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Which operator between the oprands is suitable

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Posted on by bensat2

Hi Everyone,

I have a table with IDs in first column and edit buttons in second column, when i try to compare using equal to (=) it is giving the result not found, when i use "Contains it works as shown in the screen shot, But when the Id has only numbers this picks up the wrong value , Example when i search for Id_1234, it picks up 1234a if it appears first in the id column as Id_1234 is contained in 1234a. Pl find the data and the if condition.

ID	Details
ID_1234a	Edit
ID_1234	Edit
Id_1223	Edit
Id_1223b	Edit
Id_5341a	Edit
Id_5341	Edit
Id_5341b	Edit

Note: when i put Operator as Equal to its not picking up

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Power Automate Desktop

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Deenuji_Loganathan_ 6,250 Super User 2025 Season 2 on at

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@bensat2
We need to utilize the "equals" operator correctly, as "contains" is not suitable for your specific scenario.

Please refer to the following flow, where you can observe my datatable consisting of "ID" and "Details" columns. I iterate through them using a "for each" loop and within the "if" condition, I specify the current item with the column details (ID) and then check it against the required values. This approach is functioning effectively.

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

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bensat2 75 on at

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ve tried that it returns blank though Id_1234 is there.

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VishnuReddy1997 2,656 Super User 2025 Season 2 on at

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Hi @bensat2 ,

Please find the attached solution. I have created a solution for Both Equal and Contains Operators.

1.Equal Operator.

Code:

Variables.CreateNewDatatable InputTable: { ^['ID', 'Details'], [$'''ID_1234a''', $'''Edit'''], [$'''ID_1234''', $'''Edit'''], [$'''Id_1223''', $'''Edit'''], [$'''Id_1223b''', $'''Edit'''], [$'''Id_5341a''', $'''Edit'''], [$'''Id_5341''', $'''Edit'''], [$'''Id_5341b''', $'''Edit'''], [$'''id_1234''', $'''Edit'''], [$'''Id_1234''', $'''Edit'''] } DataTable=> DataTable LOOP FOREACH CurrentItem IN DataTable Text.ChangeCase Text: CurrentItem[0] NewCase: Text.CaseOption.UpperCase Result=> ID IF ID = $'''ID_1234''' THEN Display.ShowMessageDialog.ShowMessage Message: $'''YES''' Icon: Display.Icon.None Buttons: Display.Buttons.OK DefaultButton: Display.DefaultButton.Button1 IsTopMost: False ButtonPressed=> ButtonPressed6 END END

2. Contains

Code:
Variables.CreateNewDatatable InputTable: { ^['ID', 'Details'], [$'''ID_1234a''', $'''Edit'''], [$'''ID_1234''', $'''Edit'''], [$'''Id_1223''', $'''Edit'''], [$'''Id_1223b''', $'''Edit'''], [$'''Id_5341a''', $'''Edit'''], [$'''Id_5341''', $'''Edit'''], [$'''Id_5341b''', $'''Edit'''], [$'''id_1234''', $'''Edit'''], [$'''Id_1234''', $'''Edit'''] } DataTable=> DataTable LOOP FOREACH CurrentItem IN DataTable Text.ChangeCase Text: CurrentItem[0] NewCase: Text.CaseOption.UpperCase Result=> ID IF Contains(ID, $'''ID_1234''', False) THEN Display.ShowMessageDialog.ShowMessage Message: $'''YES''' Icon: Display.Icon.None Buttons: Display.Buttons.OK DefaultButton: Display.DefaultButton.Button1 IsTopMost: False ButtonPressed=> ButtonPressed6 END END

If you need further help, just let me know.

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

Thanks & Regards
Vishnu Reddy

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Deenuji_Loganathan_ 6,250 Super User 2025 Season 2 on at

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@bensat2

It seems like you might be experiencing an issue with the text case or there might be some extra whitespace in your variable.

Let's tweak the logic slightly as follows: convert both "firstvalue" and "secondvalue" to lowercase, trim them, and then compare. This adjustment should ensure we don't miss anything this time! 🙂

Still I won't recommend contains for this use case it may create some mess when you dealing some close values.
Code:

SET DataTable TO { ^['ID', 'Details'] } Variables.AddRowToDataTable.AppendRowToDataTable DataTable: DataTable RowToAdd: ['ID_1234a', 'Edit'] Variables.AddRowToDataTable.AppendRowToDataTable DataTable: DataTable RowToAdd: ['ID_1234', 'Edit'] Variables.AddRowToDataTable.AppendRowToDataTable DataTable: DataTable RowToAdd: ['Id_1223', 'Edit'] Variables.AddRowToDataTable.AppendRowToDataTable DataTable: DataTable RowToAdd: ['Id_1223b', 'Edit'] Variables.AddRowToDataTable.AppendRowToDataTable DataTable: DataTable RowToAdd: ['Id_5341a', 'Edit'] Variables.AddRowToDataTable.AppendRowToDataTable DataTable: DataTable RowToAdd: ['Id_5341', 'Edit'] Variables.AddRowToDataTable.AppendRowToDataTable DataTable: DataTable RowToAdd: ['Id_5341b', 'Edit'] LOOP FOREACH CurrentItem IN DataTable SET CurrentItemID TO CurrentItem['id'] Text.ChangeCase Text: CurrentItemID NewCase: Text.CaseOption.LowerCase Result=> CurrentItemID SET Comparetext TO $'''ID_1234a''' Text.ChangeCase Text: Comparetext NewCase: Text.CaseOption.LowerCase Result=> Comparetext IF CurrentItemID.Trimmed = Comparetext.Trimmed THEN Display.ShowMessageDialog.ShowMessage Title: $'''info''' Message: $'''note''' Icon: Display.Icon.None Buttons: Display.Buttons.OK DefaultButton: Display.DefaultButton.Button1 IsTopMost: False ButtonPressed=> ButtonPressed END END

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

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bensat2 75 on at

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Thanks Vishnu Will try out and let you know

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Deenuji_Loganathan_ 6,250 Super User 2025 Season 2 on at

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Hi @bensat2

Any progress regarding this matter? Have the suggestions from community members resolved your concerns? I've noticed you've initiated several discussions on various topics, and after receiving responses either from community members or by resolving them yourself, you've left those threads active instead of marking them as resolved. I would kindly encourage you to mark threads as resolved once your issue is addressed or if you receive a helpful response from community members. This not only assists future seekers but also encourages those who contribute to the forum.

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bensat2 75 on at

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i solved the above using if conditions, though not desirable as the number of actions increase substanially

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bensat2 75 on at

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sorry for the delayed reply

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Deenuji_Loganathan_ 6,250 Super User 2025 Season 2 on at

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@bensat2

After resolving your issue, kindly post the solution you followed and mark it as the solution for the respective topic. If you found a solution based on a suggestion from a community member, please mark that suggestion as the solution. This practice helps in closing the thread appropriately and provides valuable assistance to future seekers. We kindly request you to continue this practice for all topics you raise. Thank you.

Please be advised that this applies to all topics you've raised in the past few weeks.

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

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VishnuReddy1997 2,656 Super User 2025 Season 2 on at

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Hi @bensat2 ,

Please post the screenshot of the flow how you solved the issue and mark it as a solution,So it will help others in the future.

Regards,
Vishnu Reddy

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