Creating external users in SharePoint Online is a crucial aspect of collaboration and information sharing with individuals outside your organization. Microsoft Forms and Power Automate provide a seamless solution for enabling external user access to your SharePoint Online environment. In this article, we will provide an overview of the process, followed by a step-by-step guide on using Microsoft Forms for external user creation. Finally, we will explore how to automate the provisioning of external users using Power Automate.

Overview of Creating External Users in SharePoint Online

To enable external users to access your SharePoint Online environment, you need to create user accounts for them. These users can be collaborators, clients, or partners who need to interact with your SharePoint sites and content. By creating external users, you can share files, folders, and sites while maintaining control over their access and permissions.

SharePoint Online provides various methods for creating external users, including direct invitation, Azure Active Directory B2B collaboration, or Microsoft Forms. Microsoft Forms offers a simple and user-friendly way to collect information from external users, which can then be used to create SharePoint accounts for them.

Step-by-Step Guide: Using Microsoft Forms for External User Creation

1. Create a Microsoft Form: Start by creating a new form in Microsoft Forms. Include fields for the required information, such as name, email address, and any additional details you need.
2. Share the Form with External Users: Once the form is ready, share it with the external users you want to invite. You can generate a unique link to the form or directly email it to them. Ensure that the form is accessible to external users.
3. Collect User Information: External users will fill out the form with their details. Once they submit the form, their information will be collected in the form’s response spreadsheet.
4. Automate User Provisioning with Power Automate: To automate the creation of SharePoint accounts for external users, use Power Automate (formerly Microsoft Flow). Create a flow that triggers when a new form response is submitted. Use the collected information to create external user accounts in SharePoint Online.

Automating External User Provisioning with Power Automate

Power Automate allows you to streamline the process of creating external users in SharePoint Online. By building a flow in Power Automate, you can automatically create user accounts based on the information collected from Microsoft Forms. This eliminates the manual effort of creating accounts and ensures a consistent and efficient onboarding process for external users.

To automate external user provisioning, create a flow that connects to the response spreadsheet of your Microsoft Form. Configure the flow to trigger when a new response is submitted. Within the flow, use the collected information to create a new user in SharePoint Online and assign the necessary permissions.

Enabling external users to collaborate in your SharePoint Online environment is essential for effective communication and collaboration with partners, clients, and other external stakeholders. By leveraging the power of Microsoft Forms and Power Automate, you can streamline the process of creating and provisioning external user accounts. This not only saves time and effort but also ensures a secure and controlled environment for external collaboration. Follow the step-by-step guide outlined here, and start empowering external users to engage and contribute to your SharePoint sites and content.