How to Customize Power Automate Approval Email Body
Question details
The user needs to configure Power Automate to display the original submitter's name in the approval email instead of the person who last updated the flow.
- Product
- Power Automate
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Designing or updating a workflow that sends approval emails to users based on form or list submissions.
- Observed behavior
- The approval email incorrectly displays the person who last updated the flow in the 'Created by' field rather than the original request submitter.
Ensure you have edit permissions for the Power Automate flow and have your Microsoft account login credentials ready to access the Power Automate Community.
Consult the Microsoft Power Automate Community
Since advanced flow customization depends heavily on your specific triggers and actions, the official community is the best place to get tailored troubleshooting advice.
Power Automate workflows can be highly complex, and fixing the 'Created by' field often requires mapping specific dynamic content from your trigger (such as a SharePoint list or Microsoft Form) directly into the approval action.
By posting your flow design in the official community, Microsoft specialists and experienced users can provide exact expressions and field mappings to resolve the issue.
Open your web browser and go to the official Microsoft Power Automate Community forums.
Use the search bar to look for 'approval email shows flow creator' to see if your specific trigger scenario has already been solved.
If you cannot find a solution, click 'Start a topic'. Be sure to include screenshots of your current flow in Edit mode, specifically showing the trigger and the Approval action settings.
Manually Map the Requester in the Approval Action
You can manually adjust the Approval action to explicitly include the original requester's details using Dynamic Content.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why does the approval email show the flow creator's name instead of the requester?
This usually happens because the approval action defaults to using the credentials of the account that built or last updated the flow. To fix this, you must explicitly pass the original submitter's dynamic data (like their email or display name) into the approval action's Requestor or Details fields.
Can I format the text inside the Power Automate approval email body?
Yes. The 'Details' field in the 'Start and wait for an approval' action supports standard Markdown formatting. You can use Markdown tags to add bold text, italics, bulleted lists, and clickable hyperlinks.
Where can I find dynamic content for the original requester?
While editing your flow, click inside any text field in the Approval action to bring up the Dynamic Content menu. Look under the section titled with your initial trigger (e.g., 'When an item is created') to find fields like 'Created By Email' or 'Submitter'.
