Julie Sebby

Getting Oriented with Power Automate

In October 2021, I started a new role on our Robotic Process Automation (RPA) team to help automate manual processes. Our solutions utilize Power Automate, Power Automate Desktop, and Alteryx. As automation matures within the organization, we intend to deploy Power Automate as a self service tool. Therefore, this is the first in a series of posts oriented towards beginner Power Automate users. If you are just getting started with Power Automate, this is the place for you! Read on to get started with Power Automate!

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Exploring Power Automate Triggers & Actions

In my last post, I kicked off a beginner Power Automate series. I explained how to get oriented in Power Automate menus and ended just shy of creating a flow. This post picks up where that one left off. We’ll talk about Power Automate triggers and actions. More specifically, I’ll explain the different types of triggers and how to find and use actions to create a flow. Read on to learn more.

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Alteryx SharePoint List Input Tool Produces Nulls

Last week, I posted an article on how we are using Alteryx to Update SharePoint lists. While building out this solution, I ran into a problem where my SharePoint List input tool produced nulls. The SharePoint list was populated, but Alteryx was bringing in nulls. I wanted to elaborate on why this happens and how to fix it. Read on to learn more.

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Update SharePoint Drop Down Lists Using Alteryx Tools

Over the last few months, I’ve been working with our IT group to automate the new hire process (process by which IT sets up a new person with hardware and software). The old process kicked off with (GASP!) an Excel spreadsheet sent to hiring managers. As you might imagine, that Excel form and process was slow and fraught with error. So, it’s getting a makeover using SharePoint, Power Automate, and Alteryx. This post will explain how I update SharePoint drop down lists using Alteryx tools. Read on to learn more.

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Trigger Alteryx Workflows With Email

I bet that headline got your attention, and you’re probably saying, “That can’t be done.” Actually, it can….if you combine technologies. While I love being able to schedule workflows from the Alteryx gallery, there are many other mechanisms I would like to use to kick off Alteryx workflows, like receiving an email. Alteryx doesn’t allow this, but Microsoft Power Automate does. Combine that with the ability to call Alteryx from Power Automate Desktop and you have the ability to kick off workflows with email. Read on to learn more.

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How to Customize Work Item Types in Azure DevOps

My last Azure DevOps post focused on the process. And if you are still stuck deciding which process to use, this post might help tip the scales. Do you need more work item types than the Basic process has to offer but Agile isn’t quite right? ADO provides a solution for this problem by allowing you to create work item types. This post will explain how to customize work item types so that you can get the most out of ADO. Read on to learn more.

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How to Convert XLS to XLSX with Power Automate Desktop

Recently, a user asked me to automate a process where she received an email with an Excel attachment. She needed to grab data from that attachment and put it into a different spreadsheet. This should have been a super easy task, but the attachment was in .xls format (Microsoft 1997-2003). We couldn’t change the format, and apps DO NOT play well with this format. So, I used Power Automate Desktop to convert it. Read on to learn how to convert xls to xlsx with Power Automate Desktop.

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How to Update an Excel File with Power Automate Desktop

I started a new role in October with our RPA (Robotic Process Automation) team, which involves working with Microsoft Power Automate and Power Automate Desktop (and still Alteryx). I’ve been learning the ropes the last few months and want to show an example of how you can use these tools to automate small but mundane tasks, like extracting a value from email and updating an Excel spreadsheet. This post will explain how to update an Excel file with Power Automate Desktop.

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