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Syntax Highlighting in formula

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Posted on by RK-23070616-0

Hi all,

I am using this formula in a Flow.

PowerAutomate does not show a failure during creating the flow but in runtime it says that sub should have 2 parameters but has 3.

div(sub(ticks(utcNow('yyyy-MM-dd')),ticks(formatDateTime(variables('nextTermin'),'yyyy-MM-dd')),864000000000))

My question:

Is there a way to copy the formular to Visual Studio Code (or a different editor) so that I can have Syntax Highlighting to investigate the error? Must have something to do with parantheses I think...

(Edit: of course I know how to copy the formula 😉 My problem is: how to save so that syntax highlighting is active? What language to choose or is there an addon for Visual Studio Code?)

Thank you!

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Business Process Flows

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smadep 96 on at

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Syntax Highlighting in formula

@Chriddle, still looks nicer that way ;-)

but of course - indentation for the rescue - that's best practice anyway for "more complex" expressions
Chriddle 7,793 Super User 2025 Season 1 on at

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Syntax Highlighting in formula

I always write expressions with line breaks and indentations.
This way I can immediately see what is going wrong.

E.g.

div( sub( ticks( utcNow('yyyy-MM-dd') ), ticks( formatDateTime( variables('nextTermin'), 'yyyy-MM-dd' ) ), 864000000000 ) )
smadep 96 on at

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Syntax Highlighting in formula

I found this VS Code extension

https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=gncnpk.power-automate-expressions

still a bit buggy, but it helps
RK-23070616-0 on at

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Re: Syntax Highlighting in formula

Ah! That´s great!
Thank you! 👍👌
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manuelstgomes 6,625 on at

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Re: Syntax Highlighting in formula

Awesome!! Well done! 🙂

I open a "Plain Text" and put the cursor near the parenthesis. VS Code will do it for you.

Here's my VS Code configuration.

Please don't forget to mark "Accept as Solution" so that other people here can benefit from it.

If I have answered your question, please mark your post as Solved.
If you like my response, please give it a Thumbs Up.

Cheers
Manuel
RK-23070616-0 on at

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Re: Syntax Highlighting in formula

Thank you!
You helped me very much with the parenthesis - it worked!
But can you tell me how do you use Visual Studio Code so that the parenthesis are highlighted correctly?
If I paste it there the text is just white.
manuelstgomes 6,625 on at

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Re: Syntax Highlighting in formula

Hi @der_cosmicyes

VS Code can help a little in your problem, highlighting the parenthesis and where they correspond. As you can see, there are 3 parameters on the sub.

Regarding your issue, indeed, there's an issue with the parenthesis. You can validate it:

Not what you want. Here's the correct sequence.

Can you please check if and let me know if you have any questions?

If I have answered your question, please mark your post as Solved.
If you like my response, please give it a Thumbs Up.

Cheers
Manuel