Resource PC modes

Blue Prism has several modes of operation, each of which can be selected using command-line options. See the command-line reference for full details of these options.

Interactive mode

Normally, Blue Prism runs in interactive mode. While running in interactive mode, the local PC is available as a resource PC only to the user logged in to Blue Prism at the time. Only one interactive session may run on a PC at any one time.

The interactive run mode may be disabled in System Manager (uncheck Start a personal Runtime Resource on this machine when users sign in to avoid it conflicting with the resource PC mode, for example).

Resource PC mode

In resource PC mode, Blue Prism functions as a resource PC, listening for instructions from remote instances of Control Room. A resource PC can be:

  • Public – Any Blue Prism user can start processes from any PC, including the local machine.
  • Local – The resource PC is only visible from the local machine or the specified user.
  • Exclusive – To a particular user.

If the resource is set to local and public, the resource will be visible from the local machine for any Windows user.

In order to run more than one resource PC on a single machine (or to run a resource PC at the same time as running in Interactive mode), any additional resource PC instances must be launched specifying a different port number. See the command-line reference for full details.

Command mode

In command mode, Blue Prism is launched from the command line to perform an operation on a remote (or local) resource PC. Once the command has been sent, Blue Prism terminates. There is no restriction on the number of simultaneous instances in command mode and command mode can be used while Blue Prism is already running in interactive mode, or resource PC Mode.

Please be aware that starting and running a runtime resource with elevated permissions might affect the interaction with the application that is being automated. Generally, the permissions of the runtime resource must match those of the user context of the target application.