web
You’re offline. This is a read only version of the page.
close
Skip to main content

Announcements

Welcome to the Power Platform Communities
News and Announcements icon
Community site session details

Community site session details

Session Id :
Power Platform Community / Forums / Power Automate / Help Create flow with ...
Power Automate
Unanswered

Help Create flow with EXCEL - Perform a data query.

(0) ShareShare
ReportReport
Posted on by JuanManuelA 34


Hello, I'm new to using Power Automate Desktop.

 

I would like to create a flow:

 

1. Open a text input where you can put text and hit ENTER.
2. Find that information in an excel like this:

3.a If it finds a value equal to the one provided to the Input text, a dialog box with the entire Row will be displayed on the screen.

3.b. It will show a message on the screen saying something "No field with that value was found."


Below is an example of my real practical case:

I provide any field in the input text, but in this case, for example, in the input text I put the IP (RED MARK) and I want the output message to be the entire row (BLUE MARK)  where that IP  is located.

JuanManuelA_2-1712049888999.png

 



Categories:
Power Automate Desktop
  • Agnius Bartninkas Profile Picture
    Agnius Bartninkas Most Valuable Professional on at

    Have you tried doing anything yourself already? These forums are meant to help you when you get stuck, and not really for having other people build solutions for you for free. This is a community forum for finding answers to specific questions.

     

    I'll provide some guidance, but please put in some effort yourself before asking further questions.

     

    To provide inputs to your flow, you can use the Display input dialog action under the Message boxes actions group.

    To find a value in an Excel file, you will first need to open the file via the Launch Excel action, and then use Find and replace cells in Excel worksheet. This will return a row index that you can use to check if it found anything (in an If condition action), and also can be used in a Read from Excel worksheet action to retrieve the other values of the same row and display them to you.

  • JuanManuelA Profile Picture
    JuanManuelA 34 on at

    Hello @Agnius ,

    Yes, I have tried to do everything I know with my little knowledge.
    I exhausted options, I watched videos, I read posts, but I can't reproduce my case.

    I always tend to fight with the problem.

    But I wanted to make a simpler post so that it is well understood, since in previous posts of mine that you can see with Power Automate Cloud I tend to provide a lot of information and it does not seem to be very effective in helping to solve the problem.

    I attach my current progress with my flow:

    JuanManuelA_0-1712050976287.png

     



  • Agnius Bartninkas Profile Picture
    Agnius Bartninkas Most Valuable Professional on at

    Well, you are missing a few actions there. You have two options:

    1. Since you are already reading the entire data table into %ExcelTable%, you could use Find or replace in data table instead of Find and replace in Excel worksheet. This will return row indexes for your data table. You can then use them to return the values to you and you can pass them into the message box.
    2. If you removed the Read from Excel worksheet action, and simply used the Find and replace in Excel worksheet, you would then need to add another Read from Excel worksheet that only reads the one row, using the row index for the match, instead of reading the entire sheet.
  • JuanManuelA Profile Picture
    JuanManuelA 34 on at

    Hi @Agnius 

    This is my current flow.

    JuanManuelA_0-1712053433743.png

     



    Due to my limited knowledge, I do not understand the part of how to carry out this flow, but especially the part of getting the entire row of the value that matches the search.

    Could you send a screenshot of what any of the cases would look like?
    I really didn't understand how to do it, but maybe this way you can guide me.



  • Agnius Bartninkas Profile Picture
    Agnius Bartninkas Most Valuable Professional on at

    You will need to use the row index from %DataTableMatches%. It is a data table of its own that will contain column and row indexes for each match. So, you can get the first match as %DataTableMatches[0]['Row']%. 

     

    Now, before you do that, you need a condition to check if it found any matches. So, use an If condition and check if %DataTableMatches.RowsCount% is greater than 0. If it is, then you found some matches and you can proceed further. If it's not greater to 0, it did not find any matches, and you should use the default message you defined earlier.

     

    Now, if you do get some matches, use Convert text to number first on %DataTableMatches[0]['Row']% to convert it to a numeric index. No idea why the product people at Microsoft thought it was a good idea to store indexes as strings, but they did that, and we need to convert them to make any use of them.

     

    After you have converted it and stored it, for example, in %RowIndex%, you can use it to retrieve your row. %ExcelData[RowIndex]% will return the entire row. You can push that to your Display message action.

  • CU16071609-1 Profile Picture
    CU16071609-1 6,255 Moderator on at

    @JuanManuelA 

    I have slightly modified your workflow:

    Deenuji_0-1712054674492.png

     

    Code:

    Excel.LaunchExcel.LaunchAndOpenUnderExistingProcess Path: $'''C:\\Deenu\\Asset Details.xlsx''' Visible: True ReadOnly: False Instance=> ExcelInstance
Excel.ReadFromExcel.ReadAllCells Instance: ExcelInstance ReadAsText: False FirstLineIsHeader: True RangeValue=> ExcelData
Display.InputDialog Title: $'''Enter''' Message: $'''Enter the text to search in excel''' InputType: Display.InputType.SingleLine IsTopMost: False UserInput=> InputQuery ButtonPressed=> ButtonPressed
Variables.FindOrReplaceInDataTable.FindItemInDataTableByColumnIndex DataTable: ExcelData AllMatches: True ValueToFind: InputQuery MatchCase: False MatchEntireCellContents: False ColumnNameOrIndex: 1 DataTableMatches=> DataTableMatches
LOOP FOREACH CurrentItem IN DataTableMatches
 SET RowNo TO CurrentItem['Row']
 Text.ToNumber Text: RowNo Number=> RowAsNumber
 Display.ShowMessageDialog.ShowMessage Title: $'''Info''' Message: $'''Name PC: %ExcelData[RowAsNumber][0]%
SERIAL NUMBER: %ExcelData[RowAsNumber][4]%
MODEL PC: %ExcelData[RowAsNumber][4]%
''' Icon: Display.Icon.None Buttons: Display.Buttons.OK DefaultButton: Display.DefaultButton.Button1 IsTopMost: False ButtonPressed=> ButtonPressed2
END

     

    How to copy/paste the above code into your power automate desktop?

    Deenuji_1-1712054758657.gif

     


    Thanks,
    Deenuji Loganathan 👩‍💻
    Automation Evangelist 🤖
    Follow me on LinkedIn 👥

    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    If I've helped solve your query, kindly mark my response as the solution ✔ and give it a thumbs up!👍 Your feedback supports future seekers 🚀

  • JuanManuelA Profile Picture
    JuanManuelA 34 on at

    @Deenuji 

    Hello @Deenuji 

    The problem that arises is that I have several sheets in Excel, all with the same format but I need the query to be in the ENTIRE BOOK

    Could you guide me again?

    JuanManuelA_0-1712056156587.png

     








  • VishnuReddy1997 Profile Picture
    VishnuReddy1997 2,666 Super User 2026 Season 1 on at

    Hi @JuanManuelA ,

     

    Please find the attached solution.

     

    VishnuReddy1997_0-1712056115685.pngVishnuReddy1997_1-1712056135425.png

     

    Please copy and paste the below code into you new flow.

    Code:

     

    Display.InputDialog Title: $'''Please Provide the IP''' InputType: Display.InputType.SingleLine IsTopMost: False UserInput=> UserInput ButtonPressed=> ButtonPressed3
    Excel.LaunchExcel.LaunchAndOpenUnderExistingProcess Path: $'''C:\\Users\\OneDrive\\Desktop\\Power Automate Desktop\\Practice\\Database\\Excel A.xlsx''' Visible: True ReadOnly: False Instance=> ExcelInstance
    Excel.ReadFromExcel.ReadAllCells Instance: ExcelInstance ReadAsText: False FirstLineIsHeader: True RangeValue=> ExcelData
    Excel.FindAndReplace.FindSingle Instance: ExcelInstance TextToFind: UserInput MatchCase: False MatchEntireCellContents: False SearchBy: Excel.SearchOrder.Rows FoundColumnIndex=> FoundColumnIndex FoundRowIndex=> FoundRowIndex
    IF FoundRowIndex <> 0 THEN
    Excel.ReadFromExcel.ReadCells Instance: ExcelInstance StartColumn: $'''A''' StartRow: FoundRowIndex EndColumn: $'''M''' EndRow: FoundRowIndex ReadAsText: False FirstLineIsHeader: False RangeValue=> Output_Data
    Display.ShowMessageDialog.ShowMessage Message: Output_Data Icon: Display.Icon.None Buttons: Display.Buttons.OK DefaultButton: Display.DefaultButton.Button1 IsTopMost: False ButtonPressed=> ButtonPressed4
    ELSE
    Display.ShowMessageDialog.ShowMessage Message: $'''No field with that value was found.''' Icon: Display.Icon.None Buttons: Display.Buttons.OK DefaultButton: Display.DefaultButton.Button1 IsTopMost: False ButtonPressed=> ButtonPressed4
    END
    Excel.CloseExcel.CloseAndSave Instance: ExcelInstance

     


    (Note:- if you got your solution you can mark as solution and gives kudos)

     

    Thanks & Regards

    Vishnu Reddy

     

     

  • JuanManuelA Profile Picture
    JuanManuelA 34 on at

    Hello @VishnuReddy1997 

    The problem that arises is that I have several sheets in Excel, all with the same format but I need the query to be in the ENTIRE BOOK

    Could you guide me again?

    JuanManuelA_0-1712056534660.png

     

     

  • VishnuReddy1997 Profile Picture
    VishnuReddy1997 2,666 Super User 2026 Season 1 on at

    Hi @JuanManuelA ,

     

    Please find the updated code for all sheets.

     

    VishnuReddy1997_0-1712057653097.png

     

    VishnuReddy1997_1-1712057704784.png

     

    Please copy and paste the below code into you new flow.

    Code:

     

    Display.InputDialog Title: $'''Please Provide the IP''' InputType: Display.InputType.SingleLine IsTopMost: False UserInput=> UserInput ButtonPressed=> ButtonPressed3
    Excel.LaunchExcel.LaunchAndOpenUnderExistingProcess Path: $'''C:\\Users\\OneDrive\\Desktop\\Power Automate Desktop\\Practice\\Database\\Excel A.xlsx''' Visible: True ReadOnly: False Instance=> ExcelInstance
    Excel.ReadFromExcel.ReadAllCells Instance: ExcelInstance ReadAsText: False FirstLineIsHeader: True RangeValue=> ExcelData
    Excel.GetAllWorksheets Instance: ExcelInstance Worksheets=> SheetNames
    LOOP FOREACH CurrentItem IN SheetNames
    Excel.SetActiveWorksheet.ActivateWorksheetByName Instance: ExcelInstance Name: CurrentItem
    Excel.FindAndReplace.FindSingle Instance: ExcelInstance TextToFind: UserInput MatchCase: False MatchEntireCellContents: False SearchBy: Excel.SearchOrder.Rows FoundColumnIndex=> FoundColumnIndex FoundRowIndex=> FoundRowIndex
    IF FoundRowIndex <> 0 THEN
    EXIT LOOP
    END
    END
    IF FoundRowIndex <> 0 THEN
    Excel.ReadFromExcel.ReadCells Instance: ExcelInstance StartColumn: $'''A''' StartRow: FoundRowIndex EndColumn: $'''M''' EndRow: FoundRowIndex ReadAsText: False FirstLineIsHeader: False RangeValue=> Output_Data
    Display.ShowMessageDialog.ShowMessage Message: Output_Data Icon: Display.Icon.None Buttons: Display.Buttons.OK DefaultButton: Display.DefaultButton.Button1 IsTopMost: False ButtonPressed=> ButtonPressed4
    ELSE
    Display.ShowMessageDialog.ShowMessage Message: $'''No field with that value was found.''' Icon: Display.Icon.None Buttons: Display.Buttons.OK DefaultButton: Display.DefaultButton.Button1 IsTopMost: False ButtonPressed=> ButtonPressed4
    END
    Excel.CloseExcel.CloseAndSave Instance: ExcelInstance

     

    (Note:- if you got your solution you can mark as solution and gives kudos)

     

    Thanks & Regards

    Vishnu Reddy

     

     

     

Under review

Thank you for your reply! To ensure a great experience for everyone, your content is awaiting approval by our Community Managers. Please check back later.

Helpful resources

News and Announcements

Welcome to the Power Platform Communities

Quick Links

Season of Sharing Community Challenge Winners!

Congratulations to our community stars!

Kudos to our 2025 Community Spotlight Honorees

Expanding mentorship, skilling, and AI innovation

Congratulations to the July Top 10 Community Leaders!

These are the community rock stars!

Leaderboard > Power Automate

#1
11manish Profile Picture

11manish 227 Super User 2026 Season 2

#2
David_MA Profile Picture

David_MA 213 Super User 2026 Season 2

#3
Mohsin Ali Profile Picture

Mohsin Ali 151

Last 30 days Overall leaderboard

Featured topics

Known issue with browser automation in Power Automate for Desktop on Google Chrome 146 and 147
Share your ideas and struggles with building Power Automate flows!
Survey: Power Automate mobile app
How to Ask for Help with Your Power Automate Workflow
Start and wait for an approval action
Restore a deleted flow
List of actions cheat sheet for Power Automate Desktop
Welcome to the Power Automate forum!

Product updates

Microsoft Power Platform Community release plans