{"id":127368,"date":"2025-01-27T09:43:02","date_gmt":"2025-01-27T17:43:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/power-platform\/blog\/?post_type=power-automate&p=127368"},"modified":"2025-01-27T09:43:03","modified_gmt":"2025-01-27T17:43:03","slug":"january-2025-update-of-power-automate-for-desktop","status":"publish","type":"power-automate","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/power-platform\/blog\/power-automate\/january-2025-update-of-power-automate-for-desktop\/","title":{"rendered":"January 2025 update of Power Automate for desktop"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We are happy to announce that the January 2025 update of Power Automate for desktop (version 2.52) has been released! You can download the latest release here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Key features<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

New features and updates have been added, as described below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Summarizing actions and subflows with Copilot is now available (in preview)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Copilot can now be used to help you quickly understand desktop flows by summarizing the selected actions and\/or subflows<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This functionality is currently only available in US-based environments for work or school accounts.<\/p>\n\n\n

\"A
Copilot can now be used to create a summary for a group of actions or a subflow<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

One child desktop flow can now run in parallel with its parent flow<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In the Run desktop flow<\/a> action, a new toggle property is now available that allows the concurrent run of a child desktop flow, in parallel with its parent flow that invoked it, on the same machine. This configuration is useful for scenarios, where unexpected popups in the target application may block certain actions of the parent flow.<\/p>\n\n\n

\"A
A desktop flow can now be configured to run in parallel with the desktop flow that invoked it<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

New dedicated Access actions have now been introduced<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A new group of dedicated Access<\/a> actions is now available out of the box, permitting the use of direct Access operations.<\/p>\n\n\n

\"A
New Access actions are now available to use in desktop flows<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Some instance variable types are now supported as input\/output variables<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Excel, Word and Outlook instance variables are now supported as input\/output variables<\/a> in desktop flows, accommodating the respective variable types when passing information from one desktop flow to another.<\/p>\n\n\n

\"A
Excel, Word and Outlook variables can now be used as input or output variables<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A retry policy can now be applied to the \u2018On block error\u2019 action<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The action On block error<\/a> now supports retry policies, as is already the case for individual actions\u2019 error handling. If a retry policy is set and an error occurs, retrying will take place from the beginning of the block.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get started<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Hoping that you will find the above updates useful, please feel free to provide your questions and feedback in the Power Automate Community<\/a>. If you want to learn more about Power Automate Desktop, get started with the below resources:<\/p>\n\n\n\n