# Start Process

This action can be used to start the given process name by using Windows Explorer shell execution. It allows opening applications using the respective path to the executable files as well as common document types (pdf, docx etc.) with the default program setup on the target system.

## **Properties**

![](/files/-MfY99EBdcD4uXlvS5BN)

### **Input**

* **Process Path**: input complete or relative path for .exe process.
* **Arguments**: optional field; input the arguments of the given .exe process in order to start it in a certain state (e.g. process name is Microsoft Edge and the argument is "https:\\\tailent.com").

{% hint style="info" %}
All data is provided in the form of regular C# expressions. Thus, you will need to take into account standard string encoding - this is relevant when using relative and absolute paths, as '\\' characters need to be escaped. A correct value would be **"C:\\\Windows\\\Notepad.exe"**
{% endhint %}

### **Misc**

* **Display Name**: action display name in your implementation project.
* **Wait Before**: number milliseconds robot to wait before executing the action.
* **Wait After:** number milliseconds robot to wait until moving to the next action.
* **Abort on Error**: True/False
* **Retry Times**: Specifies the number of times to retry an action if it doesn't end successfully. Default value 0 (no retry); Use -1 if you want to retry indefinitely. 

## **Use Case**

### **Potential Use Cases**

* Open a desktop application in order to automate certain processes within it.
* Open a browser directly on the URL of a cloud-based application in order to automate certain processes within it.

### **Examples of Using Start Process**

Please see the video below that exemplifies the usage of the Start Process activity.

{% embed url="<https://youtu.be/bf6AF3CNmFE>" %}

You can see how the **Start Process** activity is used in an example that incorporates multiple activities.&#x20;

{% file src="/files/-MT1A8xoqAhoFjtjKbkD" %}
Start Process sample project
{% endfile %}

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