This requires using the HTTP Request action and JSON Parsing. This combination allows your power automate flows to reach out to virtually any web service (API) in the world, pull back information, and understand it. In this article we will discuss  how to use http requests in power automate to call external APIs and enable complex API integrations with power automate, greatly expanding your automation abilities.

Useful Power Automate Flows and Business Flow Power Automate: The HTTP Action

To talk to an external system, your power automate flows must speak the language of the web, which is the HTTP Request. This request acts like a digital courier, carrying instructions from your automation to a remote server and bringing back the data you need.

1. What an HTTP Request Is

An HTTP request is just a digital message that your Flow sends to a web service (API). It’s similar to the type of request your web browser makes when you go to open a website, but instead of returning a page to display, the Flow is requesting data or initiating a process.

The HTTP action in Power Automate lets you define four key things:

• Method: What do you want to do?
• GET: Ask for information (e.g., get the current stock price).
• POST: Send information to the service (e.g., create a new customer record).
• PUT/PATCH: Update existing information, for instance, changing an address in the database.
• DELETE: Remove information from the remote system.
• URI (Uniform Resource Identifier): This is the exact web address of the service you want to talk with. In other words, it’s the digital mailing address for the API.
• Headers: Additional information the service requires. For instance, you can tell that the data is being sent in JSON format.

Authentication: The secure credentials the service needs to prove that you are allowed to access the data. This keeps your business flow Power Automate connections safe.

2. Why This Creates Useful Power Automate Flows

Most modern applications provide an API. By mastering the HTTP action, your flows can do far more than simple file management. They can:

• Check a specific inventory system for stock levels across multiple warehouses.
• Get real-time currency conversion rates for a global finance calculation.
• Send a customer survey score to a third-party CRM system like Salesforce or HubSpot.
• Trigger a text message alert through a service like Twilio when a high-priority ticket arrives.

This is what makes truly useful power automate flows possible for advanced API integrations with power automate.

Business Process Flows in Power Automate and JSON Parsing Automation

When an external service responds to your HTTP request, it typically sends back the data in a standardized format called JSON (JavaScript Object Notation). JSON is text that is structured with clear labels, making it easy for machines to read. However, Power Automate needs to know what those labels mean before it can use the data in later steps. This requires JSON parsing automation.

1. The Role of JSON and the Parse JSON Action

You cannot use raw JSON as plain text if you want to pick out specific details. Therefore, you must use the Parse JSON action. This action breaks down the long string of text into individual fields that you can select from the “Dynamic Content” menu.

• Schema: The Parse JSON action needs a Schema. This Schema, in essence, is a dictionary or a map. It explains to Power Automate that “The value labeled as ‘price’ will be a number, and the value labeled as ‘status’ will be text.”

2. Building the Schema for JSON Parsing Automation

The simplest way to obtain the required Schema would be to execute your HTTP request and capture the output.

• Run the Flow once and copy the body of the HTTP response.
• Go back to your Flow editor and add the Parse JSON action.
• Click on Generate from sample.
• Paste your captured JSON.

Power Automate will automatically create a schema map for you. Now, when this data has been parsed, it becomes possible for the “Flow” to identify these different components of information as separate, usable variables. This enables true JSON parsing automation.

Advanced Flow Configurations for Robust APIs

Creating reliable business process flows in power automate, which depend on external APIs, needs attention to detail and a plan for handling possible failures. An automated system is only as good as its ability to recover from errors.

1. Authentication Best Practices

Most APIs implement some form of security. You should set this up correctly in the HTTP action to prevent unauthorized access. Common methods include:

• API Key: A simple code to be sent in the Header or URI.
• OAuth 2.0: A more advanced method where Power Automate requests a token to access the system.

Sensitive authentication credentials should always be stored in a secure way, such as in an Azure Key Vault, rather than being manually entered in flow steps. This protects your company from data leaks if someone views the Flow configuration.

2. Handling Failures and Timeouts

What will happen if your external API goes down? Your Flow will fail. To make your business process flows in Microsoft Power Automate more reliable and not let your entire process fail, you can make use of these options:

• Retry Policy: You can set up an HTTP Action with a flow that retries a failed operation. The flow will retry an operation three times with a 20-second delay before making a subsequent attempt. It’s excellent for resolving issues with a short-term network issue.
• Scope and Error Handling: You can wrap the HTTP action and the Parse JSON action inside a Scope block. You then configure the next action to run only if the Scope fails (using the “Configure run after” setting). This allows you to execute specific actions in case of failure, like sending a “failure alert” email or logging the error in a SharePoint list.

Can I use the HTTP request action in Power Automate to upload a document to a different company’s secure file storage system?

Yes, you can, if there is an API for a file storage system which has a public interface that will enable you to upload your file using HTTP POST. It implies that your HTTP request should include your authentication credentials. Your request would contain the actual file data you are sending, which would be encoded in a format (like Base64) that the API can read. This is one of the key API integrations with power automate that you can perform to bridge different organizations.

Conclusion: Power Automate Flows Unlock New Potential

The use of HTTP Request and Parse JSON actions represents a critical step in harnessing Power Automate flow capabilities. Knowledge on how to use HTTP request functionality in Power Automate to integrate with other APIs, as well as expertise in how to automate JSON parsing, empowers your company with advanced capabilities of configuring your flows in a way that your company will be able to automate all other systems.

FAQs

Q: What is the main reason to use an HTTP Request in a Power Automate flow?

The main reason is to connect your flow to systems outside of Microsoft, like a custom website or a specialized service (API). This allows you to get or send data to almost anything.

Q: What is the difference between a GET and a POST request?

A GET request is when your Flow asks for data (like “Give me the stock price”). A POST request is when your Flow sends data to the external service (like “Create a new record in your system”).

Q: How do I make sure my Power Automate flow doesn’t fail if the external system is down?

You can configure HTTP action to automatically try the request again (a “Retry Policy”). You can also set up error handling to send an alert email if the connection permanently fails.

Q: Where should I store the security details for the HTTP request?

You should store sensitive security details, like API keys, in a secure place, such as Azure Key Vault. You should not type them directly into the Flow steps.

What is Microsoft Power Automate?

Microsoft Power Automate is a cloud-based service that enables businesses to automate their workflows. With Power Automate, businesses can automate repetitive tasks and integrate various applications to create streamlined and efficient workflows. The platform offers a user-friendly interface, making it easy for businesses to create and manage their workflows.

Power Automate offers a range of features, including connectors to over 350 applications, automation templates, and custom workflows. The platform also offers a wide range of triggers, actions, and conditions that businesses can use to create custom workflows that meet their specific needs.

Benefits of Power Automate for Business Process Automation

Power Automate is transforming the way businesses operate by enabling them to automate their processes. Here are some of the benefits of using Power Automate for business process automation:

1. Streamlined Workflows

Power Automate offers a range of features that enable businesses to streamline their workflows. For example, businesses can create custom workflows that automate specific tasks, such as data entry, file transfers, and approval processes. These workflows can be triggered automatically or manually, depending on the business needs. Additionally, Power Automate offers a wide range of templates that businesses can use to create workflows quickly and easily.

By automating their workflows, businesses can reduce the time and effort required to complete tasks, resulting in increased efficiency and productivity. Additionally, automating workflows can help businesses identify bottlenecks and inefficiencies, enabling them to optimize their processes further.

2. Increased Productivity

One of the significant benefits of Power Automate is the increased productivity it offers. By automating repetitive tasks, such as data entry and document processing, businesses can free up their employees’ time to focus on more important tasks. This results in increased productivity and improved employee satisfaction.

Additionally, Power Automate enables businesses to create workflows that are tailored to their specific needs. This means that employees can work more efficiently and effectively, as they have the tools and resources, they need to complete tasks quickly and accurately.

3. Improved Accuracy

Manual data entry is prone to errors, which can be costly for businesses. Power Automate eliminates the need for manual data entry, reducing the risk of errors and improving the accuracy of data. For example, businesses can create workflows that automatically populate fields in a database or CRM system, eliminating the need for manual data entry.

Additionally, Power Automate can be used to create workflows that ensure data is validated and verified before it is processed. This means that businesses can be confident that the data they are working with is accurate and reliable, reducing the risk of errors and improving decision-making.

4. Enhanced Collaboration

Power Automate offers businesses the ability to integrate their applications, making it easier for teams to collaborate. By integrating applications such as Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, and Outlook, businesses can streamline their workflows and improve communication between teams.

For example, Power Automate can be used to create a workflow that automatically sends an email notification to team members when a new file is uploaded to SharePoint. This ensures that team members are informed about new files and can collaborate more effectively.

Additionally, Power Automate offers businesses the ability to create custom connectors that enable them to integrate their applications further. These connectors can be used to integrate with third-party applications, such as Salesforce or Dropbox, making it easier to share data across applications and improve collaboration between teams.

5. Cost Savings

Another significant benefit of Power Automate is the cost savings it offers. By automating their processes, businesses can save time and money. Automation reduces the need for manual labor, resulting in cost savings for the business. Additionally, by streamlining their workflows, businesses can reduce the time it takes to complete tasks, resulting in further cost savings.

Furthermore, Power Automate offers businesses the ability to monitor and analyze their workflows, enabling them to identify inefficiencies and areas where cost savings can be made. This means that businesses can optimize their processes further and reduce costs across their operations.

Overall, Power Automate is a powerful tool that is revolutionizing business process automation. By offering streamlined workflows, increased productivity, improved accuracy, enhanced collaboration, and cost savings, Power Automate is helping businesses to operate more efficiently and effectively in today’s fast-paced business environment.

Read also → How to Leverage SharePoint for Team Collaboration & Communication?

Use Cases of Power Automate

Power Automate can be used in various industries and business functions. Here are some of the use cases of Power Automate:

1. HR Processes

Power Automate can be used to automate various HR processes, such as onboarding, offboarding, and performance management. This platform can automate repetitive tasks, such as data entry, sending emails, and generating reports, freeing up HR personnel’s time to focus on more important tasks.

2. Sales Processes

Power Automate can be used to automate various sales processes, such as lead management, prospecting, and customer management. This platform can automate repetitive tasks, such as sending emails, updating CRM records, and generating reports, freeing up sales personnel’s time to focus on more important tasks.

3. Finance Processes

Power Automate can be used to automate various finance processes, such as invoice processing, payment processing, and financial reporting. This platform can automate repetitive tasks, such as data entry, sending emails, and generating reports, reducing the risk of errors and improving the accuracy of financial data.

4. Marketing Processes

Power Automate can be used to automate various marketing processes, such as lead generation, email marketing, and social media management. This platform can automate repetitive tasks, such as sending emails, updating CRM records, and generating reports, freeing up marketing personnel’s time to focus on more important tasks.

5. IT Processes

Power Automate can be used to automate various IT processes, such as software deployment, system monitoring, and incident management. This platform can automate repetitive tasks, such as sending emails, updating tickets, and generating reports, freeing up IT personnel’s time to focus on more important tasks.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Microsoft Power Automate is transforming the way businesses operate by automating their processes. This powerful platform offers a range of benefits, including streamlined workflows, increased productivity, improved accuracy, enhanced collaboration, and cost savings. These benefits are achieved by eliminating the need for manual labor, automating repetitive tasks, and integrating applications to improve communication and collaboration between teams.

Furthermore, Power Automate is highly versatile, offering various use cases across different industries and business functions. This makes it a valuable tool for businesses of all sizes, from small startups to large enterprises.

As more businesses look to digital transformation to remain competitive, Power Automate is becoming an essential tool for streamlining operations and improving efficiency. With its wide range of features and benefits, Power Automate is helping businesses to operate more effectively in today’s fast-paced business environment. For reliable Power Automate Services contact Code Creators Inc.

Let’s Understand Microsoft PowerApps Cost First

PowerApps is the most popular low-coding platform by Microsoft, which is now a part of the Microsoft Power Platform Suite. One of the most significant advantages of MS PowerApps is that it is a part of the MS Office 365 Suite. Apart from this, it also works well with critical applications such as MS Dynamics 365, Power BI, and Microsoft SharePoint.

Nevertheless, where it is effective for developing basic business applications, there are many limitations and hidden costs within the Microsoft licensing app plans and guides. Let’s take a closer look at what PowerApps’ pricing, licensing, benefits, and shortcomings for the business users.   

Benefits of Using PowerApps for Business

1. Speed

With MS PowerApps, you get the chance to personalize and design your own user interface. With Canvas App you can do it without any difficulty, as it provides plenty of ready-to-use templates and features. Such power platforms enable you to organize and position your own controls. All you require is some creativity to induce your business personality and knowledge in it. And to design lightweight and non-complex apps quickly, you do not require any prior coding experience.

2. Durability

Users often build model-driven applications in support of Common Data Services used to create business processes, forms, and business principles. Business companies may also use these applications for long-hours too. The majority of the layouts and templates are ready-made and designated by the components that you select.

3. Easy App Development

As mentioned above, MS PowerApps is pre-packed with coding already and you do not require any prior coding knowledge to create apps. All you need to do is to follow the instructions provided by the PowerApps guide to create an application. However, its user interface has a surplus of menus, and hence it may take some time to grasp the complete knowledge.

4. MS Office 365 Integrations

Since MS PowerApps is a part of MS Office 365 Suite, it integrates really well with MS Power BI and MS Flow, etc. It is easier for the users to get data out from MS Office 365 Apps, which makes the routine business process fast and efficient.

5. Branded Mobile Applications

Since your app must run within MS PowerApps Mobile App, you do not need to separately craft a branded mobile application that is submitted to app stores.

6. Easy Standard Connectors

For non-experienced app developers, this could be really challenging to learn how to connect to data. With PowerApps, you can easily connect to many standards storage services. Also, the ready-made templates and drag & drop selections make it fast and easy to access data from common Microsoft applications and other cloud services.

Limitations of MS PowerApps

1. Not Suitable for Businesses with Multiple Vendors

Microsoft has a practice of encouraging its customers to keep within its ecosystems and the same is the case with PowerApps. Although PowerApps integrates really well with other Microsoft platforms such as MS Power Automate, MS Flow, and MS Power BI. But does not integrate with all kinds of third-party solutions and that is why it is not enough with businesses that use solutions from multiple vendors.

2. Issues in Data Sharing & Distributing

Sharing apps built with PowerApps usually do not post any problem for the internet users. However, sharing your business app with users outside of your company becomes a very challenging task.

3. Not an Ideal High-Performance Solution

PowerApps run perfectly on devices such as on web-browsers and PowerApps player. However, if you require a quick and high-performance solution, then PowerApps may not be the ideal choice for you.

4. Larger PowerApps Don’t Work as Effectively as Smaller Ones

As compared to smaller, less complex PowerApps, the larger ones do not work effectively. Smaller changes can damage the performance of the whole application. Complex PowerApps require users to write codes several times, and every time you tweak it, you need to add the new code with the older one. This makes the entire task too tedious and difficult, especially if you are a seasonal developer.

5. Limited to Cloud Hosting

PowerApps are only limited to hosting the application through the cloud. For institutions such as financial institutes, military, and air-gapped systems, this is a major deal-breaker, as they rely on different ways to host their applications and do not put their data on the cloud due to security issues.

6. Overly Dependent to MS Azure

PowerApps features need access to MS Azure tools. The more you use them, the harder it will become to you to migrate to other platforms or environments.

Who Can Use PowerApps? Is It Really Worth the Hype?

PowerApps allows its users to build applications without having any prior coding experience. The software enables developers to programmatically integrate with metadata and data, apply business logic, create custom connectors and integrate the platform with external data sources.

It is next to impossible to find a development platform that adapts all your company’s needs precisely. Also, it takes time to integrate a new platform into your existing system, and therefore, achieving instant profits is very rare.

• If you already have a subscription to MS Office 365, then MS PowerApps enables you to create different custom apps that will integrate various platforms.
• With PowerApps you can also access data from 200 external data sources. These data sources include Dropbox, Outlook and Salesforce.

What Are the Hidden Costs of MS PowerApps?

Although Microsoft claims that PowerApps is free, you cannot create any actual kind of app unless you pay $50/user per month. However, there are different pricing plans offered by Microsoft. The first plan listed below requires businesses to pay $10 per license per user to run a single power app per user at a time. Also, every user is required to log-in with his company’s Office 365 user credentials.

License Plan 1 – This includes 4500 Microsoft Flow automation or ‘runs’ per user per month along with the access to MS Common Data Services. This plan is suitable for users that have no prior coding experience.

License Plan 2 – This plan is significantly more expensive and it costs $50 per user per month. With this you get 15,000 MS Flow runs/users per month. This plan is an ideal fit for experienced app developers.

Do You Need a Microsoft Dynamics License to Make PowerApps Work?

MS PowerApps can only be used within Microsoft Dynamics 365 or Microsoft Office 365. For instance, if you use MS SharePoint as your CRM, then you can use MS PowerApps to share your data. On the other hand, if you have a third-party CRM, then it would become an issue because for that you need to migrate your data from PowerApps. All in all, this is a very tedious and time-taking task.

Do PowerApps Require Any Backup Software to Work?

MS PowerApps is a great way to build web-based or mobile applications that provide extra functionality to other Microsoft platforms. Basically, it is a bolt-on or add-on software product. For example, the PowerApps-based app will schedule appointments for technicians and update their availability automatically within the Resource Scheduling application of Dynamics 365.

When Does a User Needs a License?

Whether you want to create an app or use PowerApps, you need to have a Microsoft Office 365 license. Both the pricing plans discussed above comes with a 90-days free trial. However, these trial licenses come with limited access to data sources by Microsoft. For instance, a user who wants to connect with MS SharePoint cannot access any data if he does not have an Office 365 license.

What Other Costs Are Involved?

By using Microsoft App Portals, you can easily give access to external users or people outside your organization. To serve the purpose, there are two types of licenses available. The first type enables you to only allow your authorized users to access the application. Whereas, the second one enables anonymous external users to access your application. PowerApps Portals are included in the Office 365 subscription. But, obviously, there are costs involved.

PowerApps Portal Licensing

PowerApps Portals are licensed under the following prices;

• For External Users (Authorized Users) the charges are $200 for 100 logins per month.
• For External Users (Anonymous Users) the charges are $100 for 100,000 web-page views per month.
• Internal users can access the portal anytime by using a per-user or per-app plan.

Does PowerApps Require Any Additional Software?

If you have already subscribed to MS Office 365 Enterprise E1 or a higher subscription plan, then PowerApps will be included in the suite already. By using MS PowerApps, you can build applications on Microsoft Dynamics, Microsoft Office, MS SharePoint, or other Microsoft applications. However, it does not allow you to make an app for a non-Microsoft platform.

MS PowerApps is specifically used for creating internal applications, which comes with its distinctive set of pros and cons. Every user is required to have an MS Office 365 license to develop an internal business application. However, someone outside the company cannot make any changes; also, the in-house developers cannot add any custom JavaScript or HTML to modify the application.

Conclusion

No matter what direction you choose for your organization, it is important for you to know about the following factors of PowerApps before you make any decision.

• MS PowerApps is a very popular no-coding or low-coding platform. However, it does have some hidden costs and limitations.
• It has a limited offline capacity which means that the application will not work without the internet, which is basically an unavoidable function for field workers or workers on the go.
• For every team member, you have to purchase a separate license.
• You cannot share your PowerApps based app with people outside your organization without purchasing external user authorization and license.

While using it in blend with Microsoft Flow, you can also explore a whole new world of features, knowing that Microsoft Flow can also send data to Power BI automatically, if you want to. And, when it comes to SharePoint, we all know that entire MS Office 365 suite is an assemblage of highly productive collaborative tools; but it will only be as much useful, as the end-user will make it.

In this post, we will teach you about using Power BI and configuring MS Flow for SharePoint reporting.

What is Power BI?

This short overview is for those, who don’t have primary knowledge about the Power BI tool. Power BI is an intelligent data visualization tool originated and managed by Microsoft. The tool is available in multiple versions ranging from Free to Premium Power BI version. Power BI is a cloud-based BI (Business Intelligence) service, along with a desktop-based interface. Both environments allow its users to create dashboards and reports for their desired custom visualizations.

If you have ever used reporting tools such as SQL Server Reporting Services then please don’t get Power BI confused with it, because Power BI has a very attractive, engaging and user-friendly interface. Using Power BI, you can publish your reports and dashboards online to any group of MS Office 365, in just few clicks.

Power BI and SharePoint

Today, a lot of business organizations choose modern intranet on SharePoint in Microsoft Office 365. Hence, it is very useful to create and store Power BI reports on SharePoint development. At Code Creators Inc. we provide extensive training to client companies and their users about how they can use the tool efficiently. Below are the step-by-step instructions given to create a Power BI dashboard while using data from SharePoint.

How to Create a Power BI Dashboard?

1. Download Power BI for Your Desktop

Power BI is available in two versions or environments i.e. Desktop and Online; however, we would suggest using Power BI Desktop for creating efficient and high-performing dashboards. And, you can always publish them with your colleagues by using Power BI Online.

Read also: Microsoft Power BI Key Features & Benefits for Your Business

2. Import Data From SharePoint

Once your Power BI Desktop is downloaded, logged-in and open, then you can simply click on the ‘Get Data’ button in the Home tab, present on the top ribbon, and then can access the data sources that are available to be used.

3. Select The Right Data Type

Choose from three available SharePoint data connectors.

Add your SharePoint URL.

Once you reached to this step, you should be able to see three different types of SharePoint data connectors available;

• Online Lists.
• Folders
• Regular Lists.

Now select your object type and then add SharePoint URL to it.

4. Load Your Data

Now select the relevant list or folder from the left menu. Putting your cursor on the display options, you can see the data preview in the Navigator’s window.

5. Edit Your Query To Make Good Visuals

Before importing and loading your data into Power BI Desktop, you might want to shape or adjust your data. In fact, it is a great idea to edit a certain query before loading it, specifically when working with large data sets. This can be achieved by clicking on Edit and then selecting further adjustment options from the Query Editor.

Query Editor is designed to shape and adjust your data needs. For instance, to keep data that can produce impactful visuals while removing the irrelevant parts.

This can be done through following steps;

• Combining & Shaping Data.
• Grouping Data Rows.
• Pivot Columns.
• Create Custom Columns.

6. Publish Your Report to Power BI Online

You have the option of publishing your report in your workspace or in any of your Office 365 Group workspaces.

When you are done and satisfied adjusting your visuals, you can then publish your reports to Power BI Online, simply by clicking on the Publish button. In case, your Power BI is not activated within your MS Office 365, you will be then asked to activate it then and there.

7. Find Your Published Report On Power BI Online

You can find reports in the Grey Section, in the center of the left column, as soon as you log into your Power BI home-screen. You can also find the following section;

• Workspace: Workspace in Power BI is your personal space of creativity. Workspace could be personal as well as there could be shared groups workspace.
• Dashboard: It is a high-level view of your reports that you have just created. You also have the option to transform your reports by pinning their tiles down.
• Reports: This is the data in report form that you are going to publish from your Power BI Desktop. In order to transform your Power BI Reports into Dashboards, you just need to pin your report tiles into dashboards.
• Datasets: Datasets are basically your data sources. You can go to this section and schedule auto refreshed in order to keep your data sources dynamic.

8. Transform Your Report into A Dashboard

This step is very straightforward. All you need to do is to access your Power BI report and then click on the pin icon.

You can then create or choose the dashboard visuals that you want to be on.

9. Schedule An Automated Refresh

This is a very important step; because your dashboards will never refresh if you don’t do it. Go to the section of Datasets and then click on ‘…’ button, then you can now select and schedule your dashboard refresh. Here you will be given option to defined refresh frequency and to enter your credentials.

10. Share Your Dashboard

Now, your dashboards are fully functional with automated dashboard refreshing features enabled; and these dashboards can be easily shared. However, if you have designated workspace, you are required to grant access to your users. You can now connect them to Power BI Online, or can send them through URL. And you’re done.

Microsoft Flow and Power BI

Now that you have learnt how to set up a Power BI Dashboard by importing data from SharePoint, now let’s go to another step ahead. Let’s bring Microsoft Flow into the mix now, but let’s learn about its background quickly.

What is Microsoft Flow?

MS Flow is a SaaS (Software as a Service) that automates workflow across multiple apps and services. These automated workflows are commonly called Flows, and they are triggered to perform automatically perform different actions when any specific event occurs. With MS Flow, you can now automate tasks such as synchronizing files, getting notifications, collecting data and much more. Basically, MS Flow is a perfect way to automate repetitive and exhaustive tasks. With Microsoft Flow, you can easily automate tasks such as File Synchronization, Data Collection, Notifications and much more.

In this case, we will be using MS Flow to collect SharePoint data for us and then it can be sent to Power BI without writing a single line of code.

How to Create A Microsoft Flow?

1. Navigate to the homepage of MS Flow and create an account, if this is your first time to use. You can try out the service for free by choosing the Free Plan.
2. Do a quick search to see if the exiting flow template suits your needs. Also, you don’t need to create a workflow from the scratch, if it’s not needed. Now, let’s do a search for ‘SharePoint’.
   
3. Now search for ‘Visualize Power BI’.
   
4. Enter URL for your needed SharePoint site and name the list, you want to track, also mention the destination within Power BI. (In the given case, we chose dashboard as the destination that we just set up). Now click Save.
5. 
6. Again, search for ‘Update Power BI Dataset’ and turn up another template that could work for you.
   
7. Again, after you confirm your selection, you can see and customize your flow, then click Save.
   

Workflows in SharePoint

One of the central functions of SharePoint is the control of typical business processes with a fixed sequence. On the one hand, such workflows control – closely linked to document management – the joint editing of texts, calculations, presentations and much more. On the other hand, workflows are able to coordinate project tasks of various kinds. This not only makes it easier for everyone involved in the project to work on their workflow-defined tasks, it also increases operational efficiency and productivity.

SharePoint maps the sequence of tasks in a workflow and supports coordinated processing through the automated moving and distribution of documents or elements. In this way, processes such as project approvals or document releases can be managed clearly. The individual steps are documented and can be retraced later. In the example of a release process, for example, the author of a document starts the workflow by assigning the relevant tasks to the responsible persons and notifying them by e-mail. This gives them their instructions and access to the file to be shared. The document author can check the status – for example, which participants have already completed their tasks. He is automatically informed of the completion of the work.

Here, too, SharePoint works closely with Microsoft Office. Steps such as starting a workflow or assigning and completing tasks can not only be initiated in SharePoint, but also directly from compatible Office programs – for example, bringing a table into circulation directly from Excel.

Various workflows for typical business processes are already available “ex works” in SharePoint and can be flexibly adapted to the requirements of your company. Out-of-the-box there are, for example, workflows for approving documents or elements, for obtaining feedback or to collect required digital signatures. In addition, it often makes sense to have custom workflows created by software developers to precisely meet the individual needs of the organization or company.

What is Power Automate?

Microsoft Power Automate (formerly Microsoft Flow) is just like the SharePoint 2010 workflows a product for automating processes. A flow (= workflow) in Power Automate always starts with a trigger. Triggers can be very many different things, such as a change in a SharePoint list, a tweet with a certain keyword, etc. Then the incoming data can be used for actions. For more complex requirements there are also various logical modules, such as conditions and loops.

What do we use Power Automate for?

At Code Creators Inc, we use Power Automate, among other things, to manage our vehicle fleet. Here, after applying for a company car, an email is automatically sent with the more precise details and information. The data subjects receive information about this and can check the data for accuracy.

For this purpose, a flow was created which always starts when an element in a SharePoint list or from a Power App is created or edited. The configuration in the application is then used to check whether a confirmation email should be sent for this data record. If this is the case, it is then assembled from the data of the SharePoint element and sent.

We want to give this simple example here, because SharePoint Workflow users should be familiar with such requirements. This is relatively easy to do in Power Automate. But here, too, we encountered a few problems that had to be solved first. E.g. we enable series production of vehicles. Here we have learned some tricks to achieve better performance.

Migrating from Classic Workflows To Power Automate Flows

The migration from the classic workflows to Power Automate Flows means first of all that the workflows have to be recreated. This turned out to be difficult in the past, as functionalities were missing here and there. Most of the functions were submitted later. However, a few restrictions remain. For example, a Power Automate Flow can only run for a maximum of 30 days. But there are workarounds here too. Microsoft has published an article for these problems that specifically deals with the differences and alternatives.

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/dev/business-apps/power-automate/guidance/migrate-from-classic-workflows-to-power-automate-flows

If you think you are safe now, because only SharePoint 2013 workflows are used in SharePoint Online:

Attention, SharePoint 2013 workflows have also been marked as outdated. For new clients, these will be deactivated by default from November 2020 and can only be reactivated using a PowerShell script. The signs are clear here too. Better to use Microsoft Power Automate now than later and switch over!

For SharePoint Server customers nothing will change at first. In the current version of SharePoint Server 2019, 2010 and 2013 workflows can still be used. What it looks like after that is still in the stars.

The SharePoint Designer has served countless users in the workflow creation for many years. In the meantime, Microsoft has stopped developing the Designer and is fully relying on the Office 365 component Power Automate (formerly Microsoft Flow). It is a cloud engine based on logic apps. This means that many companies now have to deal with the question of whether Power Automate is a suitable replacement solution for the SharePoint Designer or what other options are available. A good starting point for this is an in-depth look at Power Automate – what advantages and disadvantages it has, both from a technical and a commercial perspective.

The New Tool for Citizen Developers

The many templates available are a great help to get started. Power Automate (Flow) is clearly tailored to the target group of ‘Citizen Developers’ i.e. to employees without a technical background who want to improve their everyday work with simple applications and automate repetitive tasks. The many available templates are a great help for getting started. You choose a suitable one, adapt to your individual needs with just a few clicks and get started. Help also comes from the Microsoft community, so that you can easily find tutorials and additional learning materials, or ask questions in forums directly to experts.

Easy for Beginners, More Difficult for More Complex Tasks

However, once more complex workflow scenarios are involved, knowledge of ‘Logic Apps’ proprietary Workflow Definition Language (WDL) may be required. So if more complicated business scenarios are to be implemented, this quickly leads to a rather steep learning curve. This is especially true if connectors assume that suitable JSON files are already in place.

Being an entry-level product it does not put heavy demands on the infrastructure. Power Automate is included in the Office 365 subscription as a cloud solution, although it should be noted here that the number of possible workflow instances is limited.

The Advantages of Power Automate – Summarized

Power Automate is very well suited for implementing workflows based on triggers. This enables tasks or chains of simple tasks to be automated. If you go to the list of the most frequently used templates in the Power Automate console, you will find many self-explanatory examples:

• Send a reminder to myself in 10 minutes.
• Get weather forecast for today.
• Get updates from the Power Automate blog.
• Send custom email when a new SharePoint list item is added.
• Start approval process for a new file to move it to another folder.

These examples show that Power Automate is particularly suitable for “quick wins”, with which individual employees or small groups or departments can keep an eye on their daily tasks and handle simple approval processes.

Many Connectors, IT-Independent Workflows

In terms of its objectives, Power Automate (Microsoft Flow) fills a niche that providers of workflow software mostly ignore.

The high number of connectors for connecting to external services such as Facebook, Dropbox or Salesforce is also impressive. There are currently more than 200, many of which are only available in the premium version. They are mainly used as triggers, but depending on the scenario, they can also be used for data exchange.

In terms of its objectives, Power Automate fills a niche that the providers of workflow software usually ignore. Microsoft is primarily targeting employees and departments who want to set up their own automation systems in the workplace without having to go through the IT department every time. A vivid and frequently mentioned example of this is the monitoring of interactions on Twitter, as is typically required in the marketing and PR department. In such scenarios, Power Automate helps to prevent shadow IT and thus helps to avoid security risks.

What Is Not Possible: The Limits of Using Power Automate

The more complex a scenario is, the more difficult it is to implement with Power Automate.
Is Power Automate now suitable for any type of workflow application, and what are the limits? As a rule of thumb, according to the current state of development, the more complex a scenario is, the more difficult it is to implement with Power Automate. An example of this would be a multi-stage approval scenario that spans multiple departments and contains a set of conditions to select approvers. If complex, bidirectional integrations into systems such as SAP are also required, then Power Automate is no longer the right choice.

Before implementing a workflow, you should therefore analyze the scenario and the business model in order to make a decision for or against Power Automate. The following list provides an overview of the specific limitations of Power Automate and can help you with your decision:

• Power Automate only supports sequential workflows (A to B to C). That means you cannot go back a step in a workflow process. Loops can be used as a workaround, but this requires additional work.
• You can only use 250 actions per workflow. That may sound like a lot at first – but with many loops you can quickly reach this
•  limit.
• Your workflow instances are backed up and saved only for 30 days. Although Microsoft is already working on raising the limit to 90 days soon. But still, it might not be sufficient for business-critical processes such as compliance, and audit trails etc.
• Power Automate is not suitable for long-lasting workflows because they can run without warning.
• A workflow cannot be changed, one you run it.
• Forms Customizations are not available. For this reason, Power Automate is typically combined with Microsoft PowerApps, but this also increases the costs.
• More complex business scenarios may not be feasible because certain functions are missing, or special knowledge such as WDL, creation of JSON files and the like are missing.
• Licensing can be difficult to control, especially when several employees in the company create workflows while using Power Automate.

Go with The Flow or Not?

Whether Power Automate is the right workflow tool depends on the individual application. In any case, it is a lightweight, easy-to-use and friendly cloud-based tool that is ideal to implement simple setting that often call for triggered interaction via external solutions. It also works well in use cases where relatively straightforward approvals and various notifications are required.

However, as soon as business processes with a higher degree of complexity and possibly also compliance requirements have to be implemented, alternative workflow solutions should also be considered. An example of this would be WEBCON BPS, which is often also used for ‘bread and butter processes’ – from invoice approvals, requirements requests, vacation requests to onboarding. This is particularly interesting for larger companies, where extensive business logic has to be supported in the background. However, it is also used for company or industry specific business-critical processes.

That being said, how do you keep up with the many changes in Power BI and be notified whenever new files are added in a folder? You can use Microsoft Flow push notification services found in Power BI to obtain this. We are not saying that this feature is limited to Power BI only, as it can also be accomplished through the help of SharePoint independently. However, this post is all about what you can do with Microsoft Flow in Power BI.

Monitoring a Folder for Newly Added Files: Getting Microsoft Flow Push

Notifications via Email

Many processes in business are done manually, and that is the way it should be. Certain factors can only be analyzed by a human mind with the use of empathy, which a computer device does not have access to yet. However, certain tasks can be delegated to Power BI and automated with the help of Microsoft Flow push notifications. Here we have compiled a way for you to do that on your own.

How to Monitor a Folder

You can start with a OneDrive shared folder with a replica folder existing in your desktop device. This folder will then shadow as a SharePoint offline document library for this guide where you can set up a Flow trigger for it.

Three Ways to Create a Flow

In Microsoft Flow, you will get an option to create a blank Flow, or you can choose from three pre-existing templates listed below.
1. Automated Flow
A particular event triggers these flows.
2. Instant Flow
These flows are triggered manually by individuals.
3. Scheduled Flow

You can set a custom trigger yourself for an event, time and frequency.

As a beginner, we recommend that instead of creating a blank Flow, you stick to an existing template that best reflects your needs. There are several moving elements that you will find in the existing templates, which can be quite tricky to set up in a new model yourself.

For a SharePoint file email, you can search in the list to find a suitable template. You will find a template to send an email when a new file is added into a folder.

Here is a snapshot of the template to gauge a better understanding.

You will click on “Use this template” which will take you ahead to configure some of the settings to set up Flow triggers. You will get options to set emails for the following:
• Office 365 Outlook
• SharePoint
• Office 365 Users

Then you will be directed to a page where there are pre-existing configurations, and all you have to do is set folder names yourselves. You will also have to set an email template which will be sent directly to your inbox when a file is added into the folder you have created for your Flow. When you are done, click on Save and upload a file to test the email’s authenticity and to ensure smooth-sailing in the future endeavours. The email that you receive will have a hyperlink to the new record that you will easily be able to click on to direct you to the file itself, saving you a lot of time and hassle searching for it manually.

Final Thoughts

Unfortunately, we don’t get more options than this but we do have the opportunity to create multiple Flow triggers for different actions and events that occur in SharePoint. Since Microsoft keeps rolling out new and improved features, we can surely expect to see more innovative features towards the very start of the year 2020.

Why You Need a Custom Build Ticketing System

Code Creators can help you create a singular platform in the form of a Ticketing list which will contain all the issues and concerns raised by your clients all in one place. This will make it easier for all the colleagues vested in one project to remain informed of all that needs to be done, without any delays in communication. Your “here & now” requests from all of your customers will be quickly addressed with ease. Now that begs the question of how you create a custom issue ticketing list.

Create a Custom Issue ticketing/List

You can create a custom list/issue tracking to help build help desk. For this purpose, you need to create two lists, one which will keep track of the emails and one which will be used to assign tasks to employees associated with a workflow. Of course, if this becomes complicated, you can always get a consultation with the expert SharePoint consultants available to you with Code Creators!

1.  Create a New List And Log In

First, you will select Add an App followed by Custom List. After giving your custom list a name, you will click on Create. This will allow you to add multiple forms onto your IT Help Desk. Once this is done, open Microsoft Flow and then App Launcher. When App Launcher is running, click on Flow. Select SharePoint service from there and proceed to select the template called “Once an Outlook email is received, add it to SharePoint list.”. Synchronize this flow with your existing Office 365 ID and proceed to click on Continue.

2.  Track Emails and Determine Actions

This will give you the option to select a folder which will track the email. Select a folder, and there you will receive email, and your flow will become functional. Click on the option New Step and determine an action such as what is to be done when an email arrives. When you’re done with this, select SharePoint.

3.   Add Dynamic Content

Select SharePoint – Create Item to add dynamic content such as email address, list names, emails, email subjects, email body and then proceed to save your flow. Once you have accomplished this, click on Done. Now whenever an email is received in Outlook, it will get stored in this list.

Are you satisfied or do you have some questions? Feel free to contact Code Creators with any queries you might have and let us help you!

Microsoft Flow connects with multiple services all at the same time. But since many business organizations that use SharePoint online regularly have started relying on automated business processes, this service has received quite a bit of attention. While trying to understand Microsoft Flow’s integration with SharePoint online, you must first know that Flow doesn’t only allow for custom flows to be created; it also is now permanently incorporated into new SharePoint lists and libraries. Further integration of the two was recently announced at a SharePoint conference.

Request a Sign-Off

With Microsoft Flow, you can create a simple request of approval of a particular SharePoint item or file in the library. All you have to do is follow the following steps.

1. Click on the drop-down menu
2. Click on Request Sign-off
3. Choose the individual in your organization that will receive the sign-off request
4. Write an accompanying message
5. Click on Create Flow
6. The sign off status will be automatically added to your list
7. When the item is pending, the sign-off status will show as Pending

Creating a Flow from a List or Library

Flows that are connected to a modern library or list will have the option to “Create a Flow” which will show you templates that can be incorporated directly onto the cloud with a SharePoint trigger. There will also be options to connect these flows with other apps besides SharePoint alone. You can choose a template that serves your business, but if you require customization, you can select a model that allows for it. After having selected a template, you will be redirected to Microsoft Flow where you can work on your flow and finalize it.

What the Future Holds for Microsoft Flow and SharePoint

The integration of the two is expected to become even more prominent in the future. In the most recent SharePoint conference held in 2018, it was announced that built-in flow actions in SharePoint would invoke cognitive analysis in lists. This will allow for a more intelligent analysis of the content and explain whether the text contains positive feelings or negative feelings.

Flow and SharePoint together will also gain the automation of labeling as well as automate disposal of documents that are no longer essential. In addition to this, a new feature soon to be released is the out-of-the-box flow approvals for page publishing.

Are you as excited for these integrations features as we are in 2019?

No Workflow

Sounds confusing, right? If creating workflows seems like too much work for your organization, you can use the Alerts feature offered by SharePoint alongside metadata columns. Another option is to use a feature called Assigned To columns alongside a task list or an issues log which will give you the power to send emails to individual users you have assigned. In this section, you can alter several fields!  These fields include;

• Send Alerts To
• Delivery Method
• Change Type of Alert
• Send Alerts For These Changes
• When to Send Alerts

Content Approval Feature

You may also utilize the Content Approval feature already existing in SharePoint. Even though this feature only allows for content to flow one way and be approved, it can be a great help for simple approvals such as vacation requests and document checks. You can accept or reject such claims in this feature and add your comments regarding the reasoning for either approval or rejection. How convenient is that? If you ask us, plenty convenient!

Box Workflows

With SharePoint, you also get in-built workflows to choose from.  These workflows are profoundly simple but also elaborate in many ways. With this feature you get access to the following;

• Approval of Workflows
• Feedback Collection
• Signature Collection
• Deposition Approval
• Three-state

Though these workflows might not be very appealing and are not extremely customizable to your liking, they do tend to get the job done with the three-state workflow that gives you some options to choose from. These may include workflow state, task details, and email details.

SharePoint Designer Workflows

If you are in store for flexibility in terms of customization in your workflows, SharePoint Designer is the right fit for you! This is a free tool offered by Microsoft itself that gives organizations the opportunity to create complex workflows that include parallel and multi-stage serial approvals across the entire business. The only downside to SharePoint Designer is that it takes some getting used to. However, once you familiarize yourself with the who’s and what’s of this type of workflows, it’s smooth sailing from there. If you have some time to invest, we recommend that you opt for SharePoint Designer.

If none of the options above work for you, there are always third-party tools that you can use. The integration might be a little tricky but other than that; you’ll be good to go! However, keep in mind that with those, you might not get the kind of support that you’ll get with conventional workflow tools offered from Microsoft.

(Learn More About Our Custom Workflows)