Building flow with Forms + Excel for email list management: Subscribe/Un-subscribe

(0) Share

Report

Posted on by ML-04121905-0

I'm attempting to build a flow to automate Excel table updates based on MS Form fills. The intent is to manage Email list of internal colleagues who wish to subscribe or un-subscribe from a newsletter.

here's the intent of my flow:

1. Form submissions collects email and Subscribe / un-subscribe preference

2a. If email does not exist on Excel table, then add new row

2b. If email does exist on Excel table, then update the row with subscribe status.

Attached photo of flow

However, every time I run my flow, it only adds a new Excel row -- it never updates a row as I am hoping. I'm attaching my flow in images. Co-pilot is telling me this flow should work as I intend, but I can't figure out why it is still not working.

Any guidance is appreciated!

Categories:

Business Process Flows

Screenshot 2025-1...

I have the same question (0)

All responses (4)

Answers (0)

Suggested answer

Michael E. Gernaey 52,851 Super User 2025 Season 2 on at

Like (1)

Report

Building flow with Forms + Excel for email list management: Subscribe/Un-subscribe

Hi @ML-04121905-0

What we really need to see:

1. Your Condition, because that is what is causing it to go to the wrong area and not update as you want

2. A flow run, where you expected it to do an update and it did not. We need to see what the condition was and the values etc you are comparing

Please share your Condition expression

Please then go into your flow and put a Compose above your Condition, inside of it, put the values you are trying to compare with the following format so we can catch spaces

--FormValue--ValueComparedTo--

Just like that, where the -- are there and just typed in so we can see if either has a space and or you can see if the Caps is causing a disconnect.

You may simply have case issues but doing the above will tell you in 1 minute because all you need to do is add the compose, and then resubmit an existing one that you considered "failed" and bingo you will see why.

That or you are going to the correct Condition side, BUT its not finding the record you are looking for, which could be an issue with caching.

Are you updating some external Excel that already exists right?

If these suggestions help resolve your issue, Please consider Marking the answer as such and also maybe a like.

Thank you!
Sincerely, Michael Gernaey

Was this reply helpful? Yes No
Power Robo 11 on at

Like (0)

Report

Building flow with Forms + Excel for email list management: Subscribe/Un-subscribe

I think the issue is happening because Excel doesn’t really update a row unless you give it the exact Row ID. So even though the logic looks right, the flow probably never finds the correct row to update, so it just keeps adding new ones.

What I normally do in this situation is a slightly different method. I use Get rows to pull everything from the table, then I run a Filter array to check if the email already exists. I’ve found this works better because Excel doesn’t always handle the built-in filter properly.

So basically:
• If the filter array comes back empty, then I guess that email isn’t there, so just create a new row.
• If it comes back with something, then I take the ID from that first item and use that in Update a row.
Without that ID, Excel just won’t update the right record.

Once the ID is used, updates start working the way you expect and it stops creating duplicates.
This is the approach I use because it’s the most stable with Excel tables.

By the way, if this is something you’ll be using long-term, you might want to consider moving the data to a SharePoint list instead of Excel. SharePoint handles updates much better, and you don’t run into the same Row ID limitations or file-locking issues. It’s generally cleaner and more reliable for flows.

Was this reply helpful? Yes No
ML-04121905-0 5 on at

Like (0)

Report

Building flow with Forms + Excel for email list management: Subscribe/Un-subscribe

thank you, Michael.

To answer your ask:

I am attaching the condition specifics, and the Filter Array above it. At Co-Pilots suggestion, I am using filter array to match Form Email with Excel Email

To follow on your suggestion:

When I place a Compose above the condition, it only gives me one value for "input". It does not give me an option to "compare to" as filter array does.

Any feedback?

Thank you!!!

Filter array.png

Condition.png

Was this reply helpful? Yes No
ML-04121905-0 5 on at

Like (0)

Report

Building flow with Forms + Excel for email list management: Subscribe/Un-subscribe

thank you, Michael. Michael E. Gernaey

To answer your ask:

I am attaching the condition specifics, and the Filter Array above it. At Co-Pilots suggestion, I am using filter array to match Form Email with Excel Email

To follow on your suggestion:

When I place a Compose above the condition, it only gives me one value for "input". It does not give me an option to "compare to" as filter array does.

Any feedback?

Thank you!!!

Filter array.png

Condition.png

Was this reply helpful? Yes No