Answered

Concatenate expression for dynamic name field

(0) Share

Report

Posted on by KellyHickman

I have this expression that returns a displayname field from this: Hickman, Kelly to this: Kelly Hickman

concat(split(triggerOutputs()?['body/Assignedto0/DisplayName'], ' ')[sub(length(split(triggerOutputs()?['body/Assignedto0/DisplayName'], ' ')), 1)], ' ', split(triggerOutputs()?['body/Assignedto0/DisplayName'], ',')[0])

Works great. My issue is when my displayname has a middle initial: Christensen, Deborah A. It returns A Christensen.

How would I get the expression to capture the firstname lastname in both situations and disregard the middle initial?

Categories:

General topics

I have the same question (0)

All responses (6)

Answers (1)

Nived_Nambiar 18,136 Super User 2026 Season 1 on at

Like (0)

Report
Copy link

Link copied!

Hi @KellyHickman

in case of Christensen, Deborah A , should the output be Deborah A Christensen or Deborah Christensen

Thanks & Regards,
Nived N 🚀

LinkedIn: Nived N's LinkedIn
YouTube: Nived N's YouTube Channel

🔍 Found my answer helpful? Please consider marking it as the solution!
Your appreciation keeps me motivated. Thank you! 🙌

Was this reply helpful? Yes No
KellyHickman on at

Like (0)

Report
Copy link

Link copied!

She would accept either. Thank you for the assistance.

Was this reply helpful? Yes No
Nived_Nambiar 18,136 Super User 2026 Season 1 on at

Like (0)

Report
Copy link

Link copied!

Hi @KellyHickman

placing the name in compose action like below

used below expression in another compose action

Expression - join(reverse(split(outputs('Compose_-_name'),',')),' ')

Output

Other form of output (ignoring middlename in output)

Expression -

concat(first(split(trim(split(outputs('Compose_-_name'),',')?[1]),decodeUriComponent('%20'))),' ',first(split(outputs('Compose_-_name'),',')))

Output >

Thanks & Regards,
Nived N 🚀

LinkedIn: Nived N's LinkedIn
YouTube: Nived N's YouTube Channel

🔍 Found my answer helpful? Please consider marking it as the solution!
Your appreciation keeps me motivated. Thank you! 🙌

Was this reply helpful? Yes No
KellyHickman on at

Like (0)

Report
Copy link

Link copied!

I appreciate the help Nived, but where does this go in my flow? I still have other names that need to be fed into the email and if I'm specifically adjusting Deborah's name, what happens to the other names?

If I set it up as you've detailed, this is what I think it looks like in my Flow. The issue comes in the Send email step. Any number of names could be fed to that email, I need that expression in the body of the email to reflect firstname lastname. The expression I currently have in the body of the email does that for me, except for Deborah's middle initial situation. How would I edit that expression in the body of the email to reflect the new Compose steps I just added?

Was this reply helpful? Yes No
Verified answer

Nived_Nambiar 18,136 Super User 2026 Season 1 on at

Like (1)

Report
Copy link

Link copied!

Hi your expression seems to be not handling the case of middle name as it is taking last word after splitting with space as first name which is not same when middle initial is there.

In the current expression which I have shared, replace the compose outputs with this triggeroutputs in your case

concat(first(split(trim(split( triggerOutputs()?['body/Assignedto0/DisplayName'],',')?[1]),decodeUriComponent('%20'))),' ',first(split(triggerOutputs()?['body/Assignedto0/DisplayName'],',')))

Thanks & Regards,
Nived N 🚀

LinkedIn: Nived N's LinkedIn
YouTube: Nived N's YouTube Channel

🔍 Found my answer helpful? Please consider marking it as the solution!
Your appreciation keeps me motivated. Thank you! 🙌

Was this reply helpful? Yes No
KellyHickman on at

Like (0)

Report
Copy link

Link copied!

Works perfectly! Thank you so much!

Was this reply helpful? Yes No