Multiple condition issue

[Kmayes]

I have a flow that i thought would be very easy to create, however i am banging my head against the wall so i'm hoping someone can help with my issue.

My flow currently runs once a day, it then gets the items from a SP list that i have filtered using Odata (to this point it all works fine)

After this point want the flow to run multiple conditions but run through each independently so that the end e-mail can be better customised. So in effect if condition one is met go on to check the next condition...and so on 

However when i start adding the send an e-mail action it keeps asking for apply to each again and everything ive tried does not work??

[Anonymous]

Hello,

If you are trying to put Dynamic Content directly from "Get Items" from SP into your email, Power Automate makes you iterate through every item in the list; thus the "Apply to Each" loop.

I would suggest initializing a variable(s) and loading whatever custom data you want into the variable(s), then putting the variable(s) in the email.

If this doesn't work, please provide some screenshots of your flow to give a better understanding of the situation.

thanks,

Kyle

[Kmayes]

@Anonymous 

Oh ok I think I get what you mean, but may need a bit of guidance as I'm ok with basic flows but not used variables in flows.

Below is what i'm currently working with if you need any more info let me know 🙂

[v-bacao-msft]

Hi @Kmayes ,

First of all, if it is not necessary to make different actions after every check, then I suggest that you integrate these conditions together to avoid multiple Conditions.

Please check this blog and we could add multiple filters in a Condition.

https://flow.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/build-more-powerful-conditions-in-flows-and-more/

Besides, as @Anonymous suggested, if you want to integrate the data in multiple items together and send it via an email, you can refer to the following configuration.

Like:

Spoiler

Hope this helps. Feel free to let us know if you have any questions.

Best Regards,

[Kmayes]

@v-bacao-msft 

Hi I have followed your steps but I still seem to have issues The e-mail part you suggest it tries to wrap it in an apply to each, and the append to array variable, not sure what i have done wrong?

So all of my columns are like the following example:

Q1 Yes/ No/ Not Applicable

Q2 (If No to Q1) pick reason why option of about eight answers which can be multiple

I really appreciate your support with this issue.

[v-bacao-msft]

Hi @Kmayes ,

Because you reference the output of Get items in the Subject, Apply to each is automatically added.

PPE Not Used is a field that supports multiple selections, so when you need to call its field value, Apply to each will also be automatically added so that you can traverse the options contained in the field.

If you want to deal with this situation, you can refer to the following thread:

https://powerusers.microsoft.com/t5/Building-Flows/Multiple-people-picker-values-in-FLOW/td-p/257018

Hope this helps.

Best Regards,

[Kmayes]

@v-bacao-msft 

Thanks for your response does this mean i need to initialise and append a variable for each area?

[Kmayes]

@v-bacao-msft 

I've just tried another column and it still doesn't seem to work ??

[Anonymous]

Hello,

So the append to array action should be inside of the loop as you determine what you want in the body of the email (the array).

What your flow is doing right now is creating the array variable (initializing) with an initial value of null (so it's empty). Then the Append action is taking the empty array variable that you created and adding on to it that same empty array variable. (See the error at the top of your screenshot saying that the issue is self-referencing; it's trying to add itself to itself)

In order to get data into the array, the append action needs to be used with the actual data that you want in the array. Notice how in @v-bacao-msft 's example flow above, the "Initialize" action is near the top (since it has to be done at the global level), but the "Append" action is down in the "Apply to Each". Also notice what is being appended (the data being added to the array variable): the data that is wanted to be in the HTML table in the email. 

What Barry's flow is doing within the "Apply to each" loop is:

1. Looking at each item in a SharePoint list one at a time

2. Checking to make sure that certain condition(s) is/are met for the current SP item on which the loop is iterating

3. Adding the desired data from the current SP item to the Array variable (which will later become the HTML table in the email).

When the conditions are met for an item, data will be added to the array, effectively building your table. When the conditions are not met, nothing will happen and the loop will move on to the next item in the SP list.

NOTE: the dynamic content that you put in the Append action block needs to reference only the current item on which the "Apply to each" loop is iterating. Otherwise, if you grab the dynamic content from "Get Items", the flow will automatically put the "Append to Array" action block inside of an "Apply to each" loop since there are multiple items returned in "Get Items" and the dynamic content that you put inside the "Append to Array" can only pull from one item at a time. I'm not sure how Barry's flow in his screenshot didn't automatically create that second "Apply to each" loop, unless he used an expression instead of Dynamic Content. Try it out, and if you run into the issue of that additional "Apply to each" loop being created, let me know and we'll work through creating an expression to reference the desired data.

thanks,

Kyle

[v-bacao-msft]

Hi @Kmayes ,

@Anonymous has further elaborated on my suggestions, thank you for your help.

We need to initialize different variables to store the data we need, and the array variable is used to store the data that needs to be displayed in the HTML table.

The String variable is used to append the selected option values in the fields that support multiple selections in a single item so that we can append them to the HTML table.

You can take a closer look at the thread I mentioned in my last reply to learn more about ways to deal with similar situations. This helps you understand Data Operations in Flow.

Hope that makes sense.

Best Regards,

[Kmayes]

@Anonymous 

Hi Kyle

So I have made some changes to the flow created and moved the initialise variable to the top level as mentioned under get items, the flow runs but I'm still facing a small issue which i hope with can be easily ironed out. 🙂

Email Issue:

• Only one e-mail is being sent there are two items that meet the condition and this is being recognised in the condition as it shows true for both records, therefore i moved the e-mail and Create HTML into the Apply To Each  as logically I think it should be there. On doing some testing this morning it will now send an e-mail to just the items selected from the condition.
• However the value of the HTML is not correct, so suppose what I'm asking is where am i going wrong with getting the output value of that item without the apply to each coming back

[Anonymous]

Hello!

If you want an email to be sent for each item that meets the conditions, then you are correct in putting the "Create HTML" and "Send Email" in the "Apply to each" loop.

However, unless you clear the contents of the array at the END of the loop (after you send each email), you will continue to add data to the array. For example, when the second item meets the criteria, the array (and, thus, the body of the email) will have both the first and the second items' data.

You can use the "Set Variable" Action block to set the array to null. See screenshot.

Unfortunately, I have next to no knowledge about HTML, so if you are having an issue with the output of the HTML table, I can't speak to that. sorry.

Can you provide more details about how "the value of the HTML" is not correct?

thanks!

[Kmayes]

@Anonymous 

That's good to know at least I'm starting to understand its working method more now 🙂

Yes that what I noticed it was collecting the variable for each item it looped round so I've managed to solve that with the suggestion you rightly made.

The part im having an issue with only now is getting the correct dynamic content into the table, when adding the content i get three options the value one is the one i need as i just want the selected value from that item, however when i apply this it adds apply to each around my append to variable action?

 

Many Thanks

[Anonymous]

The value of the item probably has multiple fields in it, then.

Try putting a Compose action block above the "append to variable" block and see if you can pull what you want via dynamic content.

If you can't, then just pass in the "Value" item into the compose and run a test of the flow and get the output of the Compose block from your Run History.

You should be able to reference the data that you want to pull using an expression like:

items('apply to each loop name')?['desired field name']

Let's see what the "Value" of "PPE Not Used" looks like, and it will inform how we write the expression.

post a screenshot of that Compose output.

thanks,

[Kmayes]

@Anonymous 

Yes the value is a multiple selection field sorry i should have said, when i put the value item in compose it creates another apply to each and i then cant reference it in the append to array 😞

[Anonymous]

Can you paste a screenshot of the output of this action block from a previous run?:

if there is too much text in the box to capture in an image, just copy and paste the text into your reply.

Thanks,

Kyle

[Kmayes]

@Anonymous 

Does this help at all?

[Anonymous]

@Kmayes,

Using the screenshot that you provided, if you wanted to return the value of the "NegativeVehicleCondition" field (in this case, "Maintenance Issue") while inside the Apply to each loop, your expression would look like this:

items('Apply to each 2')?['NegativeVehicleCondition']?['Value']

I hope this helps.

Thanks,

Kyle

[Kmayes]

@Anonymous 

Morning,

With the expression where should this be placed in a compose action within the loop or directly into the append to array as i have tried both and get errors ??

[Anonymous]

@Kmayes,

It could be in either, but I can't think of a reason why you wouldn't put it straight into the "Append to Array" action (which should be in the loop).

Please keep in mind that the issue could be any number of things. And I (or anyone else potentially willing to help) have no way to know what it is without more information.

Any time you encounter an error with which you need assistance, I would suggest you provide screenshots with each of your questions showing what you tried and what the output/error was. The more information you can provide, the easier it will be for someone to answer your question quickly and correctly. Please don't make people ask for screenshots every time you encounter a new error/problem.

The users in this community are incredibly willing to help each other by teaching from their experience. But they are not (by and large) here to build people's flows for them. You have to be as willing to learn as they are to teach. Even when you have someone helping you on an issue, as you're working through it, don't stop searching Google and these forums to find information that will help you better understand the situation you're dealing with.

Thanks,

Kyle