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Concerning sharing a Desktop flow.... Is this really true?

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Posted on by Absnaky

I'm a premium PAD member and I want to share one of my Desktop flows to somebody (as a User, not Co-owner), as a Run-only flow since I do not want them to have access to the Subflows inside, I only want them to be able to run it.

I heard they can still get access to the whole thing inside by simply making a copy from inside their Power Automate portal, is that true??

If that's true, it is a bit of a bummer. You could spend all that time creating a great Flow and they can easily just create a copy and make it their own!

If it is true, is there a way around this??

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Power Automate Desktop

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Deenuji_Loganathan_ 6,250 Super User 2025 Season 2 on at

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@Absnaky
I have a slightly different understanding here.
Consider the scenario where users "Deenu" and "Absnaky" are both employed at XYZ company.

For example, Deenu is the PAD Developer responsible for developing bots, while "Absnaky" is the Infrastructure specialist who typically runs the flows.

In this setup, if Deenu develops a "Salesforce Automation" PAD flow and grants access to "Absnaky" to run the flow as a "user," it means the flow won't appear in your PAD tool under "my flows" or "shared with me" tabs.

It also won't be visible in your Power Automate portal(Consider Absnaky Power Automate Portal Screen)

However, when "Absnaky" attempts to execute the "Salesforce Automation" from a cloud flow, he can do so using the "Run a flow built with Power Automate Desktop Action"
(That shared flow only appears here, but not in any other locations - Power Automate Desktop and Power Automate Cloud Portal)
Conclusion:
As a user, you can run the Desktop flow as mentioned above, but you can't access the "Salesforce Automation" code. This setup remains secure as long as you grant co-owner permissions accordingly.

Hope it helps.

Thanks,
Deenu

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Absnaky 21 on at

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First of all, thank you very much for taking the time to provide such a detailed explanation with pictures as well, I really appreciate it!

So if I understand it, the shared flow will only show up when the User decides to "Run a flow built with Power Automate Desktop Action" from a cloud flow??

The shared flow will be executed on the User's Power Automate Desktop app on his local machine, but the flow will not show up in his Power Automate Desktop app, you will only be able to run it from the cloud flow??

Am I understanding it right?

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Deenuji_Loganathan_ 6,250 Super User 2025 Season 2 on at

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@Absnaky

Apologies for any confusion earlier.

Upon reassessment following the upgrade to the premium version for shared users (although I'm uncertain if simply enabling premium features made a difference), I've observed some changes in the scenarios.

To simplify:
The shared Salesforce automation is now visible in the "Shared with Me" tab, allowing them to make a copy of it, a behavior that was different previously, in both the PAD tool and PA cloud. Fortunately, we managed to figure it out shortly.

However, you are unable to edit it directly. You can only copy it and proceed with modifications, as you mentioned in the original post. This came as a surprise to me as well, but that's how PAD operates.

Let's propose a new idea by outlining these scenarios for Microsoft to consider in upcoming releases. Alternatively, let's delve into understanding the rationale behind why Microsoft chose to implement it this way.

Thank you,
Deenu

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