Responding to PowerApps

[JPMontoya]

Hi

I have constructed a flow that parses user input to dynamically target specified files, extract their content and create tasks in the specified planner plans. The user input is entered via a PowerApp. Now, that particular flow can sometimes take quite some time to finish, and I would like to provide the user with some feedback about the progress of the flow, whilst it is running.

What I've managed so far is to

• create a 'Respond to PowerApps'-action that returns ResponseCodes and some other data to the PowerApp at the end of the flow
• create a 'Respond to PowerApps'-action for each HTTP-Request made by the flow, which only fires if the Request fails, returning the same fields as the Response mentioned before. Those particular branches also Terminate the flow.

However, I have so far failed to return data to the PowerApp during the "normal"/expected execution-path of the Flow, meaning when it does not encounter any failing requests. Again, this would be to inform the user about any progress made, whilst he is staring at a spinner.

The reason for my failure seems to be that I cannot seem to have multiple Responses to PowerApp on the same execution-path. My question thus is, is there any way to work around that?

Cheers,

JP

[JohnAageAnderse · Accepted solution]

Hello @JPMontoya 

Could it be a possible workaround by splitting your flow into 3?

1st flow to look for a file in the root

2nd flow to look for a file in a folder

3rd flow to handle the planner based on the 1st and/or 2nd flow result

That would give you the option to inform "Looking in root", "Looking in folder", "Updating planner" or similar 🙂 - also meaning your PowerApps would call the 3 flows after each other, and you can react to each result.

Or are there to many dependencies between the actions in the flow?

Kind regards, John

[JPMontoya]

Hi @JohnAageAnderse 

Thanks for your response. I like the sound of that idea, though I have not tried calling multiple flows in a sequential fashion. Thankfully, it is really only the last section of the flow that is heavy on data, so the previous stages just have to pass on some IDs from one flow to the next. I don't think that should be to big of an issue.

Your suggestion also has the added benefit of not having to restart the entire chain of flows if something goes wrong in one of the later ones, so I'm a big fan of that idea 😎.

I presume passing the data from one flow to the next is a matter of updating a context variable upon completion and then using it as input for the next flow or is there an alternative/direct way? (well besides the 'Respond to PowerApp or Flow' which I already need for the PowerApp 😄)

In any case, I might not get around to test this until Monday but I'll let you know whether I manage to get it running.

Thanks again & best regards,

JP

[JPMontoya]

Hi @JohnAageAnderse

I have been able to achieve what I need and split the flow up into parts, pass the returns from one flow to the next, as well as using the "intermediate responses" from the individual flows in other parts of the PowerApp itself.

Can't thank you enough, your suggestion was absolutely perfect for my use-case 😃👍

Best regards,

JP