Comparing Dates in condition

[wonka1234]

Hi,

I am trying to compare two dates .

Today and "Conclusion Date" but i get the error  

Unable to process template language expressions for action 'Condition' at line '0' and column '0': 'The template language function 'less' expects two parameter of matching types. The function was invoked with values of type 'Null' and 'String' that do not match.'.

I use Compose to get todays date  - formatDateTime(utcNow(),'yyyy-MM-dd')

but my conclusion date has dates of 10/2/2023.

is this a format TYPE for each field? or could this be the DATE format? 

[wskinnermctc]

One of those two fields is empty or not returning a value.

The function was invoked with values of type 'Null' and 'String' that do not match.

See how it says one of the types was 'Null'? That means one of them doesn't have a value at all. So you are trying to compare a string/text to nothing, which isn't possible.

You need to check the outputs of that Conclusion Date or the outputs of your compose expression and see which one is not producing a value.

[RobElliott]

@wonka1234 date formats must be in the same format on both side of the condition, and both in yyyy-MM-dd format. So youu need to add a compose action and add a formatDateTime expression with the date format yyyy-MM-dd. Then use the outputs of that Compose in the condition.

Rob
Los Gallardos
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[wonka1234]

@wskinnermctc  why would it be null? in my sharepoint list this column always has values. 

@RobElliott   I have changed the format of the today date to formatDateTime(utcNow(),'MM/dd/yyyy')  to match conclusion date.

[wskinnermctc]

Show a screenshot of the compose you are using to compare with. Maybe you have the expression incorrectly put into the Compose.

You will probably need to do more adjustments to make sure you are comparing datetime to datetime. 

What is the column type of "Conclusion Date" in your sharepoint list? Is it a single line text string? Or is it a Date Time with the date only? Go look at your SharePoint list settings to see.

[wonka1234]

@wskinnermctc 

here is my compose - 

Comparison-

Conclusion DAte - DateTime Format in my list

compose value - 

I am assuming this the compare is where the error is occuring.

[wskinnermctc]

That is helpful, but can you show me what is in the SharePoint List settings that shows the column types?

Here is an example of the screen. 

SharePoint List Settings

[wonka1234]

@wskinnermctc 

does this help?

[wskinnermctc]

Yes, don't worry about formatting the utcNow() expression or using a compose.

Here is an example of a SharePoint List where I have a column "PurchaseDate" that is a Date Time type column which only has the date.

Purchase Date

If I wanted to compare which purchases were less than today it would look like this below:

Date Condition Compare

The utcNow() is by itself with no formatting.

[wonka1234]

@wskinnermctc sadly, still getting the error  

Unable to process template language expressions for action 'Condition' at line '0' and column '0': 'The template language function 'less' expects two parameter of matching types. The function was invoked with values of type 'Null' and 'String' that do not match.'.

not sure where its going wrong here..

[wskinnermctc]

If you are still getting the error then it most likely has to do with the value coming from SharePoint and/or how your flow is arranged.

Since we know the utcNow() will always have a value, it must be the SharePoint field that is the problem.

You will have to show more of your flow for me to determine the error. I'm guessing it has something to do with your Apply to Each and what is the source being used for the Dynamic Content of the Conclusion Date.

[wonka1234]

@wskinnermctc  its pretty basic - 

[wskinnermctc]

What is above the Apply to Each 2?

The source is where the problem will be, not anything after the Condition. So are you using like Get Items, Get Row, When an Item is Created or Modified, etc.

For some reason the ConclusionDate is blank, so need to find out why it is not carrying a value down into the Condition to be compared.

[wonka1234]

@wskinnermctc  thx for your patience.  It just reads in the the sp list - 

[wskinnermctc]

So you are possibly using the ConclusionDate from the "When an item is created or modified" and it is blank. 

If the new created item and the Get Items have the same columns, the Dynamic Content can look very similar. You need to make sure you are selecting the Dynamic Content from the Get Items. 

Your earlier screenshot appeared to be using the correct Dynamic Content. But I cant think of any reason why it would be pulling a Null value.

You could try deleting the flow and starting over. Sometimes if you make changes to the SP List or the flow, it gets kind of unconnected or doesn't recognize the changes. So deleting the steps and remaking all of them is something I do end up doing frequently.