Getting Started With Microsoft Flow

 

Microsoft flow is a cloud-based workflow engine, Using Flow end users can create cross application workflows (no code workflows). Flow is a part of office 365 E3 suite. It is a successor of SharePoint designer workflows. Complex level Flows can be promoted to an Azure logic app.

Microsoft Flows Vs SharePoint Designer Workflows

Anatomy of Microsoft Flow

  • Flow Designer
  • Connectors, Triggers & Actions
  • Variables & Data Flow
  • Expressions
  • Branching, Error Handling & Scopes

Flow Designer — Create a Flow from Browser or Mobile Application

Desktop Version

  • Go to https://flow.Microsoft.com
  • Sign-in with Office 365 Account
  • Start from existing template or import from disk or create from scratch (both in desktop & mobile browsers)

Mobile Version

  • Install flow mobile app, sign in
  • Create new flow (template or from scratch).

Connectors

Connectors Wrapper around an API that allows Flow to talk with other services.It exposes Triggers & Actions.

Standard Connectors — included as part of E3

Premium Connectors — additional cost

Custom Connectors — additional cost , development

Triggers

Run based on user action or event

  • From other apps in office 365 — PowerApps, SharePoint, etc.
  • From SQL
  • From dedicated Flow button

Run on a schedule

  • Flow also run based on time schedule, From every minute to 1 am on Days.

Run by HTTP GET/POST to URL generated by flow

· Call another Flow

· Call from any application/service/HTTP calls

Scenarios & Types of Triggers

Triggers — Scenarios

  • Simple: Flows start with a Trigger.
  • Advanced: Flows can have more than 1 trigger (async actions)
  • Custom: Flows can have custom triggers

Types

Polling Trigger

  • Periodically checks the service
  • Checks count as executions

Push Triggers

  • Listen for data on an endpoint or wait for event.

Actions

  • Execute CRUD operations with workflow context
  • SharePoint: Create Item, Delete Item, Create File.
  • SQL: Insert Row, Update Row, Delete Row, Get Row.
  • Transform Data
  • Inline — using expressions (e.g. string operations, math operations.)
  • Other services — Html to text.

Send Notification

  • Send mobile notification, send email notification etc.

Call other Flow

  • Chain Flows to create complex Flows.

Variables

  • Use Variables connector*
  • Initialize & then set value
  • Supported value types (Boolean, String, Object, Array, Float).

Variables are NOT always necessary!

Why variables are not always necessary?

  • Data Flows from each step and is available for all later steps
  • ‘Add Dynamic Content’ allows us to select outputs from previous steps
  • Certain outputs show up based on the types of the inputs and outputs.

Expressions

  • Expressions can be used in most of the fields to transform data inline
  • IntelliSense available as you type

Branching

  • If-then-else
  • Switch

For-Each

  • By default, parallel
  • Parallel (20 exec)
  • Supports sequential

Do-Until

  • Emulate State machines
  • Help in approvals & more
  • Parallel branches

Error Handling

  • Actions can be set to run if previous action fails/times out.

Scopes

  • Logically group actions
  • Allow advanced error handling for a group of actions
  • Scope boxes are in brown boxes.

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