Invite users to a Power Pages site: invitation codes, emails and fixes
Let only the people you choose sign up. Create single or group invitations that assign web roles on redemption, send them, make the site invitation-only so nobody can bypass the code, and fix the usual problems: no email, wrong address, 'email already in use'.
Power PagesFix · Tutorial4 min read
Invitations are how you let specific people onto a Power Pages site: partners, members, a pilot group. Each invitation carries a code. When someone redeems it while signing up, their account links to a contact you prepared, and they can automatically get web roles, an account, or a workflow. Here's the full setup and the fixes for when it misbehaves.
How it fits together
- You create a contact for the person, with their primary email.
- You create an invitation for that contact, choosing roles and expiry.
- The Send Invitation workflow emails them a link and a code.
- They open the redemption page, enter the code, and sign up with any sign-in method your site offers.
- Power Pages links the new sign-in to the prepared contact and applies the roles. It also records an Invite Redemption activity on both the invitation and the contact.
Step 1: Create the invitation
Open the site in Power Pages design studio, then select … → Portal Management.
- For one person: go to Security → Contacts, open the contact, and select Create Invitation.
- For several at once: go to Security → Invitations and select + New.
The fields that matter:
| Field | Set it to |
|---|---|
| Type | Single (one person, one use) or Group (several contacts; set Maximum Redemptions Allowed) |
| Invited Contact(s) | The prepared contact or contacts |
| Assign to Web Roles | The roles they should get, such as Partner. On sites with the enhanced data model, this field can differ, so check it's on the form |
| Assign to Account | Optional: link them to their company's account |
| Expiry Date | Optional, but recommended: for example 14 days |
| Invitation Code | Generated for you. Change it only if you must |
| Owner/Sender | Whoever owns the invitation sends it, so make sure that person can send email |
Select Save.
Step 2: Send it
In the invitation, select Flow → Send Invitation, then OK. To send many at once, select them in the New invitations view and run Send Invitation once.
Before the first send, edit the workflow's email template so it contains the link to your site's redeem invitation page and the code.
Warning
Don't convert the Send Invitation workflow to a real-time workflow. Microsoft says this isn't supported and breaks invitations.
Step 3: Make the site invitation-only
If open registration is on, anyone can sign up without a code. To require one, set these site settings:
| Site setting | Value |
|---|---|
Authentication/Registration/Enabled | true: registration must be on for invitations to work |
Authentication/Registration/InvitationEnabled | true: shows the code-redemption form |
Authentication/Registration/OpenRegistrationEnabled | false: no sign-up without a code |
Authentication/Registration/RequiresInvitation | true: turns the invitation requirement on and open registration off |
Fixes
| Problem | Likely cause and fix |
|---|---|
| No email arrives | The workflow sends only to the contact's primary email (emailaddress1), never to the secondary or alternate address. Check that field, then the invitation's owner: they must be allowed to send email from your environment. If the workflow run shows an error, a quick test is to make yourself the owner and send again |
| People sign up without a code | Open registration is still on (step 3) |
| "Email already in use" | Another contact already has that email, including deactivated ones. Find and merge or clean up the duplicate |
| Signed in, but no access | The roles weren't applied, or the page or table permissions don't use those roles. Check the contact's Web Roles, and see the table permissions checklist |
| Code says it's invalid or used | It has expired, a Single invitation was already redeemed, or a Group invitation reached its maximum. Check the invitation's status and redemptions |
Sources
- Microsoft Learn: Invite contacts to your Power Pages site
- Microsoft Learn: Local authentication, registration and other settings
- Microsoft Learn: Set up site authentication: troubleshooting
- Microsoft Learn: Configure site settings
- Microsoft Learn: Overview of authentication: open registration