Microsoft Power Platform Fundamentals or PL-900 is a foundational course designed to impart skills related to improving productivity by automating business tasks, analyzing data to produce business insights, and acting more effectively by creating simple app experiences. In this article, we’ll focus on how to add flow steps to perform data operations using Microsoft Power Platform.
Understanding Flow Steps in Power Automate
Flow steps in Power Automate describe the sequence of operations that are executed in an automated flow. Each step in a flow can perform an action, like a data operation, or conditionally control the execution flow. For instance, a step can execute a SQL query, operate on SharePoint items, or send an email notifications.
Adding Flow Steps
To add a flow step, navigate to the ‘Edit’ section of your automation flow. Here, you will see an ‘Add an action’ button. Clicking on this button opens up a list of available actions. These actions are categorized under different tabs like ‘Built-in’, ‘Standard’, and ‘Premium’. Each category has hundreds of actions sorted based on the connectors used.
Performing Data Operations with Flow Steps
Flow steps can perform a variety of data operations like Create, Read, Update, and Delete (CRUD) actions.
Create operation:
Create a new entry in a data source.
Example: You can create a SharePoint list item with input from a Microsoft Forms entry.
In the “Add an action” menu, choose “SharePoint – Create item”.
In the Site Address field, enter or select the SharePoint site address.
In the List Name field, select the SharePoint list.
In the Title field, use a dynamic content expression to reference the form response.
Read operation:
Read fetches data from a data source.
Example: You can read a SQL database record when a flow is triggered by a Microsoft Forms entry.
In the “Add an action” menu, choose “SQL Server – Get row”.
In the SQL Server field, enter the server name.
In the Table name field, choose the table.
In the Row ID field, use a dynamic content expression to reference the form response.
Update operation:
Update modifies an existing entry in a data source.
Example: You can update a SharePoint list item when a Microsoft Forms response is received.
In the “Add an action” menu, choose “SharePoint – Update item”.
In the Site Address field, enter or select your SharePoint site.
In the List Name field, select the SharePoint list.
In the Id field, use a dynamic content expression to reference the list item Id.
In the Title field, use a dynamic content expression to reference the form response.
Delete operation:
Delete removes an entry from a data source.
Example: You can delete a SharePoint list item when a flow is triggered.
In the “Add an action” menu, choose “SharePoint – Delete item”.
In the Site Address field, enter or select your SharePoint site.
In the List Name field, select the SharePoint list.
In the Id field, use a dynamic content expression to reference the list item Id.
By knowing how to add flow steps to perform data operations, you’ll equip yourself with an essential skill to automate business processes using Microsoft Power Platform. Notably, harnessing the power of flow steps in your flows can drastically improve productivity, consistency, and accuracy in your business processes.
Remember that any data operation should be handled with care since it impacts the data integrity in your data source. Always test your flows extensively and use error handling steps to prevent data corruption in the event of unexpected errors or exceptions.
Practice Test
True or False: In Power Automate, adding flow steps to perform data operations is a necessary process.
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: Flow steps are integral parts of Power Automate. They signify one complete operation, such as composing an email or querying a database, and are necessary to perform data operations.
What is the first step in adding flow steps to perform data operations in Power Automate?
- A. Defining the flow trigger
- B. Defining the action
- C. Defining the data source
- D. Defining the control flow
Answer: A. Defining the flow trigger
Explanation: Every flow begins by defining a trigger, which is an event that starts the execution of the flow. For efficient data operations, the trigger should be appropriately defined first.
True or False: Control flow operations in Power Automate, like conditions, loops, and switches, can be added as flow steps.
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: Control flow operations are used to specify the execution flow based on conditions and can be added as flow steps in Power Automate.
Which of the following is NOT a basic data operation you might add as a flow step in Power Automate?
- A. Create a new record
- B. Update a record
- C. Delete a record
- D. None of the above
Answer: D. None of the above
Explanation: All options listed – creating, updating, and deleting a record – are basic data operations that can be added as flow steps in Power Automate.
What role does Connectors play in adding flow steps to perform data operations?
- A. They connect the flow to external systems
- B. They execute the data operations
- C. They trigger the flow
- D. All of the above
Answer: D. All of the above
Explanation: Connectors in Power Automate play various roles including connecting to external systems, executing data operations, and triggering flows, depending on the configuration.
True or False: Manual triggers can be added as flow steps to perform data operations in Power Automate.
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: Manual triggers function based on user action and can be added as flow steps in Power Automate.
In Power Automate, which of the following is not a way to modify flow steps?
- A. Insert a new step
- B. Delete a step
- C. Rename a step
- D. All are ways to modify flow steps
Answer: D. All are ways to modify flow steps
Explanation: In Power Automate, flow steps can be modified in a few ways, and all the options listed – inserting, deleting, and renaming a step – are allowed.
You can perform complex data operations in flow steps by using what feature in Power Automate?
- A. Control flow operations
- B. Power Apps
- C. Common Data Service (CDS)
- D. Microsoft Graph API
Answer: C. Common Data Service (CDS)
Explanation: CDS is a Azure-based service that allows you to securely store and manage data that’s used by business applications. Advanced data operations can be performed using this feature.
True or False: A flow can use multiple triggers in Power Automate.
- True
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: A flow can have only one trigger in Power Automate, but can have multiple actions that are performed when the trigger condition is met.
Which of the following operations can NOT be performed on data by a properly configured flow step in Power Automate?
- A. Create a data record
- B. Synchronize data from a data source
- C. Access localized validation operations in Power Apps
- D. Query a data source
Answer: C. Access localized validation operations in Power Apps
Explanation: Power Automate flow operation steps can perform various data operations, such as create a data record, synchronize data from a data source, or query a data source. However, accessing localized validation operations in Power Apps is not a direct data operation performed by flow steps.
Interview Questions
What is the first step in adding flow steps to perform data operations in Power Automate?
The first step is to select “New step” in your flow design and then choose the operation you wish to perform under the “Data operation” tab.
Which data operation is used to get a row from a table?
The “Get row” data operation is used to retrieve a specific row from a table.
How can you use “Filter Query” in the data operations workflow?
In the data operations workflow, “Filter Query” can be used in any operation where you wish to filter the input of data to the operation according to certain conditions.
What does the “compose” data operation do in Microsoft Power Automate?
The “compose” operation allows you to save data that you can use later in your flow.
What is the main function of the “Select” data operation within Power Automate?
The “Select” data operation is used to transform the shape of objects or to select properties of objects.
How can you use a flow with multiple data operations?
A flow can have multiple data operations which are executed in sequence. Each operation can use the outputs of the preceding operations as inputs.
How does the “Create CSV Table” data operation function within Power Automate?
“Create CSV Table” data operation takes a collection (array) of objects as an input and outputs a CSV table.
What does “Parse JSON” data operation do?
“Parse JSON” data operation is used to convert a JSON string into an object that can be used in the flow.
What is the purpose of the “Join” data operation within Power Automate?
The “Join” data operation is used to combine multiple strings, or the elements of an array, into a single string.
How can you edit the settings for a data operation within Power Automate?
Every data operation has an ellipsis (…) in the top right corner which can be clicked to open up options that allow you to rename, delete, or duplicate the operation.
What information is needed to configure the “List rows” data operation?
To configure the “List rows” data operation, you will need to specify the table from which to fetch the rows, as well as any filter conditions if needed.
What data operation would you use to perform arithmetic calculations?
One would use the “Compose” data operation to perform arithmetic calculations, in conjunction with expression language functions like add(), sub(), mul(), and div().
How can you use outputs from previous steps in a subsequent data operation?
Outputs from previous steps can be used by referencing them in the “inputs” section of the subsequent operation.
What does the “Apply to each” control do in conjunction with data operations?
“Apply to each” control is used to loop over a collection of items and perform data operations on each item.
How can you sort the result of a “list rows” operation in ascending order by a particular field?
The Order By field under the Advanced Options of “List rows” operation allows you to specify which field to use for sorting, and you can append “asc” to the field name to sort in ascending order.