If anyone can help i'd much appreciate it.
I have a flow which copies one sharepoint field in a list to another in that list. (It copies a start date + duration date to a 'finish date' field to enable gantt chart view in the SP list).
This flow seems to re-trigger tiself and run over and over. To stop this i thought about putting in a condition of last modified < now(- 1 minute). This would stop it running if the item was modified in the last minute.
I got as far as this... but its not workign. Any suggestions?
@less(triggerBody()?['Modified'], addMinutes(utcNow(), -1))
Thanks again,
Shaun
HI @Anonymous,
You are looking for option 3 in this post: https://veenstra.me.uk/2018/02/21/microsoft-flow-are-you-running-out-of-runs-with-microsoft-flow/
Or maybe even a 5th option ( not in the post) where you create a state machine using a switch and at the beginning of each branch you update the item with an 'in progress' status and at the end of each branch a 'completed'. Flows will still retrigger but at least you can then condition the reruns out.
Hi @ Shauniekent,
Could you please share a screenshot of the configuration of your sharepoint list?
I would offer you a workaround to prevent the retrigger of the flow and you could take a try to add a “Yes/No” type column in the list to record whether the update of an item is caused by flow.
I have created a sharepoint list as below:
Note:
The “start date” column ,”duration date” column and “finish date” column are all date type column, the “modified by flow” column is a “Yes/No” type column and the defaults value of this column is “No”.
If someone update the item, he should keep the “modified by flow” be “No”, and each time the flow runs, the “Update item” action of the flow would always update this column to “Yes”.
You could create a flow as below:
You could fill in the expression in the condition as below:
@equals(triggerBody()?['modified_x0020_by_x0020_flow'], false)
Note: The workaround would help you prevent the retrigger of the flow make sure you have set the “modified by flow” column to “Yes”, and you could fill in the “finish date” as you needs.
When an item is created or modified in the list and the “modified by flow” column is “No”, the flow would run successfully as below:
Regards,
Alice Zhang
Thanks fro your response, i do not understand how tracking a status during the flow helps prevent a re-triggering?
The list item is modified, the flow updates the end date field, the list iem has been modified, the flow updates.
I think your example may be to prevent a flow re-triggering before it has been completed.
Thanks fro your response - however it's not appropriate for users to complete a separate field reporting whether it was they or aflow that last updated the item.
Is there no way to ask a flow to NOT trigger if the last modified date/time of a list item is within the last minute (this is what i was attempting)?
thanks,
Shaun
Hi @Anonymous,
this wouldn't be a field for users to fill in. It would only be updated by the Flow itself.
This is a bug.
Self triggering flow may be obvious for programmer but end users should never accept this behaviour. End-user do see things like this: 1) Flow should start when item is added or modified. 2) Flow should update a field value based on where condition x. 3) Flow should end.
Certainly you understand the ??? moment when infinite loop happens. Yes. Currently condition is needed but this make flows much harder to create. Flow should never trigger itself and this should done using something like "trigger self" -method.
And what to do when ppl actually do want the flow to retrigger itself, when an item is modified?
Whatever you do, remember that the flow just does what you set it to do, not what you want it to do.
Proud to be a Flownaut!
Hi,
I did a workaround by creating new List 'My flow history' and adding item when flow triggers for first time.
In the last step of my flow, i delet the newly created item in flow history, so for the next valid run, the flow should work as expected.
Let me know if it works.
Step 1 check item in the flow list
Step 2 Create item if not exists
Step 3 Delete item from flow history list to allow running of flow for the next time
Not sure if you ever got to the bottom of this but I'm using the following method to check whether the last update to a document was made by the flow and if so, exit without re-running. It's still a shame that the flow runs twice but at least it won't execute more than this in the absence of something more suitable from microsoft.
It requires using the SharePoint REST API to check out / check in the document or list item and provide a check in comment on check in. This comment is then used to verify that the last modification (version) was made by the flow and not by a user.
I found it reliable and it removes the need to use timeframes which may not be dependable. Let me know if you would like more information on this approach and I can provide more detail.
Hi, I'm still struggling with similar problem. My flow triggers on "created or modified" and then does an update of hte SharePoint list item... which is a "modification" hence the same flow is triggered again.. and again.. and again....
Would you please share details on the REST API solution you refer to?
Thank you in advance
Regards
Charles
Hi @Charles-v-D,
It's not exactly straight forward but it's been working very well in my scenario, there are a couple of caveats:
1. Check in / Check out is enabled on the document library.
2. You will always get two flow runs on any modification, the first flow run which does the work, and the second run which checks that the last run was the flow (not a manual modification) and stops the chain reaction.
The topline process is this...
1. Create a do until loop to check that the document has been checked in following modification by the user. A SharePoint HTTP request action with the following details is used to get the check out status of the document.
CHECKOUTTYPE SHAREPOINT HTTP REQUEST:
METHOD: Post
URI (Excapes any ''s in the filename):
_api/Web/GetFileByServerRelativeUrl('/sites/<sitepath>/@{body('Get_file_properties_2')?['{Path}']}@{replace(body('Get_file_properties_2')?['{FilenameWithExtension}'],'''','''''')}')/CheckOutType
HEADERS: accept : application/json; odata=verbose
2. Check the latest check in comment using A SharePoint HTTP request action and store it in a CheckOutStatus variable. This is the bit where the flow either terminates without doing anything if the latest check in comment was made by the workflow.
CHECKINCOMMENT SHAREPOINT HTTP REQUEST:
METHOD: Post
URI (Excapes any ''s in the filename):
_api/Web/GetFileByServerRelativeUrl('/sites/<sitepath>/@{body('Get_file_properties_2')?['{Path}']}@{replace(body('Get_file_properties_2')?['{FilenameWithExtension}'],'''','''''')}')/CheckInComment
HEADERS: Not required.
3. Check the document out using A SharePoint HTTP request action if the latest checkin wasn't a workflow, otherwise do nothing.
CONDITION:
@and(not(equals(body('HTTP_SharePoint_Get_CheckInComment_Request')['d']['CheckInComment'], 'Successful checkin by microsoft flow')),not(equals(variables('CheckOutStatus'), 0)))
CHECKOUT SHAREPOINT HTTP REQUEST:
METHOD: Post
URI (Excapes any ''s in the filename):
_api/web/GetFileByServerRelativeUrl('/sites/<sitepath>/@{body('Get_file_properties_2')?['{Path}']}@{replace(body('Get_file_properties_2')?['{FilenameWithExtension}'],'''','''''')}')/Checkout()
HEADERS: Not required.
4. After doing the updates you require, check the document back in using a SharePoint HTTP request action with a specific check in comment that identifies that the modifications have been made by the workflow - "Successful checkin by microsoft flow". This comment is then referenced in step 2 in the subsequent flow run to stop the chain reaction.
CHECKIN SHAREPOINT HTTP REQUEST:
METHOD: Post
URI (In this example I've actually renamed the file in my flow so the filepath has changed):
_api/web/GetFileByServerRelativeUrl('/sites/<sitepath>/@{outputs('Compose_File_Reference')}')/CheckIn(comment='Successful checkin by microsoft flow',checkintype=0)
HEADERS: Not required.
I hope this makes sense, I also have loops to retry some of these requests, such as in 1 when the file is still checked out to the end user of if they fail for some reason, and I try to gracefully handle any errors, although we don't see many at all to be honest.
I'm pretty new to communicating this stuff so hope it's clear and helps in some way. Eventually I hope microsoft will implement a method of easily preventing flows from triggering flows on sharepoint items without using multiple flow runs.
Hi @automaton ,
I do understand your general description of flow 1 doing the work and flow 2 terminating everything.. but the whole bit about checkin and the calls are totally new for me (I'm rather new to Flow)...
In my case it is not a document libray but a SharePoint list so I'm not sure if checkout etc is applicable...
Any ideas?
Regards
Charles
@Charles-v-D unfortunately this problem of self-triggering persists and microsoft haven't released an elegant solution yet as far as I'm aware.
Couple of potential alternative options for you to explore depending on your requirements:
1. If time is not of the essence following modification, run a daily flow that picks up all records that have been modified in the past day and run the flow on all of them in a batch process. Or even make this run several times a day if you need it more frequent. This can be a very efficient use of flows but has it's obvious limitations.
2. Use a button to trigger a flow on a specific row. Users can do this ootb by selecting the row and using the flow menu in the list, or alternatively use some nifty techniques like this to run a flow on an item by clicking a hyperlinked field on that item:
https://wonderlaura.com/2018/07/18/button-in-sharepoint-list-to-trigger-microsoft-flow/
Sorry I can't suggest a magic fix.
Hi @automaton
I have selected the option to have my users select two flows sequencially. The in-table function made that user-friendly. Thanks for your help!!
Dorul, this should be an easy thing for microsoft to implement. Set a switch on the trigger settings where you can either allow or turn off self triggering. Nintex are supporting this and I guess The flow team should look a lot on how they are doing things. It's a must if Power Automate should be a everybody tool. Personally I'm only happy it's still a bit tricky to build more complex flows. Then I still have something to do:)
Episode Six of Power Platform Connections sees David Warner and Hugo Bernier talk to talk to Business Applications MVP Shane Young, alongside the latest news, product updates, and community blogs. Use the hashtag #PowerPlatformConnects on social media for a chance to have your work featured on the show! Show schedule in this episode: 0:00 Cold Open 00:24 Show Intro 01:02 Shane Young Interview 22:00 Blogs & Articles 22:20 Integrate FullCalendar.io with Power Pages 23:50 Text Data 25:15 Zero to Hero Power Apps Saga 25:44 Parent Hub Association 26:33 Using Custom Values for OneNote Power Automate References 28:04 Dynamics Power Israel 28:44 Create Beautiful Canvas Apps in Dataverse for Teams 30:36 Outro & Bloopers Check out the blogs and articles featured in this week’s episode: https://francomusso.com/integrate-fullcalendar-io-with-power-pages-from-json-basics-to-advanced-outp... @crmbizcoach https://yerawizardcat.com/text/ @YerAWizardCat www.fromzerotoheroes.com/mentorship @thevictordantas https://www.expiscornovus.com/2023/03/16/parent-hub-association/ @Expiscornovus https://lindsaytshelton.com/2023/03/15/the-painful-process-of-custom-values-for-onenote-power-automa... @lshelton_Tech https://never-stop-learning.de/create-beautiful-canvas-apps-in-dataverse-for-teams/ @MMe2K Action requested: Feel free to provide feedback on how we can make our community more inclusive and diverse. This episode premiered live on our YouTube at 12pm PST on Thursday 23rd March 2023. Video series available at Power Platform Community YouTube channel. Upcoming events: Business Applications Launch – April 4th – Free and Virtual! M365 Conference - May 1-5th - Las Vegas Power Apps Developers Summit – May 19-20th - London European Power Platform conference – Jun. 20-22nd - Dublin Microsoft Power Platform Conference – Oct. 3-5th - Las Vegas Join our Communities: Power Apps Community Power Automate Community Power Virtual Agents Community Power Pages Community If you’d like to hear from a specific community member in an upcoming recording and/or have specific questions for the Power Platform Connections team, please let us know. We will do our best to address all your requests or questions.
Super Users – 2023 Season 1 We are excited to kick off the Power Users Super User Program for 2023 - Season 1. The Power Platform Super Users have done an amazing job in keeping the Power Platform communities helpful, accurate and responsive. We would like to send these amazing folks a big THANK YOU for their efforts. Super User Season 1 | Contributions July 1, 2022 – December 31, 2022 Super User Season 2 | Contributions January 1, 2023 – June 30, 2023 Curious what a Super User is? Super Users are especially active community members who are eager to help others with their community questions. There are 2 Super User seasons in a year, and we monitor the community for new potential Super Users at the end of each season. Super Users are recognized in the community with both a rank name and icon next to their username, and a seasonal badge on their profile. Power Apps Power Automate Power Virtual Agents Power Pages Pstork1* Pstork1* Pstork1* OliverRodrigues BCBuizer Expiscornovus* Expiscornovus* ragavanrajan AhmedSalih grantjenkins renatoromao Mira_Ghaly* Mira_Ghaly* Sundeep_Malik* Sundeep_Malik* SudeepGhatakNZ* SudeepGhatakNZ* StretchFredrik* StretchFredrik* 365-Assist* 365-Assist* cha_cha ekarim2020 timl Hardesh15 iAm_ManCat annajhaveri SebS Rhiassuring LaurensM abm TheRobRush Ankesh_49 WiZey lbendlin Nogueira1306 Kaif_Siddique victorcp RobElliott dpoggemann srduval SBax CFernandes Roverandom schwibach Akser CraigStewart PowerRanger MichaelAnnis subsguts David_MA EricRegnier edgonzales zmansuri GeorgiosG ChrisPiasecki ryule AmDev fchopo phipps0218 tom_riha theapurva takolota Akash17 momlo BCLS776 Shuvam-rpa rampprakash ScottShearer Rusk ChristianAbata cchannon Koen5 a33ik AaronKnox Matren Alex_10 Jeff_Thorpe poweractivate Ramole DianaBirkelbach DavidZoon AJ_Z PriyankaGeethik BrianS StalinPonnusamy HamidBee CNT Anonymous_Hippo Anchov KeithAtherton alaabitar Tolu_Victor KRider sperry1625 IPC_ahaas zuurg rubin_boer cwebb365 If an * is at the end of a user's name this means they are a Multi Super User, in more than one community. Please note this is not the final list, as we are pending a few acceptances. Once they are received the list will be updated.
Welcome to our March 2023 Newsletter, where we'll be highlighting the great work of our members within our Biz Apps communities, alongside the latest news, video releases, and upcoming events. If you're new to the community, be sure to subscribe to the News & Announcements and stay up to date with the latest news from our ever-growing membership network who find real "Power in the Community". LATEST NEWS Power Platform Connections Check out Episode Five of Power Platform Connections, as David Warner II and Hugo Bernier chat with #PowerAutomate Vice President, Stephen Siciliano, alongside reviewing out the great work of Vesa Juvonen, Waldek Mastykarz, Maximilian Müller, Kristine Kolodziejski, Danish Naglekar, Cat Schneider, Victor Dantas, and many more. Use the hashtag #PowerPlatformConnects on social media for a chance to have your work featured on the show! Did you miss an episode? Catch up now in the Community Connections Galleries Power Apps, Power Automate, Power Virtual Agents, Power Pages Power Platform leading a new era of AI-generated low-code development. **HOT OFF THE PRESS** Fantastic piece here by Charles Lamanna on how we're reinventing software development with Copilot in Power Platform to help you can build apps, flows, and bots with just a simple description! Click here to see the Product Blog Copilot for Power Apps - Power CAT Live To follow on from Charles' blog, check out #PowerCATLive as Phil Topness gives Clay Wesener Wesner a tour of the capabilities of Copilot in Power Apps. UPCOMING EVENTS Modern Workplace Conference Check out the Power Platform and Microsoft 365 Modern Workplace Conference that returns face-to-face at the Espace St Martin in Paris on 27-28th March. The #MWCP23 will feature a wide range of expert speakers, including Nadia Yahiaoui, Amanda Sterner, Pierre-Henri, Chirag Patel, Chris Hoard, Edyta Gorzoń, Erika Beaumier, Estelle Auberix, Femke Cornelissen, Frank POIREAU, Gaëlle Moreau, Gilles Pommier, Ilya Fainberg, Julie Ecolivet, Mai-Lynn Lien, Marijn Somers, Merethe Stave, Nikki Chapple, Patrick Guimonet, Penda Sow, Pieter Op De Beéck, Rémi Riche, Robin Doudoux, Stéphanie Delcroix, Yves Habersaat and many more. Click here to find out more and register today! Business Applications Launch 2023 Join us on Tuesday 4th April 2023 for an in-depth look into the latest updates across Microsoft Power Platform and Microsoft Dynamics 365 that are helping businesses overcome their biggest challenges today. Find out about new features, capabilities, and best practices for connecting data to deliver exceptional customer experiences, collaborating and creating using AI-powered capabilities, driving productivity with automation, and building future growth with today’s leading technology. Click Here to Register Today! Power Platform Conference 2023 We are so excited to see you for the Microsoft Power Platform Conference in Las Vegas October 3-5th, 2023! But first, let's take a look below at some fun moments from MPPC 2022 in Orlando Florida. 2023 sees guest speakers such as Charles Lamanna, Heather Cook, Julie Strauss, Nirav Shah, Ryan Cunningham, Sangya Singh, and many more taking part, so why not click the link below to register for the #PowerPlatformConf today! Vegas, baby! Click Here to Register Today! COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS Check out our top Super and Community Users reaching new levels! These hardworking members are posting, answering questions, kudos, and providing top solutions in their communities. Power Apps: Super Users: @WarrenBelz | @iAm_ManCat Community Users: @LaurensM | @Rusk | @RJM07 Power Automate: Super Users: @abm | @Expiscornovus | @RobElliott Community Users: @grantjenkins | @Chriddle Power Virtual Agents: Super Users: @Expiscornovus | @Pstork1 Community Users: @MisterBates | @Jupyter123 | Kunal K Power Pages: Super Users: @OliverRodriguesOliverRodrigues | @Mira_Ghaly Community Users: @FubarFubar | @ianwukianwuk LATEST PRODUCT BLOG ARTICLES Power Apps Community Blog Power Automate Community Blog Power Virtual Agents Community Blog Power Pages Community Blog Check out 'Using the Community' for more helpful tips and information: Power Apps, Power Automate, Power Virtual Agents, Power Pages
Join us for an in-depth look into the latest updates across Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform that are helping businesses overcome their biggest challenges today. Find out about new features, capabilities, and best practices for connecting data to deliver exceptional customer experiences, collaborating, and creating using AI-powered capabilities, driving productivity with automation—and building towards future growth with today’s leading technology. Microsoft leaders and experts will guide you through the full 2023 release wave 1 and how these advancements will help you: Expand visibility, reduce time, and enhance creativity in your departments and teams with unified, AI-powered capabilities.Empower your employees to focus on revenue-generating tasks while automating repetitive tasks.Connect people, data, and processes across your organization with modern collaboration tools.Innovate without limits using the latest in low-code development, including new GPT-powered capabilities. Click Here to Register Today!
We are excited to share the ‘Power Platform Communities Front Door’ experience with you! Front Door brings together content from all the Power Platform communities into a single place for our community members, customers and low-code, no-code enthusiasts to learn, share and engage with peers, advocates, community program managers and our product team members. There are a host of features and new capabilities now available on Power Platform Communities Front Door to make content more discoverable for all power product community users which includes ForumsUser GroupsEventsCommunity highlightsCommunity by numbersLinks to all communities Users can see top discussions from across all the Power Platform communities and easily navigate to the latest or trending posts for further interaction. Additionally, they can filter to individual products as well. Users can filter and browse the user group events from all power platform products with feature parity to existing community user group experience and added filtering capabilities. Users can now explore user groups on the Power Platform Front Door landing page with capability to view all products in Power Platform. Explore Power Platform Communities Front Door today. Visit Power Platform Community Front door to easily navigate to the different product communities, view a roll up of user groups, events and forums.
We are so excited to see you for the Microsoft Power Platform Conference in Las Vegas October 3-5 2023! But first, let's take a look back at some fun moments and the best community in tech from MPPC 2022 in Orlando, Florida. Featuring guest speakers such as Charles Lamanna, Heather Cook, Julie Strauss, Nirav Shah, Ryan Cunningham, Sangya Singh, Stephen Siciliano, Hugo Bernier and many more. Register today: https://www.powerplatformconf.com/
User | Count |
---|---|
97 | |
29 | |
28 | |
18 | |
12 |
User | Count |
---|---|
133 | |
48 | |
42 | |
35 | |
29 |