Getting "expression not valid" when attempting to append to a 2D array

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Posted on by SL-31031705-0

Hello, I have a list of names formatted as Last,First Middle. I want to parse each name into First Last and then store both the original and parsed names into an array with 2 columns. I've already figured out how to parse the names, but I'm having trouble appending items.

This is what my flow looks like:

In the Value field for the Append to variable function, this is what I put:

{
"Name":"outputs('Compose')",
"RawName":"items('Apply_to_each_3')?['Name']"
}
 
But I'm getting an error saying that my expression is invalid when I try to save it. What's wrong with my expression?
 

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11manish 3,812 on at

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Use json() expression

You can also construct the object using a single expression:

json( concat( '{"Name":"', outputs('Compose'), '","RawName":"', items('Apply_to_each_3')?['Name'], '"}' ) )

Expected array output

After each iteration, your array should look like:

[ { "Name": "John Smith", "RawName": "Smith,John A" }, { "Name": "Jane Doe", "RawName": "Doe,Jane M" } ]

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Haque 3,971 on at

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Hi @SL-31031705-0,

Are you putting the dynamic content inside quotes? I guess this quotes make them literal strings rather than expressions to be evaluated.

Instead of this:

{ "Name":"outputs('Compose')", "RawName":"items('Apply_to_each_3')?['Name']" }

Let's remove the quotes around the expression so PA treats them as expression like below:

{ "Name": outputs('Compose'), "RawName": items('Apply_to_each_3')?['Name'] }

When you work with Append to array variable action, in the Value, switch to the Expression tab for each property value. So let's enter the expressions without quotes: for Name: outputs('Compose') and for RawName: items('Apply_to_each_3')?['Name']

I am sure some clues I tried to give. If these clues help to resolve the issue brought you by here, please don't forget to check the box Does this answer your question? At the same time, I am pretty sure you have liked the response!

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