Power Automate flow is a set of pre-decided actions to take based on different triggers. Let’s take a look at 5 different types of Power Automate flows.
Automated Cloud Flows is a set of actions that you want to take when a particular action happens.
When a new row is created in excel, an automated email is sent out.
When you want to take an action instantly, you can use this flow.
Send an alert to all your team members to team members about an upcoming webinar and send an email with the invitation links.
Scheduled Cloud Flows takes an action in the future.
Save all email attachments to One Drive every week.
Desktop Flows are really amazing to automate tasks using your user interface. You can record yourself doing a particular task and then run the automation. The Desktop Flow will complete the action again and again like Macros in excel.
As mentioned earlier, business process flows are used to ensure data consistency across teams and geographical locations.
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What are the different elements on Microsoft Power Automate screen?
When you enter Microsft Power Automate, you will be greeted with a screen that resembles the image. Let’s look at what each and every component in the left-side navigation menu can do for you.
Action Items
Action items give you an overview of all your business processes and any pending approvals requests.
My Flows
Shows all the flows that you’ve created in your account in a single glance.
Create
Lets you create a new workflow.
Templates
This option leads you to the workflow template library which contains templates segregated by your requirement. You can also use the search bar to find a template that suits your requirement.
Connectors
Connectors just list all the software that can be connected. This is not the place where you can connect your software with Microsoft Power Automate. That option sits under Data. (that’s a little confusing)
Data
This is one of the most important options in the navigation bar after +create. Data allows you to create tables (database to collect, sync, or store data), connections (shows all software that you’ve integrated with Power Automate), custom connectors, and gateways (create a gateway to store data on-premises but still share the data with the cloud when required in a secure manner).
Things to note – Only basic connectors are available in the free trial version. You can connect your own account only. To connect to the majority of other applications, you need admin access to get the API key.
Monitor
Shows an overview of cloud and desktop flow activity. It has another option where it shows your system health where desktop flows are actively running.
AI Builder
AI Builder helps users extract information from text, images, structured datasets, and documents. Users can choose from templates or create their own custom models.
Process Advisor
Process Advisor advises how current processes can be improved in two ways. You can either upload data from various sources or record yourself performing any activity.
Solutions
All your databases are added here which contain all variables you want to work with. You can create a new process by selecting the database you’re comfortable with.
Learn
Self-explanatory. It is your help section.
When should I use Power Automate?
Microsoft Power Automate can be powerful if used properly. Here are some scenarios when you can use Power Automate:
When all your process elements are mapped out.
Before you even start creating your Power Automate flow, you need to map out all variables and all the stages in the entire flow. Why?
You’ll have to create all the variables in Microsoft Power Apps. Therefore, it is a great exercise to map out all elements : variables, AI models, stages, conditions, connectors and templates, well before you start creating on Power Automate platform.
When your process is sequential.
Most of the flows follow the trigger and action approach. Creating loops is difficult. It is advisable to convert your processes into sequential steps. If you need loops, make sure you work with a developer.
When you have access to all the admin accounts.
If you’re connecting two applications, you need to have admin rights to both accounts. Make sure you have the right permissions before you start working.
Nanonets for document process automation
Power Automate is a great platform to automate document processes, but the Power Automate OCR tool can still fall short and be a little complicate for first time non-coder users.
Nanonets is a no-code document automation platform that automates manual processes with automated workflows. You can use Nanonets to extract text from any kind of document (invoice, bill, receipt) and enhance it before sending it to any application.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xlaRA7HYNQ
You can use Nanonets to automate any kind of document process like
- Invoice Processing
- 3-way matching
- Receipt Processing
- PDF data extraction
And more.
Furthermore, here are some features that make Nanonets an excellent choice for document automation.
- Modern UI platform
- Drag and drop platform to create document workflows
- Templates – Choose from templates or create your own workflows
- No code environment – Create automated workflows without writing a single line of code
- Role-based restrictions
- No hidden charges – Check our pricing plans
- On-premise and cloud hosting options
- 5000+ integrations
- GDPR and SOC2 platform
- 24×7 online chat support and personal client managers
Start your free trial or request a free product tour.
Conclusion
Microsoft Power Automate is a great tool to automate manual tasks. We’ve tried to cover the basics of Power Automate in this blog. In our previous blog, we’ve covered Microsoft Power Automate tutorials and Power Automate examples in an in-depth guide.
