Create your first recording

Completed

To begin recording, you first need to have a process. If you've already created a process, select that process and then select New recording in the upper-left corner of the page.

Screenshot of the New recording button in a process.

If you don't have a process yet, select Process advisor > Create > Blank process.

Screenshot of the Create button within process advisor.

Name your process. Provide a description to help you and your users understand the process that is being analyzed. The Data (preview) process is by default selected. Select Recordings and then click Create.

Screenshot of the Process name field and the Create button.

Next, select Add a recording, which will open Power Automate for desktop. Make sure that you install Power Automate for desktop now if you haven't already.

Screenshot of the Add a recording button to open Power Automate for desktop.

The Desktop recorder window of Power Automate for desktop will open. Before you start recording, you need to complete some cleanup items. The process will go smoother if you exit out of unnecessary applications while you're recording. If you have other browsers or programs that are running, you should close them now. It will be difficult to read the instructions and perform the actions that are required for the recording simultaneously. So, you might want to read through this unit completely before performing the next steps. After completing the cleanup items, you'll be ready to begin recording. To begin, select the Start recording button in Power Automate for desktop.

Screenshot of the launching the recorder information.

Screenshot of the Start recording button in Desktop recorder.

Now, perform your process as usual. You'll see actions appear on the recording pane as you move along in the process. Be sure to only use the mouse and not keyboard shortcuts to go to the next field. You can pause the recording or delete actions if you make a mistake.

Tip

As you record, make sure that you go slowly and wait several seconds between actions. A red outline will appear on a control before selecting and a blue highlight will appear after. If these outlines and highlights do not appear, your actions might not be recorded properly.

After you've finished your actions, return to the recording window and select Finish. Your recorded actions should look similar to the following image.

Screenshot of the Recorded actions list with the Finish button.

After you select Finish, your recording will upload, and the following dialog box will appear.

Screenshot of the Your recording was saved message.

You can view and manage your new recording by going to your process (select Process mining > Processes and then select the name of your process). Under Recordings, select See all. On the following page, you can view any recordings in your process, and you can select a recording and see more options.

Screenshot of all recordings in a process.

Now that you've learned how to begin a new process and add recordings, you can learn how to edit those recordings.