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PAD default values for input variables not being initialized when PAD is triggered from cloud flow

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Posted on by Nuchem

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When I give default values to Power Automate Desktop variables within Power automate desktop designer, they're initialized all well if I run it just as a PAD flow but if I trigger it from a cloud flow, then they're not used and I have to [by default] feed them in manually through the cloud flow. I don't think this is a good design choice. Although I noticed that before, I spent hours again until I figured out this was the issue and that I needed to manually supply them 'again'.

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Henrik_M 2,021 Super User 2024 Season 1 on at

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"Default" might not be the best word in terms of design, but that is just how it is.

If you want some default values set in case the input from the cloud is empty, you will have to put some Set variable actions inside an If condition.

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Nuchem 128 on at

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I know of this solution but your answer is still not addressing why this is the case? What's the logic of this design? Was it a work around some other problem? Anyway, I like answers that don't avoid answering the question directly 😉

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Nuchem 128 on at

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Whilst we're at it. I found something else confusing in relation to this topic. When I set say a default value of True to a boolean variable (not really because they're all strings, annoyingly) in PAD, I then need to treat it as 'True' (with single quotes around it => %someVariable = 'True'% ) in Conditionals and even more annoyingly, I can't use the True provided in the second operand against the variable directly..
The usage of the '=' sign for comparison as opposed to '==' is also very undesirable.

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Henrik_M 2,021 Super User 2024 Season 1 on at

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Don't assume that everything in PAD makes logical sense.

More data types for input and output variables will become available over the summer.

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charles_ross_oh 91 on at

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I am feeling this kind of trouble. Setting a Boolean variable in my cloud flow input panel (they call it a Yes/No selection) that calls a Desktop flow. The boolean parm should provide a flag to the desktop flow. What a project!

The desktop flow design panel with input parms recognized it as a boolean. It let me pick a default value that is labelled False. An english word label selection - no quotes - that looks hopeful. Great!
But when trying to use it in an IF condition step in the Desktop flow according to the expression syntax explained elsewhere in this forum with (with %FALSE% being the supposed expression of bool false), things aren't going well.
The cloud flow fails when calling the desktop flow with an error in the portal like "Parameter 'x' has invalid value."

The design surfaces give one the IMPRESSION that boolean values are being handed back and forth. I get the feel that the "boolean" cloud flow parm turns into a string when used in the desktop flow and I'll have to do type conversion. It would be a great leap for mankind if the two products could talk boolean to each other.

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charles_ross_oh 91 on at

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Just confirmed, cloud flow maybe thinks it's passing a bool down but the Input variable delivered to the desktop flow is a string "FALSE" - that gets me suspected results.

<sigh>

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momlo 1,527 Super User 2024 Season 1 on at

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For the reasons mentioned here I always use 1 and 0 instead - makes my life easier.
And when it comes to input variables, well, that are input variables, not defaults.

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charles_ross_oh 91 on at

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I was referring to the fact that Input variables in PAD have a default value property.

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