Enhancing Power Automate Approval Experiences with Markdown Formatting for a Texas-Based Security Operations Firm

1. Introduction

In Microsoft Dynamics 365 Project Operations, quotes represent a critical milestone in the sales lifecycle. Before a quote can be activated and progress toward project execution, organizations often require review and approval controls to ensure pricing accuracy, contractual compliance, and business alignment. Since Quote Review & Approval is not a standard capability within Dynamics 365 Project Operations, this requirement typically requires customization.

For a Texas-based Operational Security Provider, the requirement extended beyond a simple approval process. The organization needed a controlled workflow where only designated business leads associated with a specific Opportunity or Quote could generate, submit, and approve customer quotations, ensuring accountability and governance throughout the approval chain.

A custom approval framework was developed using Microsoft Power Automate and Dynamics 365 Project Operations to automatically identify approvers and route quotes through the required approval process before activation.

While the workflow successfully enforced the necessary business controls, the approval requests themselves were difficult to review. Critical information such as customer details, quote values, approval notes, and record links were presented as plain text, making approvals slower and less efficient.

To improve the approver experience, Markdown formatting was introduced within Power Automate Approval Requests. Using structured headers, tables, hyperlinks, emphasis formatting, and organized sections, approval notifications became significantly more readable and actionable across Outlook, Outlook Web, and Power Automate approval channels.

This article focuses on how Markdown was used to transform standard approval request bodies into professional, executive-friendly approval experiences that improved readability, reduced approval effort, and accelerated quote approval decisions.

2. The Business Problem

The organization manages a high volume of customer opportunities and project-based engagements, where quotes serve as the commercial foundation for service delivery. Before a quote could be activated and converted into an operational project, it needed to undergo a formal review and approval process involving designated business stakeholders.

To support this requirement, a custom quote approval workflow was implemented within Dynamics 365 Project Operations and Power Automate. The workflow successfully enforced business rules, ensured only authorized personnel could submit and approve quotes, and provided the necessary governance around pricing and customer commitments.

However, a significant usability challenge emerged during adoption.

The approval requests being sent to approvers contained all the required information, but the content was presented as large blocks of plain text. As quote complexity increased, approvers found it difficult to quickly identify key details such as:

1. Customer Name
2. Opportunity Information
3. Quote Number
4. Total Quote Value
5. Requested Approval Type
6. Business Justification
7. Requestor Information
8. Direct Links to Dynamics 365 Records

This often forced approvers to spend additional time reviewing approval requests or navigating back into Dynamics 365 to locate information that should have been immediately visible within the approval notification itself.

The lack of visual structure created several operational challenges:

1. Slower approval turnaround times
2. Increased requests for clarification
3. Inconsistent user experience across approval requests
4. Difficulty identifying critical information at a glance
5. Reduced executive engagement with approval emails
6. Higher likelihood of approval delays for time-sensitive opportunities

The business needed a way to present approval information in a format that was clear, professional, and easy to consume without requiring additional custom applications or significant development effort.

3. The Solution

One important limitation of the Power Automate Approval action is that it does not support custom HTML rendering within approval request bodies. Unlike standard email notifications where HTML templates can be used extensively, Approval actions rely on a restricted rendering engine that supports a subset of Markdown syntax.

As a result, many approval requests are delivered as large blocks of plain text, making them difficult to review, especially when multiple business details need to be presented to approvers.

To improve readability without introducing custom applications or alternative notification mechanisms, the approval request body was redesigned using Power Automate’s native Markdown capabilities.

This approach allowed approval requests to be structured into clearly defined sections, highlight important information, provide direct navigation links, and present approval summaries in a more professional format.

3.1 Using Headers for Section Separation

Headers are one of the simplest ways to introduce structure into approval requests.

Syntax

# Main Heading
## Section Heading
### Subsection Heading

Example

# Quote Approval Request

## Opportunity Information

## Financial Summary

## Approval Notes

Headers create visual separation between different parts of the approval request and help approvers quickly locate relevant information.

3.2 Using Line Breaks and Paragraphs

Approval requests often contain multiple fields and explanatory comments. Proper spacing prevents information from appearing crowded.

Syntax

Line One

Line Two

Or force a new line using two trailing spaces:

Line One  
Line Two

Example

Requested By: John Smith

Department: Operations

Approval Required Before Quote Activation

Proper spacing significantly improves readability compared to continuous blocks of text.

3.3 Using Bullet Lists for Business Information

Bullet lists are useful when presenting multiple approval considerations, requirements, assumptions, or supporting notes.

Syntax

- Item One
- Item Two
- Item Three

Example

### Key Considerations

- Executive review required
- New customer engagement
- Pricing exception applied
- Legal review completed

Bullet lists allow approvers to scan information quickly without reading lengthy paragraphs.

3.4 Using Numbered Lists for Approval Steps

Numbered lists work well when presenting a sequence of actions or review instructions.

Syntax

1. First Step
2. Second Step
3. Third Step

Example

### Review Process

1. Review quote details
2. Validate pricing information
3. Approve or reject request

This format is particularly useful when approvals involve multiple review checkpoints.

3.5 Using Nested Lists for Additional Context

Complex approval requests often require supporting details beneath primary items.

Syntax

1. Primary Item
   - Supporting Detail
   - Supporting Detail

Example

1. Pricing Review
   - Standard pricing applied
   - No discount exceptions

2. Compliance Review
   - Terms approved
   - Security assessment completed

Nested lists help organize related information while maintaining readability.

3.6 Using Tables for Approval Summaries

Tables are one of the most effective Markdown features available within Power Automate approvals. Rather than displaying information across multiple lines, important approval details can be consolidated into a structured summary.

Syntax

| Field  | Value  |
|--------|--------|
| Name   | Value  |
| Name   | Value  |

Example

## Approval Summary

| Field        | Value            |
|--------------|------------------|
| Customer     | Contoso Ltd      |
| Quote Number | QUO-1001         |
| Quote Value  | $150,000         |
| Status       | Pending Approval |

Tables provide a clean and highly scannable layout for approval information.

3.7 Using Hyperlinks for Record Navigation

Approvers frequently need access to source records before making a decision. Markdown allows HTTPS links to be rendered as clickable hyperlinks.

Syntax

[Link Text](https://example.com)

Example

## Quick Links

[Open Quote Record](https://contoso.crm.dynamics.com)

[Open Opportunity](https://contoso.crm.dynamics.com)

This reduces navigation effort and allows approvers to access supporting records directly from the approval request.

3.8 Using Emphasis for Important Information

Not every piece of information deserves equal visual weight. Markdown emphasis can be used to highlight critical values, warnings, and approval requirements.

Bold Text

Syntax

**Important Information**

Example

Quote Value: **$150,000**

Italic Text

Syntax

_Additional Information_

Example

_Approval required before activation._

Strikethrough Text

Syntax

~~Deprecated Information~~

Example

~~Previous Quote Value: $125,000~~

While less common in approval requests, strikethrough formatting can be useful when highlighting revised values or superseded information.

3.9 Escaping Special Characters

When dynamic data contains Markdown control characters, special characters can be escaped using a backslash.

Syntax

\#
\[
\]
\(
\)
\_

Example

Reference Number: SR\#10025

This ensures the content renders correctly without unintentionally triggering Markdown formatting.

3.10 Building a Structured Approval Request

By combining multiple Markdown features, approval requests can be transformed from plain-text notifications into structured approval documents.

# Quote Approval Request

## Approval Summary

| Field        | Value            |
|--------------|------------------|
| Quote Number | QUO-1001         |
| Amount       | $150,000         |
| Status       | Pending Approval |

## Key Considerations

- Executive review required
- Pricing exception applied
- Contract terms approved

## Important Notes

**Approval Required Before Quote Activation**

## Quick Links

[Open Quote](https://contoso.crm.dynamics.com)

Although Power Automate Approval actions do not support HTML customization, Markdown provides enough formatting capability to significantly improve the presentation, readability, and usability of approval request bodies.

14. Limitations

Client Support

Markdown support among clients is inconsistent. The Power Automate team works to address these inconsistencies, however, inconsistencies remain. The following table lays out the known limitations among the supported clients.

*Forced line breaks within table cells aren’t supported for Power Automate, the Power Automate mobile app, Outlook Web, Teams, and the Teams mobile app.

4. Implementation

The approval workflow was implemented using the native Start and Wait for an Approval action in Power Automate. Since Approval actions do not support custom HTML rendering, the approval request body was designed using Markdown syntax to improve readability and present information in a structured format.

The approval request was organized into logical sections using Markdown headers, highlighted information using emphasis formatting, and direct navigation links back to Dynamics 365 records. This allowed approvers to review all relevant information directly from the approval notification without needing to navigate elsewhere.

Structured formatting helped separate business information into easily identifiable sections, making it significantly easier for approvers to review quote details, financial information, approval notes, and supporting references.

15. Business Impact

Implementing Markdown-based formatting within Power Automate Approval Requests significantly improved the overall approval experience without requiring additional development or custom notification frameworks.

Key benefits included:

1. Improved readability of approval requests through structured layouts and clear sectioning.
2. Faster approval decisions by making critical information easier to identify and review.
3. Reduced dependency on opening Dynamics 365 records for basic quote validation.
4. Consistent approval formatting across all quote approval workflows.
5. Better user adoption due to more professional and intuitive approval notifications.
6. Enhanced visibility of important information through tables, emphasis formatting, and direct record links.

While the approval workflow itself ensured proper governance and control, Markdown formatting helped ensure approvers could review and act on requests more efficiently, ultimately reducing approval delays and improving the overall user experience.

16. FAQs

17. Conclusion

Although Power Automate Approval actions do not support custom HTML formatting, Markdown provides a simple and effective way to create more professional, structured, and user-friendly approval requests.

By leveraging features such as headers, tables, lists, hyperlinks, and emphasis formatting, approval notifications can be transformed from plain-text messages into clear, decision-ready approval experiences. Small formatting improvements can have a significant impact on readability, user adoption, and approval efficiency, helping approvers review and act on requests with greater confidence and speed.