Explore triggers and actions in the SharePoint Connector

  • 7 minutes

The Office 365 Outlook Connector in Power Automate offers a variety of triggers and actions that allow you to automate email and calendar tasks seamlessly. This unit introduces the key triggers and actions so that you can learn how to use them in your flows effectively. Whether you want to send personalized emails, automatically respond to calendar events, or fetch email content, the Outlook Connector takes care of your needs.

Triggers

Triggers are events that start your flow. The Office 365 Outlook Connector includes triggers that monitor your mailbox and calendar for specific actions, such as receiving an email or scheduling a meeting. The most frequently used triggers are:

  • When a new email arrives (V3)
    • Start your flow whenever a new email lands in your inbox.
    • Use filters to trigger only for specific senders, keywords, or email importance.
  • When an event is added, updated, or deleted (V3)
    • Monitor changes to your Outlook calendar and respond automatically.
    • Keep team members updated when someone schedules or cancels meetings.
  • When an upcoming event is starting soon (V3)
    • Set a custom look-ahead time and take action as events approach.
    • Notify attendees before an event starts automatically.

Each trigger is configurable, allowing you to tailor flows to meet your specific needs.

Actions

Actions define the tasks that your flow performs after it's triggered.

Screenshot of the New Message screen.

The Office 365 Outlook Connector provides a rich set of actions for emails, calendars, and contacts. The most useful actions are:

  • Send an email (V2)
    • Automate the sending of personalized emails with dynamic content, attachments, and HTML formatting.
    • Use this action for autoresponders, reminders, or notifications.
  • Get emails (V3)
    • Fetch specific emails based on filters, such as folder, subject, or sender.
    • Use this action to process emails and extract relevant information.
  • Create event (V4)
    • Add events automatically to your Outlook calendar with details, such as title, attendees, location, and description.
    • Use for scheduling team meetings or follow-up meetings.
  • Get events (V4)
    • Retrieve events from your calendar and use them to drive other processes, such as sending reminders or updating a project timeline.
  • Forward an email (V2)
    • Forward emails to a predefined recipient or group to help save time on manual forwarding.
  • Mark an email as read or unread (V3)
    • Keep your inbox organized by marking specific emails based on flow logic.

Use case examples

Practical scenarios where you can apply triggers and actions include:

  • Automated follow-up emails - Use the When a new email arrives (V3) trigger and the Send an email (V2) action to automatically respond to inquiries or send a follow-up email after receiving a specific message.
  • Calendar updates - Use the When an event is added, updated, or deleted (V3) trigger to notify team members through Microsoft Teams or email about changes to a shared calendar.
  • Custom approval workflows - Combine the Get emails (V3) and Send an email (V2) actions to build an approval process that routes email content to the appropriate person and then tracks the response.

In this unit, you explored the triggers and actions that make the Office 365 Outlook Connector so versatile. By learning how to use these tools effectively, you can build more advanced flows that integrate Outlook with other systems and services.