Populate a Microsoft Word template completing but not changing anything

[ctw1991]

Hi All,

I've been trying to use the "Populate a Microsoft Word template" connector in power automate. I've done everything correctly and the flow runs fine however when I open the file. nothing has been changed.

I've seen people say it doesnt work with templates that are loaded into sharepoint so stored the template in onedrive:

https://powerusers.microsoft.com/t5/Building-Flows/Word-Online-Business-Connector-Populate-a-Microso...

I know the limitations on rich text and other controls from here: 

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/connectors/wordonlinebusiness/#how-to-create-microsoft-word-templat...

So what i've done is created a really simple docx with 2 plain text controls and saved it to my onedrive.

I a forms response as a trigger as the input data to the template.

when I run it it completes no problems but when I actually open the file it doesn't show anything.

why is that?

[v-litu-msft · Accepted solution]

Hi @ctw1991,

After populating these date into the Word template, you should use the generate file content to create a doc file:

Best Regards,
Community Support Team _ Lin Tu
If this post helps, then please consider Accept it as the solution to help the other members find it more quickly.

[walter_pixelia]

Hi Lin,

I'm in trouble because if I open the result file through Teams or Sharepoint I can see the fields filled with data, but If I open it in the Desktop App I see again only the fields names. It is a very strange behaviour. Also if I download the file from Teams (.../Download) the file downloaded miss the fields data.

[Josi]

I have observed the exact same behavior on my application.

I am debating between creating a new flow. and just trying fresh because I have not found a solution. The preview shows the data (In my case on SharePoint),

but if I download the file to send to collogues it just shows the field logical mapping names instead of the data.

Also, sometimes it actually does work and populate, but it is empty much more often.

[walter_pixelia]

Hi Josi,

I found that if you use a template that used the merge fields (which are orange if I remember correctly) the merge only works in Teams or online, whereas if within the Word template you replace the orange fields with the blue ones (Controls, text field - not RTF) everything works perfectly.

[gauburtin]

I'm getting the same issue but it only occurs in sandbox environments. In a production environnement, all files (online and  downloaded files) are updated.

Any idea ?

[divyank_raj]

I'm facing the same issue.

Did anyone ever find the solution to this issue?
This seems like affecting many users.

[IAmBeingForced]

I am also still facing this issue. If I open my exported file in Word online, the data fields are filled out.
The desktop client only shows the field names, however, the pen inputs are showing up (super strange).

Does anyone have an answer?

[rma]

I'm facing the same issue at the moment. Anyone found a workaround for this?

[divyank_raj]

In my case, the word template I had was ill formatted.
I had to re-do the word template based on the official Microsoft documentation for creating word templates. Once I followed it to the letter and re-created my template, the output after the power automate flow was perfect in both the web and desktop version.

[AlexEncodian]

@rma / @IAmBeingForced / @divyank_raj / @ctw1991 / @gauburtin 

Sometimes it can be errors in the template. They can be a little complex to use.

If you haven't managed to solve your problem, have a look at Encodian's Populate Word Document action. You do not need to add content controls to your word documents, you simply add placeholder text wrapped in the template syntax as a token. And you can simply pass through JSON data into the action.

It easily handles html/rich text format, repeating sections, if/else logic and more.

For an overview of the syntax, please see: Template Syntax Overview – Encodian Customer Help

For syntax examples for tables, images, repeating sections etc: Template Syntax for Populate Word Document – Encodian Customer Help

[IAmBeingForced]

It's typically template errors yes.

I actually have started using Encodian, as it handles photos and arrays in a better way. 
I would highly recommend checking it out to anyone.

Their service and support team are amazing also.

That being said, it can be just as tough to use as the built-in premium connectors. They have amazing documentation and instructional videos though.

10/10

[Lexanar]

@divyank_raj 

Do you have a link to that documentation? I'd like to check mine to see what's missing/poorly formatted.

Thank you in advance!

-SCM

[divyank_raj]

Hi @Lexanar 

I followed this doc.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/admin/using-word-templates-dynamics-365 

What I essentially did was remove all the references to the dynamic values and re added them back to the template using the Developer Tab as illustrated in the documentation.

Started working after I re did all the occurences.

Thanks & Regards,

Divyank Raj

[Lexanar]

@divyank_raj I am so sorry I never replied this was extremely helpful, thank you!!