{"id":2762,"date":"2020-06-01T08:30:00","date_gmt":"2020-06-01T15:30:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-06-11T07:58:44","modified_gmt":"2025-06-11T14:58:44","slug":"automate-microsoft-remote-desktop-with-the-may-2020-update-to-ui-flows-in-power-automate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/en-us\/power-platform\/blog\/power-automate\/automate-microsoft-remote-desktop-with-the-may-2020-update-to-ui-flows-in-power-automate\/","title":{"rendered":"Automate Microsoft Remote Desktop with the May 2020 update to UI flows in Power Automate"},"content":{"rendered":"

UI flows<\/a> in Power Automate enable anyone to use robotic process automation (RPA) to automate time-consuming manual web and desktop processes. Recently, we announced the acquisition<\/a> of Softomotive to expand low-code robotic process automation capabilities even further.<\/p>\n

In this month’s update to the\u00a0UI flows installer<\/a>, we are glad to announce that a new preview feature is available that makes it possible to\u00a0record and play back automations on Remote Desktop sessions<\/a>, without the need to install additional software on the remote computer.<\/p>\n

Since this feature depends on remote desktop login info being passed to the UI flow from an automated flow, this release also includes a new type of input called sensitive text inputs<\/a>. These inputs are similar to other text inputs, but their values will not be stored in the UI flow or logged as part of the UI flow run history.<\/p>\n

To get started with Remote Desktop automation<\/a> and sensitive text inputs, you will need the latest version of the UI flows installer<\/a>\u00a0and a secure key management solution such as\u00a0Azure Key Vault<\/a>. The below screenshots show the recommended steps to add sensitive text inputs to a UI flow, populate them from the calling automated flow using Key Vault, and turn on \u201cSecure Inputs\u201d in the Settings menu for the \u201cRun a UI flow for desktop\u201d action\u00a0so that the inputs are not recorded in the run history.<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot
Step 1: Adding a sensitive text input to a UI flow<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Screenshot
Step 2: Record an RDP session within the UI flow, and add the sensitive text fields to the Launch Remote Desktop action in the flow.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Screenshot
Step 3: When calling the UI flow from an automated flow, retrieve the values for the sensitive text fields from a key vault and pass them to the UI flow.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Screenshot
Step 4: Enable Secure Inputs in the Settings for the “Run a UI flow for desktop” action in the automated flow, so that that the sensitive inputs are not logged by the automated flow.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We are always working to improve the automation capabilities throughout Power Automate. Please feel free to share your feedback and questions in the Power Automate Community<\/a> using the \u201cUI flows\u201d label.<\/p>\n

If you are new to UI flows or Power Automate, welcome!\u00a0 Here are some resources to help you get started:<\/p>\n