Whether it’s caused by a Microsoft software update, internal adjustment to your environment, or a data overload, you can expect to encounter a Power Automate error at some point. When the inevitable happens, do yourself a favor and use these Power Automate error handling tips to make the task of troubleshooting a little easier.
Power Automate is a no-code, cloud-based service that empowers non-developer users to create automated workflows between applications. It’s a key component of Microsoft’s Power Platform business application suite.
When creating workflows, we find it very helpful to use error logging to track Power Automate results so they can be supported by a broader audience.
By default, Power Automate will exit the flow at the point of failure. Periodic email notifications will be sent to the owner(s) of the Power Automate. Here you can see a 28-day run history and any run failures.
Note: if a Power Automate fails continuously for 14 days, it will automatically be turned off. For more key limit information, see the table near the end of the article.
Digging through each run to identify errors is time consuming, so we recommend creating a few error log scenarios to capture this information. The scenarios can be as simple as an email notification when a Power Automate fails or an activity in Power Apps or Dynamics 365 that records when a Power Automate fails, the error type, and a potential resolution.
We also recommend creating "Run After" conditions in the Power Automate blocks. “Run After” conditions are configured by clicking the ellipsis of an action block and selecting the "Configure run after" option. By default, the "Run After" condition is set to "Success". This allows you to continue through the workflow even if the previous step has failed, is skipped or has timed out. In the example below, an email is sent to accounting if the previous step (retrieving a file from SharePoint) has failed or timed out.
Interested in learning more about error handling in Power Automate? Get in touch with an Altriva Solutions Power Platform consultant or read the Microsoft documentation.
