Power Platform Connector Architecture

Overview

The Build a Doc connector provides document generation and manipulation capabilities within Microsoft Power Platform. This page explains the key concepts for working with the connector.

---

Connector Architecture

The Build a Doc connector is a custom connector that connects Power Automate and Power Apps to the Build a Doc cloud service.

┌─────────────────┐      ┌──────────────────┐      ┌─────────────────┐
│  Power Automate │ ───► │  Build a Doc     │ ───► │  Build a Doc    │
│  / Power Apps   │      │  Connector       │      │  Cloud Service  │
└─────────────────┘      └──────────────────┘      └─────────────────┘

---

Authentication

The connector uses API Key authentication (see Authenticate the Connector for details). Each request to the Build a Doc service includes your API key to:

• Identify your subscription
• Authorise the request
• Track usage against your quota

Caution

Treat your API key like a password. Never expose it in client-side code or public repositories.

Creating a Connection

1. Add a Build a Doc action in your flow (see the Actions Reference)
2. When prompted, click + Add new connection
3. Name the connection and paste your API key. Name it something easily identifiable, such as Build_A_Doc_Dev
4. Click Create

---

Actions

The connector provides actions for the following.:

Document Conversion

• Convert Word Document
• Convert Excel Document
• Convert PowerPoint Presentation
• Convert PDF Document
• Convert HTML
• Convert OneNote Document
• Convert Visio Document

Document Manipulation

• Merge Word Documents
• Merge PowerPoint Presentation
• Compare Word Documents
• Format PowerPoint Presentation

PDF Operations

• Extract PDF Data
• Update PDF Data

Data Operations

• Compute Data
• Render Excel Chart

See the Actions Reference Guide for more information on the different actions.

Data Flow

A typical document generation flow:

1. Trigger - Manual, scheduled, or event-based (e.g., SharePoint item created)
2. Get Template - Retrieve template from SharePoint/OneDrive or other source
3. Prepare Data - Insert the data manually or gather it from Dataverse, SharePoint, HTTP, etc.
4. Call Build a Doc Action - Pass template and data source(s)
5. Handle Output - Save to SharePoint, email, or store in database

---

Data Sources

Each action can accept multiple named data sources:

Property	Description
Name	Identifier used in template to reference this data
Data	The actual data (object or array)
Format	Data format: JSON, XML, or CSV

Example

Data source Name: Invoice
Data source Data: { "Number": "INV-001", "Total": 1250.00 }
Data source Format: JSON

In your template: <<[Invoice.Number]>> would refer to INV-001. See Structure JSON Data for data formatting guidance, Templates and Data Binding for syntax rules, and the Word Template Syntax reference for comprehensive documentation.

---

Output Handling

Actions return document content as base64-encoded strings. To use the output:

1. Save to file - Use SharePoint/OneDrive “Create file” action (see Integrate with SharePoint)
2. Email attachment - Use Outlook “Send email” with attachment
3. HTTP response - Return in HTTP response for APIs

Tip

Always match the file extension to the output format (e.g., .pdf for PDF output).

---

Connection Management

Shared Connections

• For shared/production flows, use a service account connection
• This simplifies auditing and key rotation

Multi-Tenant

• Connections are user- and tenant-specific
• Create separate connections for different tenants

---

Related Topics

• Structure JSON Data
• Configure the Power Platform Connector
• Authenticate the Connector
• Actions Reference