Power Platform Community Forum Thread Details

Hi everyone,

I am facing a strange issue with a Power Automate Desktop flow and would appreciate some help.

The Workflow:

The flow reads data from an Excel table.

It iterates through the rows using a Loop.

For each row, it enters specific dates and a code into a web application.

After entering the data, it performs a delete/update action for those dates.

The Problem:

First Row: Everything works perfectly. The data is entered, deleted, and the changes are saved in the web app.

Subsequent Rows (2, 3, etc.): When I watch the flow run, I see it performing all the steps correctly on the screen. It enters the dates, clicks delete, and the web app even shows a "Success/Deleted" message.

The Result: When I manually check the web app afterward, nothing has changed for the rows after the first one. The data is still there as if the flow never ran, even though PAD finished without any errors.

What I've tried:

Adding "Wait" actions between steps to ensure the UI catches up.

Using different selectors for the buttons.

The flow logs show that every step was executed successfully.

Why does it work perfectly for the first record but fails to actually "commit" the changes for the rest, even though the UI shows it's doing it?

Has anyone encountered this "ghost" execution issue before?

Thanks in advance!

💡

Categories:

Power Automate Desktop

Hi @CU22041549-0,

Why this happens (the real cause)
This is a classic Power Automate Desktop “UI state not actually committed” issue, not a loop or Excel problem.
What’s happening:

The first iteration works because the web app starts in a clean, fully‑initialized state.
On later iterations, PAD visually performs the actions, and the UI even shows “Success/Deleted”…
But the web app backend never commits the change after the first run.

This usually happens because the web app requires a state-reset action (navigation, submit, blur, refresh, or re‑query) that PAD is not triggering after the first transaction.

In short:

PAD is replaying clicks correctly, but the web app no longer treats them as a “new transaction.”

What actually fixes it (not more waits)
After each delete/update, force a hard state reset, for example:

Re‑run the Search / Filter action
Navigate away and back (even to the same page)
Refresh the iframe or page
Clear fields and re‑enter criteria
Send an explicit {Enter} or {Tab} after key fields
Re‑focus the grid/list before the next loop iteration

Example pattern (conceptual):
Delete
→ Confirm success
→ Re-search / reload results
→ Validate record no longer exists
→ Continue loop

Why “Wait” actions don’t help
Wait only delays time.
Your issue is logical state, not timing.
That’s why:

Logs show success
The UI lies
The backend does nothing

✅ If this answer helped resolve your issue, please mark it as Accepted so it can help others with the same problem.
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Sunil Kumar Pashikanti, Moderator
Blog: https://sunilpashikanti.com/posts/