From the course: Managing Data with Microsoft 365

Navigating Power Automate

From the course: Managing Data with Microsoft 365

Navigating Power Automate

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- [Instructor] If you're going to build a house, you need to know the difference between a hammer and a screwdriver. Getting to know your tools ahead of time saves you headaches in the long run on any project. In this lesson, I'll show you how to launch Power Automate so that you can confidently navigate it to create flows. Let's talk about structure. Power Automate processes are known as flows. These can be described as when this happens, do something. A connector is a connection to a service or product like Outlook or forms. Connectors contain triggers and actions. A trigger is the when this happens part. An action is the do something part. Together, they build a flow. Now that you understand the relationship between a connector and trigger, I want to show you how to create a flow. In the top left corner of office.com, I'll select the app launcher and open Power Automate. Here on the Power Automate homepage, you can see a list of different templates and tutorials for getting started. Power Automate provides three options for creating a flow. I can see these by selecting create on the left side. First, you can start from blank. You might use this when you already know what connectors and actions you need. You also have the option to create a flow by starting from a template. These are commonly used in popular templates, which could help you solve a task you have already. Or, you can start from a connector. You can use this when you know what service you want to create an automation around but are unsure what actions may be available to use. The flows you've created are kept in the My Flows tab. As you get more comfortable with Power Automate's layout, you'll be able to quickly activate flows and improve your productivity. So dive in and start exploring flow templates that will eliminate repetitive tasks out of your workday.

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