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title description keywords ms.date ms.service ms.topic author ms.author ms.reviewer ms.custom ms.collection
Create a flow
Create a Power Automate flow that fetches a weather forecast for use with a bot.
PVA, flow, automate
07/28/2022
power-virtual-agents
article
iaanw
iawilt
peterswimm
flow, ceX, advanced-authoring
virtual-agent

Create a flow

Learn how to use a cloud flow in Power Virtual Agents by giving a bot the ability to produce a weather forecast on request. In this first example, you'll create a flow that fetches a weather forecast. In the next example, you'll call the flow as an action so the bot can respond with the forecast when a customer asks about the weather.

You can create a flow for use with a bot or modify an existing flow. To be suitable for bots, a Power Automate flow requires a special Power Virtual Agents flow trigger and response action.

  • Flow trigger: When Power Virtual Agents calls a flow

    :::image type="content" source="media/advanced-flow-create/PVAConnectorTrigger.JPG" alt-text="Screenshot of the Power Virtual Agents flow trigger.":::

  • Response action: Return value(s) to Power Virtual Agents

    :::image type="content" source="media/advanced-flow-create/PVAConnectorResponse.JPG" alt-text="Screenshot of the Power Virtual Agents response action.":::

When you create a flow from the Power Virtual Agents authoring canvas, the trigger and the action are added for you. When you modify an existing flow for use with a bot, you must add the Power Virtual Agents trigger and response action.

[!INCLUDE Requirements for Power Automate flows]

Prerequisites

Create a flow to use with a bot

  1. Go to the Topics page for your bot.

  2. Open the authoring canvas for the topic from which you want to call a flow.

  3. Select Add node (+) below an existing node to add a new node.

  4. In the node selection window, select Call an action, and then select Create a flow.

    :::image type="content" source="media/advanced-flow-create/UseCreateFlowOption.jpg" alt-text="Screenshot of the Create a flow option in the Call an action menu.":::

    The Power Automate portal opens in a new tab, with a starter flow template open for editing. The portal opens in the same environment as the bot and uses the same user credentials.

    :::image type="content" source="media/advanced-flow-create/PVAConnectorTemplate.JPG" alt-text="Screenshot of the Power Automate flow template called from Power Virtual Agents.":::

  5. Continue to author the flow in Power Automate.

Modify an existing flow to use with a bot

What if you already have a flow and don't want to create one from scratch to use with your bot? Add the special Power Virtual Agents flow trigger and response action yourself. You can open an existing flow for modification in a couple of ways.

Open a flow from the authoring canvas

  1. In a topic that's open in the Power Virtual Agents authoring canvas, select Add node (+).

  2. Select Call an action.

  3. Select View flow details under the flow.

    :::image type="content" source="media/advanced-flow-create/ModifyFlowInPicker.png" alt-text="Screenshot of the Modify a flow button in the action picker.":::

Open a flow from an Action node

  1. In a topic that's open in the Power Virtual Agents authoring canvas, select the relevant Action node.

  2. Select View flow details.

    :::image type="content" source="media/advanced-flow-create/ModifyFlowInAction.png" alt-text="Screenshot of the Modify a flow button in an Action node.":::

Open a flow in Power Automate

  1. Go to the Power Automate portal.

  2. Go to Solutions and select Default Solution. If you moved your flow to another solution, select that one instead.

    :::image type="content" source="media/advanced-flow-create/open-solution.png" alt-text="Screenshot of the Default Solution in the Solutions list.":::

  3. Select the flow.

    :::image type="content" source="media/advanced-flow-create/open-flow-in-solution.png" alt-text="Screenshot of the Get weather forecast flow in the Default Solution.":::

Add the Power Virtual Agents flow trigger and response action

If your flow doesn't already include the special Power Virtual Agents flow trigger and response action, you'll need to add them before you can use the flow with your bot.

  1. Select New step.

  2. Search for the Power Virtual Agents connector and select When Power Virtual Agents calls a flow.

  3. Select New step.

  4. Search for the Power Virtual Agents connector and select Return value(s) to Power Virtual Agents.

  5. Select Save.

Author the flow on the Power Automate portal

Now add actions to your flow. In the current example, the action you'll add fetches the current forecast from MSN Weather.

  1. Select the name of the flow and rename it Get weather forecast.

    :::image type="content" source="media/advanced-flow-create/RenameFlow.png" alt-text="Screenshot of flow name selected.":::

  2. Add the following input parameters to the Power Virtual Agents flow trigger:

    • City (Text)
    • Zipcode (Number)

    :::image type="content" source="media/advanced-flow-create/input-params.png" alt-text="Screenshot of input parameters for Power Automate flow.":::

  3. Select Add an action to create a new action below the Power Virtual Agents flow trigger.

    :::image type="content" source="media/advanced-flow-create/AddAction.png" alt-text="Screenshot of the Add flow action button.":::

  4. Search for MSN weather, and then select the Get forecast for today action.

    :::image type="content" source="media/advanced-flow-create/AddMSNWeather.png" alt-text="Screenshot of the Get forecast for today action under the MSN Weather connector.":::

  5. In the Get forecast for today action, in the Location box, select Add dynamic content, and then select City and Zipcode.

    :::image type="content" source="media/advanced-flow-create/AddLocationForMSN.png" alt-text="Screenshot of variables added to the Get forecast for today action":::

  6. In the Return value(s) to Power Virtual Agents action, add the following output parameters and variables:

    Output Parameter Name Type Variable
    day_summary String Day Summary
    location String Location
    chance_of_rain Number Day Rain Chance

    :::image type="content" source="media/advanced-flow-create/AddDynamicVariables.png" alt-text="Screenshot of dynamic output variables added to the flow response action.":::

  7. Select Save.

The next step is to turn off asynchronous responses in your flow.

Optionally move the flow to another solution

To be available to bots in your environment, flows must be stored in a solution in Power Automate. If you don't want to use the Default Solution, you can move your flows to a different one.

  1. Go to the Power Automate portal.

  2. Go to Solutions and either select an existing solution or create a solution for your flows.

    To create a solution, select New solution.

    :::image type="content" source="media/advanced-flow-create/NewSolution.jpg" alt-text="Screenshot of the New solution button.":::

    Give your new solution a name, select CDS Default Publisher in the Publisher field, enter a Version number, and then select Create.

    :::image type="content" source="media/advanced-flow-create/NewSolution_details.jpg" alt-text="Screenshot of solution properties.":::

  3. On the Solutions tab, go to the solution you want to use. Select Add existing to add a flow to it.

    :::image type="content" source="media/advanced-flow-create/AddExistingFlow.jpg" alt-text="Screenshot of the Add existing button.":::

  4. On the Add existing flow page, select the From solutions tab, select your flow, and then select Add.

    :::image type="content" source="media/advanced-flow-create/move-flow-from-solution.png" alt-text="Screenshot of the list existing flows in solutions.":::

    To move a flow from the My flows tab to a solution, select Outside solutions, and then select Add to add your flow to the solution.

    :::image type="content" source="media/advanced-flow-create/AddExistingFlow_details.jpg" alt-text="Screenshot of the list of existing flows outside of solutions.":::

Turn off asynchronous responses in the flow

Flows that you want to use in a bot must return values in real time, or synchronously. Flows that run in the background, or asynchronously, may cause an error when your bot tries to run them. Instead of running the flow, the bot will say, "Something unexpected happened. We're looking into it. Error code: 3000."

When you create a flow from Power Virtual Agents, asynchronous responses are turned off by default. If you modified an existing flow that has asynchronous responses turned on, you'll need to change the setting.

  1. Open your flow and find the Return value(s) to Power Virtual Agents step.

  2. Select the Menu (...) icon, and then select Settings.

    :::image type="content" source="media/advanced-flow-create/async1.png" alt-text="Screenshot of an action's settings menu.":::

  3. Set Asynchronous Response to Off, and then select Done.

    :::image type="content" source="media/advanced-flow-create/async2.png" alt-text="Screenshot of the Asynchronous Response toggle.":::

Next steps

Call the flow as an action in your bot.

Learn more about input and output variables.

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