Using the Common Data Service (Current Environment) Power Automate Connector

Although the new Common Data Service (Current Environment) connector in Power Automate has been available for a while, I am still running into confusion about which connector is which.

Let's break it down.

Common Data Service Connector

This was the initial CDS connector within Power Automate. This is available in the context of a solution AND outside the context of a solution.

What does this mean?

If I simply navigate to My Flows and create a new Flow, this is not within a solution.

You will NOT see the Common Data Service (Current Environment) connector here.

With this connector, you will only see these Triggers:

And these Actions

Additionally, you are required to populate the environment manually for each Trigger and Action.

You can find additional detail on this connector HERE

Common Data Service (Current Environment)

How do I access this connector? This is the most common question I get right now.

This must be within a solution. You can use an existing solution or create a new solution.

Open the solution and create a new Flow

This part is important! Since the original CDS connector is also available within a solution, you will see TWO connectors side-by-side. You want to hover over the connector to ensure you see Common Data Service (Current Environment)

 This is the connector you want to use. Why? Take a look at the Triggers and Actions:

 Although there is only one trigger, you have these new options

As you can see, you do not need to specify the environment manually, as it uses the environment the solution currently resides in.

Here are the Actions:

You can find additional detail on this connector HERE

Thanks for reading!

Aaron Richards