Unable to get a single email outside a list rows / Apply to each

[richrich123]

Afternoon,

I wonder if anyone can help with this. I have a flow which runs every morning and lists all over due quotes (from Dynamics Quotes table) and sends an email to the owner of each overdue quote. The problem is a user can get a number of repetitive emails for each overdue record.

So I am trying to build it in a way that the user gets one email with a list of all their overdue records. That's easy enough if just working from the list results of the quote but unfortunately I need more data than the quote list record returns (also need some values from the related user table and account table) which results in the need to use an apply to each which is where my challenge is:

If I do it as per screenshot, the above all works fine, my html table has the values I want in the email from the quote, the owner and account table BUT if I then put my send email below this (in the apply to each) then if my quote list returns 10 records, the user receives 10 emails. If I move the send email out of the 'apply to each' to resolve that then I am unable to pick up the HTML table output to use in the email body.

If I also move the Create HTML table out of the 'apply to each', then the html table is unable to use any of the dynamic fields returned in the additional 'apply to each' e.g values I need in the table from the users and accounts table.

I guess there must be a way around this somehow?

Thanks

[wskinnermctc]

You will need to put all of the users with an overdue quote into an array variable. Then use an Apply to Each on that array variable. So the Apply to Each will be basically doing steps for each person.

For each person you can filter the quotes by that person and then send a single email. The easiest would be to use another Dataverse List Records by that person.

I don't have the exact steps for you, but it will be something like:

• Initialize Variable - Array Type - "Users-QuotesOverdue"
• Dataverse - List Records - Quotes Overdue
• Apply to Each Dataverse Record:
  • Append Array Variable - "Users-QuotesOverdue" - put each person into the array
• Compose - Union(Variables('Users-QuotesOverdue),Variables('Users-QuotesOverdue')) - this will union the array to itself and remove duplicate names
• Set Variable - "Users-QuotesOverdue" - to the previous Compose that has no duplicate names
• Apply to Each - Value in the Variable "Users-QuotesOverdue"
  • Dataverse - List Records - Quotes Overdue filtered by user name
  • Create HTML Table
  • Send Email

So it will be something along those lines. You can try different methods like filter array or whatever, but you will need to Apply to Each of the users that is in their own variable array.

This is a general example, but you can see the method:

Variable Array

[LinnZawWin]

In addition to @wskinnermctc's solution, you can add a few performance improvements to your flow by querying the User and Account table information in the same List Rows action by using Expand Query by generating from FetchXML Builder for XrmToolBox or use FetchXML with link-entity.

If you want to avoid the 2nd "Dataverse List Rows in the loop by user name", you can use the Data Operation Filter Array Action to filter the data with the user name/ID from the first List Rows output.

[richrich123]

@wskinnermctc  - thank you for such a quick reply. I have followed the suggested setup and it runs / succeeds. In your first 'apply to each', the query returns 21 records belong to 6 different users (correct). But I then get 96 emails? In the email, the item is listed 21 times and the user gets the email 4 times.

[wskinnermctc]

You are nesting the Apply to Each within each other causing the problem.

Look at my example, the Apply to Each are separated.

[richrich123]

@wskinnermctc - sorry, didn't spot they weren't nested.

As I have now split them into seperate 'apply to each' it causes another challenge as in order to get fullname for the Append to Array, I need to  retrieved the users table via get a row (fullname isnt in the data that comes back from the list quote rows, only the user GUID and the Append to Array wont take the GUID, but in any case I also need the account table as well as user table as I need some of those values in the email).

The problem is, if I put the get a row for users and accounts table in the first 'apply to each' where the Append to Array sits so I can use fullname from users data,  I cant then use the values from user and account in the create html table as they are in the second 'apply to each'

Its the fact I need the User and Account table data as well as the quote list fields that caused this challenge as it was needing to get them that resulted in a further 'apply to each' which meant I couldn't simply just list rows and then use the create html table and send email without the need for the 'apply to each' in the first place.

[richrich123]

Actually, @LinnZawWin  suggestion of suing the expand query could help sort that problem out and not need the other 2 tables.

[wskinnermctc]

The "Full_Name" from my example is just a column that I had in my table. It is not a column that I expected you to use or reference. Sorry for the confusion about that.

[richrich123]

@wskinnermctc , I think I am nearly there. The list rows locates 15 records. The output of the compose union filters it down to 6 unique owners from the 15 records. The set variable then shows an output of the 6 unique users. I then go into 'apply to each 2' and it has 6 records for the 6 unique owners but the html table still contains all 15 records (the 2 columns in the output screen below are names of quote and owner of quote)

As this would be one email to each owner, the items in the list need to just be each owners quotes, not their colleagues as well. Is there a way to get that?

[LinnZawWin]

@richrich123 

Can you expand the "List rows" step inside the "Apply to each 2"? In that step, you are supposed to filter the rows based on the values from the user array.

e.g.

_ownerid_value eq '«GUIDValueFromUserArray»'

[richrich123]

@LinnZawWin , that was what I thought and I looked at filter rows but in the 'apply to each 2', Idnt have any option to add the value from the userarray - sorry for blurring some, I have entity names that relate to sensitive items

I actually used Fullname rather than guid on the array so I could check results which is easier by name than GUID but I can swap it over to GUID but all users are unique anyway by name

"systemuser2.fullname": "Bob Tester",

[LinnZawWin]

@richrich123 

If you are using FetchXML, you don't have to use the Filter rows parameter. You can just link to the systemuser table in your FetchXML and add the filter condition with dynamic value.

For Dynamic Value, you need to use the item() expression. Please refer to the blog posts below.

• https://www.powertechtips.com/loop-through-array-power-automate/
• https://www.enjoysharepoint.com/power-automate-array-variable/

<fetch>
  <entity name='lzw_test'>
    <attribute name='lzw_name' />
    <attribute name='ownerid' />
    <link-entity name='systemuser' from='systemuserid' to='owninguser' alias='systemuser'>
      <attribute name='fullname' />
      <filter>
        <condition attribute='fullname' operator='eq' value='«item() Expression»' />
      </filter>
    </link-entity>
  </entity>
</fetch>

[richrich123]

Hi @LinnZawWin, I do indeed have the systemuser in my fetch and I did try using that to filter dynamically

The problem is if I add this as dynamic content to the filter, it becomes 'apply to each 3' nested in my 'apply to each 2' (and it also fails - Action 'List_rows' failed)

[LinnZawWin · Accepted solution]

@richrich123 

For Dynamic Value, you need to use the item() expression to get the value from the UserArray because it is the one that "Apply to each 2" is looping.  (and not the Owning User Full Name from the first "List rows" action)

Please refer to the blog posts below.

• https://www.powertechtips.com/loop-through-array-power-automate/
• https://www.enjoysharepoint.com/power-automate-array-variable/

Your flow should look something like this

https://www.screencast.com/t/qyrI5rRL

[richrich123]

@LinnZawWin - Thank you - I thought you had meant filter it in the list rows filter section, didn't realise you meant in the XML which makes sense. Thats now working perfectly, thank you!