Manage the SharePoint Connector

This is an admin task 

The Forms & Workflow SharePoint Connector lets authors connect forms to Microsoft SharePoint lists and document libraries.

When a response to a connected form is finalized (by entering a final step in a workflow, or upon submission for forms without workflows), response data and any packaged files are automatically pushed to SharePoint.

Response data in SharePoint lists can be distributed throughout your organization using Microsoft tools like PowerAutomate and PowerBI to automatically trigger events such as:

• Teams notifications
• Salesforce tickets
• Updates to manager-facing graphs 

Your IT team will configure these downstream integrations.

Before You Begin

To get the most out of the SharePoint connector, it's a good idea to complete the following tasks before you connect:

• Prepare your SharePoint environment
• Discuss downstream integrations with your IT team
• Decide who will create SharePoint lists and libraries

Prepare Your SharePoint Environment

Your SharePoint environment must contain at least one SharePoint site to receive data from Forms & Workflow. 

In most cases, your environment will contain multiple sites used by different teams or departments to store and distribute relevant information.

Discuss with your form authors and IT team which sites are relevant, and whether additional sites need to be created to receive response data.

Discuss Downstream Integrations with Your IT Team

If you intend to use downstream integrations like PowerAutomate to distribute form response data throughout your organization, discuss this with your IT team.

The data your integrations use may influence which fields form authors map to SharePoint, as well as the folder structure of sites, lists, and document libraries. 

Decide Who Will Create SharePoint Lists and Libraries 

In many cases, form authors will be responsible for creating SharePoint lists that receive response data through this connector.

Alternatively, your IT team might create lists for form authors, especially if they are also configuring downstream integrations using response data.

Refer the relevant staff to configure your form to export response data to SharePoint. This article details what response data can and cannot be sent to SharePoint lists, how to format lists to receive Forms & Workflow data, and how to create document libraries to receive packaged files. Whoever you delegate list creation to, establish and communicate a consistent process to ensure your response data ends up where you expect it.

Set Up the SharePoint Connector 

You will need the assistance of an Azure administrator to connect Forms & Workflow to SharePoint. Make sure they are ready before you begin connection. 

Once you are ready to connect:

1. Go to Integrations > Connectors > SharePoint.
2. Select Connect.
3. Copy the URL provided and send it to your Azure AD administrator.
4. If you are an Azure AD administrator, open this URL in a new tab and select Accept.
5. Once your Azure AD administrator has granted access to your SharePoint, select Next.
6. Select Proceed to SharePoint connector admin screen.
7. In the SharePoint connector admin screen, select which SharePoint sites are available to form authors.
   
    

   

    
   • Select All sites to allow form authors to select from every SharePoint site in your Azure AD environment, including any sites added in the future.
   • Select Specific sites to allow only the sites you specify. Sites currently in use by active forms cannot be deselected.
8. Save your changes.

Manage the SharePoint Connector

Once you have completed initial setup of the the SharePoint connector, form authors can configure individual forms to export response data to SharePoint lists and document libraries hosted on the sites you have allowed.

To view which forms are using the connector, and a log of individual response exports, select See all in the panels on the right of the SharePoint connector admin screen.

View which forms are using the connector by selecting See all in the connector's form tally, at the top right on the screen.

 
This will open a searchable list of every form currently using the SharePoint connector, including published, draft, deactivated, and archived forms. 

Export Logs

View a log of the exported responses by selecting See all in the export log panel, at the right on the screen.

This will open a searchable listing of exported responses. You will see a Pending status in your Export Log while your export is waiting in the queue.

Exports will occur at regular intervals to accommodate for any delays in generating custom documents. While most export jobs will be quick, some may take longer due to various factors. For example, forms with very high submission counts, multiple upload fields, and that generate multiple response documents may take longer to finish exporting. 

Navigate between all exports, successful exports, and failed exports using the tabs at the top of the listing. Successful exports are shown for 30 days. Failed exports are shown indefinitely.

Troubleshooting Failed Exports 

Failed exports can be retried from the export log, however, in most cases, it's a good idea to investigate the cause of any failures before attempting a retry, as re-attempts can take a little while and may fail again. Here are some troubleshooting tips to try:

• Failures across multiple forms indicate a connection error to your SharePoint Online environment. Discuss this with your IT team before retrying any exports. 
• A string of failures for a particular form indicates an error in either the form's SharePoint settings, or the list itself. If you have author permissions for the form, select the form name to navigate to that form, then double-check its SharePoint settings and the relevant SharePoint list. If you don't have author permissions to a particular form, talk to an author in the appropriate workspace (listed in the export log) to delegate this task. 
• Ensure that the form fields have been mapped correctly to the SharePoint list. For example, an appropriate field must be mapped to the SharePoint column, or choice columns have been marked as Can add values manually or Allow "Fill-in" choices as you configured that column. 
• An unsupported column is marked as required in SharePoint causing an error as Forms & Workflow cannot connect to a list that has required unsupported columns. Or, a required column has no value imported in the response causing SharePoint to reject the entire list.
• Ensure that the SharePoint document library is in the same list as the SharePoint site you are exporting to.
• The SharePoint column selected has a character limit that does not match the Forms field mapped to it, resulting in an error as the response is exported.
• The SharePoint columns that are available to map in your form will reflect the columns available in the SharePoint list. If there appear to be columns missing, please consult your SharePoint administrator.
• Confirm with your SharePoint administrator that no recent changes to the SharePoint integration or lists have been made that may have caused your connection to break.
• The Forms & Workflow connector will only show and connect with SharePoint lists that use the “genericList” type. Some Microsoft Lists templates have different template values which will prevent them from displaying when connecting a form to SharePoint.

What's Next?

• Configure your form to export response data to SharePoint