Flow is Not Handling Greater Than/Greater Than or Equals to Correctly

[jpreziuso]

I am new to Power Automate. I am working on a flow that has 4 conditions. The flow runs correctly however it does not seem to be adhering to the Greater Than condition. I have tried using quotes around the number and not using quotes. I have also tried doing "Greater Than 4" and "Greater Than or Equal to 5". Additionally, I have tried using int(5) as the value.

However, no matter what I have tried, the flow returns rows that have values less than 5. Can someone please explain what I am doing wrong when using this condition? 

Thanks

[creativeopinion]

@jpreziuso You need to remove the single quotes around the number and use the int() function on your dynamic content from Excel to convert the value into a number.

For more flow troubleshooting tips—check out this YT Tutorial: 5 Power Automate Troubleshooting FAQs and Helpful Tips for Creating Better Flows

In this Power Automate tutorial, I explore 5 frequently asked questions that pop up when troubleshooting a flow. If you’d like to to level up your Power Automate flow skills and learn how to troubleshoot your Power Automate flow—this tutorial is for you!

IN THIS VIDEO:

✅ How to troubleshoot a false Condition action result

✅ How to get dynamic content when it isn’t selectable from the list of dynamic content

✅ How to troubleshoot an Apply to Each action that isn’t looping through

✅ How to troubleshoot a skipped Apply to Each action

✅ How to troubleshoot a Filter Query

✅ How to use a SharePoint yes/no column in a Filter Query

✅ How to use Compose actions to troubleshoot a Power Automate flow

✅ How to troubleshoot multiple emails being sent

✅ How to troubleshoot multiple Teams messages being sent

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

[jpreziuso]

I have tried running the flow without quotes and I receive the same results

[creativeopinion]

@jpreziuso Updated my original post. Try using the int() function on your Excel value as well.

[jpreziuso]

As in int(4) or int(5)? Or does the int going around the Excel value? I have tried using int(5) and that didn't work either, I will edit the post to say that

[c_stringham_]

Hey @jpreziuso,

I can't tell without seeing your data, but I would guess that the DaysSince... field is being returned as a string rather than a number. Try doing a custom expression in the field where you have your "DaysSince" object and use the 'int' function to convert "DaysSince" to a whole number or 'float' to convert it to a decimal number.  

From there, you should be good to remove the quotes around the 4.

[jpreziuso]

Thanks for this. I changed the column in excel to be a number so that I would not have to convert it to an int in the condition. Should I change the excel column back to a string instead?

[c_stringham_]

@jpreziuso,

I wouldn't expect it to make much of a difference either way, what file time are you saving this as? XLSX or CSV?

[creativeopinion]

@jpreziuso When running into issues with your Compose action, I recommend storing the dynamic content in a Compose action to verify the output. 

For my demo, the output of the Number in my Excel table outputs a string (black text).

To convert the excel value to an integer. Use the int() function. 

Insert the Compose action output into the int() function. 

Run a test.

For more flow troubleshooting tips—check out this YT Tutorial: 5 Power Automate Troubleshooting FAQs and Helpful Tips for Creating Better Flows

In this Power Automate tutorial, I explore 5 frequently asked questions that pop up when troubleshooting a flow. If you’d like to to level up your Power Automate flow skills and learn how to troubleshoot your Power Automate flow—this tutorial is for you!

IN THIS VIDEO:

✅ How to troubleshoot a false Condition action result

✅ How to get dynamic content when it isn’t selectable from the list of dynamic content

✅ How to troubleshoot an Apply to Each action that isn’t looping through

✅ How to troubleshoot a skipped Apply to Each action

✅ How to troubleshoot a Filter Query

✅ How to use a SharePoint yes/no column in a Filter Query

✅ How to use Compose actions to troubleshoot a Power Automate flow

✅ How to troubleshoot multiple emails being sent

✅ How to troubleshoot multiple Teams messages being sent

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

[jpreziuso]

It is an xlsx file from a sharepoint site

[c_stringham_]

@jpreziuso,

I was just curious. You should still be fine either way, and like @creativeopinion was saying, using a compose actions is a great way to validate the values of dynamic expressions.

[creativeopinion]

@jpreziuso Also, it's important to note. The int() function requires a string. This means the column in your Excel table should have a value (not be empty). If you have empty cells you'll need an expression to check for an empty item first before using the int() function.

[jpreziuso]

Understood. What is the filter query expression to remove rows that have nothing? 

[creativeopinion]

@jpreziuso The List Rows Present in a Table action can only accept a single filter query. This means you can only filter on a single column. Your column names must not contain spaces. 

ColumnName ne ''

I would actually recommend not using the Condition action as you have since you are looping through every single row returned. Instead, you should use the Filter Array action to filter out the items first BEFORE looping through them. This is a lot more efficient. Although it may look like the Filter Array action can only take a single condition—it can take more than one. I cover how to add multiple conditions to a Filter Array action in the tutorial below.

To learn more about how to use the Filter Array action, please refer to this YT Tutorial: Are you using the Microsoft Power Automate Filter Array Action wrong?

In this video tutorial I’ll show you 3 practical ways to use the Filter Array action and how to use it properly.

1️⃣ Cross-Referencing Data

2️⃣ Filtering by Key

3️⃣ Substring Matching

Did you know that the Condition action has a limit of 10 conditions? Although it might look like the Filter Array action can only accept one condition—this is not true. By using the advanced mode you can enter multiple conditions into a Filter Array action with an expression.

IN THIS VIDEO:

✅ 3 Ways to Use the Filter Array Action

✅ How to use the Scope Action to Group Actions

✅ How to Check the Number of Items returned from a Filter Array Action

✅ How to Cross-Reference Data in Excel with a SharePoint List

✅ How the Filter Array Action Works

✅ How to Access the Dynamic Content from a Filter Array Action

✅ How to Filter Items by a Key

✅ How to Filter Items by Matching a Substring

✅ How to Use Multiple Conditions in a Filter Array Action

[jpreziuso]

I have a step prior to the loop that reads the data table. I would like to put a filter query expression that would filter out any rows where the 'DaysSinceReturn' column is blank

[jpreziuso]

I am unsure how to use the filter array action since my output is not an array value? 

I tried using the following filter query to remove empty rows

But I received the following error when comparing Greater Than Or Equal to. Is it because the excel value is already an integer and I am trying to convert it again?

[creativeopinion]

@jpreziuso The Filter Array action and the Filter Query are two different things. The Filter Array action is used to filter out an array of items. The List Rows Present in a table action outputs an array of items.

You would add the Filter Array action after the list rows present in a table action. 

It's unclear where the error is coming from. Are you still using a Condition or have you switched to a Filter Array action? 

[jpreziuso]

I was still using Condition. I am trying to add the List Rows Present in Table and Filter Array actions now. How do I use the Filter Array to add multiple filters to the results of the table?

[creativeopinion]

@jpreziuso

Refer to this section of this YT tutorial for how to add multiple conditions to a Filter Array action. It's important to note the error here indicates that you are trying to use the is Greater or Equals operator to compare a string and a integer. 

The is Greater or Equals operator can only be used to compare integers.

[jpreziuso]

Does the filter array need to be inside a "Apply to Each" action?