Numbering List Entries

[JanDras]

Hello,

I need help with assigning numbers to a SP List items.

My flow is triggered by a Form entry and those entries are then submitted to a SP list. I need to create a mechanism to number the entries starting with custom number (to continue the line that's been done manually up until now // This can be entered manually to the SP list) and with every new line that's written to the SP list I need the number to be +1 from the previous.

Would anyone know how to do this?

Thank you!

[Geeks_D · Accepted solution]

Your Sharepoint list have an ID column already inbuilt which auto increment  you could create another column in Sharepoint and add the desired prefix to the ID column to get what your desired output 

[JanDras]

Sorry that was dumb question, my bad, I guess it's time to take a break from Power Automate for today 😅

[creativeopinion]

@JanDras You need to use a Get Items action to return the last item in your list. For my example I have 5 items in my list.

Get Last Item

You'll need to specify a sort order. Ensure you are using your internal column name for the column that is storing your custom number. If you aren’t sure how to get this, please refer to this section of one of my YT tutorials.

Set a Top Count of 1.

Add a Compose action to store the number. However, because the Get Items action will always return an array of items (even if it's a single item) you will need an expression to avoid the Apply to Each action. Check out this YT Tutorial: 3 Mistakes YOU 🫵 are Making with the Apply to Each Action in your Microsoft Power Automate Flow for more tips and tricks on using the Apply to Each action.

Hover over the dynamic content label. Take a note of the text between the single quotes. You'll need this in the expression.

Delete the dynamic content and pull the Compose action outside of the Apply to Each action—delete the Apply to Each action.

Insert an expression:

?[0]['']

The zero between the square brackets indicates you want to return the first item in the array. In between the single quotes enter the dynamic content key (this is the text that was between the single quotes).

Place your cursor at the start of the expression by pressing the UP arrow key. Select the Dynamic Content tab and select the value dynamic content from the Get Items action.

Run a test. Ensure the Compose action is returning the last number from your SP list.

Increment the Number

You can essentially combine the expression into a single Compose action. However, to help you to better understand the logic, I'll use another Compose action.

Tip: Rename your actions to keep your flow organized. You'll see why later.

Add a Compose action and insert an Expression. Use the add() function.

Pay attention to the tool tip when you are composing an expression. It'll indicate the current parameter you are defining by bolding the text.

The add() function takes two parameters:

add([number1],[number2])

Select the dynamic content tab and insert the output from the compose action above.

Add a comma and insert a 1.

Run a test. Review the second Compose action outputs and ensure the number has increased by 1.

You can now use the output of the Compose action in the Create Item action. This is why it's important to rename your actions. By renaming your actions you can clearly see which dynamic content belongs with which action. 

You might also be interested in a new YT Tutorial I recently uploaded: How to Get a Microsoft Form RSVP Response into a SharePoint List

I cover the following in this video tutorial:

✅ 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

Hope this helps!

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