Test a flow before it goes live
Quiz question
What does a test run show you that you don't otherwise see in the designer?
Solution
- A) The number of licenses your flow consumesWrong. A test run checks the logic of your flow. It tells you nothing about licensing.
- B) The inputs and outputs of every single actionCorrect. In a test run you open each action and see which values it received and returned.
- C) A list of all people who use the flowWrong. The test run shows the path of the data through your flow, not a list of users.
What it is about
A new flow rarely runs without errors on the first try. With Test in the designer you start it manually, provide the trigger inputs yourself and follow the run step by step. For every action you see what goes in and what comes out. That way you find the step where a value stays empty or an expression returns something other than expected, before real data runs through the flow. Then you adjust it and test again, as often as you like. Only when the inputs and outputs are right do you turn the flow on for daily use.
When to use it, when not
Use it
Before every activation and after every change to the trigger, expressions or conditions.
Better not
When an action sends real emails or changes data you don't want to touch. Give it a static result first.
Most common mistake
Looking only at the green check mark without opening the outputs. Succeeded does not mean the value is right.
License
Standard Runs without a premium connector, so the license from Microsoft 365 is enough. Source on Microsoft Learn: Power Automate licensing FAQ. For your whole flow: License check.
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Short link: powerautomate.ninja/en/9
Source: PowerPlatformTip #9, Microsoft Learn: Explore the cloud flows designer.