Date is correct but output states false

[RezzaB]

Hi 

Flow saves and the test succeeds but the date in the flow states false but it should be true and an email should be sent. I am not sure why it is saying false?

Here is the list:

Here is the flow:

Here is the flow

Other people have provided me other ways to do this flow, but they have been complicated and still do not work for me no matter what I do. I would like a simple flow to send a email when the date in the list is todays date. I have seen a youtube of this exact flow and works but just will not for me!!

Cheers,

Renee

[RezzaB]

Hi @creativeopinion . I have had a play with the flow today and when the flow emails the manager 3 days before the birthday, and I add birthday  (from dynamic content) in the email, the flow automatically adds apply to each. Then when I test this I receive loads of the same email.  Do I need to do another compose action to retrieve the birthdate, then use this output in the  send email to stop this happening? 

Cheers,

Renee

[creativeopinion · Accepted solution]

You need to refer to my post from Sunday. Your send email action is incorrect.

You can't use dynamic content from the Get Items action. You need to use a expression to access the values from the Filter Array action. 

Take a look at your Apply to Each action. What is it looping though? It is looping through all the values in your SharePoint list, NOT the items that have been filtered. 

This is why you are getting tons of emails. You are getting emails for each item in your SharePoint list, when you should be getting an email for each FILTERED ITEM. 

[RezzaB]

Makes sense. I have got it working by adding the compose - dynamic date to the email

Can I ask you another quesiton please....What if I want an email to be sent 3 days prior and on the day of the birthday? Do I branch the flow? 

Cheers,

Renee

[RezzaB]

Hi @creativeopinion , I worked it out myself, and it worked

Thanks for your assitance with this workflow. I have learnt a lot. Now to replicate this flow for many other HR actions they rely on dates... 

Cheers,

Renee

[creativeopinion]

No you don't need to branch the flow. That would be unnecessary and extra work also inefficient cause 3 days and on the day don't happen in parallel. It's either 3 days before or on the day.

So you just need to do a check for the birthdate using a switch action. Add a variable to your flow which you'll use to store the text you'd like to use: 

• 3 Days
• Today

And just replace the content in your email with the variable so it outputs the proper text. 

I will update the original post with instructions on how to do this.

[creativeopinion]

@RezzaB 
Please refer to the original post for additional instructions on how to handle sending for birthdays 3 days prior and today.

Also, could you please do me a favour and mark the original response as the solution as that post includes all the instructions someone would need to build the flow.

Thanks!

[RezzaB]

Hi @creativeopinion , Thanks. I am following your updated instructions and it won't work, it is saying the condition is too complex or invalid. 

Cheers,

Renee

[creativeopinion]

Sorry if my instructions weren't clear, I will go back to update. It looks almost correct. Once you have an expression that contains more than one condition you will not be able to switch back to basic mode. 

You are missing an or after the @ symbol.

[RezzaB]

Hi @creativeopinion . I'm lost after initialize & set variables. I think I have added the Initialize variable correctly. Where do I add the condition - birthday today? Where have all the compose actions gone from the original flow? 

Cheers,

Renee

[creativeopinion]

Yes the initialize variable is correct. as long as it's in the root of the flow. Sorry for the confusion. I've updated the screenshots and instructions. Should be more clear.

[RezzaB]

Hi @creativeopinion I am still lost... 

What values go into the Birthday Today Condition?

Is Append to String Variable the correct Variable?

I am not sure what you man by toLower() function? Where is this created?

I am sorry for all the questions 🙂

[creativeopinion]

No worries. I might not have been clear in the instructions. Although I would encourage you to take a bit of time to understand how the flow is working and the logic behind it. This will help you when you are designing future flows or if you need to make an adjustment to the current flow.

I've updated the original post with additional instructions that should help. 

Good luck.

[RezzaB]

Hi @creativeopinion . Thank you. I am nearly there!

The flow worked for Today's birthday, but didn't for 3 days.

Is it to do with the variable? Which one do I select:

Also, how do I add paragraphs to the email? The email is sent in one line

Also, I have booked into Power Automate training. I really apprciate your help though. And I am learning from the guidance you are providing form this flow.

Cheers,

Renee

[creativeopinion]

I'm unclear on what part of the flow is not working. When you said it didn't work for 3 days. What do you mean? That it didn't send a notification for those birthday's that were coming up in three days? If that's the case, you need to go back to the Adding a Filter Array – To Filter By Two Dates portion of the instructions.

Ensure Filter Array is Filtering Out the Correct Items

You will need to ensure that Filter Array action is working properly before moving on. You need to add some test items into your list that fit your filter criteria to see if your filter array action is working. If it works it should return items where the birthdate is today and in 3 days. Only then can you move on with the rest of your flow.

Condition Check

The condition you add is being added AFTER you've filtered out the items. In your case, your Filter Array should only have items where:

• The birthdate is equal to today
• The birthdate is in 3 days

You only need one condition check. Either or. In my instructions I'm checking to see if the birthdate is equal to today, if not.. that means the birthdate is in 3 days. One or the other. Review the instructions again. 

If you want to add space between the paragraphs you need to use HTML.