Power Platform Community Forum Thread Details

Hi everyone,

I have built a Power Automate flow that uses
Microsoft Forms as the trigger for a 2 stage
approval process. The flow is working end to end
however I have an issue with the approval emails.

ISSUE:
When I add Dynamic content fields from my MS Form
into the Details field of the "Start and wait for
an approval" action, some fields are displaying as
long URL links in the approval email instead of
showing the plain text value that was submitted.

MY SETUP:
- Trigger: Microsoft Forms - When a new response
is submitted
- Action: Get response details
- Action: Start and wait for an approval (Stage 1)
- Condition: Approve/Reject branching
- Action: Start and wait for an approval (Stage 2)
- Condition: Approve/Reject branching
- Action: Send an email V2 (confirmation/rejection)

WHAT I HAVE TRIED:
- Adding Dynamic content fields directly into
the Details field - shows as URLs
- Using string() expression to wrap the field -
partially worked for some fields
- Using concat() expression to build the full
details block - not yet fully resolved

QUESTIONS:
1. How do I stop Dynamic content fields from
rendering as URL links in the Approvals
Details field?
2. Is there a better way to format the approval
email so it shows clean readable text?
3. Should I be using expressions instead of
Dynamic content for MS Forms fields in the
Approvals action?

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

Categories:

Building flows

Hi @CU04052157-0,

Your issue happens because Microsoft Forms returns some fields (especially file uploads, links, arrays) as URLs or JSON objects, and the Approvals “Details” field auto-renders anything that looks like a URL as a clickable link.

You cannot fully disable hyperlink rendering, but you can control what you pass into Details so it shows clean text.

Why fields show as URLs

File upload / link questions return JSON with a link property (SharePoint/OneDrive URL)
Approvals auto-detect URLs and render them as clickable links
Some multi-select / complex fields return arrays → rendered poorly unless formatted

Fix: Extract only the text you want
Use a Compose + expression before Approval:
Example for file upload
')?['body/<questionID>'])[0]['name']

Shows file name (clean text) instead of URL.

Dynamic Content vs Expression - When to use / What to use

Scenario	Recommendation
Simple text (single line)	Dynamic content OK
File upload	Expression (json()) required
Multi-select	Expression (join())
Anything rendering wrong	Always wrap in `concat()`

Retrieve Files from Upload File question – Expiscornovus

How to Send a Microsoft Form Approval to a Manager Using Power Automate | 2023 Tutorial

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Sunil Kumar Pashikanti, Moderator
Blog: https://sunilpashikanti.com/posts/