Debugging in Power Automate Desktop
If you’ve been using Power Automate Desktop (PAD) to automate repetitive tasks, you’ve likely encountered errors at some point. Whether it’s a step that doesn’t execute as expected or a flow that doesn’t give the desired result, debugging is an essential skill to make sure your automations run smoothly.
In this blog post, we’ll walk through simple steps to debug your Power Automate Desktop flows and troubleshoot any issues you may face, all in easy-to-understand language with a practical example.
What is Debugging in Power Automate Desktop?
Debugging is the process of identifying and fixing problems (bugs) in your automation. In PAD, debugging helps you to:
- Find out where something went wrong.
- Understand why it didn’t work.
- Fix errors and ensure your automation works as expected.
Power Automate Desktop provides several built-in tools that can help you debug your flows easily. These tools allow you to step through your automation one action at a time, check variable values, and spot any errors or unexpected behavior.
Key Debugging Tools in Power Automate Desktop
Power Automate Desktop offers several useful tools to help you during the debugging process:
Play/Pause Button: This starts and stops the flow. You can run your flow in full or pause it at any point to check the current status.
Step Through (Step Over): This feature allows you to execute the flow one action at a time. It’s useful to watch how the flow progresses and to see where things may go wrong.
Variables and Data Display: You can monitor the values of variables during execution. This allows you to see if data is being passed correctly between actions.
Error Handling: Power Automate Desktop includes error-handling actions like "Try Catch," which helps you gracefully handle any unexpected issues in your flow.
Logs: PAD provides detailed logs where you can view all the actions and their outcomes. Logs are great for tracking down what happened before an error occurred.
A Simple Example to Debug
Let’s create a basic example of a flow that reads data from an Excel file and logs the data to the console. We will then intentionally introduce an error to see how debugging tools can help us.
1. Create the Flow
First, let’s create a simple automation:
- Action 1: Launch Excel.
- Action 2: Open a workbook.
- Action 3: Read data from a specific range in the workbook.
- Action 4: Log that data to the console.
In Power Automate Desktop, you can drag these actions onto the workspace and configure them.
2. Introduce an Error
Next, let’s introduce an intentional error. For instance, if the workbook path is incorrect or the specified range doesn’t exist, the flow will fail. Let’s assume we mistakenly specify a wrong file path.
3. Run the Flow
Now, run the flow using the Play button. Instead of the flow completing successfully, an error will likely pop up indicating that the Excel file couldn't be found.
4. Debug the Flow
At this point, you can use debugging features to understand what went wrong.
Step Through (Step Over): Click on Step Through (the icon with a downward arrow). This will execute the flow one action at a time. By stepping through, you can see exactly where the flow breaks. In our case, the flow will stop at the "Open Workbook" action because it couldn’t find the file.
Check Variables: You can check the values of any variables you’ve used, such as the file path variable. If the file path is incorrect, you’ll spot that right away.
Logs: View the logs for a detailed breakdown of the flow’s execution. The logs will show that the "Open Workbook" action failed, and you’ll see the specific error message like "File not found."
Error Handling: If we had set up an error handling mechanism using Try Catch, the error could have been caught, and we could show a more user-friendly message, like “The file path is incorrect. Please check the file location.”
Fixing the Error
To fix the error:
- Double-check the file path in the Open Workbook action.
- Correct the file path, and re-run the flow.
- If the file path is dynamic (e.g., it changes based on the current date), make sure you are passing the correct value into the file path variable.
5. Re-run the Flow
Once you’ve made the correction, hit Play again to re-run the flow. This time, the flow should execute without errors and log the data from Excel to the console.
Best Practices for Debugging in Power Automate Desktop
Here are some best practices to help you debug your PAD flows more efficiently:
Use Meaningful Variable Names: Clear variable names will help you easily identify what each variable represents and make it easier to spot issues.
Check Error Logs: Always review logs when an error occurs. They provide detailed information about what happened and can guide you to the source of the issue.
Step Through the Flow: Don’t just run the flow all at once; step through it to see how it progresses and identify where the problem happens.
Enable Logging for Important Actions: Enable logging for critical actions (like reading from files or databases) so that you can track what’s happening.
Test Small Pieces: If your flow is large and complex, try testing smaller sections of it individually to isolate where the problem is.
Use Try Catch Blocks: Set up error handling to prevent your flow from crashing unexpectedly. This makes your automation more resilient and easier to debug in production.
Conclusion
Debugging in Power Automate Desktop is a powerful way to ensure your flows run as expected and to fix any errors you encounter. By using the built-in debugging tools like step-through, checking variable values, and reviewing logs, you can easily identify and resolve issues.
Remember that debugging is a normal part of building automation. With practice, you’ll get better at spotting errors quickly and making your automations run smoothly. Happy automating!
.png)
Follow us