Create a new cloud flow that calls an existing flow in unattended mode

  • 5 minutes

Prerequisites

  • Windows 10/11 Pro or Enterprise

  • Power Automate

  • Power Automate for Desktop

  • Power Automate Machine runtime App (only available with Windows 10/11 Pro or Enterprise)

Create Cloud Flow

Cloud flows are required to trigger the unattended desktop flow.

  1. To create your cloud flow, open Power Automate and select My flows.

  2. Select New flow > Instant cloud flow.

    Screenshot of the New flow menu with Instant cloud flow selected.

  3. Name your flow Manual trigger Desktop flow to enter invoice.

  4. Select the Manually trigger a flow option and then select Create.

    Screenshot of the flow name field and Manually trigger a flow selected.

  5. When the screen changes to the flow builder, select + icon underneath the Manually trigger a flow action, then Add an action.

  6. Search for and select Run a flow built with Power Automate for desktop flow.

    Screenshot of the Run a flow built with Power Automate for desktop flow action selected.

  7. If you haven't already set a desktop flows connection, you see the Create Connection dialog, and you need to input the following settings:

    • Connection Name: [enter a text name for the connection]

    • Connect: [Connect with username and password]

    • Machine Or Machine Group: [select the machine or group that you want to use]

    • Domain And Username: [this is the domain and username of the machine you're using]

    • Password: [this is the sign-in password for the machine you're using]

    Important

    If you do not see a machine or group listed, you need to use the Power Automate machine runtime utility app to connect your machine to the environment. The machine runtime app is an option to install when you install Power Automate for Desktop. If you didn't install the machine-runtime app during your installation, you can install it via Power Automate Desktop. Select Settings from the command bar and look for Machine settings at the bottom of the Settings panel. You can select Open machine settings which provides you a link to begin installing the machine runtime app. If you do not have the Power Automate machine runtime option when downloading Power Automate for Desktop or in the settings, check to make sure you have Windows 10/11 Pro or Enterprise.

  8. The Domain And Username and Password fields require the credentials to sign in to the computer.

    Note

    If you're unsure of what to put in the Domain and username field, you can open a command prompt window by opening the Start menu, entering CMD in the search box, and then pressing the Enter key. When the command prompt opens, enter Set user and then press the Enter key.

    Several lines of code will appear. Separate the user domain and the username with a backslash (\), as shown in the following screenshot. Select Create.

    Screenshot of the Gateway name, Domain and user name, and Password details.

  9. Once you create the connection, Power Automate prompts you for information that's specific to the desktop flow.

  10. In the Desktop flow dropdown menu, select the name of your flow, in this case Invoicing, and then select the Unattended (runs on a machine that's signed out) option in the Run Mode dropdown menu.

  11. After you select the invoicing desktop flow, input variables from the Desktop flow are added to fill in. You can use dynamic content from the trigger or other steps in your cloud flow to populate these variables. For the purposes of this module, you can enter placeholders because you're only testing the unattended flow. Select Save.

    Screenshot of the unattended flow placeholder information.

Now that you created the unattended desktop flow, you can test it. Remember, that you can't test it on a machine that has a user currently logged on.