What is the Microsoft Power Platform?
The Power Platform is part of the Office 365 suite of productivity apps. It includes several apps that allow anyone to create app, automations, data visualizations, and more, with little to no coding required.
Two of these apps include third-party "connectors" that can be used to build apps and automate workflows: Power Apps and Power Automate. Bitly is one of the connectors available for Power Apps and Power Automate.
The Bitly connector is also available for Azure Logic Apps, an automation tool similar to Power Automate.
Why should I use Microsoft's Bitly connector?
Use the Bitly connector to build apps or automations that involve shortening a link. You can also use it to trigger an automation when a link is shortened in Bitly.
In Power Automate, there are premade templates that use the Bitly connector, including:
- Create short links for items in an RSS feed and then log the short links in Excel
- Any time a short link is created, post a tweet with the link
- When an item in Sharepoint is approved, post it to Wordpress and then create a short link for the Wordpress post
These templates can be customized as needed. You can also start from scratch, starting an automation when a short link is created or shortening a link at any point in the flow.
The functionality is the same for Power Apps and Logic Apps as it is for Power Automate: The Bitly connector can be used to create short links from within your app or to trigger an action within your app whenever a short links is created in Bitly.
Who can set this up?
Anyone with a Bitly account and the appropriate type of Microsoft account:
- Power Apps: Requires a paid license, with several different plans available
- Power Automate: Available to anyone with a Microsoft Office account, whether paid or free
- Logic Apps: Requires an Azure subscription
Power Apps and Power Automate are designed to be accessible to anyone; Logic Apps is geared towards developers and IT professionals.
How do I connect Bitly to the Power Platform or Logic Apps?
The Bitly connector is built into all three of these apps. To add it, search for Bitly in the available connectors.
To use it as a trigger that begins an automation or other process, select When a Bitlink is created (V2). To create links from your app or automation, select Create a Bitlink (V2).
For more help using these apps, check out the documentation in Microsoft Learn: