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Power Platform Community / Forums / Power Automate / Active workbook retrie...
Power Automate
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Active workbook retrieval error

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Hello,

I'm encountering an issue with Power Automate Desktop when using the "Launch Excel" action. After running a desktop flow with the "Make instance not visible" setting enabled, I receive the following error when running the flow again:

"Active workbook retrieval error, failed to open excel."

I believe this error occurs because no workbook is open or all workbooks are hidden. This behavior seems related to my choice to launch Excel in invisible mode (i.e., "Make instance not visible").

I have tested running the Excel file both locally and from OneDrive, but the issue persists the second time I run the flow.

Is there a way to prevent this error? Perhaps ensuring that workbooks are not hidden after running Excel invisibly could be a solution, but I am unsure how to configure this.

Thank you for your help!

I have the same question (5)
  • Nived_Nambiar Profile Picture
    18,138 Super User 2026 Season 1 on at
    Hi
     
    could you try before running the flow - whether any active excel process is running in background- if yes use terminate process to terminte the EXCEL process
     
    see whether this helps !
     
    Thanks & Regards,
    Nived N 
    LinkedIn: Nived N's LinkedIn
    YouTube: Nived N's YouTube Channel
    Blog: Nived Nambiar's Blogs
     Found my answer helpful? Please consider marking it as the solution!
     Your appreciation keeps me motivated. Thank you!

     

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