Format – Flow Alt Delete – Josh Cook [Microsoft MVP]

Checking If HTML Table Is Empty In Power Automate

I needed to check if an HTML table had data or not. Usually when I need to check I have two expressions I like to use: ’empty()’ or ‘length()’.

The Problem

I needed to check if an HTML table had data or not. Usually when I need to check I have two expressions I go to first.

empty()
length()

I tried using empty() and found that the HTML table even when empty, is not truly empty.
I then tried length() and found that when the HTML table is empty there is still a length of 30.

The Scenario

I have some data that is used to track different devices that can be loaned out. The data has properties like, Type of device, Serial Number, Etc.

The data comes in, and looks like this:

[
  {
    "type": "Phone",
    "device": "iPhone 11 Pro",
    "serialNumber": "0007488"
  },
  {
    "type": "Phone",
    "device": "Samsung Galaxy S20",
    "serialNumber": "1166289"
  },
  {
    "type": "Watch",
    "device": "Apple Watch Series 5",
    "serialNumber": "00013701"
  },
  {
    "type": "Laptop/Tablet",
    "device": "Surface Pro X",
    "serialNumber": "AA78442"
  }
]

I want to put this array of data inside a HTML table and send it out on an email. The problem is, my data might be empty, as only available devices will show up in my data.

I need to check if the HTML table is empty, if it is empty:
If True:
Send email with HTML table
If False:
Send email without HTML table

The Flow

For this Flow, I will be using an Array Variable to simulate my data coming in from another system.
I will call this Variable ‘Data‘.
The HTML table action will be added underneath.
You will need to determine if you want to use ‘Custom columns‘ or ‘Automatic columns‘ This can be done in the advanced options in the HTML action:

My ‘Data‘ Variable is empty at the moment. This is what we want for our first run, we want to get the length of the HTML table when its empty.

Next add a ‘Compose‘ action, and use the expression length(), pass in the HTML table as the parameter. For example, my expression looks like:

length(body('Create_HTML_table'))

Now run the Flow with no Data in the HTML table, and check your Compose action to see what the length is. In my case it is 30

Now we can add a If Condition to check if the length is greater than 30

** TIP **
I am passing in the Compose action into the condition, this allows me to see what the outputs of the Compose action before it gets evaluated inside the condition. This is extremely useful for troubleshooting

Conclusion

The Flow will go into the ‘If yes’ block if the HTML table has data

The Flow will go into the ‘If no’ block if the HTML table is empty

Of course checking the Data Variable itself for length could work way better. This example is mainly for data that can come in that could have loads of junk. For example:
An HTTP API could bring in no data, but still have other information attached like, headers, status code, version. In this case we can only do conditional checks on the HTML table, since our Data variable will always have something being passed in.

I used this method to help someone on the Community Forum, check it out here:
https://powerusers.microsoft.com/t5/Building-Flows/Create-a-Flow-with-Condition-that-does-not-send-email-when-list/m-p/721076/highlight/false#M98488

Converting Time Zones Easily In Power Automate

Did you know that Power Automate has a Date Time action that can easily convert, and format time zones in one action?
Why is this important? Power Automate natively uses UTC as its time zone, as well as most SharePoint sites. Using an action can be easier than using expressions.

Summary

The Flow

In this example, we will want to get the current time (this will be in UTC since we will be using Power Automate) and converting the time to local time with a specific format.

First we want to get the current time, we can use the expression utcNow() but I will be showing how to use the Date Time actions instead.

The actions are under Date Time:

Add a Current time action, this action is the same as using utcNow() expression

Next add Convert time zone action, this action is very useful as it has pre loaded time zones and formats to choose from.

The inputs for this action are:
Base time: Use the output from the Current time action
Source time zone: Make sure to select Coordinated Universal Time
Destination time zone: Select your local time zone or the time zone you want
Format string: This dropdown has many ISO formats to choose from. If you want to have a custom format, simply click the drop down and select Enter custom value. See below for examples

Format Examples

If for some reason the format you want is not in the dropdown for formats, you can create a custom format as long as it follows ISO 8601 format. To add a custom format click Enter custom value in the dropdown

Some tips when creating a format for the date ‘2020-10-13‘ (October 13 2020)
yy = 20
yyyy = 2020

MM = 10
MMM = Oct
MMMM = October

dd = 13
ddd = Tue
dddd = Tuesday

Examples:

yyyy-MMM-ddd = 2020-Oct-Tue
yy/MMMM/dddd = 20/October/Tuesday
dddd, MMMM, yyyy = Tuesday, October, 2020
MMMM dd, yyyy = October 13, 2020
yyyy-MM-dd = 2020-10-13 (used for comparing dates)

To add time to your format use the following in your format:
(It is best practice to add the letter ‘T’ before using time formats)

h = hours (12 hour time)
hh = hours (12 hour time)
HH = hours (24 hour time)
mm = minutes
ss = seconds
tt = Appends either AM or PM to time

Some examples are:
MMMM dd, yyyyThh:mm = October 13, 2020T12:51
MMMM/dd/yyyyTHH:mm:ss = October/13/2020T13:02:41
hh:mm:ss tt = 01:06:41 PM
h:mm:ss tt = 12:06:41 PM

Conclusion

Knowing these formats and the what each letter code does, the possibilities are endless. You can create any type of custom date time format easily.

As always if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out.

Thank you for reading!

Power Automate – Format Phone Number Easy

Take a phone number like 4031234567 and turn it to (403)-123-4567 with one simple step!

Scenario

We have a phone number coming in from a secondary system as a integer number. We than want to add some formatting to this to be easily read and look cleaner. For example, a phone number comes in like this:
4035557890 And make it look like (403)-555-7890

Things to Know

Since we add ‘-‘ and ‘( )’ this turns our data type to become an String. Keep this in mind, since you wont be able to pass this into a field in another system that is looking for a Integer value

The Flow

This Flow is very simple. To achieve the formatted number I am using the action ‘Format number’. This is a fairly new connector that is mainly used to format currency values. But we can utilize the format to define any formatting we want

Looking at the above picture, we are passing a Integer phone number into the Format number action. Than we specify the format we want to use by selecting the drop down > clicking ‘Enter custom value‘

End Result!

Conclusion

Since this action is fairly new, I am curious and looking forward to see if the Power Automate team will expand and add more actions like this to make formatting a breeze.

Thanks for reading!

Bypass Apply to each Loop

Have you ever noticed that Power Automate will sneak in that ‘Apply to each loop’ even though you are only expecting a single value.
For example this can happen whenever you are using a Action that ‘Lists’ items, folders, fields, etc.
In this example I will be showing how to get a User ID in CDS with the users Full Name.

The Problem

Power Automate creates a ‘Apply to each’ loop when selecting dynamic content from a action that Lists items, folder, or anything. In most cases this is awesome and creates a nice smooth workflow.

However, what about when you know exactly what you want to look for and you know its only going to be 1 record, item, whatever is going to be returned. Power Automate will still make you use the ‘Apply to each’ loop.

This may not be a such a terrible thing, but if you need to do multiple things underneath that action, you will have to put them in the loop as well (if you need any data or reference to that action)

The Solution

On to the magic..
In my example Flow I will be using:

‘Compose’ action to have my Full Name stored.
‘List records’ CDS action to list records from the default Users table entity.
** Note – This can be done with any connector. **
ODATA filter on the ‘List records’ which I am using to filter ‘fullname’
Under the ‘List records’ I use a ‘Compose’ action to store the users ID(Primary Key from CDS) and the users Email Address

Step 1 – I am using CDS List records for my example, with a Odata filter

Step 2 – Adding Compose action to use the Expression to bypass the loop

*Add a Compose action below the List action. And select Expression*

Type anything, this is to keep us in Expression mode when we switch back to Dynamic Content tab

*If you see the fx Logo in the Dynamic Content Tab, you have done this correctly*

*Remove what you had, and Click the Value of the action you want to bypass the loop with*

*Remove the ? and add [0] This is saying we want the first record only. Since this returns an array we say 0 as this is the first record in an array*

*after the [0] we type what the field name is, in this format: [‘feildname’]*

*Click OK.. I usually like to put the Expression in a Comment*

This is the exact expression I used in my Compose action

body('List_records')['value'][0]['systemuserid']

DONE!

Limitations:

The only thing you have to watch out for is when there is a empty record. This will cause an error if the record is empty.
This can easily be fixed using a Condition If block before the Compose to check if value is empty using the empty() expression.
OR
If you want to avoid the error altogether, you can use the expression first() instead of body()

I hope anyone finds this useful. This boosts performance greatly when you only need one record since you wont need a Apply to each loop.

Thank you for reading

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Excel Filtering on Columns With a Space

Using the Filter or the Select Query in Excel is very easy to use. However the issues come up when there is a space in the column you are trying to Query, which results in a Bad Request error.

The Problem

Using the Filter or the Select Query can be limited on the Excel connector. The issues come up when there is a space in the column you are trying to Query, which results in a Bad Request error.

The Solution

A relatively easy fix would be to change the column name to have no spaces. Sometimes this is not viable or possible due to many systems talking to each other. Or perhaps a third party is supplying the Excel doc.

The fix in my example shows how to use the Select, and Filter array actions in Power Automate.
Select is used to select certain columns to output.
Filter Array is used to filter on certain conditions and values.

Step 1 – Add the Select action under the Excel List rows present in table action

The Map section is used by naming the column on the **left**, and selecting the column on the **right**

Step 2 – Add Filter array action under the Excel List rows present in table action

The Filter array action can be used for all types of Odata like filters

Conclusion

Some Actions have a limitation on the Odata filter and Select queries. Some examples include:

When filtering on Names with special characters
- James O’ Henry
Columns with spaces

Thank you for reading.

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