Choose the screenshot action by what you need to capture: use Workstation > Take screenshot for a screen or the foreground window, UI automation > Take screenshot of UI element for a desktop control, and browser automation’s Take screenshot of web page for a web page or web element. Each route can save to a file or the clipboard; file output requires an image path and format.
Which Power Automate Desktop screenshot action should you use?
Start with the target, not the output format. Power Automate Desktop has separate actions for workstation displays, desktop UI elements, and browser content. A desktop UI element and a web UI element are distinct types: select the target using the matching desktop or browser automation tools rather than assuming one can be used with the other. Microsoft’s action references document the following distinctions.
| What you need to capture | Action | Scope and output |
|---|---|---|
| All screens, the primary screen, a selected screen, or the foreground window | Workstation > Take screenshot | Choose a capture scope and save to a file or clipboard. File output includes a format setting. |
| A desktop application’s control or other desktop UI element | UI automation > Take screenshot of UI element | Provide a desktop UI element, then choose file or clipboard. The action produces an ImageFile variable. |
| A browser page or a web element | Browser automation > Take screenshot of web page | Provide the browser instance, then choose Entire web page or Specific element and file or clipboard output. |
Do not use workstation foreground-window capture as a substitute for browser capture when you need the browser action’s page-versus-element scope. The browser action is tied to a browser instance; the workstation action captures a screen or foreground window.
How to take a screen or foreground-window screenshot
- In the flow designer, add Workstation > Take screenshot at the point where the flow should capture the display.
- Set Capture to All screens, Primary screen, Select screen, or Foreground window, depending on the target.
- Set Save screenshot to to File or Clipboard. For a file, enter the complete path in Image file, not only the destination folder.
- Choose an image format. Microsoft’s action reference lists BMP, EMF, EXIF, GIF, JPG, PNG, TIFF, and WMF. It lists All screens as the default capture scope and BMP as the default format; check the settings in your installed version rather than relying on an assumed default.
- Run the flow and handle any capture or save failure. For file output, choose a writable destination and use a filename extension that matches the selected format.
If you only need to inspect or pass the image to another action in the same flow, clipboard output may suit the task. If you need a file that can be reviewed later, choose File and supply its full path. Microsoft lists file-save and clipboard-save failures among the possible exceptions for the workstation action.
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How to capture a desktop application’s UI element
- Use the UI automation action Take screenshot of UI element.
- Supply the desktop UI element that the flow should capture. Choose it through the desktop UI-element workflow; a browser web element is a different type.
- Choose File or Clipboard. With File, enter the image file path and select a format.
- Use the action’s ImageFile output variable when a later flow step needs the generated screenshot file path.
The UI-element action can fail if it cannot retrieve the selected element, take the screenshot, or save the image. If retrieval fails, confirm the intended element is the one configured in the action and can still be retrieved when the flow reaches that step. If saving fails, check the full destination path or use clipboard output if that meets the workflow’s needs.
How to capture a browser page or web element
- Add the browser automation action Take screenshot of web page and provide the browser instance used by the flow.
- Choose Entire web page to capture the page or Specific element to capture a web element.
- Choose File or Clipboard. For a file, configure the image path and format.
- Run the flow and check the saved image or clipboard result at the point where the action executes.
If a specific element is selected, the browser action can raise an exception when the CSS-selected element is missing. Check that the element selection or CSS selector still identifies an element on the page at capture time. Microsoft’s action reference also lists file-save, clipboard-save, and screenshot failures for this action.
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How to save a screenshot to a file
All three routes support file output. Their target differs, but the practical file setup is the same: choose File, provide a full image path when prompted, and select a format offered by that action. The workstation reference documents BMP, EMF, EXIF, GIF, JPG, PNG, TIFF, and WMF. The UI-element and browser actions also have a format setting for file output; consult the choices presented by the action in your installed version.
- Use a full destination, including the filename, rather than entering only a folder.
- Make the filename extension agree with the chosen image format.
- Choose a destination the flow can write to. A save failure is a documented exception for each of the three actions.
- If file output is not essential, test Clipboard as an alternative destination; clipboard saving can also fail, so it is not a guaranteed workaround.
How to take screenshots during an unattended run
For diagnosing an unattended flow failure, Microsoft’s troubleshooting guidance recommends placing one screenshot action immediately before the failing step and another immediately after it. Save both captures to files with names that distinguish the before and after images. This gives an operator two views of what the workstation displayed around the failure; screenshots are a diagnostic aid, not a guarantee that the images alone will reveal the root cause.
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- Locate the failing action and add a screenshot action immediately before it.
- Add a second screenshot action immediately after it.
- Configure both actions to save to files, using separate, recognizable filenames such as a before-step and after-step name.
- Run the unattended flow and inspect the saved images around the failure.
- After diagnosis, restore the flow’s original On error behavior.
Common screenshot errors and fixes
| Symptom | What to check | Practical next step |
|---|---|---|
| Desktop UI-element capture cannot retrieve the target | The action lists failure to retrieve the UI element as a possible exception. | Verify the configured target is the desktop element intended for capture and that the flow can retrieve it at that point. |
| Browser element capture reports a missing element | The selected web element or CSS selector may no longer identify an element. | Check the web-element selection or CSS selector against the page state when the screenshot action runs. |
| A screenshot cannot be saved to a file | Each action reference lists file-save failure as a possible exception. | Review the full file path and destination; verify that the destination is writable and that the extension matches the selected format. |
| Clipboard output fails | Clipboard-save failure is a documented exception for these actions. | Check whether the workflow can instead save to a file, or investigate the clipboard failure in the context of the flow. |
| Capture itself fails | The UI-element and browser references list screenshot failure as a possible exception; the workstation action can also fail to capture. | Confirm that the selected target and capture scope are appropriate, then isolate the capture step to determine whether the failure occurs there. |
| An unattended flow fails and the displayed state is unclear | A single image may not show what changed around the error. | Capture immediately before and after the failing step, then restore the original On error setting after troubleshooting. |
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Choosing the right route in practice
- For a complete display, selected display, or foreground window, use Workstation > Take screenshot.
- For one desktop control, use UI automation > Take screenshot of UI element.
- For a browser page or web element, use Browser automation > Take screenshot of web page with the relevant browser instance.
- After choosing the target action, decide whether the flow needs a file or clipboard result, then configure the destination and any applicable format.
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