Managing a SharePoint List with PowerAutomate

Summary

Managing a SharePoint list with PowerAutomate can be challenging, especially when dealing with large lists and threshold limitations. In this scenario, we have three SharePoint lists: [A], [B], and [C], where [B] has a lookup column to [A] and [C] references [B]. The goal is to trigger a PowerAutomate flow based on changes to list [C], with criteria dependent on [A].[Title], while avoiding threshold limitations.

Root Cause

The root cause of the issue is the inability to access [B].[a] directly in the PowerAutomate flow trigger criteria. This limitation prevents the flow from being triggered based on the required conditions, leading to threshold limitations and flow failures.

Why This Happens in Real Systems

This issue occurs in real systems due to the complexities of SharePoint list relationships and PowerAutomate’s limitations in handling these relationships. As the size of the lists increases, the complexity of the relationships also grows, making it challenging to create efficient and effective PowerAutomate flows.

Real-World Impact

The real-world impact of this issue is the inability to automate tasks efficiently, leading to manual workarounds and increased operational costs. Additionally, the threshold limitations can cause flow failures, resulting in missed triggers and unnoticed changes to the SharePoint lists.

Example or Code

// Example PowerAutomate flow trigger criteria
triggerBody":{
  "@@odata.type": "#Microsoft.Azure.Management.LogicApps.Models.WorkflowTrigger",
  "inputs": {
    "lookup": {
      "listName": "[B]",
      "columnName": "[a]",
      "value": "[A].[Title]"
    }
  }
}

Note: The above code is an example and may not work as-is in your environment.

How Senior Engineers Fix It

Senior engineers address this issue by using a combination of PowerAutomate’s built-in functions, such as the “Get items” action, to retrieve the required data from list [B] and then using the “Filter array” action to filter the results based on the required conditions. Additionally, they may use other tools, such as Azure Functions or Microsoft Power Apps, to create a more scalable and efficient solution.

Why Juniors Miss It

Junior engineers may miss this solution due to a lack of experience with PowerAutomate and SharePoint list relationships. They may not be aware of the available functions and actions in PowerAutomate or may not fully understand the complexities of the SharePoint list relationships, leading to frustration and failure to find a working solution.