The future of Dynamics 365 workflows is Power Automate. What about those on-demand workflows you are running in CRM? You know, the ones from any record or view – you can choose “Flow,” then “Run Workflow,” and run it against one (or many) records at a time.
Can this be done in Power Automate?
It’s not entirely obvious, but yes, it can (and it’s easy!) The better news is that it’s even more powerful than the old on-demand workflows!
Here’s how it works.
How to Run Dynamics 365 CRM On Demand Workflows in Power Automate
Create a New On-Demand Power Automate Flow
Start by creating a Power Automate flow like you usually would.
1. Go to Power Automate.
2. Go to “My Flows.”
3. Select “New” and then “Instant – from blank.”
Next, you tell it to be like an on-demand workflow:
4. Type a name for your flow in the “Build an instant flow” dialog.
5. Now scroll down to find the trigger called “When a record is selected / Common Data Service” and select that (note that “Common Data Service” may change to “Dataflex” soon).
6. Click the “Create” button.
Select the Dynamics 365 for Sales (or other CRM) Entity
7. On the Power Automate builder screen, set the environment to Default (or whatever Dataflex environment you want it to run in).
8. Now, set the entity to where you want the flow to appear (for example, if you’re going to run it from an Opportunity record or view, then choose Opportunity). This is the step that makes it appear in the list of flows you can run on demand.
Add Input Variables
Here comes the bonus part.
See those “Choose the type of user input”? You can use that to capture more information from the user at runtime!
For example, you could have a flow called “Update All Opportunity Est Close Dates,” which could start by asking the user for a new date – and it could use that inputted date to reset the dates of all of the selected opportunities!
Or you can skip user input if you don’t need it.
Build Your Flow
Now build the rest of the flow as you usually would.
Run Your Flow
Back in Dynamics 365, pull down the flow menu again. This time you’ll see your old tired-out legacy workflows, and you’ll also see your fresh new flow!
Enjoy!
Want to get more out of Dynamics 365 and the Power Platform? C5 Insight is here to help. Contact us to chat about your goals, challenges, and vision: 704-895-2500.
