Getting Started with Power Automate Desktop and Web Automation

As a Power Platform Developer Intern at Scale Shore Consulting, my first project was automating the extraction of the Premier League club data from a website. This introduced me to Power Automate Desktop (PAD), a powerful tool for automating repetitive tasks. My flow begins by launching a Chrome browser to access the Premier League clubs page, setting the stage for web automation.

Launching Chrome with PAD

The flow starts with the “Launch new Chrome” WebAutomation.LaunchChrome.LaunchChromeCloseDialog action, which opens Chrome in a maximized window and navigates to https://www.premierleague.com/en/clubs. Key parameters include:

• WindowState: Set to Maximized for visibility.

• ClearCache/ClearCookies: Set to False to retain browser settings.

• WaitForPageToLoadTimeout: Set to 60 seconds to handle potential delays.

This action creates a BrowserInstance variable (ClubsBrowser), which PAD uses to interact with the webpage. Learning to configure browser settings was critical, as timeouts and window states can affect automation reliability.

Why This Matters

Launching a browser programmatically was my first step into web automation. It taught me how PAD interfaces with browsers like Chrome, handling navigation and ensuring the page is ready for interaction. This foundation is key for automating manual processes, like posting daily updates, which I plan to explore next.

Reflection

Starting with PAD was exciting but challenging. I had to ensure Chrome launched consistently across different environments, which deepened my understanding of automation stability. This step set the tone for my journey into more complex web interactions.