Power Platform Community Forum Thread Details

An Automate Desktop flow I use regularly copies .html files from a special download folder to a different folder on the computer based on the information contained in the filename.

Case is downloading IRS "transcript" files in .html format, saving the original file in a client's specific folder elsewhere on another drive using the contents of the file name, which is working fine. (See my comments at the bottom of the post on why this is personally important to each and every one of you.)

The issue I'm facing is that I'd like to "print" or "convert" that file as a PDF, stored along with the .html source file. Herein lies the challenge.

In Windows Explorer, you can right-click and choose Convert to Adobe PDF, but Adobe Acrobat (desktop version 2025.001.20844, 64-bit, Acrobat Pro and AI Assistant for Acrobat licenses) has a hissy-fit using the "click and drag or right click method". (Error message and Adobe Acrobat Pro version attached.)

Trying to start Adobe with the Run Application command and Send Keys command to replicate the keystrokes one would use to create a new file (Cntl-N) and navigate to the correct file in the download directory doesn't work worth a hoot. (Substitute the adjective that first came to mind, and you get my level of frustration!)

Researching the case situation online, I find a subscription-based utility program that allows using "command line" instructions, but I'm not even sure that's what I need or that I could call it from Power Automate.

Seems so very simple, yet many hours of frustration have yielded no viable solution.

What am I missing? Surely there's a simple solution that I'm just not seeing.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be so very much appreciated!

__________________________

Off topic, but just FYI on why you should care about the case at issue:

You, too, can see your own transcript files at the IRS in your online Taxpayer Account after you complete the verification process. Go to www.irs.gov or directly at https://www.irs.gov/individuals/get-transcript. You'll likely have to set up an ID.me account, if you don't already have one for other purposes. No need to create a new one, if you have a license in CA, for example. Tedious process, but worth it.

I highly recommend it as it's just like obtaining your free credit report annually. You'll be keenly aware of what Big Brother has on you in great detail. Download "Account", "Return", and "Wage & Income" transcripts for each year. Pretty cryptic, but very informative nonetheless. Wage & Income is the critical one to review.

The Wage & Income transcript is how the IRS decides whether you just "forgot" about that early retirement withdrawal you made last year, or that little part-time gig, or your Uber/Lyft earnings.

This is the source of the information they use to send in your dreaded CP2000 notice, charging you not only the income tax on the undisclosed income, but a 20% "Accuracy-related" penalty on top of the tax you now owe. And if you're under 59 1/2 with a 1099-R in your transcripts, you pay an additional 10% penalty (plus 2.5% in CA, btw.)

Do your homework in May or June when they get released for the prior year, then file your return after you know with confidence what the IRS knows about you. Just be certain you filed an extension (Form 4868) by April 15th! There's no forgiveness on this penalty, so be proactive and know with certainty.

I'm sure you just made an "innocent" mistake when your "forgot" about that extra money, right? Uh huh. ;-)

They don't care. Ever. No forgiveness on this one, so be diligent. It's free, pretty straight-forward, and can save you a butt-load... or is that a boat-load? I always wondered which it's supposed to be. ;-)

Who's stomach doesn't fall to the floor when your get a letter from the IRS? 45 years in the tax business and I still get all sweaty when I get a letter from the IRS! #1 fear: public speaking. #2 fear? Talking to the IRS. "If you owe the IRS $10,000 or more..." commercial describes exactly what I do when I'm not playing with Power Automate. You can tell which I enjoy the most. ;-)