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

• Microsoft Connectors (SharePoint, Azure Blob storage, SQL Server.)
• Non-Microsoft Connectors (Twitter, Slack.)
• https://us.flow.microsoft.com/en-us/connectors/?filter=&category=standard

Premium Connectors – additional cost

• Microsoft Connectors (HTTP with Azure AD.)
• Other Connectors (Salesforce, MySQL.)
• https://us.flow.microsoft.com/en-us/connectors/?filter=&category=premium

Custom Connectors – additional cost , development

• ISV, System Integrators, End users can create custom connectors to integrate any system/application/service.
• https://us.flow.microsoft.com/en-us/connectors/?filter=&category=custom

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/agent that can make HTTP calls

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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.