Trigger a flow when a SharePoint list item field is updated.

[dsmith]

Good Day,

Is there currently a way to trigger a flow a field has changed within a SharePoint list item? For example, I have an "Observation Status" column in a SharePoint list. I need a flow to trigger when the value of that column changes from "2-Reviewed" to "3-Open". Thanks for any help!!

[Bizzo]

Hi @JimmyWork,

Try doing everything the same, but use a single line of text and just make sure the flow is actually working. Another thing to try is to check if your multiline of text is column is plain or enriched. If it's enriched, switch it to plain and see if that works. Busy Monday morning, but I'll see if I can run a test using a multiline column later today and offer better advice.

[Bizzo]

I was able to get this working. Please see my simple example below.

Simple Example List - original and hidden are both multiline columns with rich text

Flow Overview - When item created or modified, see if "original" is not equal to "hidden".

Column Changed - Send myself a quick email to confirm the columns were different, and set "hidden" to the same value as "original".

[JimmyWork]

@Bizzo Thank you for the info.

I fail to see how original and hidden columns are set? Are they formated columns or what type of columns are they? How are they connected to each other?

[Bizzo]

Hi @JimmyWork,

I'm super confused by your response. Did you follow along the thread? What I understand is you have a column, comments (a multiline column), and you want to see if that column changes. In my example I have 2 columns, "original" and "hidden". If you follow the thread that should make sense, but original would be like your comments column, and hidden is the column you compare with. That is how you check if comments changed, by comparing with hidden (or whatever you name that second column). If they are different, you trigger an action, then set hidden to equal original once that action has completed.

How are original and hidden set?

• Original can be set any way. Adding a new item. Editing an existing item. It doesn't matter.
• Hidden is set by the flow. 3rd image I show hidden being set to original.

What type of columns are they?

• I stated quite clearly in my message: original and hidden are both multiline columns with rich text

How are they connected to each other?

• They are both in the same list. They are both multiline columns with rich text. But basically they are not connected to each other.
• A flow is used to compare the values of the two columns.
  • If they are the same, nothing happens. 
  • If they are not the same, a custom action can be triggered.
• In my example the custom action is sending an email. Your custom action can be different.
• After the custom action, it's important to set hidden to equal original.

Hopefully that helps?

[JimmyWork]

Thank you for clarifying

I will try to explain what i mean.

Column Original (Multiline)

Column Hidden (Multiline)

User rights data to Column Original.

Assigned rights more data to Column Original

To my understandning im comparing the Original to the Hidden, the Hidden is always empty?

Im sorry if i do not understand this completly.

If hidden is always empty then the flow is still not working as intended to for my situation.

Becuase the data in the original column is updated multiple times not only once.

To better explain.

Column 1: When this is set to the status Closed a email goes out to the user.

Column original: Send email to user if Assigned edits the column, send email to assigned if requester edits the column.

Column hidden: Always empty data?

This means if i select Column 1 and set that to close, i will still get 2 emails, one from the Column 1 and one from the Column original? Im confused myself because i dont see how i can use this if column hidden does not always contain the second lates data that column orginal has.

[JimmyWork]

Bizzo im so sorry i complicated things in my head, the way u do it is awesome and simple. I dont know what i was doing. Thank u man

[JimmyWork]

@Bizzo 

So i have now tested it and i find one issue i cant solve.

Your flow does what you say.

But when i check Original column it will have a double post.

So Original column is edited by myself it will write the data twice, one from my username that edited it and one from the Username that runs the flow(system account)

The above happens because i have versioning and Append Changes to Existing Text. I need to have this because i need to store the conversation in the column, user adds text, assign responds so the history is in the column. When i use your method it writes it twice because we update the column with the flow also.

[Bizzo]

Hi @JimmyWork,

Super happy the instructions helped! 🙂

• Your original column must not be mandatory
• In your flow, the final update should just skip the original column

In the screenshot I circled "original", because it's a required field and has an "*". When you make your field not required it will no longer have the "*". Then since it isn't a required field, you don't have to update it, which is why I Xed out the icon there. Since the field isn't required and isn't being updated in that final step of the flow, you shouldn't see the content duplicated.

[JimmyWork]

Awesome, thank you.

It leaves me with one more complicated issue, when the flow runs and updates the item it will modifie the item, this means the last user who modified the item will be the System account that runs the flow and not the user.

[JimmyWork]

To explain it better i do the following.

User creates Item.

Agent assigns to the item.

When comment column is edited by Agent, it send email to user, if user edits comment it send email to assigned. To achive this i use modified by. With this flow the modified by field ends up as System account because the flow updates the item.

Is there anyway i can stop Microsoft flow from updating the modified by column when the flow is updating the item? Or any workaround? I appriciate the help alot, and can i tagg you @Bizzo in my other post?

[Bizzo]

Is the action to send the email separate from everything that's going on or is it part of this same flow?

Yes, you can tag me in other threads and I will do my best to help out. 

[JimmyWork]

I have 2 flows, i tagged you in my other flow.

Im trying to have a comment column where user and agent can communicate and it checks the modified by column to know who to send the comments to.

Then i have the Assigne column, this is where i wanted to use your solution, so only when Assigne column gets update with new data it will send an email to the person in the assigne column, but if i do it your way then when flow runs update item it modifies the modified by column and my first flow wont work.

[Bizzo]

@JimmyWorkI took a quick look at your other thread. Without diving into it too much, I wonder if you might be better off taking a look at this Microsoft PowerApps demo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sl5fXwwnvzI. I didn't watch the whole thing, but I think it would walk you through a lot of the functionality you need and probably some additional features that you hadn't considered.

Your specific problem for sending the emails can get complicated. Please take a look at that video, see if it will maybe do what you need, and we can go from there. 🙂

[JimmyWork]

Thanks i tested powerapps before and i use for some other things. I cannot have an app for this it needs to be the site and users needs to see a list, i could show the powerapps as a webpart on sharepoint but it's not good for this solution. But maybe the flows in HelpDeks app shows how they handle Assigned section.

Thanks man

[Bizzo]

@keystecksorry this was missed. Are you still having trouble with this? I just posted more screenshots and example flows in this thread. Maybe one of them will help? Let me know if you still have questions.

[JimmyWork]

Maybe you can help.

When i try this i can't seem to compare versions as the versions will contain the same thing.

So i selected as Test to run flow if Title changes. 

I change my Titel on the item but the result in the Create HTML table displays Title is the same on both versions, even if i change the titel.

Item Titel = Test
Then i change titel to Test 10004

My result: VersionLabel 10.0 = Title Test 10004, VersionLabel 11.0 = Title Test 10004

I dont know whats wrong but it seems version changes and do not keep old version history?

[JimmyWork]

This was solved i needed to use item expression and not values

[Anonymous]

I don't find the trigger "When an existing item is modified"  Wher you folks find this ?

[JimmyWork]

It is the same as When an item is created or modified.

The When an item is modified is found in some pre med actions but it is the exact same as When an item is created or modified.

[Anonymous]

Its easier to write the JS to do this, FLow is Low Code, No Code takes longer to implement and Test. We just need  a box in Flow where we can dump our JS and execute it would be 1000 times better.