topic Re: Microsoft Power Automate Notification Question in ArcGIS Survey123 Questions

Microsoft Power Automate Notification Question

JD1016 — Wed, 14 Sep 2022 12:10:28 GMT

Hello,

I've been testing notifications using Microsoft Power Automate. It's been performing very well but I am curious about some of the postings that discuss it needing a refresh because the connection will be routinely severed after 2 weeks.

This has not happened to me and I am wondering why that is the case. My web hooks have been maintained for almost 4 weeks without any problems. I'd like to completely switch over to Power Automate, but the issue of web hook connection loss makes me extremely cautious on being completely reliant. If it were something where the software required a reset at a given interval I could easily adapt my schedule to allow for this contingency. However, if it does not occur in a cyclic nature that is a little troubling.

Has anyone else experienced Power Automate not needing a refresh to maintain its web hook connection?

Thank you.

Jeff

Re: Microsoft Power Automate Notification Question

erica_poisson — Wed, 14 Sep 2022 12:21:39 GMT

@JD1016 -

The two-week expiration you're seeing references about (for me at least) has only been an impact when building new webhooks. If I created a webhook today and entered my AGOL credentials to establish the connection with whatever connector I was using, and then if I went back on October 1 to create another new webhook using an Esri connector (e.g. Survey123), I'd have to re-enter my credentials to get a list of my Survey123 forms because the credentials have expired.

The two-week expiration should not impact webhooks which are saved and on (running). I have many webhooks and have never had an issue.

Re: Microsoft Power Automate Notification Question

JD1016 — Wed, 14 Sep 2022 12:31:06 GMT

Thank you for replying Erica.

Have you had any issues with saved and running webhooks experiencing problems when you add a new webhook to the mix?

Jeff

Re: Microsoft Power Automate Notification Question

erica_poisson — Wed, 14 Sep 2022 12:40:28 GMT

Hi Jeff,

No - I have never had issues in an existing webhook when I was creating a new one. What you will end up with, eventually, is a list that looks like this as you'll need to add a new connection each time a new webhook is built. It's a bit annoying, but now I just know that if I'm building a new webhook I just need to re-establish a connection to my AGOL account (second image).

Re: Microsoft Power Automate Notification Question

JD1016 — Wed, 14 Sep 2022 12:49:30 GMT

Okay. That's interesting.

I have 6 different cloud flows running but only one connection for Survey123 that I established 3 weeks ago.

I have 3 different webhooks.

So...just to confirm...you create a new connection for each webhook you create?

Re: Microsoft Power Automate Notification Question

erica_poisson — Wed, 14 Sep 2022 13:43:30 GMT

Just about. If I create a new webhook within 2 weeks of the last one I worked on, then I probably would use an existing connection. But I rarely do that, so I'd say yes, in general I always create a new connection.

Re: Microsoft Power Automate Notification Question

JD1016 — Wed, 14 Sep 2022 13:59:53 GMT

I like the idea of a new connection per webhook. Is there a way to create a new connection for an existing running flow?

Jeff

Re: Microsoft Power Automate Notification Question

erica_poisson — Wed, 14 Sep 2022 14:19:30 GMT

You'd probably just open the Flow, locate the connector, click the ... on the right of the card and select "Add New Connection". I don't see a benefit to doing this with existing Flows. Once you save, users will need to re-download the Survey123 form in order for the webhook to work (if you are using the Survey123 connector).

Re: Microsoft Power Automate Notification Question

JD1016 — Wed, 14 Sep 2022 14:29:36 GMT

Right now the flows are just being tested and I'm the only one that sees the notifications. Your right about the benefit aspect, but at the moment it is only known to me. The system is currently working with an Integromat notification system I setup but I've been experimenting with Power Automate for both delivering the notification plus the actual survey data collected in the field. As with anything I wonder if I am overtaxing the connection to support 3 webhooks at once and was intrigued with your segregation of one connection to one webhook. I've had some issues in the not so recent past where Power Automate misses a collection event entirely and didn't send a notification without any indication that there was an issue. I've been hesitant to roll-out Power Automate because of that glitch...hence why it is still in "beta" so to speak.

Re: Microsoft Power Automate Notification Question

erica_poisson — Wed, 14 Sep 2022 16:04:05 GMT

I understand what you're saying.

For myself, the only time I've had issues with missed events was for one of two reasons - 1) I failed to properly configure the webhook settings via the Survey123 website (e.g. if it was supposed to trigger when an existing record was modified as opposed to newly collected) or 2) I forgot to turn the Flow on before testing.

Another possibility could be that you are running into the cap for # flow runs for a Flow within your plan's limits. This could impact you if you don't have the proper license to Power Automate. I think this provides information on limits in Power Automate.

Re: Microsoft Power Automate Notification Question

JD1016 — Wed, 14 Sep 2022 16:14:13 GMT

I think one time I ran into your #2 scenario. That was embarrassing but a good lesson learned on that one. That was an extremely helpful link you supplied.

Thank you, Erica!