Populating a Word Template

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Posted on by PB-04020944-0

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Has anyone ever done this successfully?

From asking Copilot, it seems I need to build 3 flows. I have my Form set up as well as my Microsoft List. The initial component of the flow seems straightforward enough (getting the info from the form and creating the content for the List). Just not sure of next steps. I am assuming some sort of approval set-up with a condition prior to populating the Microsoft Word Template. Can someone provide provide some clarity for me on the steps as I am looking for something comprehensive and not overly complicated either.

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11manish 2,376 on at

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You do NOT need 3 separate flows unless the process is very large.

The best balance of:

simplicity

maintainability

scalability

is:

One main flow

Approval condition inside the flow

Generate Word template only after approval

Update Microsoft List throughout the process for tracking

This is the standard and recommended Power Platform design pattern for approval-based document generation systems.

try in the sequence

Trigger: Form Submitted

Get Response Details

Create List Item

Approval

Condition

YES:

Populate Word Template

Create File

Send Email

Update List Status

NO:

Update List Status

Send Rejection Email

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David_MA 14,642 Super User 2026 Season 1 on at

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In addition to what @11manish mentioned, note that this is a premium action, so you will need a Power Automate premium license to use the Populate a Word action. The action only works with plain text fields in the Word template; many people find this limiting. However, there is a way to populate a table within the Word document even with this limitation.

You will also want to be sure to save the template someplace where people cannot accidentally alter or delete the file, which could cause your flow to fail.

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PB-04020944-0 110 on at

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Thank you so very much 11manish What you are suggesting seems to be just what I am looking for!! I will try it out and let you know. Many thanks again!

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PB-04020944-0 110 on at

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Thank you, David_MA. Yes, I have the requirements in place as I know I would need to use Word Business for my template.

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PB-04020944-0 110 on at

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Hello everyone

Just seeking a little clarity on something. My flow is looking good (thanks to all your help!), but I am not sure how the content for the Newsletter is conveyed so that it can be approved. Would I need to include a link to view what has been submitted via the form for this purpose or would I have to instead include dynamic content for each field of the form?

Thanks again.

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David_MA 14,642 Super User 2026 Season 1 on at

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The approval action allows you to attach a file to the approval. You can find it under advanced settings. Just attach the populated Word file to send it for approval.

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PB-04020944-0 110 on at

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That seems clear, thank you. David_MA

Strangely. after running the flow, two entries in my SharePoint list are being created. Likewise, two emails arrive with the option to approve or not. Any idea why this would most likely happen? What have I done incorrectly?

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PB-04020944-0 110 on at

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Following on from my post yesterday, the problems I am currently facing are:-

the person approving the content receives not one but three emails, one of which includes the details (thanks to the dynamic content used) except for the file upload (image) with just a link to this in SharePoint.

The Word template is not populating at all despite being correctly set up with links and content control (at least as far as my understanding goes)

Please see the following screenshots which may or may not help anyone willing to advise/assist me here. I am happy to provide anything else if it helps you further.

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David_MA 14,642 Super User 2026 Season 1 on at

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Based on the image of your flow, I don't see where or how it would send three approvals notifications to the same person. Please show the configuration of the approval action in your flow. Also show the three different notifications the person is getting for the same requests (redact any sensitive information). Seeing what they're getting will help determine where they're coming from.

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PB-04020944-0 110 on at

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Hello David_MA and everyone else

My flow currently looks like this:-

It fails after the Populate a Microsoft Word Template action, specifically the Create file component. I have call the Word document "test" for the purpose of the exercise but the flow fails stating that I should check and remove any spaces/special characters. There aren't any.

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