Get the difference between two dates (Updated 2025)

Many Power Automate users encounter issues with the dateDifference() function when calculating the difference between two dates. The problem arises when the output format varies depending on the duration, causing errors in extracting Days, Hours, Minutes, and Seconds.

This blog provides a robust and easy-to-implement solution that works seamlessly in all scenarios, including durations less than a day. Learn how to use a single expression with conditional logic to avoid these common pitfalls and ensure your date calculations are accurate every time. This is your ultimate fix for handling dateDifference() errors!

The Flow

Compose action: named StartDate = 2024-12-10T15:58:28
Compose action: named EndDate = 2024-12-10T19:22:20
Compose action: uses dateDifference() expression. see below

Below is the expression used in the ‘Date Difference’ compose action. It dynamically handles all scenarios—when days are included and when they are not (same with hours and minutes).

dateDifference expression

Create a compose action for StartDate and EndDate

if(
   contains(
     dateDifference(outputs('StartDate'), outputs('EndDate')), 
     '.'
   ),
   json(
     concat(
       '{"Days":', string(int(split(dateDifference(outputs('StartDate'), outputs('EndDate')), '.')[0])),
       ',"Hours":', string(int(split(split(dateDifference(outputs('StartDate'), outputs('EndDate')), '.')[1], ':')[0])),
       ',"Minutes":', string(int(split(split(dateDifference(outputs('StartDate'), outputs('EndDate')), '.')[1], ':')[1])),
       ',"Seconds":', string(int(split(split(dateDifference(outputs('StartDate'), outputs('EndDate')), '.')[1], ':')[2])),
       '}'
     )
   ),
   json(
     concat(
       '{"Days":0',
       ',"Hours":', string(int(split(dateDifference(outputs('StartDate'), outputs('EndDate')), ':')[0])),
       ',"Minutes":', string(int(split(dateDifference(outputs('StartDate'), outputs('EndDate')), ':')[1])),
       ',"Seconds":', string(int(split(dateDifference(outputs('StartDate'), outputs('EndDate')), ':')[2])),
       '}'
     )
   )
)

How it works

The if() function checks if the dateDifference() result contains a . (dot).
If it does, it means the result has a days component (e.g., 1268.04:15:30), so we parse out Days, Hours, Minutes, and Seconds accordingly.
If it does not, it means the result is less than a day (e.g., 12:57:47.2544602), so we treat Days as 0 and parse Hours, Minutes, and Seconds directly from the string.

Result:

This will produce a JSON object like:
{ "Days": 1268, "Hours": 4, "Minutes": 15, "Seconds": 30 }
Or
{ "Days": 0, "Hours": 12, "Minutes": 57, "Seconds": 47 }

Steps to Access Each Value

If you use the fixed expression directly in a Compose action (e.g., named Date_Difference), you can reference the fields like this:

Days: outputs('Date_Difference')?['Days']
Hours: outputs('Date_Difference')?['Hours']
Minutes: outputs('Date_Difference')?['Minutes']
Seconds: outputs('Date_Difference')?['Seconds']

Use these expressions in subsequent actions (like another Compose, a Condition, or Apply to Each) to reference the specific values.

Download my Flow

You can easily copy and paste actions in Power Automate. Allowing you to copy and paste my example.

Classic designer

Step 1: Copy the code snippet

{"id":"b6b531e2-b7b5-4a9e-86bd-7e2a069529a0","brandColor":"#8C3900","connectionReferences":{},"connectorDisplayName":"Control","icon":"data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMzIiIGhlaWdodD0iMzIiIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgdmlld0JveD0iMCAwIDMyIDMyIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPg0KIDxwYXRoIGQ9Im0wIDBoMzJ2MzJoLTMyeiIgZmlsbD0iIzhDMzkwMCIvPg0KIDxwYXRoIGQ9Im04IDEwaDE2djEyaC0xNnptMTUgMTF2LTEwaC0xNHYxMHptLTItOHY2aC0xMHYtNnptLTEgNXYtNGgtOHY0eiIgZmlsbD0iI2ZmZiIvPg0KPC9zdmc+DQo=","isTrigger":false,"operationName":"Get_date_difference_object","operationDefinition":{"type":"Scope","actions":{"StartDate":{"type":"Compose","inputs":"2024-12-10T15:58:28","runAfter":{}},"EndDate":{"type":"Compose","inputs":"2024-12-10T19:22:20","runAfter":{"StartDate":["Succeeded"]}},"Date_Difference":{"type":"Compose","inputs":"@if(\r\n   contains(\r\n     dateDifference(outputs('StartDate'), outputs('EndDate')), \r\n     '.'\r\n   ),\r\n   json(\r\n     concat(\r\n       '{\"Days\":', string(int(split(dateDifference(outputs('StartDate'), outputs('EndDate')), '.')[0])),\r\n       ',\"Hours\":', string(int(split(split(dateDifference(outputs('StartDate'), outputs('EndDate')), '.')[1], ':')[0])),\r\n       ',\"Minutes\":', string(int(split(split(dateDifference(outputs('StartDate'), outputs('EndDate')), '.')[1], ':')[1])),\r\n       ',\"Seconds\":', string(int(split(split(dateDifference(outputs('StartDate'), outputs('EndDate')), '.')[1], ':')[2])),\r\n       '}'\r\n     )\r\n   ),\r\n   json(\r\n     concat(\r\n       '{\"Days\":0',\r\n       ',\"Hours\":', string(int(split(dateDifference(outputs('StartDate'), outputs('EndDate')), ':')[0])),\r\n       ',\"Minutes\":', string(int(split(dateDifference(outputs('StartDate'), outputs('EndDate')), ':')[1])),\r\n       ',\"Seconds\":', string(int(split(dateDifference(outputs('StartDate'), outputs('EndDate')), ':')[2])),\r\n       '}'\r\n     )\r\n   )\r\n)","runAfter":{"EndDate":["Succeeded"]},"metadata":{"operationMetadataId":"03c8d578-576a-41a3-8d63-609a15ce594b"}}},"runAfter":{"Add_to_time":["Succeeded"]}}}

Step 2: In Power Automate when adding a new action click My clipboard .

Step 3: Ctrl + V

New designer

Step 1: Copy the code snippet

{"nodeId":"Get_date_difference_object-copy","serializedOperation":{"type":"Scope","actions":{"StartDate":{"type":"Compose","inputs":"2024-12-10T15:58:28"},"EndDate":{"type":"Compose","inputs":"2024-12-10T19:22:20","runAfter":{"StartDate":["Succeeded"]}},"Date_Difference":{"type":"Compose","inputs":"@if(\r\n   contains(\r\n     dateDifference(outputs('StartDate'), outputs('EndDate')), \r\n     '.'\r\n   ),\r\n   json(\r\n     concat(\r\n       '{\"Days\":', string(int(split(dateDifference(outputs('StartDate'), outputs('EndDate')), '.')[0])),\r\n       ',\"Hours\":', string(int(split(split(dateDifference(outputs('StartDate'), outputs('EndDate')), '.')[1], ':')[0])),\r\n       ',\"Minutes\":', string(int(split(split(dateDifference(outputs('StartDate'), outputs('EndDate')), '.')[1], ':')[1])),\r\n       ',\"Seconds\":', string(int(split(split(dateDifference(outputs('StartDate'), outputs('EndDate')), '.')[1], ':')[2])),\r\n       '}'\r\n     )\r\n   ),\r\n   json(\r\n     concat(\r\n       '{\"Days\":0',\r\n       ',\"Hours\":', string(int(split(dateDifference(outputs('StartDate'), outputs('EndDate')), ':')[0])),\r\n       ',\"Minutes\":', string(int(split(dateDifference(outputs('StartDate'), outputs('EndDate')), ':')[1])),\r\n       ',\"Seconds\":', string(int(split(dateDifference(outputs('StartDate'), outputs('EndDate')), ':')[2])),\r\n       '}'\r\n     )\r\n   )\r\n)","runAfter":{"EndDate":["Succeeded"]},"metadata":{"operationMetadataId":"03c8d578-576a-41a3-8d63-609a15ce594b"}}},"runAfter":{"Add_to_time":["Succeeded"]}},"allConnectionData":{},"staticResults":{},"isScopeNode":true,"mslaNode":true}

Step 2: In Power Automate click the + to add an action. Click Paste an action

Conclusion

That’s it! pretty easy right? if you encounter any issues, comment below!

Get the difference between two dates EASY

We have all been there, we need to check the difference between 2 dates, and if you ever had to implement this you would need to use some crazy mathematical equations using the ticks() expression. But now..

I’m not sure when this expression got added, but we can now use dateDifference() expression instead of using ticks().

The dateDifference() expression is a powerful tool in Power Automate and Logic Apps for calculating the difference between two dates.

Allowing to easily determine the number of days, months, or years between two dates, which can be useful in a variety of scenarios.

Syntax and Parameters

The syntax is easy with only 2 parameters:

dateDifference('<startDate>', '<endDate>')

How to Use

Below is a simple example of how to use this expression:

dateDifference('2015-02-08T10:30:00', '2018-07-30T14:45:30')

This returns

"1268.04:15:30"

The result is in the format of:
Days.Hours:Minutes:Seconds

Note:: If the dates passed in have no time interval, the result shows zeros for the hours, minutes, and seconds. We can extract the different parts of the return by using some expressions inside a Compose action, which we will do next.

Extracting the Result

If you need to extract certain parts of the result into the hours, minutes, or even seconds, you can use the split() expression.
Below you will find the explanation on the extraction, as well as the exact expressions to use.

The split() function splits the output of dateDifference() at the period (‘.’) into an array with two elements: days and the rest (hours:minutes:seconds).
The [0] indexer retrieves the first element of the array, which represents the number of days.
The int() function converts the days from a string to an integer.
Replace the date time values with your dates/time

Extracting Days

To extract the days from the result we can use

int(split(dateDifference('2015-02-08T10:30:00', '2018-07-30T14:45:30'), '.')[0])

This returns:

Extracting Hours

To extract the hours interval from the result we can use

int(split(split(dateDifference('2015-02-08T10:30:00', '2018-07-30T14:45:30'), '.')[1], ':')[0])

This returns:

Extracting Minutes

To extract the minutes interval from the result we can use

int(split(split(dateDifference('2015-02-08T10:30:00', '2018-07-30T14:45:30'), '.')[1], ':')[1])

This returns:

Extracting Seconds

To extract the seconds interval from the result we can use

int(split(split(dateDifference('2015-02-08T10:30:00', '2018-07-30T14:45:30'), '.')[1], ':')[2])

This returns:

Things to Know

There are a few things to be aware of:

Be aware of time zones, Power Automate uses UTC as a baseline for all time formats.
If pulling dates from SharePoint be aware of what time zone your site is in.
You can convert the time zones by using expressions or by using actions. Read more about converting time zones here.

Links

date Difference – Reference guide for expression functions – Azure Logic Apps | Microsoft Learn

Check Conditions In Power Automate During Run

Is your IF condition always evaluating to False? Debugging and Testing your Flows should be easy. When using a Condition in Power Automate, in the run we cannot see the expression or the results of what is being evaluated.

I will go over a quick workaround to debug and find out what is happening in the condition

The Problem?

Is your Condition not working as expected?
The problem is when we use a Condition action inside Power Automate, we cannot see the “equation” that is being evaluated when looking into the run.

The problem affects how we can troubleshoot, the following solution will show what is happening inside the Condition action during the run.

Scenario

In this scenario, I am checking:
If one value is greater than a second value

Now during a test run, I expect to see this condition true, but in my run it is always showing false and going in the If no branch.

The big problem is though, I cannot see what the values being evaluated look like. Take a look below

Clicking on the “Show raw inputs” is also not helpful..

Solution

So what is this quick and easy solution to see the condition results? A simple ‘Compose‘ action.

Lets take a look:
First add a Compose under your Condition

Next copy the values that are in the Condition to the Compose.
My Compose now looks like this:

Now make sure the Compose is above your Condition.
I am just dragging the Condition below the Compose

Next, we can run the Flow again, and see what the Compose can tell us:

Yikes! We can see our 2 values that are being evaluated are both 15.
And 15 is not greater than 15. This is why its returning false.

My Thoughts

In my opinion, this should be already visible inside the Condition action. To get this feature added to Power Automate, we can vote on this feature. Head over to the Community Forum and vote for this idea.

View details of Condition results in runs – Power Platform Community (microsoft.com)

The more votes, the better the chances of the Product team implementing this.
Thank you for reading, and have a great day!

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

Power Automate Expression Union – Return Unique Values

Power Automate Expressions – union
Using union to remove duplicates on two different collection arrays

This blog will be looking at an expression called union() This expression can be used to remove duplicates from 2 collections. In this example, I will be using an Excel file to demonstrate this. But this can be done with any data

The Scenario

I will be taking an Excel file that has many Paper Items.

We want to remove all the duplicate items from the Plastic Item column. Why would we want to do this?
One reason may be that we get this file from a 3rd party, but we only care about the unique items to import into another system (CRM, CDS/Dynamics, SharePoint, Etc.)

Steps

First we want to add an Initialize variable, Type = Array
Next, we need to get the data we want to use. In this example I am using List rows present in a table

Now we add a Apply to each loop, and use the dynamic content value from our Excel action
Inside the Loop we add a Append to array variable action, and add the column we want to remove duplicates from. In this example Paperitem

We are done inside the loop..

Outside the loop we add a Compose action, this is where we will put the expression union
In the Expression tab type union()
Select the dynamic content tab and pass the array variable to union twice
(Click your variable comma click variable again) Your expression should look something like this:

union(variables('paperItemArray'),variables('paperItemArray'))

Done!!

Final Thoughts

Now we have a Array of all unique Plastic Items, which can be imported into another system based on your needs.

Thanks for reading!

Power Automate Tips and Tricks for Beginners

In this post, I wanted to share some of the tips and tricks that I have learnt and came across. Some of these tips I will cover the basic fundamentals so you can start using them to help you build you Flows with less pain and more fun!

1. Compose

Compose actions, are one of my favorite actions to use. They are so robust and can display pretty much anything. Compose can be found under
Data Operation > Compose

1.1

Add a Compose action before a Condition to check what values are being evaluated. In this example, my condition is saying:
If length of value is greater than 0
I add a Compose action before the condition, with the same value I am using in the condition. This allows me to check the run and see the value being evaluated
Example:

1.2

If Flow is spitting out errors about a wrong data type or you keep getting unexpected values – Since Compose can hold just about any data type. We can add one and check what the value is in run history.

1.3

Compose actions are great for doing expressions – We can add a Compose action and do expressions in the input, instead of writing the expression directly inside another action. This is handy if you need to do multiple expressions, or error checking.

2. Meaningful Names

There is nothing worse than leaving the default names for all your actions. This can be confusing, which can cause errors which could have been avoidable.
This tip is going off tip #1.

2.1

The picture below shows a bunch of Compose actions
Left: Default names used – Makes it very hard to know which action is what
Right: Custom names used – Changing the names to something meaningful allows actions to be easily found and referenced.

2.2

For awhile now, Power Automate has had a limitation with renaming actions that were being referenced in other places. That has since changed. We can now rename action that are being referenced in other actions!
For example:
The left picture shows the Compose action named ‘Compose Project’ and is being referenced by the condition below.
Changing the Compose action name to ‘Project Name’ also changes the name in the referenced condition, which is shown in the right picture.

—–NOTE —–
Limitations still exist.. The reference will not be updated if the action is in a expression OR inside a Loop. And will throw an error of:
Template Validation Failed.
So it is always best to rename actions right away
—————

2.3

When using Expressions, to better understand and show others what is going on. Comments are great for this. For example, if using a complex expression I like to copy the expression and put into a comment of that action:

3. Scopes

Scopes are handy, they can be used for grouping actions together. In this guide I will show how to use scopes to group actions together. There are many advanced techniques that scopes can be used for, but for this demo I will be showing the very basics. Scopes can be found under
Condition > Scope

I will add 2 scopes, one for Users, and one for Accounts
To add actions in the scope, Click and Drag the action into the scope

Drag the actions in so the order of the actions remain the same. For example, I put the Scope above the List Records action so I could drag the List records in first than the For each loop next

This concept will help us in the following tips

4. Parallel Branches

All Flows run from top to bottom in a single order fashion. If we split the actions to run side by side (parallel) This would drastically improve performance.
In this scenario I have Two(2) CDS List records, and Two(2) Apply to each loops

List Records – Users
Apply to each – To Append(add) all First names into a single variable
List Records – Accounts
Apply to each – To Append(add) all Account names to a single variable

Here is what the Flow looks like:

Running the Flow, we can see it takes about 4 minutes

Before we create a parallel branch we first must put the actions inside a Scope, this is to allow us to drag the actions around without getting the

This action cannot be dragged above actions it depends on. Error

Refer to Tip# 3 for details on Scopes

Now lets have these 2 different Scopes run in parallel branches
First we want to click the ‘+’ icon where we want to add the branch, next click Add parallel branch

In this example, I am adding a parallel branch above both Scopes

Our screen will look like this:

Next we need to Click and Drag one of the scopes to the new branch

Once the Scope is in the branch we can click the X on the Choose an action tab

NOTE: If you are adding a Parallel branch in the middle of a Flow, you might encounter a strange scenario where the new branch goes nowhere, or a dead-end. Please refer to my Blog on the Community forums to solve this:
https://powerusers.microsoft.com/t5/Power-Automate-Community-Blog/Adding-a-New-Parallel-Branch-Goes-Nowhere/ba-p/514676

Now lets run thew Flow again:
As the picture below shows, the Flow now only takes 2 minutes to run, cutting our run time by half, that’s insane!

Imagine our run normally taking 30 minutes, now only taking 15, just from a simple step

Tip# 5 will make our Flow run even faster!!

5. Concurrency

What is it? By default loops run one after another. Concurrency can make loops run in parallel.
To better understand this, we can think about a grocery store. In this scenario:

People = Value that is going into Apply to each loop
Lanes/Cashier = Concurrency Control Number

There are 20 people waiting in line at the store. There is 1 lane/cashier open. Since the cashier can only take one person at a time, this process can be lengthy.
Now with Concurrency turned on, things are a bit different. Lets say we set Concurrency to 5. This means 5 lanes/cashiers will be open. This is great! But there is a catch..

When Concurrency is enabled, there is no more line. All 20 people are processed randomly.

Concurrency can be applied to all Apply to each loops — As well as Triggers!

To enable Concurrency:

First, click the 3 dots on the Apply to each action
Next, click settings

Next, choose the value for Concurrency and click Done

For this Demo, I am setting Concurrency to 50. Please be aware of API limit calls and 429 errors. If you get these errors while flow is running. Decrease the Degree of Parallelism

Now lets see this in action!
I set Concurrency to 50 on both my Apply to each loops from the last Tip.
As a recap, the last time we ran the Flow, it took 2 minutes to run.

Results: About 5 seconds!

The Run time is about 5 Seconds. Since we used a Parallel branch the total run time is the longest duration of our Parallel branches

This drastically improves performance.

Conclusion / Key Take Notes

Use a Compose action to check values and outputs, that you normally cannot see, Like in a If Condition
Compose actions can store almost any data type. When in doubt.. Use a Compose
When using expressions, try using them in a Compose, this can make troubleshooting much easier
Always use meaningful names for all your actions. Doing this will save loads of time later on, when needing to use dynamic content
Comment, comment, and more comments. All actions allow for comments. This will help support teams troubleshoot your Flow, as well as your future self, if you have to make any updates later on
When using expressions, copy the expression and paste into the actions comments section.
Use Scopes to group actions together.
To speed up performance, use parallel branches to enable actions to run side by side
Enable Concurrency control on Apply to each loops to drastically increase performance
Remember enabling Concurrency control randomizes the order the loop iterations run in. So if you’re expecting a certain order processing to happen, do not enable

These are some of the tips and tricks I wish I knew sooner. I hope at least one of these tips and ticks have helped someone. Thanks for reading!