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Wait for approval in Power Automate

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Create a cloud flow that, if you create an item in SharePoint, sends approval email and then notifies you whether the item was approved or rejected. To follow this tutorial exactly, create a simple SharePoint list as a trigger action, but you can use another data source such as Dropbox or OneDrive.

Prerequisites

  • Create a simple SharePoint list that's named Project Tracker, add a column named Title, and then add a Person or Group column named Assigned To.

    Image of Project Tracker SPO list.

Tip

For detailed information about using SharePoint with Power Automate, go to the SharePoint documentation.

Add an event to trigger the flow

  1. Sign in to Power Automate, and go to Create > Build your own.

  2. Under Choose a connector, search for SharePoint, and select the respective card.

  3. Select the When an item is created action.

  4. Select Next to select a connector using blocks, or select Skip to building your own flow to go directly to the designer.

  5. If prompted, sign in to SharePoint.

  6. In the designer, select the When an item is created action and enter the URL of the SharePoint site that contains your list.

  7. Under List Name, select the list you created earlier. If you're following along, the name is Project Tracker.

    Image of SPO list name.

Add the resulting action

  1. Select the New step button, and then select Add an action.

  2. In the Search all connectors and actions box, type or paste send email, and then select Office 365 Outlook - Send email with options.

  3. If prompted, sign into Office 365 Outlook.

  4. Select the To field, and then select the Assigned to Email token.

    The user in the Assigned To column receives the email to approve or reject items. When you create an item to test the flow, specify yourself in this field. That way, you not only approve or reject the item, but also receive the notification email.

    Note

    You can customize the Subject and User Options fields to suit your needs.

    Image of send approval email to field.

Add a condition

  1. Select the New step button, and then select Add a condition.

    Image of add a condition.

  2. Select the first box, and then select the SelectedOption token.

  3. Select the last box, and then type Approve.

    Image of the condition card.

  4. In the If yes area, select Add an action.

  5. In the Search all connectors and actions box, type or paste send email, and then select Office 365 Outlook - Send an email.

  6. In the To field, enter a recipient such as Created by Email.

  7. In the Subject box, specify a subject.

    For example, select Assigned To DisplayName, type has approved with a space on each side, and then select Title.

  8. In the Body box, specify an email body such as Ready to proceed with the next phase of the project.

    Note

    The person who created the item in the SharePoint list will be notified whether the project was approved or rejected.

    Image of yes-send-email.

  9. In the If no area, repeat the last five steps except change the Subject and Body to reflect that the project was rejected.

    Image of no-send-email.

Finish and test your flow

  1. Give your flow a name, and then select Create flow.

    Image of create-flow.

  2. Create an item in your SharePoint list.

    An approval email is sent to the recipient that you specified. When the recipient selects Approve or Reject in that email, you receive email that indicates the response.

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