Require User to Select Email from Drop Down UI

[heylookitsme]

I have successfully setup an Automation Feature that uses a list in Sharepoint and based on the user requesting approval it uses the list in sharepoint to select the next two approvers automagically. Of course I have been requested to change it. It still will look up the first approver from this list but the second will need to be selected by the user requesting approval. Problem is, I do not think PA has the ability to open and present the user with a UI that requests them to make a selection. This would be ideal and possibly a much simplier solution. Otherwise, the only way I know to do this is to have the user make the selection in my Excel Workbook and when the file is uploaded to Sharepoint (the trigger occurs) and it could get the email from the file. I don't like this method because I have been very unsuccessful in getting PA to pull data from Excel into PA. I have tried Get Item, Get Items until I am blue in the face and they never work so I am hoping for an easier solution that won't cause me to have change my code drastically.  

[DeepakS]

Hi @heylookitsme 

If number of approver are fix , then you can actually add Response options Item as - Send to Approver 1" or Send To Approver 2 and based on user response you can setup other flow steps.

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[heylookitsme]

Thanks for your time and support. Everyone still must approve and there must be two approvers. The first Approver is from a fixed list but the second approver must be a selection of up to three choices pre-set in a separate sharepoint list. The user would have to choose because they would be the only one to know which of the three choices needs to be the second approval person.

[DeepakS]

Hi @heylookitsme 

As of now i can think of two possible ways to do this without a lot of rework:

option 1)

1) if you can add second approver as dropdown or choice column what user can set when creating item/document

2) Use this field value to set second approver in your PA

Option 2)

User an simple power app to start the approval flow where you can ask user to select the second approver

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[efialttes]

Hi
Is it valid to use Teams?
If so, this is the feature you need
https://flow.microsoft.com/es-es/blog/power-automate-adaptive-cards-introduces-business-form-scenari...
We are currently using drop down menus by means of this functionality
Hope this helps

[heylookitsme]

Option 1 is what I want but do not know how to do it.

[heylookitsme]

Teams would require me to re-create the whole process and I have already built and tested this one. Too much time spent on this to change that drastic. I like this process and idea though.

[heylookitsme]

DEEpaks to clarify: I would like to use option one and I started this idea already by creating a new choice column in my document library. I also made it a required field. My setup is like this: I have an Excel Workbook where users input some data and when they select the submit button within the worksheet, it saves the file to a sharepoint library. My PA is then triggered to set in motion. As it goes through its process for second approver it needs some kind of way of (utilizing the choice column) asking the user to select an option. Currently, when user runs it, they don't know that it is even being uploaded to sharepoint because I am just using that to trigger approvals. So it does not force them to make an entry in the choice field so, it just shows as an error in the field.

I can't find anything online stating this can be done so I guess I need to go and make a suggestion for a new item. I want to believe in PA but the more and more I use it the more frustrated I get and I am an advanced user in computer sciences.

[DeepakS · Accepted solution]

Hi @heylookitsme 

Now i can understand your issue little better, here is few options that might help you:

Option 1) if you can create a tab and add a table to it where the user will add approver 2 email address. You can use flow to read this value and use it in approval.you can use the same flow or write another flow.
Option 2) Use Excel macro to update the list with approver 2 email (instead of drop-down use single line of text column in list). I am not a vba expert, but I know it's possible to update an SP list item using VBA macro
option 3) if you can control the file name that gets saved in SharePoint and add some identifier that let flow know that which approver to select.

Hoe this help.

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[heylookitsme]

Option 2 is a lot harder than one would think it would be. I can't find any VBA Code that enables me to enter this data into the field as it is being uploaded or right after its uploaded.

[heylookitsme · Accepted solution]

I used Option 2 and 3 combined. I created a Temporary Sharepoint Library where my Excel Macro would set the ContentType in a particular field with an email from a table where the email was stored. It would then save this file again to the Sharepoint Library where the file would trigger from and since I set this property in a temp file first it automatically carried the data over to the permanent file. Strange but it works. Then the trigger gets the file metadata where the data is stored on the permanent library to use as the secondary notification. Clear as mud, I know, but it worked in my case. Thanks for the support everyone. This is a great community to be a part of.

[efialttes]

@heylookitsme 

I am marking your last comment also as 'Solution' since you are also providing extra details of the hybrid approach you finally implemented that can be helpful for other Power Automate users dealing in the future with a similar scenario

Thanx for sharing! This community wouldn't be so great without people like you and @DeepakS !