Key Features and Benefits of Power Automate

What is Power Automate?

Benefits of Using Power Automate

Using Power Automate can lead to significant improvements in productivity and efficiency. It allows users to automate routine tasks, reducing the potential for human error and ensuring that critical processes are carried out consistently. Additionally, Power Automate integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft services and a wide range of third-party applications, making it a versatile tool for various business needs. If you are

Why Use Templates?

Simplifying Workflow Automation

Workflow automation might seem daunting to beginners, but it is a powerful tool that transforms how you manage and execute tasks. Platforms like Power Automate help you streamline repetitive and time-consuming tasks, allowing you to focus on more strategic activities. Power Automate simplifies creating automated workflows with an intuitive interface that requires no coding knowledge. Start by selecting pre-built templates that match common business processes, such as sending email notifications, updating databases, or managing approvals. The platform’s drag-and-drop functionality makes designing flows easy by connecting various actions and triggers from a vast library of connectors, including popular services like Office 365, SharePoint, and third-party applications. As you become more comfortable, explore advanced features like conditional logic and data manipulation to create more complex and tailored workflows. By embracing workflow automation, you can significantly enhance productivity, reduce errors, and ensure consistent execution of tasks across your organization.

Saving Time and Effort

Using templates saves time by eliminating the need to build workflows from the ground up. Users can quickly customize templates to suit their specific needs, ensuring that they can automate their tasks efficiently. Templates also provide a practical way to learn how Power Automate works, offering insights into best practices for workflow design.

Essential Power Automate Templates for Beginners

1. Notify and Email when a new file is uploaded to OneDrive

For beginners looking to streamline their file management and stay informed about updates, setting up an email notification when a new file is added to OneDrive is a valuable automation. Using Microsoft Power Automate, you can create a flow that automatically sends an email alert whenever a new file is uploaded to a specified OneDrive folder. Start by selecting the “When a file is created (OneDrive)” trigger, which monitors the folder for any new files. Next, add the “Send an email” action, where you can customize the email’s recipient, subject, and body to include details about the new file, such as its name and creation date. This simple yet effective automation ensures you never miss an important update, keeping you and your team notified in real-time and enhancing your productivity and file management efficiency.

Step-by-Step Guide to Setting Up

Step 1: Access Power Automate

1. Open your web browser and go to Power Automate.
2. Sign in with your Office 365 account credentials.

Step 2: Find the Template

1. In the Power Automate dashboard, click on “Templates” in the left-hand menu.
2. Use the search bar to look for the template “Notify and Email when a new file is uploaded to OneDrive.”
3. Click on the template to open its details page.

Step 3: Set Up the Template

1. Click on the “Use this template” button.
2. Power Automate will prompt you to connect to the necessary services:
   • OneDrive for Business: Click “Sign in” and authorize Power Automate to access your OneDrive account.
   • Office 365 Outlook: Click “Sign in” and authorize Power Automate to access your Outlook account.

Step 4: Configure the Flow

1. Once the connections are authorized, you’ll be taken to the flow configuration page.
2. Trigger: The trigger is already set to “When a file is created (properties only)” in OneDrive. You want to learn more about Triggers read this full article
   • You can specify the folder to monitor in your OneDrive (e.g., root directory or a specific folder).
3. Actions:
   • Send a notification: This action is preset to send a notification to your mobile device or desktop.
   • Send an email: This action is preset to send an email via Office 365 Outlook.

Step 5: Customize the Notification

1. Click on the “Send me a mobile notification” action to customize the notification content.
   • You can include dynamic content such as the file name and the URL of the new file.
   • Example notification message:plaintextCopy codeA new file named @{triggerOutputs()?['body/{FilenameWithExtension}']} has been uploaded to OneDrive.

Step 6: Customize the Email

1. Click on the “Send an email” action to customize the email content.
   • To: Enter the email address(es) to which the notification should be sent. You can send it to yourself or a group of recipients.
   • Subject: Customize the email subject. For example: plain text Copy code New File Uploaded to OneDrive: @{triggerOutputs()?['body/{FilenameWithExtension}']}
   • Body: Customize the email body to include relevant details and dynamic content. For example: plain text Copy code. Hello, A new file named @{triggerOutputs()?['body/{FilenameWithExtension}']} has been uploaded to the OneDrive folder. You can access the file here: @{triggerOutputs()?['body/{Link}']} Best regards, [Your Name]

Step 7: Save and Test the Flow

1. After configuring the flow, click “Save” at the top right corner.
2. To test the flow, upload a new file to the specified OneDrive folder.
3. Check your mobile device or desktop for the notification and your email inbox for the email.

Step 8: Monitor and Adjust the Flow

1. Go back to the Power Automate dashboard and click on “My flows.”
2. Find your newly created flow and click on it to view run history and details.
3. Monitor the flow runs to ensure it is working as expected.
4. Adjust the folder path, notification message, or email content as needed based on your observations.

2. Save Office 365 email attachments to specified OneDrive for Business folder

The “Save Office 365 Email Attachments to Specified OneDrive for Business Folder” template in Power Automate helps streamline your workflow. This template directly saves email attachments to a designated folder in OneDrive for Business, eliminating the need for manual downloads and uploads. When an email with attachments arrives in your Office 365 inbox, the flow triggers automatically, extracts the attachments, and saves them to your specified OneDrive folder. This organization of important documents ensures easy access and reduces the risk of losing vital information. Using this template allows you to quickly enhance productivity and maintain secure and readily available email attachments in the cloud storage.

Step-by-Step Guide to Setting Up

Step 1: Access Power Automate

1. Open your web browser and navigate to Power Automate.
2. Sign in with your Office 365 credentials.

Step 2: Find the Template

1. In the Power Automate dashboard, click on “Templates” in the left-hand menu.
2. Use the search bar to find the template “Save Office 365 email attachments to specified OneDrive for Business folder.”
3. Click on the template to open its details page.

Step 3: Set Up the Template

1. Click on the “Use this template” button.
2. Power Automate will prompt you to connect to the necessary services:
   • Office 365 Outlook: Click “Sign in” and authorize Power Automate to access your Outlook account.
   • OneDrive for Business: Click “Sign in” and authorize Power Automate to access your OneDrive for Business account.

Step 4: Configure the Flow

1. Once the connections are authorized, you will be taken to the flow configuration page.
2. Trigger: The trigger is already set to “When a new email arrives (V3).” You can customize the trigger settings:
   • Choose the folder to monitor (e.g., Inbox).
   • Set conditions such as subject filter, importance, or sender to filter the emails.
3. Action – Get Attachments: This action retrieves the attachments from the emails that meet the trigger conditions. No configuration is needed for this step.
4. Action – Apply to each: This step iterates over each attachment in the email.
5. Action – Create File: Configure this action to save the attachments to OneDrive for Business:
   • Folder Path: Specify the folder in OneDrive where the attachments should be saved. You can select an existing folder or create a new one.
   • File Name: Use dynamic content to name the files, such as Attachment Name.
   • File Content: Set this to the attachment content.

Step 5: Customize the Flow

1. Set Conditions (Optional): You can add conditions to refine the trigger, such as filtering emails by subject, sender, or keywords.
2. Error Handling (Optional): Implement error handling to manage any issues that might arise during the flow execution.

Step 6: Save and Test the Flow

1. Click “Save” at the top right corner of the flow configuration page.
2. To test the flow, send an email with attachments to your Office 365 Outlook account that matches the trigger conditions.
3. Check the specified OneDrive for Business folder to see if the attachments are saved correctly.

Customization Tips

• Create subfolders based on the email sender or subject to better organize attachments.

• Apply filters to save attachments only from specific emails.

3. Save my email attachments to a SharePoint document library

Overview of the Template

Managing email attachments manually can be a time-consuming and error-prone process. Power Automate offers a solution by automating the task of saving email attachments to a SharePoint document library. This guide provides a step-by-step approach to setting up a Power Automate template that streamlines this process, ensuring your attachments are organized and easily accessible.

Step-by-Step Guide to Setting Up

Step 1: Access Power Automate

1. Open your web browser and navigate to Power Automate.
2. Sign in with your Microsoft 365 credentials.

Step 2: Find the Template

1. On the Power Automate homepage, click on Templates in the left-hand navigation pane.
2. In the search bar, type “Save my email attachments to a SharePoint”
3. Select the template named “Save my email attachments to a SharePoint document library”

Step 3: Set Up the Template

1. Click on Use this template.
2. You will be prompted to connect your Microsoft 365 Outlook and SharePoint accounts if you haven’t already. Click on Sign in for both services and provide the necessary credentials

Step 4: Configure the Template

• 1. Once the template is loaded, you will see a flow diagram with pre-configured steps.

• 2. Review the steps and customize any parameters if needed:

• When a new email arrives (V3): This trigger is pre-configured to monitor your inbox.

• Condition: Configure the condition to filter emails based on specific criteria (e.g., only save attachments from a specific sender or with a specific subject):

• Create file: This action saves the attachments to your specified SharePoint document library.

Step 5: Specify the SharePoint Document Library

1. In the Create file action, configure the following fields:

• Site Address: Select your SharePoint site from the dropdown menu.

• Folder Path: Specify the document library and folder path where you want to save the attachments.

• File Name: Select Attachment Name from the dynamic content.

• File Content: Select Attachment Content from the dynamic content.

Step 6: Save and Test the Flow

1. Click Save at the top right corner of the screen.
2. Click on Test in the top right corner and choose Manually.
3. Send an email with an attachment to your configured email account
4. Check the flow run to ensure it completes successfully.

Step 7: Verify the Results

1. Navigate to your SharePoint document library.
2. Verify that the email attachment has been saved correctly.

Customization Tips

• Use metadata to tag documents for easier retrieval and management.
• Set permissions on the SharePoint library to control access to saved attachments.

4. Send a Customized Email When a New SharePoint List Item is Added

Overview of the Template

Power Automate offers an easy-to-use template that enables users to automatically send customized emails whenever a new item is added to a SharePoint list. This template is perfect for beginners who want to enhance their workflow efficiency without needing advanced coding skills. The “Send a Customized Email When a New SharePoint List Item is Added” template automates the process of sending a personalized email notification each time a new item is added to a specified SharePoint list. This helps in keeping team members or stakeholders informed in real-time about new entries, ensuring prompt action or acknowledgment.

Step-by-Step Guide to Setting Up

Step 1: Access Power Automate

1. Open your web browser and navigate to Power Automate.
2. Sign in with your Microsoft 365 credentials.
3. Select the template with a similar name from the list of templates.

Step 2: Find the Template

1. On the Power Automate homepage, click on Templates in the left-hand navigation pane.
2. In the search bar, type “Send a customized email when a new SharePoint list item is added
3. Select the template with a similar name from the list of templates.

Step 3: Set Up the Template

1. Click on the template.
2. You will be prompted to connect your SharePoint and Outlook accounts if you haven’t already. Click on Sign in for both services and provide the necessary credentials.

Step 4: Configure the Template

1. Once the template is loaded, you will see a flow diagram with pre-configured steps.
2. Review the steps and customize any parameters if needed:

• When an item is created: This trigger is pre-configured to monitor your SharePoint list.

Step 5: Specify the SharePoint List

1. In the When an item is created action, configure the following fields:

• Site Address: Select your SharePoint site from the dropdown menu
• List Name: Select the SharePoint list you want to monitor.

Customization Tips

• Include dynamic content from the SharePoint list item in the email.

• Use HTML formatting to enhance the email’s appearance.

5. Track your working hours in Excel Online (Business) spreadsheet

Tracking working hours is essential for productivity and project management. With the Power Automate template “Track your working hours in Excel Online (Business),” you can seamlessly record and manage your work hours directly within an Excel Online spreadsheet. Here’s a quick guide to help you get started:

1. Template Purpose:

• This template automates the process of logging your work hours into an Excel Online (Business) spreadsheet. It helps in maintaining an accurate and organized record of the time spent on various tasks and projects.

2. Key Features:

• Automated Time Logging: Automatically capture start and end times for your work sessions.
• Customizable Triggers: Set up specific triggers such as the start of a work session, completion of a task, or at regular intervals throughout the day.
• Real-Time Updates: The template updates your Excel Online spreadsheet in real-time, ensuring your records are always current.
• Easy Integration: Integrate with other Microsoft 365 tools like Outlook, Teams, and SharePoint for comprehensive time management.

Step-by-Step Guide to Setting Up

Step 1. Log in to Power Automate : Access your Power Automate account.

Step 2. Select the Template : Search for “Track your working hours in Excel Online (Business) spreadsheet.”

Step 3. Connect Excel : Link your OneDrive or SharePoint Excel file.

Step 4. Set Up Triggers : Define the triggers for logging hours (e.g., button press, form submission).

The “Manually trigger a flow” trigger in Power Automate allows you to kick off a flow manually and specify various types of user inputs that can be collected at the time of the trigger. This flexibility is useful for creating flows that require specific data or parameters to run. Here’s how you can choose and configure different types of user input for this trigger:

Text Input:

• Usage: Collect plain text information such as names, descriptions, or notes.
• Configuration:
  1. Add the “Manually trigger a flow” trigger to your flow.
  2. Click on “Add an input” and select “Text.”
  3. Name the input field appropriately (e.g., “Employee Name”).
  4. Set optional properties such as “Default value” or “Description.”

Yes/No (Toggle):

• Usage: Collect binary input such as true/false, yes/no, or on/off responses.
• Configuration:
  1. Click on “Add an input” and select “Yes/No.”
  2. Name the input field (e.g., “Urgent Request”).
  3. Optionally, provide a description to guide the user.

File Upload:

• Usage: Allow users to upload files which can be processed or stored by the flow.
• Configuration:
  1. Click on “Add an input” and select “File.”
  2. Name the input field (e.g., “Attachment”).
  3. Specify the types of files allowed, if necessary.

Email Input:

• Usage: Collect email addresses for notifications or further processing.
• Configuration:
  1. Click on “Add an input” and select “Email.”
  2. Name the input field (e.g., “Recipient Email”).
  3. Provide optional description or validation rules.

Number Input:

• Usage: Collect numerical data such as quantities, prices, or counts.
• Configuration:
  1. Click on “Add an input” and select “Number.”
  2. Name the input field (e.g., “Number of Items”).
  3. Set optional properties like “Default value,” “Minimum,” and “Maximum.”

Date Input:

• Usage: Collect dates for scheduling, deadlines, or time-specific actions.
• Configuration:
  1. Click on “Add an input” and select “Date.”
  2. Name the input field (e.g., “Due Date”).
  3. Optionally, provide a default date or description.

Step 5. Customize Excel Template : Modify the Excel spreadsheet to match your tracking needs.

Step 6. Activate the Flow : Save the template and turn on the flow.

Customization Tips

• Add additional columns for project names or task descriptions.

• Use Excel formulas to automatically calculate totals and summaries.

6. Post message to Microsoft Teams when an email arrives in Office 365 Outlook

Keeping your team informed about important emails can be challenging, especially when dealing with a high volume of messages. The Power Automate template “Post Messages to Microsoft Teams When an Email Arrives in Office 365 Outlook” offers a seamless solution to automate this process, ensuring that critical emails are promptly communicated to your team through Microsoft Teams.

Step 1: Access Power Automate

1. Open your web browser and go to Power Automate.
2. Sign in with your Office 365 account credentials.

Step 2: Find the Template

1. In the Power Automate dashboard, click on “Templates” in the left-hand menu.
2. Use the search bar to look for the template “Post messages to Microsoft Teams when an email arrives in Office 365 Outlook.”
3. Click on the template to open its details page.

Step 3: Set Up the Template

1. Click on the “Use this template” button.
2. Power Automate will prompt you to connect to the necessary services:
   • Office 365 Outlook: Click “Sign in” and authorize Power Automate to access your Outlook account.
   • Microsoft Teams: Click “Sign in” and authorize Power Automate to access your Teams account.

Step 4: Configure the Flow

1. Once the connections are authorized, you’ll be taken to the flow configuration page.
2. Trigger: The trigger is already set to “When a new email arrives (V3).” You can customize the trigger settings:
   • Choose the folder to monitor (e.g., Inbox).
   • Set conditions such as subject filter or importance.
3. Action: The action is set to “Post a message (V3)” in Microsoft Teams.
   • Team: Select the team where you want to post the message.
   • Channel: Select the channel within the team.
   • Message: Customize the message content. You can include dynamic content from the email such as Subject, Body, From, etc.

Step 4a: Add Conditions (Optional)

If you want to add conditions, here’s how:

1. Click on New step.
2. Select Condition.
3. Configure your condition. For instance, if you want to trigger the flow only for emails from a particular sender, set the condition like this:

• Condition: Select From from the dynamic content.
• Operator: Choose contains.
• Value: Enter the email address of the sender.

Step 5: Set Up the Microsoft Teams Action

Now, let’s tell the flow what to do when an email arrives.

1. In the If yes branch (if you added a condition) or directly in the flow (if no condition was added), click on New step.
2. In the “Choose an action” field, type “Post a message” and select Post a message (V3) under Microsoft Teams.
3. Configure the action:

• Team: Select the team you want to post the message to.
• Channel: Select the channel where you want to post the message.
• Message: Customize the message content. You can use dynamic content like Subject, From, and Body to include details from the email.

Step 6: Save and Test Your Flow

Almost there! Let’s make sure everything is set up correctly.

1. Click Save at the top right corner.
2. Click on Test and choose Manually.
3. Send a test email to your Office 365 Outlook account.
4. Check the flow run to ensure it completes successfully.

Step 7: Verify the Message in Teams

Finally, let’s see it in action.

1. Finally, let’s see it in action.
2. Navigate to the channel you specified in the flow.
3. Verify that the message has been posted correctly.

7. Create a Task in Planner from Microsoft Forms

Ready to automate your task creation process and make your workflow a breeze? This guide will show you how to set up a Power Automate flow that creates a task in Microsoft Planner whenever a response is submitted in Microsoft Forms. Let’s get started!

Step 1: Access Power Automate

1. Open your web browser and head over to Power Automate.
2. Sign in with your Microsoft 365 credentials.

Step 2: Find the Template

1. On the Power Automate homepage, click on Templates in the left-hand navigation pane.
2. In the search bar, type “Create a task in Planner from Microsoft Forms”.
3. Select the template named “Create a Planner task when a new response is submitted in Microsoft Forms”.

Step 3: Set Up the Template

1. Click on the template.

2. You’ll be prompted to sign in to your Microsoft Forms and Microsoft Planner accounts if you haven’t already. Just click Sign in and provide your credentials.

Step 4: Configure the Trigger

1. Once the template is loaded, you’ll see the flow diagram. The first step is the trigger: When a new response is submitted.

2. Click on the trigger step to configure it.

• Form Id: Select your form from the dropdown list.

Step 5: Get Response Details

1. Click on the + New step button.

2. Search for Microsoft Forms and select Get response details.

3. Configure this step:

• Form Id: Select the same form as above.
• Response Id: Select Response Id from the dynamic content.

Step 6: Create a Task in Planner

1. Click on the + New step button.

2. Search for Microsoft Planner and select Create a task.

3. Configure this step:

• Group Id: Select the group that contains your Planner plan.
• Plan Id: Select your Planner plan.
• Title: Enter a title for the task. You can use dynamic content from the form response (e.g., the response to a specific question).
• Bucket Id: Choose the bucket in Planner where you want to create the task.
• Assignments: Assign the task to yourself or another team member.
• Details: Add any additional information you want to include. You can use dynamic content here as well.
• Start Date: Select start date for task planner
• End Date: Select end date for task planner.

Step 7: Save and Test Your Flow

1. Click Save at the top right corner of the screen.

2. Click on Test in the top right corner and choose Manually.

3. Fill out your Microsoft Form and submit a response.

4. Check the flow run to ensure it completes successfully.

Step 8: Verify the Task Creation in Planner

1. Open Microsoft Planner and navigate to the plan you selected.

2. Check the bucket you chose and verify that the task has been created with the correct details.

And that’s it!

You’ve successfully set up a Power Automate flow to create a task in Planner from Microsoft Forms. Now, every time someone submits a response, a task will automatically pop up in your Planner, helping you stay organized and on top of things.

8. Record form responses in SharePoint

If you’re looking to streamline your workflow and keep track of your form responses directly in SharePoint, you’re in the right place. In this guide, we’ll walk you through setting up a Power Automate template that automatically records your form responses in a SharePoint list. Let’s get started!

Step 1: Access Power Automate

1. Open your web browser and head over to Power Automate.

2. Sign in with your Microsoft 365 credentials. You should see the Power Automate dashboard

Step 2: Find the Template

1. On the left-hand side, click on Templates.

2. In the search bar, type “Record form responses in SharePoint”.

3.Look for the template named “Record form responses in SharePoint” and click on it.

Step 3: Use the Template

1. Click on the template. This will open up the flow editor with the pre-configured template.

2. You’ll be prompted to connect your Microsoft Forms and SharePoint accounts if you haven’t already. Click on Sign in for both services and provide the necessary credentials.

Step 4: Configure the Template

1. The template should have two main steps:

• When a new response is submitted (Microsoft Forms trigger)
• Create item (SharePoint action)

2.Select your form:

• In the “When a new response is submitted” trigger, select your form from the dropdown list under Form Id.

3.Get response details:

• Click on New step.
• Type “Get response details” in the search box and select the action.
• Select the same form under Form Id and for Response Id, click in the field and choose Response Id from the dynamic content.

4.Create a new item in SharePoint:

• In the “Create item” action, configure the following
• Site Address: Choose your SharePoint site from the dropdown.
• List Name: Select the SharePoint list where you want to store the form responses.
• Title (or other fields you want to map): Click in the field and choose the corresponding form response item from the dynamic content. For example, if your form has a question for “Name”, map it to the “Title” field in SharePoint.

Step 5: Specify the SharePoint Document Library

1.In the Create file action, configure the following fields

• Site Address: Select your SharePoint site from the dropdown menu.
• Folder Path: Specify the document library and folder path where you want to save the attachments.
• File Name: Select Attachment Name from the dynamic content.
• File Content: Select Attachment Content from the dynamic content.

Step 6: Save and Test the Flow

1.Click Save at the top right corner of the screen.

2.Click on Test in the top right corner and choose Manually.

3.Send an email with an attachment to your configured email account.

4.Check the flow run to ensure it completes successfully.