Q&A: Manage automations easier when they are automatically defined in Dataverse

[ChrisGarty]

Create solution cloud flows by default

In February, the “Solution cloud flows by default” environment setting was released to public preview. That environment setting allows administrators to ensure that new cloud flows will be created in Dataverse solutions when Dataverse is available in the environment. The use of solution cloud flows increases manageability and allows those cloud flows to take advantage of Dataverse-specific capabilities including connection references, environment variables, the Dataverse API, and solution-based application lifecycle management (ALM).

Since we released in February, there has been a list of cloud flow creation methods and entry points that we have been increasingly adding support for including from Power Automate portal, Power Automate Management connector, Power Apps, Teams, OneDrive, Dynamics 365, Excel, the new mobile app, and SharePoint. We have one remaining integration scenario for Project Roadmap that will begin releasing next week.

With all integration scenarios complete, the environment setting will be generally available and turned on automatically so that environments with Dataverse will create solution cloud flows automatically. This change will begin to roll out in November.

Just over a third of cloud flows are already created in Dataverse as solution cloud flows, so this should be a minor change in environments that have Dataverse. Since February we have worked to close scenario gaps between solution cloud flows and non-solution cloud flows and we have responded to feedback from customers who have been using the environment setting. We have also been monitoring system performance and storage to ensure that the creation of solution cloud flows in Dataverse should have minimal effects to the definition and running of those flows.

Citizen developers can migrate cloud flows into Dataverse solutions

In addition to automatically creating solution cloud flows, citizen developers can now add most non-solution cloud flows into Dataverse solutions, including flows with instant/button triggers, Power Apps triggers, and flows using connectors for Teams, SharePoint, Forms, Dynamics 365, Excel Online, or Project. Flows using delegated authorization are the last set of flows that can’t be added into Dataverse solutions, however that support will begin shipping in the next few weeks.

Admins can migrate cloud flows into Dataverse solutions

An Add-AdminFlowsToSolution PowerShell cmdlet is now available to allow administrators to quickly migrate multiple cloud flows into Dataverse solutions themselves, rather than following up with individual users. Administrators can quickly migrate all flows using the EnvironmentName parameter, specific flows using the FlowNames parameter, or a certain number of flows using the Top parameter. We recommend migrating a small number of flows initially and verifying those flows to ensure you understand the process.

If you have any questions about this change or are interested in release train specifics, ask away!

We'll have a blog post related to this published shortly. 

Happy automating!

[ChrisGarty]

I got some detailed questions through another channel and wanted to share the answers here…

1. Will an already created Dataverse environment automatically have the "Environments using Dataverse automatically create solution cloud flows" feature enabled?

When the feature is GA, then existing environments with Dataverse databases will have the setting automatically turned on.  

2. After all integration scenarios are complete, if I create a new Dataverse environment, will it be created with the "Environments using Dataverse automatically create solution cloud flows" feature enabled?

When the feature is GA, then new environments with Dataverse databases will have the setting automatically turned on.   

3. Can the "Environments that use Dataverse automatically create solution cloud flows" feature be enabled or disabled by the user?

When the feature is GA, then environments with Dataverse databases will have the setting automatically turned on, but for a short period administrators, if they notice problematic behavior, it can be turned off and the reasoning can be shared with us to explain why. 

4. Will Power Apps apps be automatically created in the solution?

Power Apps canvas apps have a separate environment setting that can optionally be turned on. Canvas apps infrastructure has been updated to allow non-solution canvas apps to reference solution cloud flows. 

5. What is the latest timeline for the environment setting being turned on automatically?

Due to sensitivity to changes during the holiday period, the change to turn on the environment setting automatically will begin rolling out in January. Customers will be notified via message center as we begin the release of the GA state, so that they have a more specific timeline and can watch for any issues that may arise.

6. Will the environment setting continue to be available into the future?

The environment setting will be phased out 2-3 months after GA.

January 2024 - In January, the setting will become generally available. At GA, the setting will be automatically turned on for all environments and administrators can turn it off if they encounter issues.

March 2024 - Assuming that we don't encounter issues and we don't see a lot of customers turning it off, then in March the setting will be removed, so that all environments with Dataverse will have all new cloud flow definitions added to Dataverse. Having all the cloud flow definitions in Dataverse will allow customers to take advantage of Dataverse-specific features like Drafts and Versioning (currently in private preview), the Automation Center (currently in development), and solution export and import.

[Tetsuo27]

It looks like this default settings change hasn't reflected yet, has there been a change in the timeline?