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Converting array to integer

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Posted on by CAlvy

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I am trying to populate a lookup field in my SharePoint list with multiple values. I want to keep the values that are already there and add a new value to it.

To do this, I have appended the current values (Ids of the column) in an Apply to each like this:

I then use another Append to string variable to add the new value.

From there, I use another apply to each and apply a split to the string variable:

I use an append to array variable with

int(items('Apply_to_each'))

So the steps look like this.

The array variable I add to my Update items. However, my array variable is showing up like this:

[" 182\n"," 181\n"," 186\n"] and it's saying not convertible to integer.

What am I doing wrong here and is there a better way I could be achieving this?

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rzaneti 4,249 Super User 2025 Season 2 on at

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Hi,

Did you try to use an array variable, rather than a string one, and then use the Append to array variable in your loops, rather than Append do string variable?

If you need to work with strings for some reason, you will have to transform your individual arrays items (which are strings) into integers, and for that you will need to use an expression like this: int(trim(replace(uriComponent([your_item_here]), '%0A', ''))).

By using this expression, we are first removing the line break ('\n') by using the replace() method and then removing the blank space at the beginning by using the trim() method. As a final step, we are transforming the final string (which now must look like "182" or "181") into a number by using the int() method.

To learn more about data types or text transformation in Power Automate, refer to these blog posts:

- Data types: http://digitalmill.net/2023/08/03/data-types-in-power-automate/

- Text transformation: http://digitalmill.net/2023/08/12/how-to-extract-and-clean-texts-with-power-automate/

Let me know if it works for you or if you need any additional help!

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CAlvy 216 on at

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Hi @rzaneti

Thanks for your reply!

So I needed this as an array so I could update my multi-select lookup column. I was following the answer in this post:

Solved: Updating SharePoint Lookup Column with multiple (powerplatform.com).

What I probably did wrong was not put in my Append to array variable

{

"Id":

}

I corrected this and ran the test again and it worked that time.

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