Discover what Power Automate is, where it fits in the Microsoft Power Platform, and which of the three cloud flow types - Instant, Automated, or Scheduled - matches a given task. Get oriented in the maker portal, then build your very first flow from scratch and watch Copilot generate the same flow from a plain-English prompt.

What is Power Automate?

Where does Power Automate fit in?

Pick the right flow type

Which flow type fits?

Navigating the Power Automate portal

Take a tour of the portal

Which section of the portal?

Your first flow

Build your first flow from scratch

Copilot builds it, can you read it?

Getting Started

Bring your flows to life by plugging into real Microsoft 365 services. Learn how connectors expose triggers and actions, choose between polling and webhook triggers, then upgrade a hardcoded email into a dynamic one using expressions like concat() and formatDateTime(). Finish by safely auditing a template and editing a flow in plain English with Copilot.

Connectors in Power Automate

Trigger or action?

Send an email with a connector

Polling or webhook?

Dynamic content and expressions

Dynamic content or expression?

Upgrade an email with dynamic content

Reading flow run history errors

Templates and editing with Copilot

Explore a template

Edit and explain with Copilot

Connecting to the World

Make your flows think for themselves. Store and update values with variables and Compose, branch with Condition and Switch, loop over arrays with Apply to Each, and shape data with Filter Array, Join, and Select. Then put it all on a timer with Recurrence and match Automated triggers to the inbound events that fire them.

Variables and Compose

Match the action to its purpose

Build a weekly status string

Conditions and Switch

Build an invoice checker with Condition

Build a ticket router with Switch

Loops and data operations

Pick the right data operation

Filter and loop through deliveries

Automated and scheduled triggers

Scheduled or Automated?

Build a daily delivery check

Adding Logic and Intelligence

Wrap up by building a complete approval flow that pauses for a human decision, then learn to test it with Flow Checker, read run history to diagnose failures, and add a Configure run-after safety net. Finish by sharing flows correctly across three modes and applying a responsible-use checklist to anything Copilot generates for you.

Build a complete approval flow

Which approval type?

Watch an approval flow run end-to-end

Build a leave-request approval flow

Monitor and troubleshoot

Catch and fix with Flow Checker

Skipped or failed?

Sharing flows and using Copilot responsibly

Is this Copilot flow ready to deploy?

Putting it all together

Congratulations!

Putting It All Together

Tired of repetitive admin tasks eating into your day? Power Automate puts the busywork on autopilot. In this hands-on course, you'll build real cloud flows from the ground up - starting with instant flows, then connecting to Outlook, SharePoint, and Teams using Microsoft 365 connectors. Master dynamic content, expressions, variables, conditions, loops, and approvals through scenarios from a fictional consulting firm. By the end, you'll be ready to automate the workflows that matter to your team.

Stop doing the same boring tasks every day. Power Automate connects Microsoft 365 tools - Outlook, SharePoint, Teams, Approvals and more - so your busywork runs itself. This hands-on course takes you from beginner to production-ready cloud flows.
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<h2>Start with Cloud Flows and the Maker Portal</h2>
Find your way around the Power Automate portal, learn the three cloud flow types (Instant, Automated, Scheduled), and build your very first flow from scratch. A brief intro to Copilot shows how AI can draft flows in plain English.
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<h2>Connect to the World with Microsoft 365</h2>
Move beyond manual flows by connecting to real services. Work with the Outlook, SharePoint, and Teams connectors, master dynamic content tokens, and write expressions like concat(), formatDateTime(), and coalesce() to shape data between steps.
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<h2>Add Logic and Intelligence</h2>
Make your flows smarter. Store values with variables and Compose, branch with conditions and Switch, loop through arrays with Apply to Each, transform data with Filter Array and Select, and schedule flows to run on their own.
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<h2>Build, Monitor, and Share Production-Ready Flows</h2>
The final chapter brings it all together with an end-to-end approval flow. You'll test with Flow Checker, read run history to diagnose failures, share flows responsibly, and apply a responsible-use checklist to anything Copilot generates. You'll finish ready to automate with confidence.

Learn Power Automate hands-on: build cloud flows with Microsoft 365 connectors, dynamic content, expressions, approvals, and Copilot AI assistance.

Introduction to Power Automate | DataCamp

Introduction to Power Automate

Which section of the portal?

Introduction to Power Automate

Hands-on interactive exercise