Update a task based on email subject line

[VanillaBear]

I am using the Planner as a semi service desk. I have a flow that currently goes like this.

Email Arrives 
>
Does the Email have #VS in the Subject line?

If NO create a task with the Subject line as the title > Wait 30 seconds > Convert the HTML to Text > Put Text in Description of the Task

I then manually amend that task to have #VS and a number between 01 and 99 in the title. So if the Email Subject was 'Test', I would amend it to be 'Test #VS01' (if this can be automated as well, please let me know!)

I then add this into the subject when I am emailing the users to help me keep track of the task.

What I want to do, is if YES (the Subject line does have #VS in it, because they have replied to my email), I want to update the comments of the specific planner tasks with their email.

Is this possible?

[v-duann-msft · Accepted solution]

Hi @VanillaBear

Thank you for posting.

According to your description, you would like to create/update task based on arrived emails. If any misunderstanding, please kindly let me know.

If that’s the case, I believe we need 2 conditions to filter subject and task title.

Here is the flow overview:

In yes branch:

Hope the content above may help you.

Best regards,

Anna

[VanillaBear]

Thanks @v-duann-msft that looks really good, but for it isn't working for me.

The flow goes all the way through to the second If yes statement, but reports false for all 24 tickets like it isn't matching to name of the ticket to the subject line. Could this be because there is a RE: in the subject line once the user replies?

Edit 1: I just re-tested this and removed the RE: at the start of the reply and it worked.

However, it completely overwrites the original details in t he 'notes' section, so this wouldn't work as that is the 'original call'. Is there a way for these updates to be added as comments? I can't see a way.

Edit 2: Through the power of Google and something I happened on yesterday, I have got the solution to the RE: Problem. In the 'Condition' section for 'value Title' is equal to 'Subject', I have changed this to be 'value Title' starts with

substring(triggerOutputs()?['body/subject'],4,5)

- So, it takes the subject, counts out 4, which is RE: and the space and then takes the 5 after which is #VS01 and matches that to the task. So aslong as I have the title to be #VS** and the Subject line starts #VS** when I send the email, they reply and that will work.

My only issue now is that it overwrites the notes, rather than puts it in the comments section.

[v-duann-msft]

Hi @VanillaBear 

Thank you very much for your information.

So the remaining issue is related to description overwriting. Ideally, you would like to attach replied email in comments area.

I tested as required, but seems it’s impossible to achieve it. There is no comments field in all of planner actions. It means we can’t configure comments for plans in flow.

You can double check available configurations in planner

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/connectors/planner/#actions

Best regards,

Anna

[VanillaBear]

Thank you for your help on this, I have found a semi solution which is to get the task details before updating the task and use them in the description ahead of the update. So I am essentially adding the task details in again to retain them. 

Not ideal, but it semi works.

I have marked your reply at the top as the solution as that did mainly what I needed with some tweaking 🙂