Power Automate: Where do I start? (Part 2)

Part 1 of this blog focused on where to start in terms of basic navigation, key features and some of the terms you will see when you log into Power Automate. This blog will introduce you to some processes that you could automate using templates.

To access the templates available in Power Automate, once logged in you can navigate via the left hand panel (circled in the screenshot below), then choose from a grid of options. You can search using key words, or filter the templates using the category of process you would like to create: if you select the three dots after 'Productivity' you can see all the choices available. These include Top picks, Approval flows, Button flows, Email, Calendar and more:

The template cards contain several key bits of information:

• the number of connectors within the template flow - these are represented by icons, e.g. the blue Teams icon, or the red notifications icon
• who the template was created by - many of them will simply say 'Microsoft', but others may have been created by the Microsoft Flow Community or external individuals and developers
• the number of times the template has been used - this is a good indicator of popularity
• the type of flow - in the bottom left it will say 'Automated', 'Scheduled' or 'Instant', depending on the type of flow

You can test out most of these templates on your own using mock scenarios and the best way to learn how to use Power Automate as a tool is to practise. Here are three recommended templates to get you started:

1. Personal productivity: Automatically save email attachments

If you search for 'email attachments' within the templates search bar, several examples will come up but the example above - 'Save email attachments to SharePoint and delete the email' - is one of the most straightforward flows with just three actions and two connectors. The initial trigger is when an email arrives (and you can edit the advanced options so that only emails with specific conditions such as a subject line act as the trigger), then the following actions create a file within SharePoint, and the email is deleted. This last step can easily be removed from the flow if you would prefer to keep the email in your inbox.

This flow is great for anyone who receives regular emails with attachments. It can save time searching through emails to find what you need, as the files will be stored within the chosen document library.

Note that you will need to select 'Office 365 email' for flows with email actions and not Outlook.com due to the type of Microsoft plan in use.

2. Team approvals process: Request Approval for new documents and notify colleagues via Teams

If you would to have documents approved before they can be viewed by other colleagues, this flow could help to make a time-consuming process more efficient. In this process, when a new document is uploaded to SharePoint, team members are notified by Teams and then they will receive an approval request for the document. The outcome of the approval will be shared to the Teams site once a response is provided.

This flow could be useful for project managers or coordinators who have various documents that need to be generated, approved and sent before things can move forward. You could create the relevant documents, add them to a SharePoint folder, which would then automatically notify the relevant team members via Microsoft Teams and alert them that this document requires approval. They can then action this, and you would receive a notification once the approval is completed.

3. Personal productivity: Follow up on a message

This is one of the most popular flows in the templates list and with good reason! It's useful for personal productivity and is ideal for the scenario we probably all find ourselves in - we receive a Teams message and need to reply to it, but can't do so immediately - perhaps you are waiting on further information to come through, or are in the middle or another task, or are working to a deadline you need to prioritise.

Once set up, this flow will provide you with the option in Teams to follow up on a message in a chat or Teams post at a later date. If you hover over the message and look for the emoji bar, there will be three dots you can click on for more options. From there, you can click on 'Follow up on a message' and an adaptive card like the one below will appear. You can set up your personal reminder here, and this will show in your Teams feed at the time that you select.