Power Automate - End User Guide

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The key takeaways are that Power Automate can be used to automate workflows and tasks between apps and services to save time. It has pre-built connectors and templates. Users need to request a Power Automate license from 2929IT which has no associated cost.

The main components of a flow in Power Automate are triggers, which start the flow, and actions, which are the steps that happen when the trigger is invoked.

The different types of connectors in Power Automate are Standard Connectors and Business Connectors. Standard Connectors connect first party Microsoft services while Business Connectors connect approved third party applications.

Power Automate – End-user guide

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Microsoft Power Automate | Overview
Microsoft Power Automate is a cloud-based service that enables users to create and automate processes and actions that save a lot
of time and effort with repetitive tasks. You can use Microsoft Power Automate to automate workflows between your apps and
services to sync files, get notifications, collect data and more.

Additionally, this workflow management tool comes with prebuilt connectors, ready-to-use templates and recommendations of what
apps can be linked and for what purpose:

Power automate can be accessed from https://flow.microsoft.com . You can download the Power Automate mobile app from the
public app stores or the Company Portal.

You can request for a Power Automate license by raising a ticket on 2929IT under the service item - O365 - Other Licenses
Request. In the drop down, choose the option MS Power Automate. (There is no cost associated with this license)

Note: Currently we are only providing licenses for Power Automate for O365. Higher/Standalone licenses are not
supported.

Power Automate Introductory video:


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Power Automate for O365 | Functionalities
Important concepts in Power Automate
• Every flow has two main parts: a trigger, and one or more actions.
• You can think of the trigger as the starting action for the flow. The trigger can be something like a new email arriving in your
inbox or when you receive a response to a form.
• Actions are what you want to happen when a trigger is invoked.

Connectors
Connectors allow users to connect different services (such as Outlook, Teams, and more) to Microsoft Power Automate. They
contain a set of pre-built triggers and actions to be used in workflows.

Types of connectors
• Standard Connectors
• Premium Connectors (not available)
• Custom Connectors (not available)
Only Microsoft provided first party connectors and connectors for certified/approved applications in Schneider Electric are allowed
for use within Power Automate.
Click here to get the list of all approved Business connectors

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Power Automate for O365 | Functionalities
Workflows that are created with Power Automate are called ‘Flows’.
Power Automate for O365 allows users to create and run flows within the context of Office 365 applications like Outlook, Teams,
Yammer etc.

Types of Flows

Flow type Use case


Automated flows Automated flows are triggered by a predetermined event. Automated flows run when an event
triggers the flow to run.

Instant flows Instant flow allows users to trigger repetitive tasks from the mobile or desktop app manually. For
example, by clicking a button on a mobile app, it will send a reminder email to your team before a
meeting.

Scheduled flows Scheduled flows run on a schedule defined by the maker. Scheduled flows can repeat on the following
cadences: every second, minute, hour, day, week, and/or month

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Power Automate for O365 | Functionalities
Summary of functionalities available with Power Automate for O365
Plans and capabilities Power Automate use rights within
Office 365 license
Execute flows Automated, instant, and scheduled flows

Business process flows*

Connect to your data Standard connectors

Premium and custom connectors*

On-premises data gateway*

Store and manage data Dataverse(Common Data Service) use rights*

Per license capacity Daily API requests 2000

*Features included with Power Automate standalone/premium licenses are currently not supported.

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Power Automate for O365 | Functionalities
Flow Creation Menu Overview
Start from blank: Create a new workflow from
scratch, selecting the appropriate trigger type.
Navigation Options:
Action Items: View active
or completed Power
Automate Approvals.
My Flows: View and edit
workflows that you have
created or that have been Start from a template: Create workflows from a
shared with you. large library of ready-to-use templates for many
Create: Create a different apps.
workflow.
Templates: View the
full library of template
workflows.

Connectors: Manage
connections to
applications.
Premium Features:
Data, AI Builder and
Solutions are
premium features.
These are not
available in the
Start from a connector: Create workflows from a
current provided
connector. Select the application to see
licenses.
templates and triggers for that app.

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Power Automate for O365 | Functionalities
Flow Design Overview
Workflow Trigger:
Every workflow starts
with a trigger action.
Triggers can be
scheduled, manual, or
automatic when a
specific event occurs.
Dynamic Content: Dynamic
content, or information from
another step in the workflow,
Workflow Actions: can be added fields in other
Actions are the actions. If you can connect to
building blocks of the data source, you can use
workflows. You can that information in other steps
choose from hundreds of workflow
of actions to decide
what your workflow
does next.

Expressions: Expressions can be


used to apply formulas or
functions to information within
an app. This can also be applied
New Step: Add a new to dynamic content selected
action/conditional logic to throughout the workflow.
your flow

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Power Automate for O365 | Functionalities
Flow checker:
The Flow checker appears in the command bar in the designer and will show a red dot when one
or more errors are identified in your flow.
For each issue identified, the Flow checker points to specific occurrences within the flow where
improvements may be required.

Testing Flows:
Once any design errors are addressed, you can test your flow by clicking on the Test button. It
provides the following options:
• Manually trigger the test yourself by doing the action that triggers the flow. For example, you
can go to your inbox and send yourself a test email.
• Use data from previous flow runs to perform the test.

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Power Automate for O365 | Functionalities
Sharing Flows:
You can share a flow with others in your organization so they can also benefit from automations you've created.
There are three primary ways to share a flow in Power Automate –
• Add an owner to a flow.
• Share a copy of a flow.
• Share a flow with run-only privileges( available only for Instant flows)
Note: You must be the creator or owner to add or remove owners from a flow.

Add an owner to a flow


Adding an owner to a flow is the most common way to share a flow. Any owner of a flow can perform these actions:
• View the run history.
• Manage the properties of the flow (for example, start or stop the flow, add owners, or update credentials for a connection).
• Edit the definition of the flow (for example, add or remove an action or condition).
• Add or remove other owners (but not the flow's creator).
• Delete the flow.
If you're the creator or an owner of a flow, you'll find it listed on the Team flows tab in Power Automate.

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Power Automate for O365 | Functionalities
To add more owners to a flow -
• Select the flow that you want to share, select More commands , and then select Share.

• Enter the name, email address, or group name for the person or group that you want to add as an owner.

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Power Automate for O365 | Functionalities
Share a flow with run-only permissions
Instant flows (that is, flows that use a manual trigger such as a button or an item being
selected) can be shared by using run-only permissions.
Any user who's added as a run-only user won't have access to edit or modify the flow
in any way; they'll only have permissions to trigger the flow. Share a flow with run-only
privileges( available only for Instant flows).
To add a run-only user -
• On the flow details page, in the Run only users section, select Edit.
• In the Manage run-only permissions panel, specify the users and groups you want
to provide run-only access to.
• As an owner, you can specify whether run-only users will need to provide their own
connections, or you can choose use a connection that's already defined in the flow.
• the user or group now has access to run the flow.

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Power Automate for O365 | Functionalities
Share a copy of a flow
You can share a copy of a flow with another user, who can then use the definition of the flow as a template. It provides a good
way for you to share the general structure of a flow without sharing any connections, while also allowing the recipient to modify
their flow independently of yours, so they can make it fit their needs.
To send a copy of a flow –
• On the flow details page command bar, select Send a copy.
• In the Send a copy panel, you can edit the name and description of the flow you want to share and specify the users with
whom you want to share it.

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Power Automate for O365 | SE Best Practices
❑ Power Automate for O365 is a personal productivity tool. It is not recommended to use this tool to automate Business processes
because flows created with Power Automate are linked to the owner’s SESA account. When the owner leaves the organizations, the
flows will stop running.
❑ It is recommended that users use only their se.com accounts with Power Automate connectors.
❑ Power Automate workflows should not be used to forward emails to recipients outside Schneider Electric. Such flow runs maybe
shown as successful under Run History in Power Automate, but these emails will be blocked from reaching external recipients.
❑ To ensure data security, we have a Data Loss Prevention policy in place for all Power Automate connectors. As per the policy, all
Microsoft and 3rd party connectors approved for use in Schneider Electric are categorized as Business connectors. All other 3rd
party connectors are categorized as Non-Business connectors. The connectors from these two categories are not allowed to
interact with each other. (If users try to create such flows that disregard the DLP policy, it results in an error)
.
Non –Business Connector

Business Connector

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Need Help?
We are here for you!

To learn more about Microsoft Power Automate, click here

If you have any queries, post on the Yammer Group

Click here to view the FAQ’s.

To request for a Power Automate license, click here

For any issues, raise a 2929IT service request by clicking here

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