cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 
DavidLozzi

Posting to Teams with Flow: Incoming Webhook verses Teams - Post Message

The more I explore Office 365, and it's options on integration, the more I love it. I've been very focused on using Flow for my integration stories, which, for the most part, works just as expected. I came across this article which has re-introduced to me the idea of using web hooks to post to Teams. Starting Microsoft Teams conversation on items from SharePoint list. In this article, instead of using the Teams Post message action, the writer decided to use an Incoming Webhook. I instantly remembered this option was here and thought, huh, what's the difference with what I've been doing?

 

My examples here come from my existing Flow I created earlier.

 

What is the Incoming Webhook?

Basically, it's a URL provided by Teams for any service to use to post content with the goal of sharing that content in your team's channel.

 

When you configure it, you get a URL which you can then post a JSON request to. (JSON is a long formatted string that helps standardize data.)

 

The final output, or the post in Teams, is a pretty card, similar to:

 

Flow pushing content to Teams via Incoming Webhook

 

The Flow action looks like this:

 

Microsoft Flow action for HTTP Post to Teams Incoming Webhook

 

 

What is Microsoft Teams - Post message action in Flow?

This is a specific action in Flow for writing to your team's channel. This is a wee bit more basic and will suffice for most business users. When you use this action, all you get is a single open field, in which you can put HTML to make your post look a little prettier:

 

Flow post a message to teams

 

And it's Flow action looks like this:

 

Microsoft flow post a message to teams

 

 

What I like about the Incoming Webhook

The incoming webhook might be my new favorite way to post to Teams:

  1. Standardized format, looks more "professional", more authoritative in my feed.
  2. Formatting supports Markdown or HTML.
  3. It uses a "service account", instead of the name of the person who created the Flow.
  4. Can have additional actions taken on the message card (another blog post coming soon).

But beware

  1. It's more work, formatting the JSON can be tricky. But I think in the long run worth it.

 

What I like about Teams Post message in Flow

This still may fit in some basic flows:

  1. It's quick and dirty, get's the data in there

But beware

  1. Everything gets posted under your account, or the account of the person creating the Flow.

 

Which one should you use?

As always, it depends on your need. If you simply want to quickly post an update, use the Teams Post message action. If you want it cooler looking, functional, use the Incoming Webhook.

 

Resources:

Some nice resources from Microsoft and the community on understanding the incoming webhooks more!

 

Done!

What do you think? Which method will you try next?

 

This post was originally posted on davidlozzi.com. Check out some other Flow ideas on my blog! https://davidlozzi.com/microsoft-flow/

Comments

Great, thx. I have one questions. How can i create the flow in such a way that the person activating the run will be displayed as the poster of the conversation on the channel and not the creator of the flow?

About the Author
  • Experienced Consultant with a demonstrated history of working in the information technology and services industry. Skilled in Office 365, Azure, SharePoint Online, PowerShell, Nintex, K2, SharePoint Designer workflow automation, PowerApps, Microsoft Flow, PowerShell, Active Directory, Operating Systems, Networking, and JavaScript. Strong consulting professional with a Bachelor of Engineering (B.E.) focused in Information Technology from Mumbai University.
  • I am a Microsoft Business Applications MVP and a Senior Manager at EY. I am a technology enthusiast and problem solver. I work/speak/blog/Vlog on Microsoft technology, including Office 365, Power Apps, Power Automate, SharePoint, and Teams Etc. I am helping global clients on Power Platform adoption and empowering them with Power Platform possibilities, capabilities, and easiness. I am a leader of the Houston Power Platform User Group and Power Automate community superuser. I love traveling , exploring new places, and meeting people from different cultures.
  • Read more about me and my achievements at: https://ganeshsanapblogs.wordpress.com/about MCT | SharePoint, Microsoft 365 and Power Platform Consultant | Contributor on SharePoint StackExchange, MSFT Techcommunity
  • Encodian Owner / Founder - Ex Microsoft Consulting Services - Architect / Developer - 20 years in SharePoint - PowerPlatform Fan
  • Founder of SKILLFUL SARDINE, a company focused on productivity and the Power Platform. You can find me on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/manueltgomes and twitter http://twitter.com/manueltgomes. I also write at https://www.manueltgomes.com, so if you want some Power Automate, SharePoint or Power Apps content I'm your guy 🙂
  • I am the Owner/Principal Architect at Don't Pa..Panic Consulting. I've been working in the information technology industry for over 30 years, and have played key roles in several enterprise SharePoint architectural design review, Intranet deployment, application development, and migration projects. I've been a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) 15 consecutive years and am also a Microsoft Certified SharePoint Masters (MCSM) since 2013.
  • Big fan of Power Platform technologies and implemented many solutions.
  • Passionate #Programmer #SharePoint #SPFx #M365 #Power Platform| Microsoft MVP | SharePoint StackOverflow, Github, PnP contributor
  • Web site – https://kamdaryash.wordpress.com Youtube channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCM149rFkLNgerSvgDVeYTZQ/