Do we need "Per user plan with Attended RPA" for just triggering PAD from Cloud?

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Posted on by min_thein

Hello,

I have one issue finding a clear documentation on right subscription type on my requirements.

As I trying to run PAD by triggering from cloud flow, I found "per user plan" can trigger PAD without "attended RPA" plan which is $25 more than basic plan at $15.

Hence, could you please suggest if we really need $40 plan to run simple processes like running VBA from an xlsm or converting .csv to .zip on a desktop?

Thank you in advance!

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Power Automate Desktop

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Highboy 1,187 Super User 2024 Season 1 on at

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Check this link, it will explain it all.

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min_thein 22 on at

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Hello @Highboy ,
Thank you very much for your valuable information, I'll keep it for future licensing reference.
Below are the things made me reluctant to upgrade to "Per user with attended RPA" plan since it costs $25 more/mth.
Those PAD flows can be triggered with current per user plan
Below information doesn't imply that RPA is intended for just triggering PAD flows which use existing connectors; especially running macro by opening an Excel file:
"What if I have an application that Power Automate doesn't have a connector for, and I can't create a custom connector because the app doesn't have an API?"
"With RPA, you automate applications by teaching Power Automate to mimic the mouse movements and keyboard entries of a human user"
On the other hand, I can expect that running attended mode with per user plan is currently possible as we are in transition period based on below information BUT it's not a solid information to prove that I MUST use $40 plan.
"Organizations will then have six months to analyze their usage and purchase licenses that are appropriate before strict enforcement on license limits begins."
Best.

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VJR 7,635 on at

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Hi @min_thein ,

To call a Desktop flow from a Cloud flow in attended mode you will need a Per user plan with attended RPA which is $40.

To run it in unattended mode you will need to also have an unattended add-on (in below link).

Have you also taken a look at the Pay-as-you-go plans to see if it suits your needs.

Pricing | Microsoft Power Automate

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min_thein 22 on at

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Hello @VJR ,

Thank you for your information.
I agreed with you if your advice is on a casual conversation but for a situation that we need to prove for upgrading expensive one providing an evidence that the functionalities under existing license is greyed out because of licensing requirement (currently all are accessible without RPA with basic plan) or the way describing RPA by Microsoft is crystal clear that triggering a PAD flow that uses available connectors fall under RPA (as mentioned earlier, RPA doesn't mean triggering a PAD flow on attended mode).

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VJR 7,635 on at

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@min_thein , I'm sorry, I couldn't fully understand what you mentioned.

Connectors to applications (and custom connectors) are referred only in Power Automate Cloud Flows and nothing to do in Desktop Flows but your question was about Desktop Flows so I am not fully clear.

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min_thein 22 on at

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And also what $15 plan covers is digital process automation which doesn't fall under RPA functionalities.

Thanks!

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VJR 7,635 on at

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And also what $15 plan covers is digital process automation which doesn't fall under RPA functionalities.

Yes, the $15 plan does not have RPA functionalities, and therefore you will need to go with the $40 for attended and/or add-on if you want unattended.

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min_thein 22 on at

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Actually, to rephrase my questions, RPA means teaching a PC to mimic what we want to process in a event that existing functionalities are not readily available according to the documentation :
" With RPA, you automate applications by teaching Power Automate to mimic the mouse movements and keyboard entries of a human user, as if a robot was using the computer. "

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VJR 7,635 on at

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running VBA from an xlsm or converting .csv to .zip on a desktop?

- All of the above can also be done without Power Automate by using a macro or a scripting language like vbscript, python etc.

- If you want to perform these actions only in a Desktop Flow, then no premium licensing is required as Power Automate Desktop is free to download in Win 10 and comes along with Win 11.

- But if you want to perform these actions in a Desktop Flow by calling from a Cloud Flow you will need to have a licensed plan.

Hope you find this helpful.

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min_thein 22 on at

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Agreed @VJR , I can now call PAD flows from cloud with "per user plan" as well. That is the question.

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