What is going on with Power Automate on the web?! Missing inputs in action steps, disabled Save button!

DB365-3161 161 Reputation points
2026-09-14T09:05:36.1366667+00:00

I have complex Power Automate cloud flows that have taken hours to set up and troubleshoot. They used to work fine before.

I recently saved a flow as a copy and tried to edit some variables in the new flow. But all the Initialize Variable steps and some Set Variable steps had no input box for the value field! The original flow now has the same issue!

When I create a new Initialize Variable step in the new flow, the value input box is present. When I go back to the previously existing Initialize Variable steps, the value input boxes show up, but they're all blank! The input box also appears if I change the Type of variable, but when I change it back to the correct type, the value is blank.

Some of these variables are not trivial to restore manually, like the ones below. I have to do internet research and set them up from scratch. This could take hours, not to mention the debugging to get the flows to work again.

I've tried signing out, clearing all cookies and site data, but nothing is working to restore the missing values. The input boxes show up in the classic designer, but they're all blank.

Switching the original flow to the classic designer reveals some of the variable values, but how do I know if any data is lost without doing extensive verification?

Also, sometimes after making changes to a flow, I can't save because the Save button is disabled! Then I have to force an additional unwanted change before I can save! Who knows what else is broken!

My setup:

  • Windows 11 Enterprise version 10.0.26200 Build 26200
  • Microsoft Edge version 153.0.4234.32 (Official build) (64-bit)

User's image User's image

Microsoft Edge | Other | Windows 11
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Answer accepted by question author
Gérard Oomens 131.6K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
2026-09-14T10:06:12.4+00:00

Post/ask in the Power Automate community:

https://community.powerplatform.com/

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  1. AI answer

    2026-09-14T09:06:09.0433333+00:00

    This behavior matches a designer-side issue rather than a confirmed loss of the flow definition.

    What is supported by the available guidance:

    1. The new cloud flows designer can have feature gaps and known issues.
      • If functionality is missing or unreliable in the new designer, temporarily switch off the New designer toggle and use the classic designer.
    2. If the Save button is disabled, that can be expected when there are unsaved changes and the designer is in a state where it cannot complete save normally.
      • If attempting to exit, selecting Yes on the save prompt lets the designer save a copy of the flow to browser storage.
      • When reopening the flow, use Recover flow to load that unsaved browser copy.
      • Important: saving the recovered copy overrides the previously saved version, and clearing browser cache or cookies deletes the browser-saved copy.
    3. For flows that do not save correctly, the documented first checks are:
      • Look for red outlines on actions.
      • Expand actions with warning icons and read the validation message.
      • Check for blank required fields.
      • If an expression was edited, check for mismatched parentheses, missing quotes, or incorrect function names.
      • If save shows Saving... indefinitely, refresh the page and try again. Unsaved changes might be lost.
    4. Browser age can cause designer problems.
      • The designer does not support browsers more than two years old. Keeping Edge current is recommended to avoid sign-in and designer issues.

    Based on that, the safest path is:

    1. Open the affected flow.
    2. Turn off New designer and inspect the flow in the classic designer.
    3. Do not clear browser cache or cookies again until checking whether a recoverable browser copy exists.
    4. If prompted on exit, choose to save so the browser copy is preserved.
    5. Reopen the flow and use Recover flow if available.
    6. In the designer, inspect every action showing warnings or red validation markers before saving.
    7. If the new designer continues to hide fields or blank values, keep working in the classic designer for this flow until the issue is resolved.

    The available documentation does not confirm that hidden or blank variable values in the designer mean the underlying flow data is permanently deleted. It only supports that the new designer can have missing functionality and that browser-stored recovery is available after failed saves.

    References:

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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