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Excel to email form then update

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Posted on by Mike44

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I have a set of data in an Excel spreadsheet which contains staff information, (i.e., address, phone, email, emergency contacts, etc.). I want to build a scheduled flow that sends each staff person an email requesting them to update their information. My hope is that this can be done within the email (i.e.,there current information is listed in a form within the email, they are able to make the updates and then by pressing 'submit' their information is updated in the Excel sheet). Is something like this possible, if so, please direct me to a tutorial or training on how it can be accomplished. Note, I have not started building the flow as I didn't want to start something that can't be finished.

Thanks,

Mike

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WillPage 2,307 Super User 2025 Season 2 on at

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Schedule trigger

List rows present in a table (Excel connector) - your data must be in a table in Excel

Apply to each loop - put the body/value output from there in

Inside the loop, Send an email (outlook connector). Dynamic content from the Excel file (the columns) will be available to you in there to put in the email body.

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Mike44 266 on at

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I understand how to send it, but the part I need the most help with is: My hope is that this can be done within the email (i.e.,there current information is listed in a form within the email, they are able to make the updates and then by pressing 'submit' their information is updated in the Excel sheet).

How does the email recipient reply so their information is updated in the Excel spreadsheet? I know I can build a form and provide a link into the email, but I was hoping to skip that part and have their reply automatically update the spreadsheet.

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WillPage 2,307 Super User 2025 Season 2 on at

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I see. What you're asking is doable, but not for the faint hearted! You need to use actionable messages in Outlook. To do this you must first create an app in the Actionable Messages Developer Dashboard (you need to either be, or have the cooperation of an Exchange Organisational Admin or Global Admin role holder in M365). Before you craete the app you need a URL for your form submission so create a flow with HTTP POST trigger and a compose (just enough to save and get the URL) and grab that URL to use in your app registration in the developer dashboard

You then need to design a form using the Adaptive Card Designer https://adaptivecards.io/designer using schema v1.0 and make the submit button an HTTP POST request.

You need to include the app ID you created in the developer dashboard into the adaptive card body and add a hidden field into the submit button request JSON that contains some info such as an ID or email address that links the specific form response back to particular row, so your receiving flow has the context. It's really quite tricky to get it right - there's virtually no documentation. But basically the short of it is you compose the adaptive card/actionable message in a flow, send it to the user then have that other flow that triggers on HTTP POST process the response and send back a thank you/confirmation card and update the Excel file.

It's infinitely easier to use the "Start and wait" adaptive card Teams action where the flow will wait for the response and you can use a much newer adaptive card schema version where you don't have to write out a hideous escaped JSON object for the response body in your card and mess around for hours in the actionable message developer centre.

But if you absolutely must use Outlook email, then go for it. I've managed it so I know it works but I have not met one other person who's successfully achieved it in Outlook. Good luck!

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Mike44 266 on at

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Will

I don't have the admin privileges you mentioned, nor the skill level to pull it off, but I'm sure you know what you're talking about. Guess I'll try something simpler. Any suggestions?

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