Building a Change flow

[Deaked124]

Hi All,

Hope one of you geniuses can help.

Im just getting to grips with flows and have set up a few more basic flows

Im having an issue with the CAB list I'm looking to set up as I need a numbering so we can quickly ID the cab - This number will also hyperlink to a word document created when the form is submitted for our IMS processes.

I have a Form which takes the response details and fills out the Sharepoint list > I would to use a defined numbering for the title rather than the Form Response ID - Something like "CAB-0001" this will then continue as the numbers go up.

The list items may also be added manually without using the form so using the form ID may not be the best way as the number could duplicate.

In previous roles I have seen variables initialised and set then a switch to set up the numbering however I have since left that role and the flows with it.

Any help would be appreciated - As it stands I only have the Form > list > Sending email.

Thanks 🙂

[David_MA]

I usually use the item ID for this as it ensures the number is unique and can only be used once. So, I am not understanding you when you say, "The list items may also be added manually without using the form so using the form ID may not be the best way as the number could duplicate."

However, if you want to have control where the number starts at you could create a spreadsheet set up like this:

In your workflow you would get this row and value from the spreadsheet and then set this as an integer variable in the flow. You would then use an increment action to set the next ID. It would look something like this:

If you need to change the start for the next flow run, you update the spreadsheet to the value where you want it to start again.

[Deaked124]

Hi David_MA,

I see your point, I was thinking about the FORM-ID when a form is submitted however you are referencing the list ID.

I don't think I need the excel sheet but maybe a switch function in attempt to break down the numbering for example CAB-0001 > CAB-0010 > CAB-0100  - I may have not explained myself correctly but I have seen the switch function used to keep the formatting of the number within the four digits rather than having the CAB-1 > CAB-10

Apologies if this doesn't make sense.

[David_MA · Accepted solution]

I think I understand what you are seeking. You want the list item ID to be padded with leading zeros for consistent formatting in the view. You can achieve this with a Compose action and an expression. For demonstration purposes I used a button flow where I enter a number and formats it to what you are looking for:

The expression used in the Compose action is: 

formatNumber(triggerBody()['ID'],'0000')

You may want to consider using six zeros unless you are sure your list will not grow to more than 9,999 items. Here is something I have similar to what I think you want to achieve:

After the FOC11 or FOC12 is where I use formatNumber on the item ID to generate the unique ID. In my solution FOC is the abbreviation of the process and 11 or 12 is our two-digit company code that the item applies to.

[Deaked124]

Hi @David_MA 

Thanks for your help on this one, seem to be getting an error on the expression when trying to run.

This is how my current flow is set up.

Error details - "Unable to process template language expressions in action 'Compose' inputs at line '0' and column '0': 'The template language expression 'formatNumber(triggerBody()['ID'],'00000')' cannot be evaluated because property 'ID' doesn't exist, available properties are 'webhookId, eventType, resourceData, eventTime'. Please see https://aka.ms/logicexpressions for usage details.'."

formatNumber(triggerBody()['ID'],'00000')

Thanks for your responses on this one, it seems I'm close but I think the issue is its unable to see the field it need to log the data into.

Thanks

[David_MA]

When you are creating the formula in the expression builder, you need to replace the red section with the value from your list: formatNumber(triggerBody()['ID'],'00000'). You can get that from clicking on Dynamic Content when you are in the expression builder. This should most likely return formatNumber(triggerOutputs()?['body/ID'],'000000')

[Deaked124]

@David_MA - your a some sort of wizard I greatly appreciate your help.

[David_MA]

You are welcome. It comes from building over 200 flows so far and doing lots of reading and watching YouTube videos. You'll get the hang of Power Automate soon enough. Best of luck, David.