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Initiating a flow from Excel more efficiently than using the "Automate" button to trigger it

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Posted on by CD-28031715-0

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I am trying my best to get the company that I work for to embrace some automation and efficiencies. At the moment when a new row is added to an Excel spreadsheet, a message is manually posted in a Teams chat to notify the team to take action. I have created a simple flow that allows me to select a row and the press the Automate button > Automation Templates > select the Flow and Run. This all seems quite long winded with lots of button presses. Is there a way I can create a button that triggers the flow? In an ideal world I'd be able to use an automated flow with something like "When a new row is added" but that isn't available for Excel as far as I can see, so I'm having to use "For a selected row" and trigger the flow manually.

Any insights from anyone with more experience than me will be very much appreciated.

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David_MA 14,624 Super User 2026 Season 1 on at

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Since I don't know what is in the spreadsheet or how it is used, this may not meet your needs. But, I would import your spreadsheet into SharePoint and convert it to a SharePoint list (Create a list based on a spreadsheet - Microsoft Support). This gives you a lot more ways to drive automation. For example:

You can have one workflow that runs every time a new item (row) is added to the list by using the When an item is created trigger.

You can have another workflow that only triggers when an item is modified by using the When an item or file is modified trigger.

There is an Excel trigger for when rows are added or modified, but it has limitations and reliability issues, which is why SharePoint lists are generally a better choice for this type of automation.

To make either of the above two triggers more powerful, you can use trigger conditions (Power Automate Trigger Conditions) so that the flow is only triggered under certain circumstances.

You will also have fewer problems by using a SharePoint list instead of an Excel spreadsheet. Automations on Excel spreadsheets are notorious for running into issues with the spreadsheet becoming locked when someone else is editing it while a flow is running. Your workflow itself can cause this to happen as well. You will not have that issue with a SharePoint list.

Additionally, it will be harder to have your flows affected by changes to the spreadsheet caused by your users.

You can also create a workflow that triggers on a selected item. The workflow will show up in the SharePoint list menu. Note, these workflows need to be created in your default environment to work.

You can still work in Excel by exporting the SharePoint list. The exported workbook maintains a live connection to the list, so you can refresh it at any time to get the latest data. This gives you the best of both worlds: reliable automation in SharePoint and flexible reporting in Excel.

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CD-28031715-0 192 on at

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Thanks @David_MA, I've been playing around with Sharepoint lists and using them as the data source in canvas apps whilst I've been learning, but at the moment I need to try and use the current Excel sheet and persuade them to first configure it as a table which will then allow some automation (without changing too much), small steps... This is what I'm up against! I totally understand the benefits of using a Sharepoint list and would love to, but it's just not possible at the moment I'm afraid. Thanks for your input though, it's very much appreciated.

Just read your reply properly and will look into the last point regarding having both a list and Excel sheet...

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David_MA 14,624 Super User 2026 Season 1 on at

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@CD-28031715-0 if you are not familiar with it, this provides the instructions how to export a SharePoint list to Excel: Export to Excel from SharePoint or Lists - Microsoft Support. You can tailor what gets exported through the list views. When you use this method, it creates a live connection back to the SharePoint list as its data source. Therefore, you just need to go to the Data tab in Excel and press refresh to get the latest data.

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CD-28031715-0 192 on at

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@David_MA My head is a bit fried at the moment, since your reply I've been trying to get CoPilot to guide me but instead it's leading me around in circles. I think I will have to try another day using the link that you've provided. Or if you know of a video that will help, then I often find those better than words. Thanks so much for your help so far.

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David_MA 14,624 Super User 2026 Season 1 on at

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Here is a video that shows how to export a SharePoint list to Excel: https://youtu.be/DFRDb03WtRQ?si=OVUEjHeOfiFYwBHr

Here is a video that shows you how to create a SharePoint list from an Excel spreadsheet: https://youtu.be/9CypncQIZD0?si=FBU9uI0wQs8p8BYI

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