Power Automate: Create a Word Document with Repeating Section

I recently encountered a scenario that sparked an interesting automation idea, so I decided to share the use case here for anyone tackling something similar.

📊 Product Data

Product Name	Category	Product Description	Key Achievements
SmartInvoice	Finance Automation	SmartInvoice is designed to streamline invoice processing for finance teams. It automates data extraction from incoming invoices and integrates seamlessly with ERP systems. The tool also provides real-time reconciliation dashboards for faster decision-making.	Integrated with SAP, Oracle, and Dynamics ERP systems this quarter. Reduced invoice processing time by 40% for early adopters.
RetailTrack AI	Retail Analytics	RetailTrack AI offers deep analytics on customer behavior and sales patterns. It leverages computer vision to track in-store activity and integrates with POS systems. The platform helps retailers optimize inventory and promotional strategies.	Deployed new machine learning model that improved accuracy by 12%. Enabled automated footfall heatmaps across 200+ retail stores.
GreenFleet Manager	Sustainability	GreenFleet Manager is a sustainability-focused fleet tracking tool. It calculates carbon footprints, tracks fuel consumption, and recommends greener routes. Organizations can now monitor and reduce their emissions effectively.	Partnered with leading EV companies for real-world testing. Achieved a 9% reduction in average fleet emissions among pilot users.
EduSync LMS	Education Technology	EduSync LMS brings together coursework, student assessments, and live classes. It supports remote learning with collaborative tools and insightful analytics. Admins can customize modules and access usage reports in real time.	Rolled out to 15 new institutions across Asia. Introduced a quiz performance analytics dashboard for educators.
MediBridge Portal	Healthcare IT	MediBridge Portal simplifies healthcare communication between patients and providers. Users can manage appointments, access medical records, and renew prescriptions. It also integrates lab reports and video consultations securely.	Launched support for 6 Indian languages and improved security. Reduced average appointment scheduling time by 30%.

Now that we have our product data ready, copy the above content into a blank Excel file. Once pasted, make sure to format it as a table, this step is important because Power Automate requires data to be in a table format to work with Excel actions.

Now that our Excel file is ready and formatted as a table, the next step is to design the Word template that will be used to generate the newsletter.

📄 Designing the Word Template

1. Open Microsoft Word and create a new blank document.
2. Add a title at the top of the page, for example: Quarterly Product Highlights
3. Insert a relevant image below the title (optional, visual appeal).
4. Enable the Developer tab to insert content controls:
• Click on the File tab.
• Select Options.
• In the Word Options dialog box, click Customize Ribbon.
• On the right side, check the box labeled 'Developer'.
• Click OK.

🧩 Now that the Developer tab is enabled, it's time to define placeholders for the data coming from Excel.

Follow these steps:

1. Click on the Developer tab in Word.
2. Use the Plain Text Content Control present under the Developer tab to insert placeholders (e.g. {{ProductName}} ).

For our use case, your template should look something like this:

Product Name
{{ProductName}}

Category
{{Category}}

Product Description
{{Description}}

Key Achievements
{{Achievements}}

As shown in the image above, when adding content controls in the Word template, make sure that the text inside the curly braces ({{ }}) exactly matches the values you enter in the “Title” and “Tag” fields of the control.

For example, if your placeholder is {{ProductName}}, then both the Title and Tag fields in the Content Control Properties should also be set to ProductName. This ensures that Power Automate can correctly identify and populate the field during document generation.

Similarly, add Plain Text Content Controls for the remaining fields: Category, Description, and Achievements; using matching Title and Tag values.

Now, wrap the entire section (including all the content controls for Product Name, Category, Description, and Achievements) inside a Repeating Section Content Control. This allows Power Automate to loop through each row in the Excel table and populate multiple entries dynamically in the Word document.

☁️ Uploading Files to OneDrive

Now, upload both the Excel file (with the formatted table) and the Word template (with content controls and the repeating section) to your OneDrive. This will allow Power Automate to access them during the flow configuration.

🔄 Creating the Power Automate Flow

We'll now create a Power Automate flow with a manual trigger to automate the generation of the Word newsletter from the Excel data.

1. Add the “List rows present in a table” action to retrieve data from your Excel file stored in OneDrive.

1. Add a “Select” action to transform the Excel rows into a simplified array structure that maps correctly to the placeholders in your Word template. In the Select action, make sure the keys match exactly with the text inside curly braces in your Word template. For example, key ProductName should match {{ProductName}}.

1. Add the “Populate a Microsoft Word template” action and select the Word file you uploaded earlier. This action will insert the data into the placeholders within your template.

1. Next, set the RepeatingSection property by using the output of the Select action as its input.

1. Insert the Create file action and use the Output/Body from the "Populate a Microsoft Word template" action as the File Content. This will generate your final document with the populated data and store it in OneDrive.

🖼️ Snapshot of the Complete Flow

Here's how the final word document will look:

📬 Final Thoughts

I hope this little walkthrough brought you some value or at the very least, sparked a few ideas. Should any part of it leave you with questions or curiosity, I’m just a message away on LinkedIn.