functions-flow-scenario.md

title	description	services	keywords	author	manager	ms.assetid	ms.service	ms.topic	ms.date	ms.author	ms.reviewer	ms.custom
Call an Azure function from Microsoft Flow | Microsoft Docs	Create a custom connector then call a function using that connector.	functions	cloud apps, cloud services, Microsoft Flow, business processes, business application	ggailey777	jeconnoc		azure-functions	conceptual	12/14/2017	glenga	sunayv

Call a function from Microsoft Flow

Microsoft Flow makes it easy to automate workflows and business processes between your favorite apps and services. Professional developers can use Azure Functions to extend the capabilities of Microsoft Flow, while shielding flow builders from the technical details.

You build a flow in this topic based on a maintenance scenario for wind turbines. This topic shows you how to call the function that you defined in Create an OpenAPI definition for a function. The function determines if an emergency repair on a wind turbine is cost-effective. If it is cost-effective, the flow sends an email to recommend the repair.

For information on calling the same function from PowerApps, see Call a function from PowerApps.

In this topic, you learn how to:

[!div class="checklist"]

• Create a list in SharePoint.
• Export an API definition.
• Add a connection to the API.
• Create a flow to send email if a repair is cost-effective.
• Run the flow.

Prerequisites

• An active Microsoft Flow account with the same sign in credentials as your Azure account.
• SharePoint, which you use as a data source for this flow. Sign up for an Office 365 trial if you don't already have SharePoint.
• Complete the tutorial Create an OpenAPI definition for a function.

Create a SharePoint list

You start off by creating a list that you use as a data source for the flow. The list has the following columns.

List Column	Data Type	Notes
Title	Single line of text	Name of the turbine
LastServiceDate	Date
MaxOutput	Number	Output of the turbine, in KwH
ServiceRequired	Yes/No
EstimatedEffort	Number	Estimated time for the repair, in hours

1. In your SharePoint site, click or tap New, then List.

   

2. Enter the name Turbines, then click or tap Create.

   

   The Turbines list is created, with the default Title field.

   

3. Click or tap then Date.

   

4. Enter the name LastServiceDate, then click or tap Create.

   

5. Repeat the last two steps for the other three columns in the list:

   1. Number > "MaxOutput"

   2. Yes/No > "ServiceRequired"

   3. Number > "EstimatedEffort"

That's it for now - you should have an empty list that looks like the following image. You add data to the list after you create the flow.

[!INCLUDE Export an API definition]

Add a connection to the API

The custom API (also known as a custom connector) is available in Microsoft Flow, but you must make a connection to the API before you can use it in a flow.

1. In flow.microsoft.com, click the gear icon (in the upper right), then click Connections.

   

2. Click Create Connection, scroll down to the Turbine Repair connector, and click it.

   

3. Enter the API Key, and click Create connection.

   

Note

If you share your flow with others, each person who works on or uses the flow must also enter the API key to connect to the API. This behavior might change in the future, and we will update this topic to reflect that.

Create a flow

Now you're ready to create a flow that uses the custom connector and the SharePoint list you created.

Add a trigger and specify a condition

You first create a flow from blank (without a template), and add a trigger that fires when an item is created in the SharePoint list. You then add a condition to determine what happens next.

1. In flow.microsoft.com, click My Flows, then Create from blank.

   

2. Click the SharePoint trigger When an item is created.

   

   If you're not already signed into SharePoint, you will be prompted to do so.

3. For Site Address, enter your SharePoint site name, and for List Name, enter the list that contains the turbine data.

   

4. Click New step, then Add a condition.

   

   Microsoft Flow adds two branches to the flow: If yes and If no. You add steps to one or both branches after you define the condition that you want to match.

   

5. On the Condition card, click the first box, then select ServiceRequired from the Dynamic content dialog box.

   

6. Enter a value of True for the condition.

   

   The value is displayed as Yes or No in the SharePoint list, but it is stored as a boolean, either True or False.

7. Click Create flow at the top of the page. Be sure to click Update Flow periodically.

For any items created in the list, the flow checks if the ServiceRequired field is set to Yes, then goes to the If yes branch or the If no branch as appropriate. To save time, in this topic you only specify actions for the If yes branch.

Add the custom connector

You now add the custom connector that calls the function in Azure. You add the custom connector to the flow just like a standard connector.

1. In the If yes branch, click Add an action.

   

2. In the Choose an action dialog box, search for Turbine Repair, then select the action Turbine Repair - Calculates costs.

   

   The following image shows the card that is added to the flow. The fields and descriptions come from the OpenAPI definition for the connector.

   

3. On the Calculates costs card, use the Dynamic content dialog box to select inputs for the function. Microsoft Flow shows numeric fields but not the date field, because the OpenAPI definition specifies that Hours and Capacity are numeric.

   For Hours, select EstimatedEffort, and for Capacity, select MaxOutput.

   

   Now you add another condition based on the output of the function.

4. At the bottom of the If yes branch, click More, then Add a condition.

   

5. On the Condition 2 card, click the first box, then select Message from the Dynamic content dialog box.

   

6. Enter a value of Yes. The flow goes to the next If yes branch or If no branch based on whether the message returned by the function is yes (make the repair) or no (don't make the repair).

   

The flow should now look like the following image.

Send email based on function results

At this point in the flow, the function has returned a Message value of Yes or No from the function, as well as other information on costs and potential revenue. In the If yes branch of the second condition, you will send an email, but you could do any number of things, like writing back to the SharePoint list or starting an approval process.

1. In the If yes branch of the second condition, click Add an action.

   

2. In the Choose an action dialog box, search for email, then select a send email action based on the email system you use (in this case Outlook).

   

3. On the Send an email card, compose an email. Enter a valid name in your organization for the To field. In the image below you can see the other fields are a combination of text and tokens from the Dynamic content dialog box.

   

   The Title token comes from the SharePoint list, and CostToFix and RevenueOpportunity are returned by the function.

   The completed flow should look like the following image (we left out the first If no branch to save space).

   

4. Click Update Flow at the top of the page, then click Done.

Run the flow

Now that the flow is completed, you add a row to the SharePoint list and see how the flow responds.

1. Go back to the SharePoint list, and click Quick Edit.

   

2. Enter the following values in the edit grid.

   List Column	Value
   Title	Turbine 60
   LastServiceDate	08/04/2017
   MaxOutput	2500
   ServiceRequired	Yes
   EstimatedEffort	10

3. Click Done.

   

   When you add the item, it triggers the flow, which you take a look at next.

4. In flow.microsoft.com, click My Flows, then click the flow you created.

   

5. Under RUN HISTORY, click the flow run.

   

   If the run was successful, you can review the flow operations on the next page. If the run failed for any reason, the next page provides troubleshooting information.

6. Expand the cards to see what occurred during the flow. For example, expand the Calculates costs card to see the inputs to and outputs from the function.

   

7. Check the email account for the person you specified in the To field of the Send an email card. The email sent from the flow should look like the following image.

   

   You can see how the tokens have been replaced with the correct values from the SharePoint list and the function.

Next steps

In this topic, you learned how to:

[!div class="checklist"]

• Create a list in SharePoint.
• Export an API definition.
• Add a connection to the API.
• Create a flow to send email if a repair is cost-effective.
• Run the flow.

To learn more about Microsoft Flow, see Get started with Microsoft Flow.

To learn about other interesting scenarios that use Azure Functions, see Call a function from PowerApps and Create a function that integrates with Azure Logic Apps.