Merge pull request #10275 from iomimtso/update-can't-see-elements

AB#8530: Add new cause in article UI automation fails and element picker or recorder can't see UI elements

Author: haywoodsloan

support/power-platform/power-automate/desktop-flows/ui-automation/element-picker-cant-see-elements.md

@@ -1,22 +1,34 @@
 ---
-title: Troubleshoot UI Element Visibility Issues in Power Automate for Desktop
-description: Troubleshoot Power Automate for desktop when it can't interact with specific UI elements. Explore solutions like OCR, image actions, and more.
-ms.date: 11/05/2025
+title: Troubleshoot UI Automation and Element Detection in Power Automate for Desktop
+description: Troubleshoot UI automation issues in Power Automate for desktop. Learn how to fix problems with the element picker or recorder not detecting UI elements.
+ms.date: 12/02/2025
 ms.custom: sap:Desktop flows\UI or browser automation
 ms.reviewer: iomimtso, nimoutzo, v-shaywood
+ms.author: iomimtso
 ---
 
-# UI element picker or recorder can't view UI elements in desktop applications
+# UI automation fails and element picker or recorder can't see UI elements
 
-This article provides troubleshooting guidance for an issue where Power Automate for desktop can't view or interact with specific UI elements in a desktop application.
+This article provides troubleshooting guidance for issues where Power Automate for desktop can't view or interact with specific UI elements in a desktop application.
 
 ## Symptoms
 
-When using Power Automate for desktop, the element picker tool can't detect or "see" certain UI elements within desktop applications. This issue prevents you from selecting elements for automation tasks.
+When you try to use UI automation in Power Automate for desktop, you might experience the following issues:
 
-## Cause
+- _During design time_: The element picker or recorder doesn't show any UI elements when you try to capture elements for automation.
+- _During runtime_: UI automation actions fail to execute correctly in both attended and unattended desktop flow runs.
 
-Some desktop applications use custom UI frameworks or rendering methods that aren't compatible with the standard accessibility APIs that Power Automate for desktop relies on. This incompatibility can make certain elements invisible to the element picker.
+## Cause 1: Interfering background processes
+
+Some background processes interfere with UI automation functionality in Power Automate for desktop. Specifically, the **Microsoft Accessory Center** or **DesktopBridge** processes prevent UI automation from working correctly.
+
+### Solution: Terminate interfering processes
+
+To resolve this issue, terminate the interfering processes and disable them from running in the future.
+
+## Cause 2: Incompatible UI frameworks
+
+Some desktop applications use custom UI frameworks or rendering methods that aren't compatible with the standard accessibility APIs that Power Automate for desktop relies on. This incompatibility makes certain elements invisible to the element picker.
 
 > [!IMPORTANT]
 > For coordinate-based solutions (Solutions [3](#solution-3-use-the-recorder-with-coordinates) and [4](#solution-4-use-move-mouse-and-send-mouse-click-actions)) to work reliably:
@@ -25,7 +37,7 @@ Some desktop applications use custom UI frameworks or rendering methods that are
 > - Changes to the application's user interface structure might affect the effectiveness of these workarounds.
 > - Test your flows thoroughly when deploying to different machines or environments.
 
-## Solution 1: Use Move mouse to image action
+### Solution 1: Use Move mouse to image action
 
 1. Add a **Move mouse to image** action to your flow.
 1. Capture an image of the UI element you want to interact with.
@@ -34,7 +46,7 @@ Some desktop applications use custom UI frameworks or rendering methods that are
 
 This action moves the mouse to the first occurrence of the specified image and sends a left click.
 
-## Solution 2: Use Move mouse to text on screen (OCR) action
+### Solution 2: Use Move mouse to text on screen (OCR) action
 
 1. Add a **Move mouse to text on screen (OCR)** action to your flow.
 1. Specify the text that appears on or near the UI element you want to interact with.
@@ -43,7 +55,7 @@ This action moves the mouse to the first occurrence of the specified image and s
 
 This action uses Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to locate text on the screen or foreground window and sends a mouse click to that location.
 
-## Solution 3: Use the recorder with coordinates
+### Solution 3: Use the recorder with coordinates
 
 1. Open Power Automate for desktop and create a new flow.
 1. Select **Recorder** from the toolbar.
@@ -52,7 +64,7 @@ This action uses Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to locate text on the scree
 
 The recorder creates a **Click UI element in window** action with coordinate-based input parameters populated by using the respective values from your click action.
 
-## Solution 4: Use Move mouse and Send mouse click actions
+### Solution 4: Use Move mouse and Send mouse click actions
 
 1. Add a **Move mouse** action to your flow.
 1. Configure the action to move the mouse to the specific coordinates of the target element.