Describe actions for Power Automate desktop flows

Actions for Power Automate Desktop Flows

Power Automate Desktop allows you to automate repetitive tasks on your Windows computer. You can create desktop flows using a drag-and-drop interface that consists of various actions. These actions represent steps in your automation process and allow you to interact with applications, files, web services, and more. Let’s explore some of the common actions available in Power Automate Desktop.

1. Launch Application

This action allows you to open a specific application on your computer. You can select the executable file or provide a path to launch the application.

2. Type Into

This action simulates keyboard input. You can specify the text you want to enter and the target application or element where the text needs to be typed.

3. Click/Drag and Drop

These actions simulate mouse interactions. The Click action allows you to simulate a left-click on a specific location or element on the screen. The Drag and Drop action is used to simulate dragging an element from one location to another.

4. Read Text/Extract Data

The Read Text action allows you to extract text from a specific application or document. You can use it to read text from a window, a file, or a web page. The Extract Data action helps you extract specific data or patterns from text using regular expressions.

5. Condition

This action allows you to create conditional logic in your automation. It helps in making decisions based on specific conditions. You can specify conditions such as IF/ELSE statements, comparison operators, and logical operators.

6. Loop

The Loop action enables you to repeat a set of actions for a specified number of times or until a certain condition is met. It helps automate repetitive tasks efficiently.

7. Wait

The Wait action adds a pause or delay in your automation flow. You can specify a fixed duration or wait until a specific condition is met. This action is useful when you need to synchronize your automation with external events or allow applications to load.

8. Variables

With the Variables action, you can create and manage variables within your automation flow. Variables can be used to store and manipulate data throughout the flow execution.

9. Web Service API

This action allows you to interact with web services and perform various operations such as sending HTTP requests, retrieving data, updating records, and more. You need to provide the API endpoint, method, headers, and request body.

10. File System

The File System actions enable you to perform operations on files and folders. You can copy, move, delete, rename, or create files and directories.

These are just a few examples of the actions available in Power Automate Desktop. The platform offers many more actions that cater to a wide range of automation scenarios. By combining these actions, you can build powerful and efficient desktop flows to automate your tasks.