Using Power Automate to send an Adaptive Card-Based Email through Outlook

[MB-HealthSci]

Greetings @VJR,

I wanted to provide a late update.  I was successful in creating a cloud based flow using the "Compose" action into which I pasted the adaptive card template.  Now, I have an adaptive card-based email with a user-specific attachment which seems to be working (which was the goal).  Thanks again for the help!

May I ask a related question?  When exploring the formatting of the adaptive card, initially I used the FactSet container to communicate the needed information (which renders well).  Because the FactSet container is somewhat limited in formatting (I do not believe one can adjust the width of the FactSet "title", "value" pairs), I experimented with the "Table" container.  Interestingly, even when using the adaptive card designer (https://adaptivecards.io/designer/), and copying the example card template code (within the Schema Explorer page) for tables (https://adaptivecards.io/explorer/Table.html) into a "New Card" (blank card), the message that is generated reads "[Parse] Unknown element type "Table".  Fallback will be used if present".  I find it interesting that the Schema Explorer code, when directly copied and pasted, does not even render within the adaptive card designer.  As expected, when I tried the Table container within my cloud flow it failed to render.  I believe the reason is due to the host app schema version.  It appears Table containers are only recognized by version 1.5 and yet the Bot Framework Web Chat and Microsoft Teams apps (which have the highest Schema Versions in the "Select host app" list) are only at 1.4.  May I ask if this is an issue you have been exposed to, and if this implies  Tables simply are not capable of being rendered until the host app versions increase (I hope my question makes sense, and my apologies if it doesn't)?

The example code from the Table Schema Explorer is:

{
    "type": "AdaptiveCard",
    "$schema": "http://adaptivecards.io/schemas/adaptive-card.json",
    "version": "1.5",
    "body": [
        {
            "type": "TextBlock",
            "text": "Table with gridlines",
            "wrap": true,
            "style": "heading"
        },
        {
            "type": "Table",
            "columns": [
                {
                    "width": 1
                },
                {
                    "width": 1
                }
            ],
            "rows": [
                {
                    "type": "TableRow",
                    "cells": [
                        {
                            "type": "TableCell",
                            "items": [
                                {
                                    "type": "TextBlock",
                                    "text": "showGridLines value",
                                    "wrap": true
                                }
                            ],
                            "style": "accent"
                        },
                        {
                            "type": "TableCell",
                            "items": [
                                {
                                    "type": "TextBlock",
                                    "text": "Behavior",
                                    "wrap": true
                                }
                            ],
                            "style": "accent"
                        }
                    ]
                },
                {
                    "type": "TableRow",
                    "cells": [
                        {
                            "type": "TableCell",
                            "items": [
                                {
                                    "type": "TextBlock",
                                    "text": "true",
                                    "wrap": true
                                }
                            ],
                            "style": "accent"
                        },
                        {
                            "type": "TableCell",
                            "items": [
                                {
                                    "type": "TextBlock",
                                    "text": "Cells are separated by 1px width gridlines",
                                    "wrap": true
                                }
                            ],
                            "style": "accent"
                        }
                    ]
                },
                {
                    "type": "TableRow",
                    "cells": [
                        {
                            "type": "TableCell",
                            "items": [
                                {
                                    "type": "TextBlock",
                                    "text": "false",
                                    "wrap": true
                                }
                            ],
                            "style": "accent"
                        },
                        {
                            "type": "TableCell",
                            "items": [
                                {
                                    "type": "TextBlock",
                                    "text": "Cells are separated by the cell spacing value configued in hostconfig",
                                    "wrap": true
                                }
                            ],
                            "style": "accent"
                        }
                    ]
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "type": "TextBlock",
            "text": "Table without gridlines",
            "wrap": true,
            "style": "heading"
        },
        {
            "type": "Table",
            "columns": [
                {
                    "width": 1
                },
                {
                    "width": 1
                }
            ],
            "rows": [
                {
                    "type": "TableRow",
                    "cells": [
                        {
                            "type": "TableCell",
                            "items": [
                                {
                                    "type": "TextBlock",
                                    "text": "showGridLines value",
                                    "wrap": true
                                }
                            ],
                            "style": "accent"
                        },
                        {
                            "type": "TableCell",
                            "items": [
                                {
                                    "type": "TextBlock",
                                    "text": "Behavior",
                                    "wrap": true
                                }
                            ],
                            "style": "accent"
                        }
                    ]
                },
                {
                    "type": "TableRow",
                    "cells": [
                        {
                            "type": "TableCell",
                            "items": [
                                {
                                    "type": "TextBlock",
                                    "text": "true",
                                    "wrap": true
                                }
                            ],
                            "style": "accent"
                        },
                        {
                            "type": "TableCell",
                            "items": [
                                {
                                    "type": "TextBlock",
                                    "text": "Cells are separated by 1px width gridlines",
                                    "wrap": true
                                }
                            ],
                            "style": "accent"
                        }
                    ]
                },
                {
                    "type": "TableRow",
                    "cells": [
                        {
                            "type": "TableCell",
                            "items": [
                                {
                                    "type": "TextBlock",
                                    "text": "false",
                                    "wrap": true
                                }
                            ],
                            "style": "accent"
                        },
                        {
                            "type": "TableCell",
                            "items": [
                                {
                                    "type": "TextBlock",
                                    "text": "Cells are separated by the cell spacing value configued in hostconfig",
                                    "wrap": true
                                }
                            ],
                            "style": "accent"
                        }
                    ]
                }
            ],
            "showGridLines": false
        }
    ]
}

Thanks again, and my apologies for being quite slow.

-matt

[MB-HealthSci]

I am using Power Automate (PA) Desktop to send emails to a variety of staff based on data contained in an Excel file.  To achieve the desired email formatting, I am attempting to use an adaptive card template.  The data for the template is being filled from the previously mentioned excel file.  I am using the 'Send email message through Outlook' action to compose and send the email.  In the "Body" field, I have copied and pasted the JSON template with the defined excel data variables (inside %%):

<script type="application/adaptivecard+json">
{
  "type": "AdaptiveCard",
  "body": [
    {
      "type": "TextBlock",
      "size": "Medium",
      "weight": "Bolder",
      "text": "Weekly At-Risk Students Report"
    },
    {
      "type": "ColumnSet",
      "columns": [
        {
          "type": "Column",
          "items": [
            {
              "type": "Image",
              "style": "Person",
              "url": "${creator.profileImage}",
              "size": "Small"
            }
          ],
          "width": "auto"
        },
        {
          "type": "Column",
          "items": [
            {
              "type": "TextBlock",
              "weight": "Bolder",
              "text": "%name%",
              "wrap": true
            },
            {
              "type": "TextBlock",
              "spacing": "None",
              "text": "For Week Of: TEST",
              "isSubtle": true,
              "wrap": true
            }
          ],
          "width": "stretch"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "type": "TextBlock",
      "text": "Please see the at-risk student information below:",
      "wrap": true
    },
    {
      "type": "FactSet",
      "facts": [
        {
          "$data": "${properties}",
          "title": "Instructor:",
          "value": "%name%,"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "type": "FactSet",
      "facts": [
        {
          "$data": "${properties}",
          "title": "Email:",
          "value": "%email%"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "type": "FactSet",
      "facts": [
        {
          "$data": "${properties}",
          "title": "Attachment Location:",
          "value": "%filepath%"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "type": "FactSet",
      "facts": [
        {
          "$data": "${properties}",
          "title": "Number of Students:",
          "value": "%nstudents%"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "type": "FactSet",
      "facts": [
        {
          "$data": "${properties}",
          "title": "At-Risk Students:",
          "value": "%narn%"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "type": "FactSet",
      "facts": [
        {
          "$data": "${properties}",
          "title": "Notes Submitted:",
          "value": "%narn%"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "type": "FactSet",
      "facts": [
        {
          "$data": "${properties}",
          "title": "Notes Needed:",
          "value": "%narnn%"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "type": "FactSet",
      "facts": [
        {
          "$data": "${properties}",
          "title": "Unsubmitted Assignments:",
          "value": "%nua%"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "type": "FactSet",
      "facts": [
        {
          "$data": "${properties}",
          "title": "Late Graded Assignments:",
          "value": "%nlgar%"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "type": "FactSet",
      "facts": [
        {
          "$data": "${properties}",
          "title": "Days Since Last Canvas Access:",
          "value": "%ndslcacc%"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "type": "FactSet",
      "facts": [
        {
          "$data": "${properties}",
          "title": "Days Since Last Canvas Activity:",
          "value": "%ndslcactive%"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "$schema": "http://adaptivecards.io/schemas/adaptive-card.json",
  "version": "1.5"
}
</script>

 Even with the "Body is HTML" slider (within the 'Send email message through Outlook' action) slid to the TRUE position, upon running the flow I find the JSON object is not rendered (the email is blank).  The documentation led me to believe that following the line, "<script type="application/adaptivecard+json">," the following JSON should, in fact, be rendered. Since I am quite new to the power apps and to adaptive cards, my hope is that the error I am making is common and therefore easy to find.  For those of you with experience sending adaptive cards using PA, may I ask if you can spot the syntactic or logical error?

Thank you very much for any help in the right direction, and if you need any additional information please feel free to let me know.

-matt

[Henrik_M]

Maybe you need <html> tags surrounding everything? 🤷‍♂️

[MB-HealthSci]

Thanks for the suggestion @Henrik_M !  

I added in the opening and closing <html> tags (copied below for completeness), however unfortunately Outlook is not rendering the JSON still.

<html>
<script type="application/adaptivecard+json">
{
  "type": "AdaptiveCard",
  "body": [
    {
      "type": "TextBlock",
      "size": "Medium",
      "weight": "Bolder",
      "text": "Weekly At-Risk Students Report"
    },
    {
      "type": "ColumnSet",
      "columns": [
        {
          "type": "Column",
          "items": [
            {
              "type": "Image",
              "style": "Person",
              "url": "${creator.profileImage}",
              "size": "Small"
            }
          ],
          "width": "auto"
        },
        {
          "type": "Column",
          "items": [
            {
              "type": "TextBlock",
              "weight": "Bolder",
              "text": "%name%",
              "wrap": true
            },
            {
              "type": "TextBlock",
              "spacing": "None",
              "text": "For Week Of: TEST",
              "isSubtle": true,
              "wrap": true
            }
          ],
          "width": "stretch"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "type": "TextBlock",
      "text": "Please see the at-risk student information below:",
      "wrap": true
    },
    {
      "type": "FactSet",
      "facts": [
        {
          "$data": "${properties}",
          "title": "Instructor:",
          "value": "%name%,"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "type": "FactSet",
      "facts": [
        {
          "$data": "${properties}",
          "title": "Email:",
          "value": "%email%"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "type": "FactSet",
      "facts": [
        {
          "$data": "${properties}",
          "title": "Attachment Location:",
          "value": "%filepath%"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "type": "FactSet",
      "facts": [
        {
          "$data": "${properties}",
          "title": "Number of Students:",
          "value": "%nstudents%"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "type": "FactSet",
      "facts": [
        {
          "$data": "${properties}",
          "title": "At-Risk Students:",
          "value": "%narn%"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "type": "FactSet",
      "facts": [
        {
          "$data": "${properties}",
          "title": "Notes Submitted:",
          "value": "%narn%"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "type": "FactSet",
      "facts": [
        {
          "$data": "${properties}",
          "title": "Notes Needed:",
          "value": "%narnn%"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "type": "FactSet",
      "facts": [
        {
          "$data": "${properties}",
          "title": "Unsubmitted Assignments:",
          "value": "%nua%"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "type": "FactSet",
      "facts": [
        {
          "$data": "${properties}",
          "title": "Late Graded Assignments:",
          "value": "%nlgar%"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "type": "FactSet",
      "facts": [
        {
          "$data": "${properties}",
          "title": "Days Since Last Canvas Access:",
          "value": "%ndslcacc%"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "type": "FactSet",
      "facts": [
        {
          "$data": "${properties}",
          "title": "Days Since Last Canvas Activity:",
          "value": "%ndslcactive%"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "$schema": "http://adaptivecards.io/schemas/adaptive-card.json",
  "version": "1.5"
}
</script>
</html>

Still, I most certainly appreciate the suggestion!

-matt

[VJR]

Hi @MB-HealthSci 

I don't think json can be rendered when html is passed.

You might want to use a json to html converter to find the corresponding html and then modify as per requirement.

• Best Online JSON to HTML Converter:Display JSON into HTML format (codebeautify.org)
• JSON To HTML Table Converter (convertjson.com)

I tried converting the json you shared on both these links and was seeing some kind of output. 

PS: I had to remove the <script> tag because again it is html and not Json.

[MB-HealthSci]

Thank you @VJR for taking the time to look into this!

Since I believe the goal to utilize the adaptive card, since after all adaptive cards can include actionable message elements, I am not sure if a pure html email can truly serve the same purpose (perhaps it can, however, my limited understanding is that the cross-platform formatting compatibility adaptive cards deliver, along with the actionable message potential is at least much more difficult to realize with html alone).  

Perhaps I am approaching the problem incorrectly.  The goal would be to use Power Automate (PA) to build recipient-specific adaptive cards (using the Excel data) and share that adaptive card through Outlook.  In the "big picture," may I ask if you are aware of how feasible it is to realize the idea this way?   Perhaps Outlook is the wrong PA action.  Perhaps there is another action that is better fit for the construction and dissemination of the adaptive card?  I should say that I have a colleague who was able to render JSON in Outlook using web-based PA.  In her case, she used the "Compose" item and pasted the JSON object into it (followed by utilizing the compose variable within the Outlook message construction).  In PA-Desktop, however, there is no "Compose" item/action.  I have tried pasting the JSON as a "Variable" item, however this attempt failed as well. 

Thank you again for taking the time to look into this!

-matt

[VJR]

Hi @MB-HealthSci 

I have gone through your entire message.

- That was my first instinct when I read the original post ie; to use Cloud flows because it has more integration options for adaptive cards. So is there any specific reason that you are using Desktop flows and not Cloud flows?

-  If you can print and share what was the input and output of the Compose action, we could think of seeing what are the similar possibilities in PAD.

[MB-HealthSci]

Thanks again @VJR ,

My apologies for the delay.  I have not used cloud flows before, and I am finding it takes more time than expected to learn what feels like a nearly completely different app.  I am struggling to figure out how to reattach my user-specific attachments to my cloud flow, however once I have been able to fully reproduce what I have been able to do with my desktop client flow, I then will venture into the adaptive card territory.  

Again, and again, thank you for your help, and my apologies for the delay (the learning slope of the learning curve is rather steep, and apparently slippery).

-matt

[VJR]

Hi @MB-HealthSci , I have moved your post from Desktop flows to cloud flows. But I suggest you close this one and submit a new one here according to your latest situation so that you can get accurate help.

[ivan_wilson]

Have a look at the guide here. I believe you need to define a separate <head> and <body> in your HTML. The <script> tag goes into the <head> tag. 

I have successfully sent an adaptive card using A Power Automate cloud flow with the "Send Email (v2)" action. You should send the message to yourself to test. If you want to send to another user, you will need to go through additional steps, otherwise the card won't be rendered.

[brianna1]

Hi there, I know it's been an age since you posted your question, but I am having a similar problem and I'd love to know how you solved yours. I am trying to put excel data into a table and send an adaptive card (teams not email) however I can't get the info from excel into the card. I have three columns and 12 rows including headers. Column A is text, the next three columns are times hh:mm:ss format.