Learnings: Challenges in the development workflow with PowerAutomate

Developers strive every day to develop effective workflows and automations. Unexpected challenges can arise, especially when using Power Automate. In this post, I share my insights and highlight a key challenge with Actions that require a SharePoint connector.

Challenges with SharePoint connectors in Power Automate

A critical point is the correct use of variables for the URL of sites and libraries, especially for actions such as „Get-Item“. Important: If variables are used for the URL, Power Automate does not recognise the list structure. As a result, no corresponding values are displayed for subsequent actions.

Strategies for the solution: Development with hard-coded values

To solve the problem, it is recommended that you first use hard-coded values for pages and lists and develop the flow accordingly. This ensures that Power Automate understands the list structure and suggests the correct values. After successful development and testing, the hard-coded values can be replaced by variables.

Practical example

Suppose you want to retrieve a SharePoint item with the „Get-Item“ connector. Instead of immediately using variables for the URL of the site and library, you should first define fixed values. After successfully developing and testing the flow, it is then possible to replace these hard-coded values with variables, which makes the workflow more flexible.

Conclusion

Power Automate offers many options for creating complex workflows and automations. However, there are challenges that require special attention. When working with SharePoint connectors in particular, correct consideration of the list structure is crucial in order to achieve the appropriate values. This challenge can be overcome effectively by initially working with hard-coded values. Later, the use of variables makes it easy to adapt to different scenarios.
Let's use these insights to make our development workflows more efficient with Power Automate and successfully overcome challenges.