Data Import & Export

How to Update Existing Excel Rows with Forms and Power Automate

Huma Ashraf Ch Oct 10, 2026 872 views

Question details

The user needs to configure a Power Automate flow that uses Microsoft Forms responses to find and update an existing Excel row instead of creating duplicate records.

How to Update Existing Excel Rows Using Forms and Power Automate

Product: Microsoft Excel, Power Automate, Microsoft Forms
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Automating data entry workflows where incoming form responses must overwrite or update specific existing rows based on a unique identifier.
Observed behavior: The system needs to match the new form submission to an existing row and update the corresponding cells, rather than appending new rows for each submission.

Before you start

Ensure your Excel workbook is stored in a cloud location like OneDrive or SharePoint, and the data is formatted as an Excel Table with a column containing unique identifiers (e.g., ID numbers or email addresses).

Solution 1Recommended

Configure Power Automate to Update Rows Based on Form Responses

Set up a flow that triggers on form submission, searches the Excel table for a matching unique ID, and updates the existing row.

To prevent duplicate entries, the Power Automate flow must first look up the existing row using a Filter Query before applying the action to update the data.

Create the flow trigger

In Power Automate, create an automated cloud flow. Select 'When a new response is submitted' as the trigger, and then choose your specific Microsoft Form from the dropdown menu.

Retrieve form responses

Add the 'Get response details' action. Select your Form ID again and insert the 'Response Id' using the dynamic content provided by the trigger.

Find the matching Excel row

Add the 'List rows present in a table' action. Select your cloud-stored Excel file and the target table. In the 'Filter Query' field, write an OData query (e.g., `UniqueID eq 'ResponseIdentifier'`) to find the row that matches the form's unique identifier.

Update the existing row

Add the 'Update a row' action. Select the same Excel file and table. In the 'Key Column' and 'Key Value' fields, specify the unique ID or use the Row ID retrieved from the previous step, then map the form responses to the appropriate Excel columns to overwrite the old data.

Configure Power Automate to Update Rows Based on Form Responses

Unique Identifiers: If the Filter Query returns multiple rows, Power Automate will automatically place the 'Update a row' action inside an 'Apply to each' loop. Ensure your identifier is truly unique to avoid updating unintended rows.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why is my Power Automate flow creating new rows instead of updating them?

This happens if you mistakenly use the 'Add a row into a table' action. To modify existing data, you must use 'List rows present in a table' to locate the specific record, followed by the 'Update a row' action.

Can I use a locally saved Excel file for this Power Automate flow?

No, Power Automate requires the Excel file to be hosted in a cloud environment such as OneDrive for Business or SharePoint so the automated service can access and update the table remotely.

What is a Filter Query and how do I format it in Power Automate?

A Filter Query uses OData syntax to locate specific data within your Excel table. For example, to match an email column with a form response, you would write `EmailColumn eq 'dynamic_email_content'` in the 'List rows present in a table' action.

Excel & Data Problems