Types of Flows in Power Automate

Power Automate, a part of Microsoft Power Platform, is a powerful tool that allows users to automate repetitive tasks and business processes with minimal coding. It connects various Microsoft and third-party services, enabling seamless data flow and task execution. One of the key features of Power Automate is its different types of flows, each designed for specific scenarios. Understanding these flow types helps in building efficient automation for personal productivity or enterprise-level solutions.

1. Automated Flows

Automated flows are triggered automatically by specific events. These events could be anything from receiving an email in Outlook to the creation of a new file in SharePoint. Users define a trigger, and when the event occurs, the flow runs instantly.

Example: When a new email arrives with an attachment, the flow saves the attachment to OneDrive automatically.

Use case: Event-driven workflows such as alert notifications, form submissions, or data synchronization.

2. Instant Flows (Button Flows)

Instant flows are manually triggered by the user. They are great for tasks that don’t have a clear automated trigger and need to be run on-demand. These flows can be launched directly from the Power Automate mobile app, web portal, or even embedded in Microsoft Teams.

Example: A user clicks a button to send a pre-defined approval request to their manager.

Use case: Quick tasks like sending reminders, generating reports, or manual approval requests.

3. Scheduled Flows

Scheduled flows run at specific times or intervals. These flows are useful for automating regular processes such as data backups, report generation, or daily status updates.

Example: Every day at 9:00 AM, a flow sends a summary of open tasks to a user’s email.

Use case: Recurring tasks that happen daily, weekly, or monthly.

4. Desktop Flows (RPA)

Desktop flows are used for Robotic Process Automation (RPA). They allow automation of tasks on local machines or legacy systems that don’t have APIs. Power Automate Desktop helps automate tasks involving mouse clicks, keyboard input, and screen navigation.

Example: Extracting data from a legacy system and entering it into an Excel sheet.

Use case: Automating repetitive manual tasks on desktops or older software systems.

Conclusion

Power Automate provides diverse flow types—automated, instant, scheduled, and desktop—to suit various business needs. Choosing the right type of flow helps organizations streamline operations, save time, and improve productivity. Whether you need a daily report or a system-to-system data sync, Power Automate has a solution for it.

Learn Power Automate

Read more :

 What Is Power Automate? A Beginner’s Guide

Introduction to Microsoft Power Platform

Difference Between Power Automate and Logic Apps

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