In February, the “Solution cloud flows by default” environment setting was released to public preview. This environment setting allows administrators to ensure that new cloud flows will be created in Dataverse solutions when Dataverse is available in the environment. The use of solution cloud flows increases manageability and allows those cloud flows to take advantage of Dataverse-specific capabilities including connection references, environment variables, the Dataverse API, and solution-based application lifecycle management (ALM).

Since release in February, there has been a list of cloud flow creation methods and entry points that we have been increasingly adding support for, including from Power Automate portal, Power Automate Management connector, Power Apps, Teams, OneDrive, Dynamics 365, Excel, the new mobile app, and SharePoint. We have one remaining integration scenario for Project Roadmap that will begin releasing next week.

With all integration scenarios complete, the environment setting will be generally available and turned on automatically so that environments with Dataverse will create solution cloud flows automatically. This change will begin to roll out in November.

Just over a third of cloud flows are already created in Dataverse as solution cloud flows, so this should be a minor change in environments that have Dataverse. During the public preview, we have incorporated customer feedback and also monitoring system performance and storage to ensure that the creation of solution cloud flows in Dataverse has minimal effects to the definition and running of those flows.

Citizen developers can migrate cloud flows into Dataverse solutions

In addition to automatically creating solution cloud flows, citizen developers can now add most non-solution cloud flows into Dataverse solutions, including flows with instant/button triggers, Power Apps triggers, and flows using connectors for Teams, SharePoint, Forms, Dynamics 365, Excel Online, or Project. Flows using delegated authorization are the last set of flows that can’t be added into Dataverse solutions yet, however that support will begin shipping in the next few weeks.

Admins can migrate cloud flows into Dataverse solutions

An Add-AdminFlowsToSolution PowerShell cmdlet is now available to allow administrators to quickly migrate multiple cloud flows into Dataverse solutions themselves, rather than following up with individual users. Administrators can quickly migrate all flows using the EnvironmentName parameter, specific flows using the FlowNames parameter, or a certain number of flows using the Top parameter. We recommend migrating a small number of flows initially and verifying those flows to ensure you understand the process.

If you have any questions about this change or are interested in release train specifics, join the conversation at Q&A: Manage automations easier when they are automatically defined in Dataverse

Happy automating!

The post Easier automation management with flows in Dataverse by default appeared first on Microsoft Power Platform Blog.

The new preview of “Dataverse solutions by default” capabilities for Power Automate cloud flows provides all those capabilities and more!

A new environment setting is available to administrators that ensures that all cloud flows will be created in Dataverse and added into the Default solution, when Dataverse is available in the environment. 

There are multiple ways to create cloud flows. The following table summarizes which entry points are currently supported by the switch for create in Dataverse solutions by default.

Supported entry points will create a cloud flow in Dataverse solutions by default. Unsupported entry points will fail to create any cloud flow until this support is added. We are actively working on support for the other entry points and should have that support complete in the near future. Once an environment has the switch turned on, additional entry point support will automatically be enabled as it becomes available.

This feature is off by default and must be turned on manually. To enable this feature, go to Power Platform Admin Center (PPAC), navigate to Environments > select an environment > Settings > Product > Features, scroll down to the Create in Dataverse solutions switches, and toggle on the Cloud flows switch. More information: Manage feature settings

This new PPAC environment setting for cloud flows is currently deploying out to production regions. It is already available in some regions including Canada and Asia and planned to be available in Europe and North America within the next week.

Comprehensive documentation is here: Add canvas apps and cloud flows to solution by default.

We are looking forward to getting your feedback on this experience. Thanks for joining us on this journey to modernize how you automate!

The post More manageable cloud flows with Dataverse solutions by default appeared first on Microsoft Power Platform Blog.

Based on your feedback, Power Automate has two categories of enhancements that are improving the ALM story:

1. Solution cloud flow improvements
2. Core ALM improvements

Below are details about each enhancement category and information about what has recently been released, is being released, or is planned.

Solution Cloud Flow Improvements

Solution cloud flows are stored in Dataverse, so they are ready to take part in ALM and can be administered and managed via Dataverse APIs along with other Power Platform components.

A solution can contain flows, apps, tables, and more. Solutions are the mechanism for implementing application lifecycle management (ALM) in the Power Platform.

See Solutions overview, Microsoft Docs for more information.

Flows created in a solution or added into a solution can be referred to as solution flows or solution-aware flows. A typical use case is for customers to develop flows in a development environment and then move those flows to a test environment for isolated testing. After testing, the customer can then move the flows to a production environment. This process is much easier using solutions with all artifacts stored in Dataverse and leveraging the flexibility of connection references and environment variables. Solution flows are also easier to administer and manage since, once flows are in Dataverse, administrators can audit, query, and inventory them by querying Dataverse.

See Overview of solution-aware flows, Microsoft Docs for more information.

Recently released

• Users can see solution references on the flow details page – May 2022 – release plan item – Makers can understand what solutions a flow is referenced from and can quickly open those solutions.
• Solution cloud flows are shown in the My Flows list – June 2022 – release plan item – Makers can see solution cloud flows in the Cloud Flows and Shared with Me lists to easily find the most recently created and edited solution cloud flows. See documentation for more details.

Upcoming

• “Save As” on a solution cloud flow saves the new flow as a solution cloud flow, instead of a non-solution cloud flow.
• Makers create solution cloud flows by default when Dataverse is present.
• Admins and makers can migrate non-solution cloud flows into Dataverse and into solutions

Core ALM Improvements

In addition to getting cloud flows into solutions, there are several core improvements to make ALM easier as well. Most of these items are detailed in our release plans. 
Recently released

• Connection references show in the flow details page without a connection – Nov 2021 – release plan item – Makers can see all the connection references that a flow is using and items needing attention are highlighted.
• Connection reference names are unique by default – Dec 2021 – release plan item – Makers can differentiate between connection references.
• Makers and admins can change the owner of solution cloud flows – Feb 2022 – release plan item – Makers can easily adjust the ownership of solution cloud flows in Power Automate portal instead of going into the legacy solution explorer experience.
• Solution cloud flow exports are now source control friendly – Feb 2022 – Pro-developers and admins can now comment on specific aspects of a flow when it is checked into source control.
• Simplify how solution cloud flows are shared with other users – April 2022 – release plan item – Makers can more easily share solution cloud flows with team members.

Currently rolling out

• Solution checker warns if solution cloud flows are using connections instead of connection references – June 2022 – release plan item – Admins and Makers can be warned when solution cloud flows are not following ALM best practices.

Upcoming

• Flow ownership supported for Service Principals – release plan item – Service Principal users can own and run flows. There will be a separate blog post on this item when it is released.
• Send email notifications to solution cloud flow owners about key events – Makers get email notifications for key events including flow failures, throttling, edits, and suspensions.
• Use environment variables in any flow trigger – Makers can use environment variables in all flow triggers, with a few exceptions.
• Push environment variable updates into flows asynchronously – Makers updates to environment variable values will be asynchronously propagated into referencing flows.
• Warn makers if they are about to edit a managed flow and create an unmanaged layer – Makers are warned before creating customization artifacts.

To learn more about Power Automate ALM, see Overview of solution-aware flows. To learn more about Power Platform ALM, see Overview of ALM with Microsoft Power Platform.

We hope that you will find these improvements useful and thank you for your continued feedback. Happy Automating!

The post Making application lifecycle management (ALM) easier in Power Automate appeared first on Microsoft Power Platform Blog.