Microsoft Power Automate Advanced

This course is intended for people who have already attended the 2 day Power Automate Introduction course, and are familiar with creating Flows with Triggers, Actions, Dynamic Content and basic Expressions. Experience of basic Approvals, scheduled Flows and simple Apply to each loops is assumed.

Course customisation to include your own preferred examples is possible. Please talk to Ruth about minor or major course customisations so your users get the most from their training.

Content

Power Automate Flow – Advanced

1.    Recap: Triggers, Actions, Connectors, Data

• Step up to Solutions & Flows
• Data sources, SP Lists, Libraries or Excel
• Data inputs – email? attachments? Forms? New item in a SP list? Database?
• New Functionality in SP Lists + Forms
  • Forms integrate tightly with SharePoint, allowing users to automate processes like approvals or notifications.
  • When are the new List Forms not going to work for you?

2.    Flow automation from SP List & Library Triggers

• What triggers are available for SP lists
  • Trigger settings
• Using Approval actions
  • Start and wait for approval
• Using Switch Case vs Condition
• Update item and email
  • Copy actions
  • Using Compose for standard email text
• Exercise: Approval and Item update

2b Optional: Automation with Dataverse Triggers and actions

3.    Compose and Variables

• Initialise and Set Variable actions
• Variable data types
• Common uses for variables
• Other variable Actions (Increment/ Decrement
• Simple Apply to each example for counting email attachments (link)
• Quick summary of other Data actions
  • Append to String, Create HTML table and Parse JSON

4.    Troubleshooting & Error handling options for your Flows

• Making robust flows – what can go wrong?
• Run After
• Try Catch Finally
• Initalise Boolean variable for Flow failed
• Terminate control action
• EX1&2. Stand alone exercise for error processing
• Working with JSON and the workflow() object
• Opt EX3 Include a link to the Failed Flow run in an email

5.     Working with Attachments

• File name & File contents
• Adding attachments to emails
• Saving attachments into a list or library

Exercises: Power Automate Automation from anonymous Form submission:

• Detailed walkthrough of a flow for training sign-ups using an External Form
  • Power Automate Flow for writing to SharePoint lists for storing form data.
  • External Form creation with single & multi-choice options, text fields, email, and attachments.
  • Error handling for validating supervisor email addresses.
  • Handling optional attachments and adding them to SharePoint items.
  • (If time) JSON parsing for a) multi-choice fields and b) for checking if there are attachments to deal with

6.    Flow for sign-ups, approvals, and escalations

• Approval process with SP update Item (status field) and email notification to Form submitter
• Optional: Escalation process for items that have not been approved within time limit

7.    Advanced Flow Features:

• Item modified Trigger & using Trigger Conditions
• Filtering calendar events and sending training invites.
• Working with JSON data
• Handling multiple choice fields and formatting data for SharePoint.

8.    Best Practice and Larger Applications & Flows:

• Working with Solutions
• Guidance on using parent and child flows.