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Choosing "output from previous steps" for Apply to Each loop: this output doesn't make sense

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Posted on by OneWinPlease

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Our SharePoint list has columns called Requested Service, Site, and Status. When a list item's status is changed to "complete", an email goes to the requestor. Oddly, the flow works with the output called Site. But it doesn't work when I select the output as Status. Why? Site is not the column that gets changed.

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Pstork1 68,707 Most Valuable Professional on at

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I assume Status is a choice column. If it is then the dynamic content you are looking for is actually 'status value' not status. Status is an object that has the status value and some other things.

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OneWinPlease 155 on at

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Thank you Pstork1 - you are right, Status is a choice column. But, I tried Status Value as well, with no luck.

Still not sure why Site, which is a choice column as well, would work. (And there is the dynamic content of Site Value, of course... which further begs the question of why Site by itself works?)

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Pstork1 68,707 Most Valuable Professional on at

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Looking deeper at it. It looks like you are using a trigger that returns one record, so why are you using an Apply to Each at all?

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OneWinPlease 155 on at

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I think we adapted someone else's similar flow online. Doesn't 'apply to each' mean perform an action for each list item, anytime that item status changes?

When an item or file is modified, get the changes, and if the status reads as complete, send an email.

Edit: Actually, what seems to be happening is something others have mentioned: values change for no reason at random times. For instance, I saw another poster here say the values in their flow kept reverting to blank after signing out, or walking away, and coming back later. It just happened to me but instead of clearing the value field, it replaced it with another type of dynamic content that I never would have chosen on my own. VERY STRANGE.

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Pstork1 68,707 Most Valuable Professional on at

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The trigger you are using will start an instance of the flow each time an item is modified. So it gets the changes for just one row for that instance. So an Apply to each isn't needed because you are only processing one row. That is why you were getting the original error. The labeling on the dynamic content may change when you save and reload the flow. But it shouldn't actually change the dynamic content itself.

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OneWinPlease 155 on at

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Ok... why it works the way it's built now, who knows.

It won't let me remove Apply to Each out without a warning that the triggered email is dependent on keeping this. I could rebuild it without Apply to Each, but since the flow is doing what it's supposed to, perhaps I won't. Thank you for your insights.

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OneWinPlease 155 on at

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Actually, I just removed Apply to Each, and get an error message. It may be that because I have Trigger Window Start and End tokens in the Get Changes for an item action, and then a time conversion action, one of these requires the Apply to Each action. Here's the message after I removed Apply to Each:

Flow save failed with code 'InvalidTemplate' and message 'The template validation failed: 'The repetition action(s) 'Apply_to_each' referenced by 'inputs' in action 'Send_an_email_(V2)_2' are not defined in the template.'

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Pstork1 68,707 Most Valuable Professional on at

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Its failing to save because you are referencing some of the dynamic content from the Apply to each loop in the Send an Email action. Check the dynamic content in the email and make sure you rebuild it after you remove the apply to each.

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