Learnings: Challenges in the Development Workflow with PowerAutomate

Developers strive daily 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 with actions like “Get-Item”. Important: When variables are used for the URL, Power Automate doesn’t recognize the list structure. As a result, no corresponding values are displayed for subsequent actions.

Solution Strategies: Development with Hard-Coded Values

To solve the problem, it’s recommended to initially 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 with variables.

Practical Example

Suppose you want to retrieve a SharePoint item with the “Get-Item” connector. Instead of immediately using variables for the site and library URL, you should first define fixed values. After successful development and testing of the flow, it’s then possible to replace these hard-coded values with variables, making the workflow more flexible.

Conclusion

Power Automate offers many possibilities for creating complex workflows and automations. However, there are challenges that require special attention. Especially when working with SharePoint connectors, correctly considering the list structure is crucial to achieve the appropriate values. By initially working with hard-coded values, this challenge can be effectively overcome. Later, using variables allows easy adaptation to different scenarios. Let’s use these insights to make our development workflows with Power Automate more efficient and successfully master challenges.