Power Automate (formerly Microsoft Flow) is a powerful tool that allows you to automate workflows and integrate Microsoft Forms with other applications and services. By connecting Forms to Power Automate, you can streamline processes, save time, and enhance productivity. This guide will walk you through how to use Power Automate with Microsoft Forms.
What is Power Automate?
Power Automate is a cloud-based service that helps you create automated workflows between apps and services. It can trigger actions, such as sending notifications, updating databases, or syncing data, based on specific events—like when a form response is submitted.
Why Use Power Automate with Microsoft Forms?
Integrating Power Automate with Microsoft Forms enables you to:
Automate Repetitive Tasks: Save time by automating workflows, such as sending emails or updating spreadsheets.
Connect with Other Apps: Integrate Forms with hundreds of apps, including SharePoint, Excel, Outlook, and more.
Enhance Data Management: Sync form responses to databases, CRM systems, or other platforms.
Improve Collaboration: Notify team members or customers when a form is submitted.
How to Create a Flow with Microsoft Forms
Follow these steps to create an automated workflow using Power Automate and Microsoft Forms:
1. Start a New Flow
Go to Power Automate and sign in with your Microsoft account.
Select Templates to select from a variety of pre-built flows.
Use Search to look up specific flows, or refer to the tabs organized by category.
Templates will have pre-built flows for simpler processes such as “Send an confirmation email to the respondent”.
Click Create and select Automated Cloud Flow.
Name your flow and choose the trigger When a new response is submitted under Microsoft Forms.
Select Create.
2. Connect Your Form
Select the form you want to use from the dropdown menu.
It may say Invalid parameters, Select the node
Select Pick a form within Form Id
Authorize Power Automate to access your Forms account if prompted.
3. Add Actions
After setting up the trigger, search to add actions to define what happens when a response is submitted. Some common actions include:
Send an Email (Outlook): Notify yourself or others when a form is submitted.
Add dynamic content from the form response (e.g., respondent’s name or answers) to the email.
Add a Row to Excel: Save form responses to an Excel spreadsheet.
Specify the Excel file and worksheet, and map form fields to Excel columns.
Create a Task (Planner): Generate a task in Microsoft Planner based on form responses.
Post a Message (Teams): Share form responses in a Teams channel.
Update a SharePoint List: Add or update records in a SharePoint list.
You can also refer to Connector type to filter the apps based off its type of connection.
Example if add an email
Can you edit email message by determining who the recipient of the email after a form is submitted
Add a subject of email
Write custom message.
Use “/” to use dynamic values within your message to make it more personal for the recipient.
To ensure you can pull specific data from the form, make sure to connect the Get response details action previous to the email as shown in the image.
4. Test Your Flow
Click Save and then Test to run your flow.
Submit a test response to your form and verify that the flow works as expected.
For your first test, select manual and Power Automate will redirect you to your Form.
If it takes a while to load, then go to your form in a separate tab and submit a response.
For each test moving beyond your initial test, select automate as it will resubmit the previous submission for you.
After the flow runs it tests, you will be notified if it was successful or not. You will also see where parts of your flow process succeeded or failed with green check marks or red X’s.
The image shows a flow that ran successfully.
5. Microsoft Copilot
Copilot is also helpful if you are unsure how to develop next steps to a flow.
Select Copilot
Type in what you would like Copilot to do
It will generate and modify your form based off your input
Make sure to continue testing to ensure it performs the functions you expect.
For more information about copilot, please refer to this wiki page.
6. Monitor and Manage Your Flow
Go to the My Flows section in Power Automate to monitor the status of your flows.
Edit, delete, or share flows as needed to adapt to changing requirements.
Example Use Cases
Here are some practical examples of how to use Power Automate with Microsoft Forms:
Employee Onboarding: Automatically send a welcome email and create a task in Planner when a new employee submits their onboarding form.
Customer Feedback: Notify your support team and log feedback in a SharePoint list when a customer submits a feedback form.
Event Registration: Add event registrants to an Excel sheet and send them a confirmation email.
Quiz Grading: Automatically email quiz results to students and update a gradebook in Excel.
Best Practices for Using Power Automate with Forms
Plan Your Workflow: Map out the steps and actions you want to automate before creating the flow.
Use Dynamic Content: Leverage dynamic content from form responses to personalize emails, notifications, or database entries.
Test Thoroughly: Test your flows with sample data to ensure they work as intended, especially with MS Copilot.
Monitor Performance: Regularly check the My Flows section to ensure your flows are running smoothly.
Additional Resources
Microsoft documentation
YouTube videos
Self-learning courses
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