When posting Adaptive Cards to Microsoft Teams channels using Power Automate, the notification currently displays “Preview Unavailable”. This occurs because the connector does not provide a way to define a preview message for notifications. As a result, users only see a generic message, which reduces engagement and clarity. This happens with users, service accounts, and bots.
Main Point: This simple enhancement could significantly improve the flexibility and effectiveness of custom card posting in Microsoft Teams across any scenario.
Problem:
- Notifications are critical for visibility and quick action.
- “Preview Unavailable” provides no context, causing users to ignore or miss important messages.
- Bot Framework and Graph API allow specifying a text property for previews, but Power Automate does not.
Proposed Solution:
- Add a “Preview Text” field to the Post Adaptive Card in a chat or channel action in Power Automate. This field would:
- Accept a short text string (e.g., “Critical Incident Notification: Please review details in the card”).
- Display this text in Teams notifications instead of “Preview Unavailable.”
Benefits:
- Improves user experience and engagement.
- Provides parity with Bot Framework capabilities.
- Simple implementation with high impact for organizations using Power Automate for Teams notifications.
Enterprise Justification:
Large organizations rely on Power Automate and Teams for critical workflows such as incident management, compliance alerts, and operational updates. These notifications often require immediate attention. When the preview shows “Preview Unavailable,” users may overlook urgent messages, leading to delays in response and potential business impact.
Providing a customizable preview text ensures:
- Faster decision-making by giving context at a glance.
- Improved adoption of Teams-based workflows.
- Reduced operational risk by ensuring critical alerts are not ignored.
