Start a Flow from a SharePoint Item

Some processes shouldn't kick off automatically with every change, but only once someone on the team deliberately decides: right now, for this specific item. An employee reviews an order in a SharePoint list and wants to trigger an approval only after their own review. A colleague marks a contract as complete and then specifically triggers document creation. For cases like these, the SharePoint connector brings its own trigger that starts a flow directly from a selected list item, without a detour through a separate app or a button in a form.

This article shows you how to set up this manual trigger, what you can pass from the SharePoint item into the flow, and where the limits of this feature lie. This way you stay in control of when a flow should actually run, instead of every change triggering an automation unasked.

What the "For a selected item" trigger does

The Microsoft SharePoint connector distinguishes between triggers that react to changes in a list, such as When an item is created or When an item is created or modified, and a trigger that is triggered exclusively manually: For a selected item. According to the official description in the Microsoft SharePoint Connector for Power Automate this trigger lets list users trigger a flow after they have selected an item in a list. So the flow doesn't react to a background event, but is deliberately started by a person at the moment of selection.

This places the trigger in the category of manual, or instant, triggers that Power Automate fundamentally recognizes. In the Introduction to triggers this category is described as "instant/manual", as opposed to automated and scheduled triggers. The big difference from a classic button in your own app is that no additional interface needs to be built here. The trigger appears directly in the SharePoint list's menu as soon as a flow with it exists.

Requirements for the manual start

Before you set up the trigger, it's worth taking a quick look at the conditions that apply according to the documentation:

• Default environment required: The documentation explicitly points out that only flows within the default environment can be run manually from a SharePoint list. If your flow is in a different Power Platform environment, the option won't appear in the list.
• Supported list types: Power Automate flows for lists only work with generic lists and generic document libraries. Custom list templates such as announcements, contacts, or tasks are not supported according to the connector documentation.
• Permissions: You need access to the relevant SharePoint site as well as permission to create or edit the flow. Even people without their own creation rights can see and run an existing flow in the Automate menu, if the list owner has shared it.
• Connection of the executing user: A manual trigger uses the connection of the person who is currently starting the flow, not the connection of the flow creator. So every person who triggers the flow must have a valid SharePoint connection of their own.

Step by step: building a flow with "For a selected item"

Option 1: Create the flow directly in Power Automate

• Sign in at make.powerautomate.com and choose Create and then Instant cloud flow.
• Give the flow a meaningful name, for example "Start approval for selected item".
• In the trigger area, search for the SharePoint connector and choose the trigger For a selected item.
• Enter Site address and List name for the desired SharePoint list, just like you know it from other SharePoint triggers.
• Then add the desired actions, for example starting an approval, sending an email, or updating an item.
• Save the flow. From now on it is available in the linked list.

Option 2: Directly from the SharePoint list

• Open the list in SharePoint and select a single item using the checkbox.
• In the command bar, click Automate and then Power Automate.
• Choose Create a flow to create a new flow with the matching trigger directly from this context, or See your flows to run an existing flow for this item.
• Confirm the start. SharePoint shows a brief confirmation that the flow has been triggered; you can see the actual run status afterwards in Power Automate under My flows.

Both routes lead to the same result: a flow that runs in the context of a specific list item and is available in the Automate menu to everyone who has the appropriate permissions.

Processing the selected values in the flow

The trigger passes the flow the ID as well as the field values of the selected item as dynamic content, quite similar to the event-based SharePoint triggers. In practice, it's still a good idea to insert a Get item action right after the trigger and use the ID supplied by the trigger. That way you always work with the current state of the item, even if a few seconds have passed between the selection and the actual run, or several people are working on the same list at the same time. You can then reuse the field values for approvals, notifications, updates, or document creation, just like with any other SharePoint flow.

Limits and special considerations

• The trigger always works with exactly one item per run. It is not designed for multiple selection across several rows, unlike comparable triggers for selected rows in other Power Platform components.
• People without a suitable license can see a shared flow but not run it. If the flow contains premium connectors, every person running it needs an appropriate Power Automate license.
• If the list runs in the classic SharePoint view instead of the modern interface, Automate may not appear in the command bar at all.
• Changes to the environment URL or a switch of the default environment can cause a previously visible flow to disappear from the menu. In this case, it helps to save the flow once more.

A good overview of SharePoint triggers and actions overall is provided by the page Build workflows with SharePoint and Power Automate, in case you want to check further automation options for the same list besides the manual start.

Frequently asked questions

Why don't I see the "For a selected item" trigger when I choose a SharePoint trigger?

Usually it's because the flow was not created in the default environment. Only flows within the default environment can be run manually from a SharePoint list. Also check whether it's a generic list or library, since custom list templates are not supported by this trigger.

Can I start the flow for several selected items at the same time?

No, the trigger For a selected item is designed for exactly one item per run. If you want to process several items at once, you either need several individual runs or a different automation that accepts a list of items instead of a single selection context.

Do I need a premium license for this trigger?

The SharePoint connector itself is a standard connector and does not require a premium license. However, as soon as you use premium connectors in the flow, for example certain Dataverse or HTTP actions, every person running the flow needs an appropriate Power Automate license.

Why is my flow no longer shown in the "Automate" menu, even though it worked before?

A common reason is a changed environment URL or a switch of the default environment in which the flow was originally saved. In such cases it usually helps to reopen the flow in the designer and save it again, so the link to the list is rebuilt.

How do I know whether my manual flow ran successfully?

After starting, SharePoint only shows a brief confirmation that the flow was triggered, not the full run status. To see whether all steps completed successfully, open Power Automate, go to My flows, select the relevant flow, and check the run history there in detail.