flow process of clearing the Recycle Bin.
These are steps to perform as the Power Automate will record the exact steps.
a. Minimize the Desktop recorder if it is not minimized.
b. Then, double-click on the Recycle Bin icon on the desktop.
c. After that, click on the Empty Recycle Bin to clear the contents of the directory.
d. A prompt message will appear for confirmation. Just, click on Yes.
e. Once you are done, maximize the Desktop recorder window. Then, click on Pause recording.
3. Finally, click on Finish to finish the recording process.
4. Now, just click on the Save icon on the top bar to save this recording.
5. If you want to see how this automation works, click on the Play button to check it out.
This will play the flow that you have recorded. It will enact the same steps that you have recorded with the desktop recorder.
Thus, you have just created new, simple flow automation on your computer.
NOTE:
1. Once you have started the recording process, you can pause the recording process. To do so, just click on the “Pause recording“.
2. If something odd happens during the recording process or you record a wrong step, just tap on the Reset recording.
This will clear all the recorded steps that you have just recorded.
Reviews about Power Automate Desktop
In fact, this tool is not easy to get used to. For the average user, using Power Automate to create flows is not simple at all. Moreover, the easiest feature of recording and then repeating the operation is also not very stable. It's easy to crash if some Windows 11 interface doesn't load up to speed.
In general, Power Automate is only for Pro users. Then the ability to leverage Power Automate to automate new tasks can be maximized.
Good luck!
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