Appendix B: Platform Quick Reference

A condensed reference for the Copilot Studio constructs used throughout this book.

YAML Node Types

Node Kind	Purpose	Key Properties
SendActivity	Display message to user	activity.text[], activity.speak[]
Question	Collect user input	variable, prompt, entity, choiceOptions
ConditionGroup	Branching logic	conditions[].condition, elseActions[]
SetVariable	Set or calculate a variable	variable, value (Power Fx expression)
SearchAndSummarizeContent	Generative answers from knowledge	variable, userInput, customInstructions
HttpRequest	Call external REST API	method, url, headers, body, timeout
InvokeFlow	Call Power Automate flow	flowId, inputs, outputVariable
InvokePrompt	Call a Prompt Tool	promptId, inputs, outputVariable
LogCustomTelemetryEvent	Log to Application Insights	eventName, properties
AdaptiveCardPrompt	Display card and capture response	card, outputVariable
GotoTopic	Redirect to another topic	topicId
EndDialog	End conversation	clearTopicQueue
CancelAllDialogs	Cancel all active topics	—

Variable Scopes

Scope	Syntax	Lifetime	Use For
Topic	Topic.Name	Current topic only	Temporary data within a flow
Global	Global.Name	Entire conversation	Cross-topic data (user role, language, debug flag)
System	System.*	Platform-provided	System.User.Id, System.Activity.Text, System.Conversation.Id
Environment	Env.Name	Environment-scoped	API keys, URLs, tenant config

Dialog Trigger Types

Trigger Kind	Fires When	Common Use
OnConversationStart	Conversation begins	Greeting, context loading (⚠️ not in M365 Copilot)
OnRecognizedIntent	User message matches trigger phrases	Topic routing
OnUnknownIntent	No topic match	Fallback / generative answers
OnEscalate	Escalation requested	Human handoff
OnError	Error occurs	Error handling and logging
OnToolSelected	Agent/tool invocation	Child agent definitions
OnScheduledTrigger	Scheduled event fires	Proactive / autonomous agent

Power Fx Quick Reference

// String operations
Concatenate("Hello, ", Global.UserName)
Contains(Lower(System.Activity.Text), "urgent")
Len(Topic.Description)
Lower(text), Upper(text), Trim(text)

// Conditional
If(IsBlank(Global.UserRole), "User", Global.UserRole)
If(Global.DebugMode, "Debug ON", "Debug OFF")

// Date/Time
Text(Now(), DateTimeFormat.UTC)
DateAdd(Now(), -90, TimeUnit.Days)

// Type conversion
Value("42")          // String → Number
Text(123)            // Number → String

Channel Compatibility Matrix

Feature	Test Canvas	Teams	Web Chat	M365 Copilot
ConversationStart topic	✅	✅	✅	❌
Adaptive Cards (1.5)	✅	✅	✅	✅ (rendering varies)
Action.ShowCard (collapsible)	✅	✅	✅	🟡
Action.Submit	✅	✅	✅	🟡
Proactive messages	N/A	✅	🟡	❌
Omnichannel handoff	N/A	✅	✅	❌
System.Conversation.InTestMode	✅ (true)	❌ (false)	❌ (false)	❌ (false)
MCP tools	✅	✅	✅	✅
Event triggers	N/A	✅	✅	✅
Fabric Data Agent	✅	✅	✅	❌

Adaptive Card Schema Limits

Channel	Max Schema	Key Restrictions
Web Chat	1.6	Most features supported
Teams	1.5	No Action.Execute. Action.ShowCard supported.
M365 Copilot	1.5	Submit behavior may vary. Test thoroughly.