Creating Your First Alert Email

This page walks through the fastest path to a working Alert Relay flow that sends an email showing what changed in a SharePoint item.

What Alert Relay does

Alert Relay is a Power Automate connector for SharePoint change notifications. It helps you move beyond generic "item modified" emails by returning:

• detailed field-level changes
• formatted values ready for display
• ready-to-use HTML for alert emails

Before you start

You will need:

• a Microsoft 365 account
• access to the SharePoint site, list, or library you want to monitor
• a Power Automate flow that starts from a SharePoint trigger

Recommended first scenario

For your first test, use:

• SharePoint trigger: When an item is created or modified
• Alert Relay action: Get Detailed Item Alert HTML
• email action: Send an email (V2)

That path gives you the fastest first success.

Create the connector connection

When you add your first Alert Relay action in Power Automate, create a connection using your Microsoft 365 sign-in

Note A Microsoft 365 administrator may need to approve the connector for your tenant before you can create or use the connection.

Understand the key inputs

The main Alert Relay actions use these important inputs:

Site URL

Choose the SharePoint site that contains the list or library.

• You can usually pick this from a dropdown.
• You can also enter it manually if needed.

List or Library

Choose the SharePoint list or document library.

• The dropdown refreshes after a site is selected.
• Manual entry can use the exact list title or the list GUID.

Item ID

This is normally the ID value from the SharePoint trigger.

Compare From

This tells Alert Relay what point in time or version to compare against.

For most flows, the best option is:

• TriggerWindowStartToken from the SharePoint trigger

If you leave Compare From blank, Alert Relay uses the first version in the item's version history as the comparison baseline.

Build your first flow

Use this flow shape:

1. SharePoint trigger: When an item is created or modified
2. Alert Relay action: Get Detailed Item Alert HTML
3. Outlook action: Send an email (V2)

Step 1: Add the SharePoint trigger

Create an automated cloud flow using:

• When an item is created or modified

Choose the correct:

• Site Address
• List Name

Step 2: Add Get Detailed Item Alert HTML

Add the Alert Relay action:

• Get Detailed Item Alert HTML

Populate the fields as follows.

Site URL

Use the same SharePoint site that the trigger is watching.

List or Library

Use the same list or library.

Item ID

Use the trigger's ID value.

Compare From

For the best first result, use:

• TriggerWindowStartToken

This allows Alert Relay to compare the current item against the trigger's baseline point.

Optional fields

You can also choose to set these fields, which will be reflected in the HTML output:

• Include Minor Versions (includeMinorVersions): includes draft or minor versions in the comparison instead of using major versions only. Defaults to false.
• Include Unchanged Fields (includeUnchangedFields): includes unchanged fields in the generated output as well as changed fields. Defaults to true.
• Date Format (dateFormat): controls how dates are displayed in the output. Defaults to yyyy-MM-dd.
• Time Format (timeFormat): controls how times are displayed in the output. Defaults to HH:mm:ss.
• Timezone (timezone): controls which timezone Alert Relay uses when displaying date and time values. Defaults to UTC.

Step 3: Add Send an email (V2)

Add your email action after Alert Relay.

Use:

• Subject: Alert Relay Suggested Subject (subject)
• Body: Alert Relay HTML Body (htmlBody)

Make sure the email body is treated as HTML by your chosen mail action.

Recommended first test item

Use a simple list item that has:

• a Title column
• one or two editable columns such as a Choice column, a Date and Time column, or a Person column

This makes it easier to see how Alert Relay handles both new items and later updates.

Run the flow

Once you have added the trigger, the Alert Relay action, and your email action, and you have a suitable test item:

1. save/publish the flow
2. make sure the flow is turned on
3. create a new item in the SharePoint list
4. wait for the flow to run
5. open the flow run history
6. confirm the Alert Relay action completed successfully
7. check the email that was sent

After that first run:

1. edit the same item
2. change one or two fields
3. wait for the flow to run again
4. review the second email

This gives you a quick way to test both:

• a newly created item
• an updated item with visible changes

What to expect

For a newly created item

The first email is based on a new item, not an update to an existing item.

In that case:

• the suggested subject uses Item Added (subject) rather than an update-style subject
• the HTML body says the item has been added
• the email shows the item's initial values

For a modified item

After you edit the same item and the flow runs again, the email should normally include:

• the item title
• who changed it
• when it changed
• the changed fields
• previous and current values, where available
• a link back to the SharePoint item
• a subject using Item Updated (subject)

If the dropdowns are empty

Check these first:

• the connector connection is valid
• the signed-in user has access to the SharePoint site
• the selected site URL is correct
• the selected list exists in that site

If needed, you can enter values manually and return to the dropdowns later.

Common issues

Using the wrong Item ID

Use the trigger's ID, not a different identifier from another action.

Using the wrong site or list

The Alert Relay action should point to the same SharePoint source the trigger is monitoring.

Leaving Compare From empty without understanding the result

If you leave Compare From blank, Alert Relay compares the current item against the first version in the item's version history. For most trigger-based flows, TriggerWindowStartToken is the best starting point.

The email body is not formatted correctly

Check that your email action is using the Alert Relay HTML output as HTML rather than plain text.

Related pages

• Get Detailed Item Alert HTML
• Use Detailed JSON Changes
• Compare From Baselines
• Troubleshooting