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Checking if the field/column is empty before starting the approval

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Posted on by andjelamiha97

Hi! I have a scenario if you could help with that. I have a list with 4 columns "Application name" and a person column "Approver", a person column "Provisioner 1", and another person column "Provisioner 2". Specific people are assigned for all 3 person columns. When an item is created, i want it to start and wait on approval and send it to the assigned "approver" first, then once approved to start and wait for an approval again and send it to the assigned "provisioner 1", and then once that one is approved, start and wait for a third approval and send it to the "provisioner 2".

I got the first 2 approvals to work, but i am having issues with the third approval that is pulling the information from the "Provisioner 2" column. This column has people assigned to it, but some are blank, non assigned. I would like for the flow to check if anyone is assigned first. If yes, move it forward and send it to that last person "Provisioner 2" for final approval. If no one is assigned, i would just like for the flow to be done or whatever else is needed to make the flow be done, if that makes sense. I have followed your video for multi-select approvals with compose, select and join. I just can't figure out how to check if the column is empty (does not contain an assigned person), before starting and waiting for an approval for the "provisioner2". Would anyone be able to help with that?

Please see below the error i receive.

This is my flow before it is ran.

Please note "Provisioning1" in the flow is "Provisioner2" column i was referring to.

@RezaDorrani @ScottShearer @Pieter_Veenstra @Pstork1

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Sundeep_Malik 6,484 on at

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Re: Checking if the field/column is empty before starting the approval

Hey @andjelamiha97
Try using this:
Initialize an empty string variable. And compare the values to it.
Or initialize an empty array and compare it with it:

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andjelamiha97 53 on at

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Re: Checking if the field/column is empty before starting the approval

Hi! Thank you! Do i initialize a variable before my condition 3 or? And would you please be able to tell me what specific info is in the initialize a variable and the condition field? I am not able to see, sorry!

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Sundeep_Malik 6,484 on at

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Re: Checking if the field/column is empty before starting the approval

Hey @andjelamiha97
You can initialize the variable in the starting as well as before the compose too. Just make sure you dont do it inside an apply to each action, otherwise it wont let you.
I have kept initialize field empty.
After that in the condition I am comparing the output of the previous compose(in your case email), to the above initialized variable.

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andjelamiha97 53 on at

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Re: Checking if the field/column is empty before starting the approval

I tried that and it still comes back as false every time. I initialized a variable at the beginning and then compared it in the condition to the output of select.

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Sundeep_Malik 6,484 on at

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Re: Checking if the field/column is empty before starting the approval

@andjelamiha97
I hope you took the array variable, not string. Because its working for me.

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Pstork1 68,678 Most Valuable Professional on at

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Re: Checking if the field/column is empty before starting the approval

If Provisioning 2 is a multiselect column then the people will come in as an array. To test for an empty array use the Length() function. If Length(<<arrayvalue>>) = 0 then the array is empty. Add that test as the first condition in Condition 3 and set the conditions to And. It tests the conditions in order but since its and it will only test until it finds a false. So if the array is empty it will automatically go to Update Item instead of sending another Approval.

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