Check length of body/value failing

(2) Share

Report

Posted on by FW-07051511-0

160

I have a flow that uses SharePoint Get Items. I am trying to test the length of the body/value to see if the Get Items returned anything.

In my condition I have length(outputs('Get Items - List B'])?['body/value']) is greater then 0, and it works fine if the Get Items returns a value however when nothing is found the flow errors out. I've used this approach many times but I am not sure if it works in all cases and might my other flows fail too when nothing is found.

Can is there a way to look for a null value or some other method of testing this?

Categories:

Building flows

I have the same question (0)

All responses (4)

Answers (0)

Sort by

Suggested answer

Pstork1 69,558 Most Valuable Professional on at

Like
a
(1)

Report
Copy link

Link copied!

The easiest way to do this is to add another phrase to the condition before doing the length. Have that Check to see if the Get items Body/value is null. If you AND that check with the other one it will automatically go to the false side if no values are returned. Make sure the null check is the first line. Like this.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If this Post helped you, please click "Does this answer your question" and give it a like to help others in the community find the answer too!

Paul Papanek Stork, MVP
Blog: https://www.dontpapanic.com/blog

Was this reply helpful? Yes No
Suggested answer

11manish 3,345 on at

Like
a
(0)

Report
Copy link

Link copied!

For most scenarios, I recommend using:

length(coalesce(body('Get_items')?['value'], createArray()))

and checking whether it is greater than 0.
This approach is robust, handles empty results safely, and protects against unexpected null values while remaining easy to read and maintain.

Was this reply helpful? Yes No
Suggested answer

S-Venkadesh 1,219 Super User 2026 Season 1 on at

Like
a
(1)

Report
Copy link

Link copied!

Hi @FW-07051511-0,

I don’t see any issue with the length() approach itself. The only thing I noticed is that the action name in your expression appears incorrect (missing underscores).
Try recreating the expression from scratch using Dynamic Content instead of typing it manually:

length(outputs('Get_Items_-_List_B')?['body/value'])

It's a bit strange that it works when records are returned but fails when none are found, which suggests the expression may not be referencing the action correctly. Rebuilding it should resolve the issue.

I hope this information helps! If it does, please consider giving a 👍.
Best regards,
S-Venkadesh

Was this reply helpful? Yes No
Suggested answer

Valantis 6,748 on at

Like
a
(1)

Report
Copy link

Link copied!

Hi @FW-07051511-0,

length(coalesce(outputs('Get_Items_-_List_B')?['body/value'], createArray())) is greater than 0

When Get Items returns nothing, body/value can come back as null instead of an empty array, and length() throws on null. coalesce swaps null for an empty array so length() always gets something valid.

One thing none of the replies mentioned: if you just want to check whether anything was returned, empty() is simpler than length:
not(empty(coalesce(outputs('Get_Items_-_List_B')?['body/value'], createArray())))
Same result, slightly cleaner to read.

Best regards,

Valantis ✅ If this helped solve your issue, please Accept as Solution so others can find it quickly.

❤️ If it didn’t fully solve it but was still useful, please click “Yes” on “Was this reply helpful?” or leave a Like :).

🏷️ For follow-ups @Valantis.

📝 https://valantisond365.com/

Was this reply helpful? Yes No