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Enable UI Access to automate elevated applications

Power Automate for desktop runs with the same user rights as the user who starts it. If the user attempts to automate an application started with higher privileges (for example, by running it as an administrator), Windows security protections prevent UI Automation from interacting with that application. To automate elevated applications in both attended and unattended mode, you can enable UI Access mode for Power Automate for desktop. In this mode, the UI Automation component starts with UI Access privileges, so it can interact with elevated applications without requiring Power Automate for desktop itself to run as administrator.

Prerequisites

  • Power Automate for desktop version 2.68 or later
  • Permissions to modify the machine's registry

How to enable UI Access

UI Access is disabled by default. To enable it, add a Windows registry entry.

Limitations

When you enable UI Access, capturing UI Elements by hovering and Ctrl+Click doesn't work as expected when the application is elevated. To capture UI Elements in such an application, use the Inspect method instead.

Security considerations

When you enable UI Access, the UI Automation component of Power Automate for desktop runs at medium+ integrity level, which allows it to interact with elevated applications. Be aware that this configuration permits a lower-privileged application (Power Automate for desktop) to automate higher-privileged applications, which might introduce security risks in your environment.