Spring ’18 summary of what’s new in Microsoft Flow

Important

This content is archived and is not being updated. For the latest documentation, see Microsoft Dynamics 365 product documentation. For the latest release plans, see Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform release plans.

These release notes describe functionality that may not have been released yet. Delivery timelines and projected functionality may change or may not ship (see Microsoft policy).

For a list of the regions where Dynamics 365 business applications are available, see the International availability guide.

April ’18 - General Availability

• Return data to PowerApps from a flow - Build flows that can be called from an app built with PowerApps, and return data to the app. Use the visual drag-and-drop flow designer to build the logic you need for the app.
• Access modern approvals in the Common Data Service for Apps - Modern approvals data in Microsoft Flow is built on the latest version of the Common Data Service for Apps. This means that you can build flows that read the status of the approvals you send or receive with the CDS connector.
• Find errors in “Apply to each” actions - Jump directly to errors in loops in the flow run view, even when there are hundreds of items in the loop.
• Reassign approvals - Assign any approval that you receive to another person in your organization, to delegate the approval.
• See details of flow buttons - When you run a flow that has been shared with you, see all the actions that the flow uses.
• United Kingdom region - Create environments to store data in the United Kingdom.
• New documentation landing page - On the documentation landing page, group content by skill level: beginner, intermediate user, or expert.
• Add multiple records to array inputs - Use a list builder to add multiple attachments to an email, for example.
• Test flows with previous run data - Test your flow with trigger data from previous flow runs by using a Test flow button in the designer.
• Access flow details with the workflow() expression - Access the environment name and flow display name with the workflow() expression.

May ’18 - General Availability

• Rich text in Approval messages - Use Markdown to format the approval details that you send.
• Buttons with multiple selection inputs - Build flow buttons that use a multiple selection list to collect more than one value at once.
• Work with wider flows - The Microsoft Flow mobile app now supports landscape view and the web designer has a horizontal scroll bar.
• Flows “owned by” SharePoint lists and libraries - Flows that work with SharePoint lists and libraries can be shared with those lists or libraries. So, instead of being shared with individuals or groups, they’re shared with everyone who has access to the list. As users are added or removed from the list or library, their membership automatically changes accordingly.
• Error details analytics - A new embedded report that provides information about all errors that happen inside a flow.
• Share flows with Office 365 groups - You can make an Office 365 modern group the owner of a flow, and you can share button flows with Office 365 groups so anyone in the group can run the flow.
• SharePoint connector improvements - There are two new SharePoint connector capabilities: trigger flows when items or files are deleted and call any HTTP endpoint that the SharePoint REST API supports.
• GDPR compliance - To support the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), administrators can now submit a request to export or delete all of the data about Microsoft Flow users.

June ’18 - General Availability

• PowerShell cmdlets - Flow makers and tenant admins can now use PowerShell to manage their flows programmatically.
• Improvements to the Teams Microsoft Flow bot - The Microsoft Flow bot in Microsoft Teams can run flow buttons and describe your flows.
• Additional sharing information - Added additional information when you share—or run shared—flows, so you know exactly what permissions other people will receive.
• Automatic trimming of SharePoint URLs - When you copy and paste a SharePoint URL into the browser, it could contain additional text beyond the site. This additional text will be automatically removed so that you can connect to the site without editing the pasted URL.
• Request for sign-off flow built into SharePoint - When you select a file or item in SharePoint, you’ll see a new Request for sign-off flow. This flow doesn't require any configuration or setup, and sends a sign-off request with a single user action.
• History and create page improvements - We are refreshing the Run history list by including exact run times, and the create page by adding a new walkthrough video.

July ’18 - General Availability

• Build and run flows from Excel - With the new Flow button (accessed from the ribbon’s Data tab), you can create and trigger automations from Microsoft Flow on your table data in Excel. Automate data processing or the copying/importing of data.
• Create a business process flow - A business process flow is a new type of stateful, human-interactive flow based on the Common Data Service for Apps. Use these new flows to define a set of stages and steps for people to follow. They can move forward and backward as needed.
• Business process flow entity customization - Business process flow entities can appear in the system so that entity record data can be made available in grids, views, charts, and dashboards.
• Add an action to a business process flow - In a business process flow, add a button that triggers an action or workflow to run processes on your data.
• Create a flow for Microsoft To-Do in Outlook Web App - If someone is @mentioned in Outlook Web App, they’ll see a shortcut to create a flow. This flow automatically creates tasks for the @mentioned person in Microsoft To-Do, based on the content of the email.
• SharePoint view support - The SharePoint connector now supports selecting a specific SharePoint view on triggers and actions. This filters the columns to just the ones in the selected view.

August ’18 - General Availability

• Microsoft Flow preview program - The Microsoft Flow Preview program is the way to get early access to the upcoming functionality and updates for Microsoft Flow. All you need to do is to create an environment in the Preview region to get early access to the newest features.
• New calendar sync templates - New calendar templates that copy events between Google Calendar and Office 365 or Outlook.com calendar.
• Multiple value support for SharePoint - Read and write for multiple-value fields in SharePoint that are Choice, Person or Lookup types.
• Send approvals on behalf of other users in your organization - Send approvals on behalf of other users in your organization - for example, the person who uploaded the file in the SharePoint list, instead of the person who created the flow.
• More button input types - Buttons have two new input types: Number and Yes/No.
• Test your flow by using example data - Use sample data from connectors to test your flow as you build it from within the Microsoft Flow portal to confirm your flow will run as expected.

September ’18 - General Availability

• Admin access to help and support - Open support tickets for Microsoft Flow in the Power platform admin center and provide additional details about your workflow failure.
• Redesigned Flow Community - Finding what you need just got easier in the Flow Community.
• Improvements to the Microsoft Teams connector - New triggers for Microsoft Teams so you can run a flow when there are new messages in a channel.
• More SharePoint actions - There are new actions for moving files and more in the SharePoint connector.
• New admin analytics reports - Environment and Tenant wide analytics added to the Business Application Platform Admin center.
• Power Query integration - A Power Query experience is being built that will allow makers to shape data mashups from SQL Server.