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Comparing date & times using greaterOrEquals()

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Posted on by JWallsKC

I have a scheduled flow where I want an action to take place if the following code in a filter array is true:

@And(
lessOrEquals(formatDateTime(item()?['DateTimeInput'], 'MM/dd/yyyy h:mm tt'), formatDateTime(convertTimeZone(utcNow(), 'UTC', 'Pacific Standard Time'), 'MM/dd/yyyy h:mm tt')), 
greaterOrEquals(formatDateTime(addMinutes(item()?['DateTimeInput'], 30), 'MM/dd/yyyy h:mm tt'), formatDateTime(convertTimeZone(utcNow(), 'UTC', 'Pacific Standard Time'), 'MM/dd/yyyy h:mm tt'))
)

In other words, if the current time is past the time listed in variable "DateTimeInput", AND not yet more than 30 minutes past, trigger the action.

Unfortunately, the function seems to be ignoring the AM/PM part? If "DateTimeInput" is set to '5/22/23 4:30 AM' and I run the flow on 5/22/23 at 4:45 PM, the function returns "true" and the flow proceeds, even though it should return "false" (the greaterOrEquals() statement should be false). The function also returns true in the reverse scenario...if "DateTimeInput" is set to '5/22/23 4:30 PM' and I run the flow on 5/22/23 at 4:45 AM.

I thought maybe it was just comparing the hours/minutes, so I tried converting the time to 24-hour format using "H:mm", and I encountered the same problem.

Is there something I'm missing as to why this doesn't run properly? Is there a better way to write it? Thanks in advance!

Here's my flow setup:

Categories:

Building flows

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v-bofeng-msft on at

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Hi @JWallsKC ,

Please try:

@And( lessOrEquals(item()?['DateTimeInput'], convertTimeZone(utcNow(), 'UTC', 'Pacific Standard Time')), greaterOrEquals(addMinutes(item()?['DateTimeInput'], 30), convertTimeZone(utcNow(), 'UTC', 'Pacific Standard Time')) )

Best Regards,
Bof

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JWallsKC 28 on at

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Thanks Bof, that seemed to do the trick. For the sake of learning, could you explain why your formula worked, and mine didn't? Does using the formatDateTime() function result in a string rather than a datetime format? I'm not sure why else my formula wouldn't work.

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v-bofeng-msft on at

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Hi @JWallsKC ,

If you only compare with time , you could try:

@And( lessOrEquals(int(formatDateTime(item()?['DateTimeInput'], 'HHmm')), int(formatDateTime(convertTimeZone(utcNow(), 'UTC', 'Pacific Standard Time'), 'HHmm'))), greaterOrEquals(int(formatDateTime(addMinutes(item()?['DateTimeInput'], 30), 'HHmm')), int(formatDateTime(convertTimeZone(utcNow(), 'UTC', 'Pacific Standard Time'), 'HHmm'))) )

Best Regards,
Bof

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v-bofeng-msft on at

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Hi @JWallsKC ,

Does using the formatDateTime() function result in a string rather than a datetime format?

Yes, that is the reason . What's more, if you want to get hours in 24 hour format , you should use HH instead of hh.

Best Regards,

Bof

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JWallsKC 28 on at

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Hi Bof,

After initial tests yesterday looked good, I implemented the code and tried it today. The DateTimeInput was "5/23/2023 4:00 PM". Yet, the actions were triggered on every run between 12 pm and 3 pm, even though that timeframe shouldn't meet the criteria. I also tried to the formula you suggested to compare time only and that gave the same results. I'm totally confused as to how it's getting "true".

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