Microsoft’s Adaptive Cards are a way to present blocks of information in Microsoft Teams. Crow Canyon’s NITRO Studio uses this technology to show data from SharePoint lists and SharePoint applications in Teams, while also displaying action buttons that give users the ability to move business processes forward.
For instance, an Adaptive Card can show information from a SharePoint list item, such as a ticket or a request, along with action buttons at the bottom, such as Approve, Assign, Reassign, Escalate, Close, etc. Whether using Teams on a desktop, tablet, or mobile phone, the user can view the data and take the appropriate action.
Users can also submit new requests in Teams with Adaptive Cards. A form is displayed and the user fills it out and submits it. If needed, the request can be routed for approval in Teams by showing a Card to the manager or other approvers with the option to approve or deny the request. The neat trick about this is that all the information is processed in the SharePoint application while the interactivity is happening in Teams.
NITRO Studio and Adaptive Cards: Many Possibilities
In NITRO Studio, you can configure Cards for all of these and more:
- Viewing a list of requests or tickets
- Submitting requests
- Creating and assigning tasks
- Initiating projects
- Approving requests
- Assigning or reassigning tickets
- Closing tickets
Configuring the Adaptive Card
The Cards are configured in NITRO Studio. Both NITRO Workflows and NITRO Custom Actions have a “Post Adaptive Card” action where the Card’s structure and usage is defined. This sets not only what information is displayed and how, but also what actions can be taken by the end user.
Every aspect of the Card can be configured in NITRO Studio. This includes the title, heading, sub-heading, sub-text, description, and column values. Any one of these can use “placeholders” (column values or calculations) from the SharePoint list item.
What makes using Adaptive Cards in NITRO Studio really powerful is that action buttons can be added. These can create a new list item, update a list item, invoke another workflow, or launch a URL.
In the above Configured Card, the Approve button updates the Approval Status to “Approved” and runs whatever workflows go along with approval, such as notifying the requester. This is all done from within Teams by simply clicking the Approve button.
How the Cards are Displayed
The Cards are displayed using Crow Canyon’s NITRO Bot. The Bot has a set of command options, one of which is Invoke Workflow. In the Bot’s user interface, the command might say “Submit Leave Request” or “View My Open Tickets”. The command itself is configured to launch (invoke) a NITRO Workflow that then posts the Adaptive Card in the Bot, with the appropriate data and actions, for the user to see.
Another alternative is that the Card is generated upon some event, such as a ticket or request is created or modified. When that happens, the NITRO Workflow can be set to post a Card in Teams. A Card could even be configured to show in Teams upon a timer event, such as when a Task is due, to remind the assigned person to take action.
NITRO Studio Leads the Way
Adaptive Cards and NITRO’s Workflows and Custom Actions bring the business automation power of NITRO Studio to Microsoft Teams. With the many possibilities for streamlining processes through the use of Teams and Adaptive Cards, NITRO Studio is leading the way to better operations and greater efficiency.
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To learn more about NITRO Studio or to see a demo, contact us and we will be glad to help!
