Import Teams message to PowerAutomate and lookup

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Posted on by AC-23042034-0

I'm working on an integration, where I'm trying to connect a group chat in MS Teams with Excel.

It should work this way:
- Whenever someone sends a message (trigger point), the Power Automate trigger should search for the body of said message in column A from an Excel Table from our SharePoint and reply with a cell value from the same row, but different column (if it finds a result).

- I understand that there can be several types of messages, but my logic will be to lookup for only 13-digit numeric number and ignore the rest.
- I'm trying to use the trigger 'When a new message is added to a chat or channel.

- Once The 13-digit number is identified then lookup for same in excel and retrieve a value from same row but different column.

- Post the retrieved value back in the chat group.

I just can't get it to return the exact message I send to the group.
I tried the 'Enter data from the previous step' button, but it is only letting me choose between:
• ⁠Message Conversation ID
• ⁠Message ID
• ⁠Message Link
None of them work. AIs aren't helping either...

Which expression should I use to define the message's body as input for the next action? If possible, at all.

I know it should be easier using a channel, but it would defeat the purpose of the automation.

Power Automate - Cloud

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Power Automate Desktop

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Valantis 6,735 on at

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Hi @AC-23042034-0,

The chat trigger doesn't give you the message body directly in dynamic content. You need one extra step.
After the trigger, add a 'Get message details' action (Teams connector) and set Message ID to the Message ID from the trigger. Then the message text is available via this expression:
body('Get_message_details')?['body']?['plainTextContent']
For extracting the 13-digit number, add a Compose action with this expression:
first(matches(body('Get_message_details')?['body']?['plainTextContent'], '\d{13}'))

That returns the first 13-digit sequence found in the message, or null if there isn't one. Wrap the rest of your flow in a Condition checking that this Compose output is not empty before doing the Excel lookup.

For the Excel lookup, use 'List rows present in a table' with a Filter Query on column A equals the Compose output, then grab the value from the first result row.

Best regards,

Valantis

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11manish 3,333 on at

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The Teams message text is not directly available in dynamic content.

Use this expression to get it in Microsoft Power Automate:

triggerOutputs()?['body/body/content']

Extract the 13-digit number using:

match(triggerOutputs()?['body/body/content'], '\d{13}')

Add a condition to check if a number exists, then:

Lookup the value in Excel (make sure the column is Text)

Return the corresponding value

Finally, post the result back to Teams.

The message body is hidden inside the trigger output, so you must use an expression to access it.

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AC-23042034-0 22 on at

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For some reason match is not working in my workflow.

Thankyou for your kind responses.

Appreciate it.

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AC-23042034-0 22 on at

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Woahhhh!!! It Finally worked out.. Did some twist and turns but fortunately it worked out.

step-by-step breakdown of your workflow:

1.Trigger: When a new message is added to a chat or channel

Listens for new messages in a specific Teams group chat.

2.For Each: Loop through each message

Iterates over all new messages detected by the trigger.

3.Get Message Details (inside For Each)

For each message, fetches detailed information including the message content.

4.Compose_2

Extracts the plain text content from the message details using a coalesce function to handle different possible formats.

5.Compose

Splits the extracted message content by spaces and selects the last word (assumed to be a tag number).

6.Get a Row (Excel)

Searches an Excel table for a row where the "Tag Number" matches the last word from the message.

7.Post Message in a Chat or Channel

Posts a message back to the Teams group chat, displaying the "Deposit Id" found in the Excel row.

Each step is dependent on the previous one’s success, following the logical flow defined by the RunAfter property.

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AC-23042034-0 22 on at

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Woahhhh!!! It Finally worked out.. Did some twist and turns but fortunately it worked out.

step-by-step breakdown of your workflow:

1.Trigger: When a new message is added to a chat or channel

Listens for new messages in a specific Teams group chat.

2.For Each: Loop through each message

Iterates over all new messages detected by the trigger.

3.Get Message Details (inside For Each)

For each message, fetches detailed information including the message content.

4.Compose_2

Extracts the plain text content from the message details using a coalesce function to handle different possible formats.

5.Compose

Splits the extracted message content by spaces and selects the last word (assumed to be a tag number).

6.Get a Row (Excel)

Searches an Excel table for a row where the "Tag Number" matches the last word from the message.

7.Post Message in a Chat or Channel

Posts a message back to the Teams group chat, displaying the "Deposit Id" found in the Excel row.

Each step is dependent on the previous one’s success, following the logical flow defined by the RunAfter property.

Was this reply helpful? Yes No