System actions

Note

The System group of actions has been segregated into some new categories. To find more information about these categories, go to Workstation and Scripting actions references.

Use the system actions to automate tasks fundamental to the Windows operating system.

Launch any of your installed applications with the Run application action. You must enclose any command line arguments in double quotes and separate them by space. The following example opens a specific Word document in quiet mode.

Note

The Application path field has to point to the executable of the application. You can open certain default Windows applications by entering their name, such as notepad for Notepad.

Additionally, desktop flows enable you to terminate processes by name or ID through the Terminate process action, and wait for processes to start or stop through the Wait for process action.

To handle Windows environment variables, use the Set Windows environment variable, Get Windows environment variable, and Delete Windows environment variable actions for the respective tasks.

If process

Marks the beginning of a conditional block of actions depending on whether a process is running or not.

Input parameters

Argument	Optional	Accepts	Default Value	Description
If process	N/A	Is running, Isn't running	Is running	State of the process to check
Process name	No	Text value		The name of the process to check

Variables produced

This action doesn't produce any variables.

Exceptions

Exception	Description
Can't retrieve list of processes	Indicates a problem retrieving the list of processes

Wait for process

Suspends the execution until a process starts or stops.

Input parameters

Argument	Optional	Accepts	Default Value	Description
Process name	No	Text value		The name of the process to check
Wait for process to	N/A	Start, Stop	Start	Whether to wait until a certain process starts or stops

Variables produced

This action doesn't produce any variables.

Exceptions

Exception	Description
Can't retrieve list of processes	Indicates a problem retrieving the list of processes

Run application

Executes an application or opens a document by executing the associated application.

Important

Many applications with advanced functionality require elevated rights to prevent unauthorized access to system resources. To launch these applications using the Run application action, run Power Automate with administrator rights. To find more information regarding running Power Automate as an administrator, go toRun Power Automate with elevated rights.

Input parameters

Argument	Optional	Accepts	Default Value	Description
Application path	No	File		The executable file as a complete file path
Command line arguments	Yes	Text value		Add extra arguments that would go after the executable file name. For example, enter notepad.exe in the application path and a specific text file in the command line arguments
Working folder	Yes	Folder		The full path of the folder to work out of, if applicable.
Window style	N/A	Normal, Hidden, Minimized, Maximized	Normal	Choose the appearance and size of the application window when it opens
After application launch	N/A	Continue immediately, Wait for application to load, Wait for application to complete	Continue immediately	Whether the next action executes immediately, or waits until the program loads or completes
Timeout	Yes	Numeric value	0	The maximum wait time, and how long before forcing a continue

Variables produced

Argument	Type	Description
AppProcessId	Numeric value	The process ID output
AppExitCode	Numeric value	The application exit code
WindowHandle	Numeric value	The window handle. When opening a new window, this variable will catch the value of the window handle, and store it in this variable. A window handle is useful to specifically identify a window in a later action

Exceptions

Exception	Description
File or application not found	Indicates that the specified file or application wasn't found
Access denied for application or File	Indicates that access was denied for the specified application or file
Can't retrieve application's main window handle	Indicates a problem retrieving the application's main window handle
Can't execute application or open file	Indicates a problem executing the specified application or opening the specified file

Terminate process

Immediately stops a running process.

Input parameters

Argument	Optional	Accepts	Default Value	Description
Specify process by	N/A	Process ID, Process name	Process name	Specify whether the process to terminate will be specified by its name, or by its ID
Process ID	No	Numeric value		The ID of the process to terminate
Process name	No	Text value		The name of the process to terminate. If more than one process with the same name is running, all of them will be terminated

Variables produced

This action doesn't produce any variables.

Exceptions

Exception	Description
Process with specified ID not running	Indicates that a process with the specified ID isn't running
Failed to terminate process	Indicates a problem terminating the process

Ping

Sends a message to determine whether a remote computer is accessible over the network.

Input parameters

Argument	Optional	Accepts	Default Value	Description
Host name	No	Text value		The name of the remote computer or an IP address
Timeout	Yes	Numeric value	5000	The maximum number of milliseconds to wait for the Ping reply message

Variables produced

Argument	Type	Description
PingResult	Text value	The status of the ping message (success or failure)
RoundTripTime	Numeric value	The number of milliseconds taken for the Ping to complete

Exceptions

Exception	Description
Can't complete ping action	Indicates a problem completing the ping action

Set Windows environment variable

Sets an environment variable to a given value.

Input parameters

Argument	Optional	Accepts	Default Value	Description
Environment variable name	No	Text value		The name of the environment variable
New environment variable value	No	Text value		The value that is set to the environment variable
Type	N/A	User, System	User	The type of the environment variable

Variables produced

This action doesn't produce any variables.

Exceptions

Exception	Description
Indicates a problem setting the environment variable's value	Indicates a problem setting the environment variable's value
Insufficient permissions	Indicates that the user has insufficient permissions to perform this action

Get Windows environment variable

Retrieves the value of an environment variable.

Input parameters

Argument	Optional	Accepts	Default Value	Description
Environment variable name	No	Text value		The name of the environment variable whose value will be retrieved
Search for variable only in scope	N/A	Boolean value	False	Specify whether to search for the variable only in a specific scope
Scope	N/A	User, System	User	The scope from which the environment variable should be retrieved

Variables produced

Argument	Type	Description
EnvironmentVariableValue	Text value	The environment variable's value

Exceptions

Exception	Description
Environment variable doesn't exist	Indicates that the specified environment variable doesn't exist
Insufficient permissions	Indicates that the user has insufficient permissions to perform this action

Delete Windows environment variable

Deletes an environment variable from a given scope.

Input parameters

Argument	Optional	Accepts	Default Value	Description
Environment variable name	No	Text value		The name of the environment variable to delete
Type	N/A	User, System	User	The type of the environment variable to delete

Variables produced

This action doesn't produce any variables.

Exceptions

Exception	Description
Failed to delete environment variable	Indicates a problem deleting an environment variable
Insufficient permissions	Indicates that the user has insufficient permissions to perform this action