Print selected items from a form into approval notification.

[KHines]

I have a sequential approval flow for a submitted list item. When a user submits a document, they select departments that the document impacts (45 total departments to choose from). I would like to show only the impacted departments in the approval notification for each approval. 

The approval flow is sequential.

Would like the formatting to be:
Effected Depts: DeptX, DeptY, etc

By no means am I a coding expert but rather know enough to be dangerous so please explain in simple newbie terms.

[Andrew_J]

@KHines 

The subject is confusing but I belive I understand the body of the query.  But to ensure I have this correct I shall put it my own words:

An internal user uses a SharePoint List to upload one or many docments.  In the list is a multi select the departments that need to review the document or documents.

And you want to send an individual approval to each department to aprove or not as the case maybe.

If this is the case then we maybe able to assist but you need to give me more information on the approval process, like do all of the departments need to approve the documents before they can be issued externally or would five of ten be good to issue.  Do certian departments need to approve first with others being last.   How are any changes being undertaken and where will thse take place.

I do not want to provide an answer that may not give you the right information but looking at this it is likley that I will be unable to complete this.  And you being a New Member this type of Flow seems to a very complicated one to start off on.

Regards,

Andrew

[KHines]

A person uploads a document and provides information about the document in a form ie; first suspense date, action date, summary of the document etc. They then select departments that the document effects or has tasks to accomplish.

The approvers are established and are not affected by the inputs. 

Approvers would like to know which depts are effected/tasked when approving.

I would like to list those selected depts in the approval notification.

[Andrew_J]

@KHines 

So that is helping more.  Your List has the standard entry form per the below:

They upload the attachment that requires approval and complete the necessary information that is required. 

If as you said above you have 45 departments that need to be involved in the process, I see that as not being a problem but it is who in that department receives the approval request and then how the results are recorded back in the master list before the document can be issued.  If you say we use a shared email of for department.01@domain.com then that will go to many.  But an approval needs to go to person1@domain.com and person2@domain.com.  Therefore others or I need to know this before we can proceed.  But this then says to me that I am going to do your work for you.  And so far I have spent 30-60 minutes on this.  However if I have more information I can advise and send you in the right direction to try yourself.  Look at the following for this:

Task	FLOW Operation
Collect Data and File	SP List
Send for Approval	SP List and Aproval Action
Record Responces	SP List

That is why I said this seems a simple process to talk about, it is less so when you try to put the automation in. 

Regards,

Andrew

[KHines]

See the form below:

When a user selects/toggles those depts I want to notify the approver that those depts are impacted. Regardless of which depts are toggled the notification always goes to the same approver. I want to show the approver which depts are toggled in his approval notification.

Basically what I need is an expression IF selected append depts to string to add the dynamic content to the approvers Power automate notification/email.

[Andrew_J]

@KHines 

That has provided me a better understanding.  But this is all about the Deptments as per the below:

I have checked in MS Forms but cannot see a way of recreating the above.  How have you created the above and if you have used the SP List form, which column type have you used below.

We will get there with this. 

Andrew

[KHines]

The column is a Yes/No data type.

The form is a Power app form

Basically what I think I need is an expression IF selected append depts to string to add the dynamic content to the approvers Power automate notification/email.

[Andrew_J]

@KHines 

Okay now I understand.  I will say PowerApps are not my thing.  But I think you bering with me on this if the Kudos are to be element of trust between us.

The user of the PowerApp does the selection, updloads the docment, adds any other data, then presess send or submit, this populates the SP List behind.  I am assuming that each department has its own Y or N column.  You may also have a seperate SP List for the approvers of each department that is referenced by the PowerApp as I think you can have multiple sources in that package. 

If the above is generally true then we need to use both SP List to construct your flow.  But I think from above that each department operates in a silo, i.e. they do not interact and are not relient on others to complete an approval before the next one starts their approval.

I think you are going to need to have 45 indivual paralle branches with a condition on each to test the Y part fo the Y or N outcome of the department choice. A bit like the following:

Data

flow

But you then need to refrence the list of department emails into the equation.

Is the above where you were lookign to get to with this question.

Regards,

Andrew

[KHines]

WOW, so once I define those departments with a true value in compose, I assume I have to append a string to build the list of depts that are selected so that my approver knows what depts are selected?

[Andrew_J]

@KHines 

No the compose was to check the VERY BASIC flow was working as follows:

so the data for the ID 05 below was:

The result of the flow was as follows:

This proved that the BASIC FLOW worked and that parralle branches were the way to go for you.

It is up to you to take forward and add the approval process in each departments branch and work out the email side of things.  As much as we are getting on okay I am not going to do all of this for you.  But do come back to me once you are much further forward and have one, two or three branches in that you have tested.

Regards,

Andrew

[KHines]

Their is not a different approval branch, Im just trying to collect and collate the depts that are selected. If 10 of the 45 depts are selected I want to collect that information to add to the email.

I want to add this information to the pictured notification below;

Departments Selected: DEPTX, DEPTY, DEPTXX