tutorial-build-schedule-recurring-logic-app-workflow.md

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Build schedule-based automated workflows - Azure Logic Apps | Microsoft Docs	Tutorial - How to create a schedule-based, recurring, automated workflow with Azure Logic Apps	logic-apps	logic-apps	integration	ecfan	estfan	klam, LADocs	tutorial	mvc	01/12/2018

Check traffic on a schedule with Azure Logic Apps

Azure Logic Apps helps you automate workflows that run on a schedule. This tutorial shows how you can build a logic app with a scheduler trigger that runs every weekday morning and checks the travel time, including traffic, between two places. If the time exceeds a specific limit, the logic app sends email with the travel time and the extra time necessary for your destination.

In this tutorial, you learn how to:

[!div class="checklist"]

• Create a blank logic app.
• Add a trigger that works as a scheduler for your logic app.
• Add an action that gets the travel time for a route.
• Add an action that creates a variable, converts the travel time from seconds to minutes, and saves that result in the variable.
• Add a condition that compares the travel time against a specified limit.
• Add an action that sends email if the travel time exceeds the limit.

When you're done, your logic app looks like this workflow at a high level:

If you don't have an Azure subscription, sign up for a free Azure account before you begin.

Prerequisites

• An email account from an email provider supported by Logic Apps, such as Office 365 Outlook, Outlook.com, or Gmail. For other providers, review the connectors list here. This quickstart uses an Outlook.com account. If you use a different email account, the general steps stay the same, but your UI might appear slightly different.

• To get the travel time for a route, you need an access key for the Bing Maps API. To get this key, follow the steps for how to get a Bing Maps key.

Sign in to the Azure portal

Sign in to the Azure portal with your Azure account credentials.

Create your logic app

1. From the main Azure menu, choose Create a resource > Enterprise Integration > Logic App.

   

2. Under Create logic app, provide this information about your logic app as shown and described. When you're done, choose Pin to dashboard > Create.

   

   Setting	Value	Description
   Name	LA-TravelTime	The name for your logic app
   Subscription	<your-Azure-subscription-name>	The name for your Azure subscription
   Resource group	LA-TravelTime-RG	The name for the Azure resource group used to organize related resources
   Location	East US 2	The region where to store information about your logic app
   Log Analytics	Off	Keep the Off setting for diagnostic logging.

3. After Azure deploys your app, the Logic Apps Designer opens and shows a page with an introduction video and templates for common logic app patterns. Under Templates, choose Blank Logic App.

   

Next, add the recurrence trigger, which fires based on a specified schedule. Every logic app must start with a trigger, which fires when a specific event happens or when new data meets a specific condition. For more information, see Create your first logic app.

Add scheduler trigger

1. On the designer, enter "recurrence" in the search box. Select this trigger: Schedule - Recurrence

   

2. On the Recurrence shape, choose the ellipses (...) button, and choose Rename. Rename the trigger with this description: Check travel time every weekday morning

   

3. Inside the trigger, choose Show advanced options.

4. Provide the schedule and recurrence details for your trigger as shown and described:

   

   Setting	Value	Description
   Interval	1	The number of intervals to wait between checks
   Frequency	Week	The unit of time to use for the recurrence
   Time zone	None	Applies only when you specify a start time. Useful for specifying a non-local time zone.
   Start time	None	Delay the recurrence until a specific date and time. For more information, see Schedule tasks and workflows that run regularly.
   On these days	Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday	Available only when Frequency is set to "Week"
   At these hours	7,8,9	Available only when Frequency is set to "Week" or "Day". Select the hours of the day to run this recurrence. This example runs at the 7, 8, and 9-hour marks.
   At these minutes	0,15,30,45	Available only when Frequency is set to "Week" or "Day". Select the minutes of the day to run this recurrence. This example runs every 15 minutes starting at the zero-hour mark.

   This trigger fires every weekday, every 15 minutes, starting at 7:00 AM and ending at 9:45 AM. The Preview box shows the recurrence schedule. For more information, see Schedule tasks and workflows and Workflow actions and triggers.

5. To hide the trigger's details for now, click inside the shape's title bar.

   

6. Save your logic app. On the designer toolbar, choose Save.

Your logic app is now live but doesn't do anything other recur. So, add an action that responds when the trigger fires.

Get the travel time for a route

Now that you have a trigger, add an action that gets the travel time between two places. Logic Apps provides a connector for the Bing Maps API so that you can easily get this information. Before you start this task, make sure that you have a Bing Maps API key as described in this tutorial's prerequisites.

1. In the Logic App Designer, under your trigger, choose + New step > Add an action.

2. Search for "maps", and select this action: Bing Maps - Get route

3. If you don't have a Bing Maps connection, you're asked to create a connection. Provide these connection details, and choose Create.

   

   Setting	Value	Description
   Connection Name	BingMapsConnection	Provide a name for your connection.
   API Key	<your-Bing-Maps-key>	Enter the Bing Maps key that you previously received. If you don't have a Bing Maps key, learn how to get a key.

4. Rename the action with this description: Get route and travel time with traffic

5. Provide details for the Get route action as shown and described here, for example:

   

   Setting	Value	Description
   Waypoint 1	<start-location>	Your route's origin
   Waypoint 2	<end-location>	Your route's destination
   Avoid	None	Any items to avoid on your route, such as highways, tolls, and so on
   Optimize	timeWithTraffic	A parameter to optimize your route, such as distance, travel time with current traffic, and so on. Select this parameter: "timeWithTraffic"
   Distance unit	<your-preference>	The unit of distance for your route. This article uses this unit: "Mile"
   Travel mode	Driving	The travel mode for your route. Select this mode: "Driving"
   Transit Date-Time	None	Applies to transit mode only
   Date-Time Type	None	Applies to transit mode only

   For more information about these parameters, see Calculate a route.

6. Save your logic app.

Next, create a variable so that you can convert and store the current travel time as minutes, rather than seconds. That way, you can avoid repeating the conversion and use the value more easily in later steps.

Create variable to store travel time

Sometimes, you might want to perform operations on data in your workflow and use the results in later actions. To save these results so that you can easily reuse or reference them, you can create variables to store those results after processing them. You can create variables only at the top level in your logic app.

By default, the previous Get route action returns the current travel time with traffic in seconds through the Travel Duration Traffic field. By converting and storing this value as minutes instead, you make the value easier to reuse later without converting again.

1. Under the Get route action, choose + New step > Add an action.

2. Search for "variables", and select this action: Variables - Initialize variable

   

3. Rename this action with this description: Create variable to store travel time

4. Provide the details for your variable as described here:

   Setting	Value	Description
   Name	travelTime	The name for your variable
   Type	Integer	The data type for your variable
   Value	An expression that converts the current travel time from seconds to minutes (see steps under this table).	The initial value for your variable

   1. To create the expression for the Value field, click inside the field so that the dynamic content list appears. If necessary, widen your browser until the list appears. In the dynamic content list, choose Expression.

      

      When you click inside some edit boxes, either a dynamic content list or an inline parameter list appears. This list shows any parameters from previous actions that you can use as inputs in your workflow. The dynamic content list has an expression editor where you can select functions for performing operations. This expression editor appears only in the dynamic content list.

      Your browser width determines which list appears. If your browser is wide, the dynamic content list appears. If your browser is narrow, a parameter list appears inline under the edit box that currently has focus.

   2. In the expression editor, enter this expression: div(,60)

      

   3. Put your cursor inside the expression between the left parenthesis (() and the comma (,). Choose Dynamic content.

      

   4. In the dynamic content list, select Travel Duration Traffic.

      

   5. After the field resolves inside the expression, choose OK.

      

      The Value field now appears as shown here:

      

5. Save your logic app.

Next, add a condition that checks whether the current travel time is greater than a specific limit.

Compare travel time with limit

1. Under the previous action, choose + New step > Add a condition.

2. Rename the condition with this description: If travel time exceeds limit

3. Build a condition that checks whether travelTime exceeds your specified limit as described and shown here:

   1. Inside the condition, click inside the Choose a value box, which is on the left (wide browser view) or on top (narrow browser view).

   2. From either the dynamic content list or the parameter list, select the travelTime field under Variables.

   3. In the comparison box, select this operator: is greater than

   4. In the Choose a value box on the right (wide view) or bottom (narrow view), enter this limit: 15

   For example, if you're working in narrow view, here is how you build this condition:

   

4. Save your logic app.

Next, add the action to perform when the travel time exceeds your limit.

Send email when limit exceeded

Now, add an action that emails you when the travel time exceeds your limit. This email includes the current travel time and the extra time necessary to travel the specified route.

1. In the condition's If true branch, choose Add an action.

2. Search for "send email", and select the email connector and the "send email action" that you want to use.

   

   • For personal Microsoft accounts, select Outlook.com.
   • For Azure work or school accounts, select Office 365 Outlook.

3. If you don't already have a connection, you're asked to sign in to your email account.

   Logic Apps creates a connection to your email account.

4. Rename the action with this description: Send email with travel time

5. In the To box, enter the recipient's email address. For testing purposes, use your email address.

6. In the Subject box, specify the email's subject, and include the travelTime variable.

   1. Enter the text Current travel time (minutes): with a trailing space.

   2. From either the parameter list or the dynamic content list, select travelTime under Variables.

      For example, if your browser is in narrow view:

      

7. In the Body box, specify the content for the email body.

   1. Enter the text Add extra travel time (minutes): with a trailing space.

   2. If necessary, widen your browser until the dynamic content list appears. In the dynamic content list, choose Expression.

      

   3. In the expression editor, enter this expression so that you can calculate the number of minutes that exceed your limit: sub(,15)

      

   4. Put your cursor inside the expression between the left parenthesis (() and the comma (,). Choose Dynamic content.

      

   5. Under Variables, select travelTime.

      

   6. After the field resolves inside the expression, choose OK.

      

      The Body field now appears as shown here:

      

8. Save your logic app.

Next, test your logic app, which now looks similar to this example:

Run your logic app

To manually start your logic app, on the designer toolbar bar, choose Run. If the current travel time stays under your limit, your logic app does nothing else and waits for the next interval before checking again. But if the current travel time exceeds your limit, you get an email with the current travel time and the number of minutes above your limit. Here is an example email that your logic app sends:

If you don't get any emails, check your email's junk folder. Your email junk filter might redirect these kinds of mails. Otherwise, if you're unsure that your logic app ran correctly, see Troubleshoot your logic app.

Congratulations, you've now created and run a schedule-based recurring logic app.

To create other logic apps that use the Schedule - Recurrence trigger, check out these templates, which available after you create a logic app:

• Get daily reminders sent to you.
• Delete older Azure blobs.
• Add a message to an Azure Storage queue.

Clean up resources

When no longer needed, delete the resource group that contains your logic app and related resources. On the main Azure menu, go to Resource groups, and select the resource group for your logic app. Choose Delete resource group. Enter the resource group name as confirmation, and choose Delete.

Get support

• For questions, visit the Azure Logic Apps forum.
• To submit or vote on feature ideas, visit the Logic Apps user feedback site.

Next steps

In this tutorial, you created a logic app that checks traffic based on a specified schedule (on weekday mornings), and takes action (sends email) when the travel time exceeds a specified limit. Now, learn how to build a logic app that sends mailing list requests for approval by integrating Azure services, Microsoft services, and other SaaS apps.

[!div class="nextstepaction"] Manage mailing list requests