How use list variable for follow up question in Ask a Question action.

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Posted on 10 Jan 2024 20:26:01 by Maxmellien

Hi @HenryJammes

and everyone, Hope you all doing well.

I am trying to use list variable in ask a Question for dynamically access the variable data as prompt question .
i am unable to create list variable as i want to show max of 4 Question prompt , The question will come from power automation in json right now i am try to get the belwo schema but it giving me error that expected StringDatatype .
power automation Schema:

{
 "type": "array",
 "items": {
 "type": "object",
 "properties": {
 "DisplayName": {
 "type": "string"
 },
 "question": {
 "type": "string"
 },
 "id": {
 "type": "integer"
 }
 },
 "required": [
 "DisplayName",
 "question",
 "id"
 ]
 }
}

Ithink i will change this to Json by removing array but i am unable to to create list varaibale as each question has DisplayName Field for rendering the prompt .
Currently i tried this flow design which is like this:
action --> parsevalue (json to table)--> ask a Question ( list of variable, selected table varaible, save invariable)--> condition if selected table varaible equal to q1 or q2 or q3 we will send this question again to action.

Show me right approach
I am really new to this all
i also get some idea from this links:
https://powerusers.microsoft.com/t5/General/Asking-a-question-with-List-Variable-from-results-from-flow/m-p/2320105
https://powerusers.microsoft.com/t5/General/How-to-append-to-table-variable-preview/td-p/2160985
but these link did not show quit clear example.

Thanks

All responses (9)

Answers (1)

Maxmellien 37 on 22 Jan 2024 at 16:07:06

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Re: How use list variable for follow up question in Ask a Question action.

Hi @HenryJammes , Hope you doing well.
I have created Fallback Flow in PVA and it show followup question with each response but the problem is if
i donot select any option and send new text as a message the Fallback flow trigger didnot activate but instead it give me the previous response followup questions .
here is the asked question kindly slove this , i have put all code and every thing , it must trigger the event with out selecting the options which is given by list of variable in ask a Question topic.
Maxmellien 37 on 12 Jan 2024 at 09:47:50

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Re: How use list variable for follow up question in Ask a Question action.

Thank you @HenryJammes
HenryJammes on 11 Jan 2024 at 15:38:16

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Re: How use list variable for follow up question in Ask a Question action.

These are good signals for us to publish more "how to" articles.
We'll very likely publish them here: aka.ms/CopilotStudioGuidance
From an architecture standpoint, I recommend: aka.ms/CopilotStudioImplementationGuide
Maxmellien 37 on 11 Jan 2024 at 15:09:29

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Re: How use list variable for follow up question in Ask a Question action.

Thanks alot @HenryJammes you saved me.
I jsut edit schema in Parse value and put you code and it worked
Thanks once again.
Also kindly tell me the best resources to learn, for using Bot Framework SDK as currently we are facing time out issues in Power Automation so in future we will use that with PVA.
Verified answer

HenryJammes on 11 Jan 2024 at 13:59:25

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Re: How use list variable for follow up question in Ask a Question action.

In your parse value node, have you tried "From sample data"?
In the JSON you shared, this is the schema you should use for the Record type:

kind: Record properties: json: type: kind: Table properties: DisplayName: String id: Number question: String
Then you'll be able to display the .json table as part of your record variable.

Maxmellien

37 on 11 Jan 2024 at 13:49:56

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Re: How use list variable for follow up question in Ask a Question action.

Hi @HenryJammes
Thanks but little issue on my side which is as under:

when i receive json string from Power Automate then i use parse_value and save this JSON as record datatype in OptionsTable variable .
then i print both variable the first JSON string and after parse value OptionsTable but the OptionsTable has empty {} showing on PVA side and Json string look like this.

This is payload coming from Power Automation:

JSON string:

{“json”:[{“DisplayName”:“What is your favorite color?”,“question”:“What is your favorite color?”,“id”:1},{“DisplayName”:“How did you discover our services?”,“question”:“How did you discover our services?”,“id”:2},{“DisplayName”:“Tell us about your experience with our products.”,“question”:“Tell us about your experience with our products.”,“id”:3}]}

OptionsTable record:

{}

and OptionsTable is not show print data.
but when i set list variable in Question then i select Topic.OptionsTable because json is not available after dot.

here is image of error showing DisplayName is missing:

Error:

The expression on the ‘DynamicClosedListEntityReference’ node at ‘cr52e_goodbye.topic.Goodbye/main/main/question_WxDymK’ failed because it returned ‘Record()’ when ‘RuntimeType’ was expected. Error code: ContentValidationError. Conversation ID: 8ef3c1cc-83f2-4ee2-9683-05f5fdbc41d9. Time (UTC): 1/11/2024 1:36:57 PM.

code here:

kind: AdaptiveDialog
beginDialog:
 kind: OnRecognizedIntent
 id: main
 intent:
 displayName: Greeting
 includeInOnSelectIntent: false
 triggerQueries:
 - Good afternoon
 - Good morning
 - Hello
 - Hey
 - Hi

 actions:
 - kind: SendActivity
 id: sendActivity_J3cp22
 activity: Hi , how are you

 - kind: Question
 id: question_obehfP
 interruptionPolicy:
 allowInterruption: true

 variable: init:Topic.UserCity
 prompt: Please write your favourite City Name
 entity: CityPrebuiltEntity

 - kind: InvokeFlowAction
 id: invokeFlowAction_vEQcL0
 input:
 binding:
 text: =Topic.UserCity

 output:
 binding:
 list_of accounts options: Topic.ListOfAccountsOptions
 number_of accounts: Topic.NumberofAccounts

 flowId: 7c0ebdec-76b0-ee11-a569-6045bd006ade

 - kind: ParseValue
 id: 7lUl56
 variable: Topic.table
 valueType:
 kind: Table

 value: =Topic.ListOfAccountsOptions

 - kind: SendActivity
 id: sendActivity_qoLkim
 activity: |-
 The following are the data coming from Power automate:
 
 - **ListOfAccountsOtions data in PVA**
 1. {Topic.ListOfAccountsOptions}
 - **NumberofAccounts data in PVA**
 1. {Topic.NumberofAccounts} 

 - kind: ConditionGroup
 id: conditionGroup_5PX1Rh
 conditions:
 - id: conditionItem_ybiWsE
 condition: =Topic.NumberofAccounts = """0"""

 elseActions:
 - kind: SendActivity
 id: sendActivity_dytGRy
 activity: Ok i have found some question for you.

 - kind: Question
 id: question_st4CEA
 interruptionPolicy:
 allowInterruption: true

 variable: init:Topic.selectedQuestion
 prompt:
 entity:
 kind: DynamicClosedListEntity
 items: |-
 =ForAll(
 Table(ParseJSON(Topic.ListOfAccountsOptions)), 
 Text(ThisRecord.Value)
 )

 - kind: SendActivity
 id: sendActivity_EwJOrq
 activity: wow you has selected the above question it mena promt is working

 - kind: CancelAllDialogs
 id: cancelAllDialogs_01At22

2: I have also implemented you tutorial from this link but some issues on question Topic.
PVA unified authoring canvas to display dynamic choice options

https://powerusers.microsoft.com/t5/General/How-can-I-use-Dynamic-Multi-choices-in-the-PVA-chatbot/m-p/1928423

in this flow i get this ListOfAccountOption data as string from Power Automation.
Incomming data printed in PVA
but i also getting error like this:

The expression on the ‘DynamicClosedListEntityReference’ node at ‘cr52e_goodbye.topic.Greeting/main/main/conditionGroup_5PX1Rh/conditionGroup_5PX1RhElseActions/question_7AqFQo’ failed with the following errors: ‘The untyped object argument to the ‘Text’ function has an incorrect type. Expected: Text, Actual: Microsoft.PowerFx.Types.ExternalType.’ (Text(ThisRecord.Value)),

‘The untyped object argument to the ‘Text’ function has an incorrect type. Expected: Text, Actual: Microsoft.PowerFx.Types.ExternalType.’ (Text(ThisRecord.Value)),

‘The untyped object argument to the ‘Text’ function has an incorrect type. Expected: Text, Actual: Microsoft.PowerFx.Types.ExternalType.’ (Text(ThisRecord.Value)). Error code: ContentValidationError. Conversation ID: e8a2c8c6-711a-46e3-81f5-40e6c89e3f0c. Time (UTC): 1/11/2024 1:41:03 PM.

the following are data which i have print in message:

The following are the data coming from Power automate:

ListOfAccountsOtions data in PVA
[{“DisplayName”:“What is your favorite color?”,“question”:“What is your favorite color?”,“id”:1},{“DisplayName”:“How did you discover our services?”,“question”:“How did you discover our services?”,“id”:2},{“DisplayName”:“Tell us about your experience with our products.”,“question”:“Tell us about your experience with our products.”,“id”:3}]
NumberofAccounts data in PVA
1

Here is code:

kind: AdaptiveDialog
beginDialog:
 kind: OnRecognizedIntent
 id: main
 intent:
 displayName: Greeting
 includeInOnSelectIntent: false
 triggerQueries:
 - Good afternoon
 - Good morning
 - Hello
 - Hey
 - Hi

 actions:
 - kind: SendActivity
 id: sendActivity_J3cp22
 activity: Hi , how are you

 - kind: Question
 id: question_obehfP
 interruptionPolicy:
 allowInterruption: true

 variable: init:Topic.UserCity
 prompt: Please write your favourite City Name
 entity: CityPrebuiltEntity

 - kind: InvokeFlowAction
 id: invokeFlowAction_vEQcL0
 input:
 binding:
 text: =Topic.UserCity

 output:
 binding:
 list_of accounts options: Topic.ListOfAccountsOptions
 number_of accounts: Topic.NumberofAccounts

 flowId: 7c0ebdec-76b0-ee11-a569-6045bd006ade

 - kind: ParseValue
 id: 7lUl56
 variable: Topic.table
 valueType:
 kind: Table

 value: =Topic.ListOfAccountsOptions

 - kind: SendActivity
 id: sendActivity_qoLkim
 activity: |-
 The following are the data coming from Power automate:
 
 - **ListOfAccountsOtions data in PVA**
 1. {Topic.ListOfAccountsOptions}
 - **NumberofAccounts data in PVA**
 1. {Topic.NumberofAccounts} 

 - kind: ConditionGroup
 id: conditionGroup_5PX1Rh
 conditions:
 - id: conditionItem_ybiWsE
 condition: =Topic.NumberofAccounts = """0"""

 elseActions:
 - kind: SendActivity
 id: sendActivity_dytGRy
 activity: Ok i have found some question for you.

 - kind: Question
 id: question_st4CEA
 interruptionPolicy:
 allowInterruption: true

 variable: init:Topic.selectedQuestion
 prompt:
 entity:
 kind: DynamicClosedListEntity
 items: |-
 =ForAll(
 Table(ParseJSON(Topic.ListOfAccountsOptions)), 
 Text(ThisRecord.Value)
 )

 - kind: SendActivity
 id: sendActivity_EwJOrq
 activity: wow you has selected the above question it mena promt is working

 - kind: CancelAllDialogs
 id: cancelAllDialogs_01At22

I am realy stuck from last 3 days, Please

HenryJammes on 11 Jan 2024 at 11:53:39

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Re: How use list variable for follow up question in Ask a Question action.

Hi @Maxmellien

I got it to work like this: you can see that the selected option is the full record option with all its properties.

One important thing to notice with your JSON schema is that your table is within a record (under the json property).
I mocked up your returned JSON string that Power Automate returns as a variable, and then use a Parse Value and then reference the Topic.OptionsTable.json to reference the table and not the record.
Here's my example topic:

kind: AdaptiveDialog beginDialog: kind: OnRecognizedIntent id: main intent: triggerQueries: - Dynamic Options Maxmellien actions: - kind: SetVariable id: setVariable_LDnSSa variable: Topic.JSON value: "{ \"json\": [ { \"DisplayName\": \"What is your favorite color?\", \"question\": \"What is your favorite color?\", \"id\": 1 }, { \"DisplayName\": \"How did you discover our services?\", \"question\": \"How did you discover our services?\", \"id\": 2 }, { \"DisplayName\": \"Tell us about your experience with our products.\", \"question\": \"Tell us about your experience with our products.\", \"id\": 3 } ] }" - kind: ParseValue id: z5uaRt variable: Topic.OptionsTable valueType: kind: Record properties: json: type: kind: Table properties: DisplayName: String id: Number question: String value: =Topic.JSON - kind: Question id: question_wJmTcv interruptionPolicy: allowInterruption: true variable: init:Topic.SelectedOption prompt: Please select an option entity: kind: DynamicClosedListEntity items: =Topic.OptionsTable.json

Note: I'm not sure you need to do a ParseJSON on the Power Automate side, since you also do a Parse Value on the Copilot Studio side. Returning the output body of your HTTP request directly to Copilot Studio may simplify your implementation. If that makes sense, you can also make the HTTP request directly in Copilot Studio.

Henry
Maxmellien 37 on 11 Jan 2024 at 07:52:37

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Re: How use list variable for follow up question in Ask a Question action.

Hi @HenryJammes ,
Thanks for quick response.

here is my payload that will come to http action in Power automate:
output body:
[ { "DisplayName": "What is your favorite color?", "question": "What is your favorite color?", "id": 1 }, { "DisplayName": "How did you discover our services?", "question": "How did you discover our services?", "id": 2 }, { "DisplayName": "Tell us about your experience with our products.", "question": "Tell us about your experience with our products.", "id": 3 } ]
After that i use ParseJson and this action output is:
Input Schema:
{ "type": "array", "items": { "type": "object", "properties": { "DisplayName": { "type": "string" }, "question": { "type": "string" }, "id": { "type": "integer" } }, "required": [ "DisplayName", "question", "id" ] } }
Output body:
[ { "DisplayName": "What is your favorite color?", "question": "What is your favorite color?", "id": 1 }, { "DisplayName": "How did you discover our services?", "question": "How did you discover our services?", "id": 2 }, { "DisplayName": "Tell us about your experience with our products.", "question": "Tell us about your experience with our products.", "id": 3 } ]

After this return value to PVA:
input Schema:
{ "type": "object", "properties": { "json": { "title": "JSON", "type": "string", "x-ms-content-hint": "TEXT", "x-ms-dynamically-added": true } }, "additionalProperties": {} }
input body:
{ "json": [ { "DisplayName": "What is your favorite color?", "question": "What is your favorite color?", "id": 1 }, { "DisplayName": "How did you discover our services?", "question": "How did you discover our services?", "id": 2 }, { "DisplayName": "Tell us about your experience with our products.", "question": "Tell us about your experience with our products.", "id": 3 } ] }
Here is Flow images:

Below is my PVA FLOW:

I got this error from PA in PVA action:
Bot said: Error Message: The parameter with name ‘json’ on flow ‘Get JSON Data from FastAPI’ (‘ba806a9a-c1af-ee11-a569-6045bd006ade’) evaluated to type ‘TableDataType’ , expected type ‘StringDataType’ Error Code: FlowActionBadRequest Conversation Id: 32216d81-9419-41e5-9c76-d3f86b9a08e5 Time (UTC): 2024-01-11T07:42:55.408Z
here is image:

What should be the structure so my flow give me no error and question Topic ask these question prompt?
I want to prompt my question like this:

here is my PVA flow code:
kind: AdaptiveDialog beginDialog: kind: OnRecognizedIntent id: main intent: displayName: Greeting includeInOnSelectIntent: false triggerQueries: - Good afternoon - Good morning - Hello - Hey - Hi actions: - kind: InvokeFlowAction id: invokeFlowAction_yXlaZe input: {} output: binding: json: Topic.Json flowId: ba806a9a-c1af-ee11-a569-6045bd006ade - kind: ParseValue id: 5Hl6ux variable: Topic.tableVariable valueType: kind: Table value: =Topic.Json - kind: SendActivity id: sendActivity_YEjvvS activity: "{Topic.Json}" - kind: Question id: question_BfQkGo interruptionPolicy: allowInterruption: true variable: init:Topic.Var1 prompt: entity: kind: DynamicClosedListEntity items: =Topic.tableVariable - kind: CancelAllDialogs id: cancelAllDialogs_01At22

Thanks
HenryJammes on 10 Jan 2024 at 20:57:53

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Re: How use list variable for follow up question in Ask a Question action.

Hi @Maxmellien

Can you share a sample payload that Power Automate returns and that you want to use Copilot Studio as options for a question?

Henry