Re: Advice, please

jpope · ‎12-14-2022

Hi everyone. I've been directed to add a new piece to a flow I created this spring, and I'm not sure of the best way forward. I'm a toddler when it comes to Power Automate (and coding) so I'd appreciate some easy to understand wisdom.

The existing flow is a Microsoft form that serves as a registration form for one of our programs. It flows to an Excel spreadsheet and then sends email notifications. Very basic. For whatever reason we now need paper copies of each registration as well. Here are possible options I've found through research:

One: Go into Forms and print each response. (Not viable. Formatting is weird, I don't have time to do it, and those who need the copies wouldn't be able to navigate it.)

Two: Add a parallel branch to the flow which creates a SharePoint List and eventually a PDF to attach to an email. (The videos I watched showed the resulting PDF to be a series of columns, which won't suit registration information.)

Three: Leave the flow alone and create a template form in Excel that works with a merge/macro type of thing that'd send an email pdf. (I'd need it to trigger when a new registration form is received and I'm not sure that can be done here.)

Thoughts and advice? Is there another option I'm not seeing? Power Automate isn't my area of expertise, so I'm looking for the simplest solution for a layperson like me.

Thanks for any help you can give!

-Jo

SudeepGhatakNZ · ‎12-14-2022

@jpope ,

Are you able to post a sample of the Registration form?

I think you should try a Word template and then convert it into pdf

Populating a Word document with Microsoft Power Automate - Strategy 365 Limited

If my suggestion helped you, please give it a Thumbs up and Mark it as a Solution so that it can benefit others in the community.
Sudeep Ghatak
Microsoft MVP, Business Applications
www.sudeepghatak.com

jpope · ‎12-16-2022

Thanks @SudeepGhatakNZ I'm working on this now and it seems a great way to go. However, the linked example seems to be one list that will be populated with multiple responses and then mailed. My situation is slightly different; my template will need to populate individual Word docs for each submission as they arrive. They'll then save the document as a PDF and attach to an email. A pdf of a sample return is attached to show the fields. You've gotten me a lot of the way there, and I appreciate it!!

SudeepGhatakNZ · ‎12-18-2022

Sure, let me know how you get along.

If my suggestion helped you, please give it a Thumbs up and Mark it as a Solution so that it can benefit others in the community.
Sudeep Ghatak
Microsoft MVP, Business Applications
www.sudeepghatak.com

jpope · ‎01-13-2023

My apologies for taking so long--I was pulled onto a different project and am now just able to returning to this one.

In any event, I've hit another wall--the "populate to a microsoft word template" action is a premium one. Our gov't work license doesn't include premium actions. Argh! However, I so appreciate your time and thoughtful advice!!

SudeepGhatakNZ · ‎01-13-2023

In that case, you could try Quick parts.

You can save the form entries into a SharePoint library and then generate a document out of it.

How To Fill SharePoint Metadata In Word Document Template Using Quick Parts And FLOW (c-sharpcorner....

If my suggestion helped you, please give it a Thumbs up and Mark it as a Solution so that it can benefit others in the community.
Sudeep Ghatak
Microsoft MVP, Business Applications
www.sudeepghatak.com