The latest April 2021 update of Microsoft Power Automate Desktop has been released! Today, we are going to highlight some of these new features.
To check the software version that you have, go to the console and click on Help, then About.
The version installed will be displayed as shown below. The latest available version (as of this writing) is 2.7.49.21099.
If you have an older version and would like to upgrade to the latest version to enjoy the new features, go to this link to download the software installer.
Table of contents
Refresh button is available in console
A refresh button has now been added to the Power Automate Desktop console. When clicked, the flows inside My flows and Shared with me will be updated with the latest changes made from the web portal.
For example, if a colleague has shared a desktop flow with you from the web portal, you will longer need to logout of and login back to Power Automate Desktop in order to see the recently shared flow.
Save as new flow functionality is available in the flow designer
Previously, in the flow designer, you can only save the changes made to a flow by overwriting the original flow.
Now, a Save as option has been added, allowing you to save the changes under a new flow instead.
This is a useful feature to have, especially since desktop flows currently do not support versioning. Hence, you might want to have different versions of the same flow saved. In this way, you have the ability to revert to an earlier version of your flow when required.
The action copying mechanism has been improved
Do you know you can copy and paste actions from one flow designer to another?
In fact, it is possible to copy the actions into a text editor (e.g. Notepad), and then paste these text into a flow designer.
Previously, when performing this action, all the stored UI elements and Images will be lost. And you will need to painstakingly re-create all the UI elements and Images. But not anymore, with the latest April 2021 updates. Wonderful!
Desktop recorder now supports image-based recording and optical character recognition
The desktop recorder now provides users with the option to record using image recognition, instead of using UI elements. To do so, make sure you turn the toggle on for Image recording.
When you start recording, the recorder will automatically capture actions such as Move mouse to image.
In fact, when you hover over the image icon, you can actually see the image that the action will be performed on.
Note that when Image recording is not being used, the recorder will use UI elements by default. Following is the recorded action for the same activity being performed.
While image recognition can be very useful in certain situations, as a general rule of thumb, it is recommended to use UI elements instead of images when interacting with applications. This will ensure the robustness and reliability of your desktop flows.
In addition, to extract text from images during the recording, perform a right click and select Extract text from image.
Use the cursor to define the text area when OCR extraction is required
Next, use the cursor to define the anchor area that is not expected to change. This will help to locate the image from the previous step.
An example of the recorded action can be seen below:
Improved interaction with Java-based apps and applets
Finally, the existing mechanism to support Java applications has been rebuilt and enhanced, providing greater visibility over UI elements that are needed to automate and interact with these applications. What this means is that you are now able to automate Java-based applications more easily and reliably.
Conclusion
By the way, the enhancements are not stopping here. Based on the 2021 Release Wave 1 Plan for the Microsoft Power Platform, there are a number of exciting new capabilities in the roadmap, including:
- Connect to desktop flows without the on-premises data gateway
- Support UI automation with Citrix
- Web automation to access cross-domain iFrames
- Power Automate Desktop inclusion with Windows
Now that you have learnt some of the new features and enhancements made in April 2021, why not download this latest version of Microsoft Power Automate Desktop and starting automating?
Tags
Robotic Process Automation, Microsoft Power Automate Desktop, Monthly Updates, April 2021
Learning Resources
https://flow.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/power-automate-desktop-april-2021-update/