Having trouble creating a new page in a OneNote section if the Section name already exists, if not, create the Section.

[miaroze]

Hi all, 

I am very new to using Power Automate and I am attempting to use a form trigger to create sections and pages in a Notebook depending on if that section name exists or not. I have tested my condition using only sections and it worked (although with many errors). 

If a Section already has the same name as an answer to my form, then it should create a new page inside said Section.

If a Section does not exist with the same name as an answer to my form, then it should create a new Section with said name.

I cannot get a page to create under a section when inside my condition.

Please help!

Thank you!

[creativeopinion · Accepted solution]

@miaroze You can improve the efficiency of your flow if you use a Filter Array action instead of looping through each section returned from the Get sections in notebook action and running a check to see if the section already exists.

I would recommend using a manual trigger in your flow so you can quickly run tests rather than needing to leave Power Automate to fill out a form. I cover how to do that in this section of one of my YT Tutorials.

Whenever I use a Filter Array action, I always like to return the count of items returned in a Compose action. This is helpful when building a flow and can also be used to troubleshoot your flow.

Insert a Compose action. Add an Expression. Use the length() function.

Select the Dynamic content tab and insert the body dynamic content from the Filter Array action into the length() function.

Run a test. Review the output of the Compose action. It's important to note that the Filter Array action is case sensitive. I'm unsure if the dynamic content you are using from the Get Response Details action is a choice selection or a manual entry. You'll need to account for whether or not the values will actually match since you are using the is equal to operator. 

Add a Condition action to your flow. If items have returned (aka there is number stored in the Compose action—that is not equal to 0), add the rest of your actions to the Yes branch. If not, do nothing.

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

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Microsoft OneNote + Power Automate: Automate New Pages WEEKLY!

In this Microsoft Power Automate video tutorial I’ll show you how to create a simple and customizable automation that will create a new page in Microsoft OneNote every Monday.

This flow will name your page for you so you don’t have to. If you have a page template you use—I’ll show you how you can create a new page based off of an existing page template. As a bonus I will show you how to dynamically select a notebook so you won’t ever need to edit your flow. Save time and boost your productivity with this easy-to-create Microsoft Power Automate Flow. If you want to learn how to automatically create Monthly Sections in a OneNote Notebook, make sure to watch THIS VIDEO

IN THIS VIDEO:

✅ Get the Date of a Specific Day of the Week Expression

✅ How to get the API URL of a OneNote Section Page

✅ How to Automatically Create a New OneNote Page Every Week

✅ How to Use the Power Automate Get Page Content Action

✅ How to Create a OneNote Page with Content from a Different Page

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

[miaroze]

Thank you so much! Using that and your video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbEJ-P5Zji8&t=133s 

I figured out how to get the pages in the sections I wanted!

[creativeopinion]

@miaroze Great! No worries! Glad you figured it out!