UI automation - Simulate actions
Important
This content is archived and is not being updated. For the latest documentation, go to Microsoft Power Automate documentation. For the latest release plans, go to Dynamics 365, Power Platform, and Cloud for Industry release plans.
| Enabled for | Public preview | Early access | General availability |
|---|---|---|---|
| Admins, makers, marketers, or analysts, automatically | - | - | 
Oct 23, 2023 |
Business value
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.
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
See also
UI automation actions (docs)