4. Wrokflows: Visual Workflows, Real Results 5 Game-Changing Automations Using Make

---

Automate the Everyday: 5 Time-Saving Microsoft Power Automate Flows for Your Workday

🔷 Introduction to Microsoft Power Automate

Microsoft Power Automate (formerly Microsoft Flow) is a cloud-based automation platform that helps you streamline repetitive tasks across Microsoft 365 and beyond. Whether you’re working with Outlook, SharePoint, Teams, or third-party apps like Twitter or Trello, Power Automate lets you build “flows” that connect services and automate actions — all without writing code.

In this tutorial, we’ll explore five real-world business scenarios that show how Power Automate can save time, reduce errors, and boost productivity.

---

✅ Scenario 1: Extract Data from SharePoint Files and Update Microsoft Lists

Use Case: Automatically process uploaded documents and update a central tracker.

Steps:

1. Trigger: SharePoint → When a file is created in a folder
2. Action 1: AI Builder → Extract key data (e.g., invoice number, date, amount)
3. Action 2: Microsoft Lists → Add a new item with extracted data
4. Optional: Send a Teams notification to confirm the update

---

✅ Scenario 2: Auto-Approve Leave Requests Submitted via Microsoft Forms

Use Case: Streamline HR approvals for small teams.

Steps:

1. Trigger: Microsoft Forms → When a new response is submitted
2. Action 1: Get response details
3. Action 2: Condition → If leave duration < 3 days, auto-approve
4. Action 3: Outlook → Send approval email to employee
5. Else: Notify manager for manual review

---

✅ Scenario 3: Send Teams Notifications When a Planner Task Is Overdue

Use Case: Keep your team accountable and on schedule.

Steps:

1. Trigger: Scheduled flow → Run daily
2. Action 1: Get all tasks from Microsoft Planner
3. Action 2: Filter tasks where due date < today and status ≠ completed
4. Action 3: Microsoft Teams → Post a message tagging the task owner

---

✅ Scenario 4: Archive Outlook Email Attachments to OneDrive

Use Case: Automatically back up important attachments.

Steps:

1. Trigger: Outlook → When a new email arrives with attachments
2. Condition: If subject contains “Invoice” or “Contract”
3. Action: OneDrive → Save attachments to a specific folder
4. Optional: Send a confirmation email to yourself

---

✅ Scenario 5: Create a Daily Digest Email from Flagged Outlook Emails

Use Case: Summarize your most important emails in one place.

Steps:

1. Trigger: Scheduled flow → Run every morning at 8 AM
2. Action 1: Search Outlook for flagged emails from the past 24 hours
3. Action 2: Compile subject lines and send a summary email to yourself
4. Optional: Include links to open each email directly

---

6. Workflows: No-Code, Full Control: Automate Research and Scheduling Like Magic with Bardeen