Adding SharePoint item to Group List from Group Form Failing if any Dates Left Blank

[SCastille]

I have a flow to create a SP item when a response is received from a group form.  Everything worked well until suddenly today, it started to give me this error if any of the date fields are left blank (in example below it was the Due Date field because of the branching in the form):

The 'inputs.parameters' of workflow operation 'Create_item' of type 'OpenApiConnection' is not valid. Error details: Input parameter 'item/DueDate' is required to be of type 'String/date'. The runtime value '""' to be converted doesn't have the expected format 'String/date'.

How can this be fixed?

[creativeopinion]

@SCastille You need to use an expression in your case. To help you understand how you'll build this expression I would recommend creating a new flow with a manual trigger. Use the Get response details action and select your form ID and insert a number of a response (use the one that gave you an error)

Add a Compose action. Insert an expression and use the empty() function.

Click on the dynamic content tab and insert the dynamic content from the date question.

Run a test. This function will return a true or false value based on whether or not the date field was left blank. Since I left my date field blank—it's returned true.

Click on the expression label to edit it. You're going to wrap the expression in an if() function. The if() function takes three parameters:

if([true/false],[true value],[false value])

At the start of the expression type in if with an opening parenthesis. 

Your first parameter has already been defined. Go to the end of the expression by pressing the down arrow key. Add a comma. Tip: Pay attention to the tooltip. It bolds the text of the current parameter you are defining. In this case, the value to output if true.

If the date question is empty, you'll want to return null. 

Add another comma and enter the value to output if there is a value (aka if the date question isn't empty).

In this case you'll want to output the date. Click on the dynamic content tab and select the dynamic content that is storing the date.

Add a closing parenthesis.

Important: Make sure you press Update to update the expression.

Run a test. When the date question is empty, it'll return null (nothing will display in the outputs).

However, if I change the ID to a form where the date field wasn't empty—it'll output the date.

In the Create Item action, you can insert the output from the Compose action. Alternatively you can insert the expression directly into the Date field if you'd like—I prefer to compose any form responses that require an expression and run tests before I even add the Create Item action to my flow. 

In the meantime, you might find these YT Tutorials helpful: 

How to Get a Microsoft Form RSVP Response into a SharePoint List

IN THIS VIDEO:

✅ How to get a Microsoft Form Response into SharePoint

✅ How to get a Microsoft Form ID

✅ How to get a Microsoft Form response

✅ How to Build a Microsoft Form with Conditional Fields

✅ How to used Branching in Microsoft Forms

✅ How to format Microsoft Form multiple choice responses for a SharePoint multi-choice column

✅ How to parse a Microsoft Form multiple choice response as string of text

✅ How to convert a text response to a number

✅ How to use the Switch action

✅ How to create a custom email confirmation for a Microsoft Form submission

✅ How to Create a Custom View in a SharePoint list

✅ How to use the Compose Action

✅ How to write Power Automate Expressions

----

How to Get Microsoft Form File Uploads Attached to an Email 📧

In this Microsoft Power Automate Tutorial I’m going to cover where file uploads from your Microsoft Forms are saved. I’ll also show you how attach the uploaded files to an email and how to dynamically name the files and customize the recipient of the email based on the selections made in your Microsoft Form. I will also cover how to handle responses that don’t include any file uploads.

IN THIS VIDEO:

‌✅‌ Two types of MS Forms

‌✅‌ Where Microsoft Personal (OneDrive) Form File Uploads are Saved

‌✅‌ Where Microsoft Group Form File Uploads are Saved

‌✅‌ How to Add a File Upload Question to an MS Form

‌✅‌ How to get a Microsoft Form ID

‌✅‌ How to get a Microsoft Form Response

‌✅‌ How to Get the Dynamic Content Microsoft Form File Upload Content

‌✅‌ How to handle Single and Multiple Microsoft Form File Uploads

‌✅‌ How to use a Scope action to Organize and Group Your Flow Actions

‌✅‌ How to Get the File Content from an MS Form File Upload

‌✅‌ How to Collect All Files Uploaded to a MS Form and Attach to an Email

‌✅‌ How to Handle MS Form Response When a File Isn’t Uploaded

‌✅‌ How to Create an Email Key

‌✅‌ How to Send an Email to a Specific Recipient Based on Form Selection

‌✅‌ How to Create a Dynamic Output Based on Form Selection

Hope this helps!

If I helped you solve your problem—please mark my post as a solution ✅.
Consider giving me a 👍 if you liked my response!

👉 Level up your Power Automate skills by checking out my tutorials on YouTube
👉 Tips and Tricks on TikTok and Instagram

[v-qiaqi-msft]

HI @SCastille,

Just write the following expression in the Create Item DueDate field:

if(equals(outputs('Get_response_details')?['body/ra66dc3ce64ec4c63af091d4ced99b95c'],''),null,outputs('Get_response_details')?['body/ra66dc3ce64ec4c63af091d4ced99b95c'])

[SCastille]

Thank you for this response.  I found it posted elsewhere after I posted. Unfortunately, this solution does not work.  It continued to ask for the output to be in the proper format.  It does not like null.  Instead I had to feed it an actual date for it to work.  In the end, we used a date of 12/31/2199.  It is a field in our SP list that will not be used for any calculations.  I hate putting in erroneous data just to get around a programming issue, but it is what it is.  The solution above does not work for dates.

[SCastille]

Thank you for your response.  Unfortunately, this does not work for the date field.  It continued to give me the format error.  It does not like null as a value.  I had to insert a fictious date, which is certainly not the best solution, but it was the only workaround we could come up with.  The field is not used for any type of calculations, so it was safe to do so.

[creativeopinion]

@SCastille Are you using the formatDateTime() function with the dynamic content? I successfully added an item to my SP list where the form included a date and also where the form didn't include a date. LMK!

[SCastille]

I tried the formatDatetime function within the if statement and it still didnt' work.  I think I tried something like:

If(empty(dynamic field),null,formatDatetime(dynamic field))

I think I even tried wrapping the entire if statement in the formatDatetime function and that did not work either. 😕  

This is what I have currently in Compose:

if(empty(outputs('Get_response_details')?['body/r8ae5324f769b467c95150e70b48f5ca8']),'12/31/2199',outputs('Get_response_details')?['body/r8ae5324f769b467c95150e70b48f5ca8'])

[creativeopinion]

@SCastille You shouldn't need to use the formatDateTime() function on the value. It doesn't seem necessary (at least from my testing).

What worked for me is this expression—you'd need to replace the blue text with the output from your form:

if(empty(outputs('Get_response_details')?['body/rfa4feb1c41224f96bcfc2e2e5bf87eb6']),null,outputs('Get_response_details')?['body/rfa4feb1c41224f96bcfc2e2e5bf87eb6'])

If you are using the New Designer in your flow, could you try switching to the Classic Designer? The New Designer is still buggy—especially when it comes to using the MS Form Trigger and Action.

Hope this helps!

If I helped you solve your problem—please mark my post as a solution ✅.
Consider giving me a 👍 if you liked my response!

👉 Level up your Power Automate skills by checking out my tutorials on YouTube
👉 Tips and Tricks on TikTok and Instagram

[SCastille]

No.  That solution does not work.  The error returns:

The 'inputs.parameters' of workflow operation 'Create_SP_item' of type 'OpenApiConnection' is not valid. Error details: Input parameter 'item/DueDate' is required to be of type 'String/date'. The runtime value '""' to be converted doesn't have the expected format 'String/date'.

Here is what I used:  

if(empty(outputs('Get_response_details')?['body/r8ae5324f769b467c95150e70b48f5ca8']),null,outputs('Get_response_details')?['body/r8ae5324f769b467c95150e70b48f5ca8'])

And I switched over to the classic designer.  

FTR, this is a group form, posting to a group SP site.  If that makes any difference.  I just cannot get this solution to work and I have searched for hours and it seems to work for everyone else.  Very frustrating!