Replace formula not converting \n newlines to tags from adaptive card payload

(0) Share

Report

Posted on by IA-09020654-0 Microsoft Employee

Hi everyone,

I'm trying to replace newline characters in a string coming from an Adaptive Card payload submission, but my `replace()` formula doesn't seem to be doing anything.

---

My formula:
```
replace(replace(coalesce(body('Parse_additional_details_card_payload')?['audienceProfile'], ''), '\r\n', ' '), '\n', ' ')
```

Example payload received from the card:
```json
{
"body": {
"action": "submitModify",
"actionSubmitId": "Submit",
"audienceProfile": "course\n\ndescription\n\n\ntest",
"comments": "course\n\ndescription\n\n\ntest",
"courseDescription": "course\n\ndescription\n\n\ntest"
}
}
```

The `audienceProfile` value clearly contains `\n` characters (visible in the raw JSON), but after the formula runs, the output string still contains the literal newlines — the ` ` tags are not being inserted.

What I've tried:
- Replacing `'\n'` (escaped)
- Replacing `'\r\n'` (for Windows-style line endings)

None of these have worked so far.

My question:
How do I correctly match and replace actual newline characters (coming from an Adaptive Card submission) inside a Power Automate expression? Is there a special way to represent a literal newline in the `replace()` function?

Any help is appreciated — thanks in advance!

Categories:

Building flows

I have the same question (0)

All responses (4)

Answers (0)

Sort by

Suggested answer

Vish WR 3,418 on at

Like (0)

Report
Copy link

Link copied!

@IA-09020654-0

The issue is that '\n' in Power Automate expressions is treated as a literal two-character string backslash-n, not an actual newline character. So your replace never finds a match.

Use decodeUriComponent('%0A') to represent a real newline character instead:

replace(body('Parse_additional_details_card_payload')?['audienceProfile'], decodeUriComponent('%0A'), ' ')

For \r\n use decodeUriComponent('%0D%0A'). Since Adaptive Cards typically only send \n, the single %0A version should do the job.

Vishnu WR

LinkedIn - My Tech Space

Please ✅ Does this answer your question if my post helped you solve your issue. This will help others find it more readily. It also closes the item. If the content was useful in other ways, please consider answering Yes to Was this reply helpful? or give it a Like ♥

Was this reply helpful? Yes No
Suggested answer

chiaraalina 2,059 Super User 2026 Season 1 on at

Like (0)

Report
Copy link

Link copied!

Hi

Is this the output you are trying to achieve: course description test?

Please try this

replace(
replace(
coalesce(body('Parse_additional_details_card_payload')?['audienceProfile'], ''),
decodeUriComponent('%0D%0A'),
' '
),
decodeUriComponent('%0A'),
' '
)

Let me know if it worked!

Was this reply helpful? Yes No
Suggested answer

Nanit Khanna 68 on at

Like (0)

Report
Copy link

Link copied!
Hi @IA-09020654-0,

The issue is that Power Automate is handling actual newline characters, not the escaped string \n.

Try using decodeUriComponent() to represent real line breaks:

replace ( coalesce(body('Parse_additional_details_card_payload')? ['audienceProfile'], ''), decodeUriComponent('%0A'), ' ' )

If your payload contains Windows-style line endings, use:

replace ( coalesce(body('Parse_additional_details_card_payload')? ['audienceProfile'], ''), decodeUriComponent('%0D%0A'), ' ' )

Why this works:
• '\n' is treated as plain text in expressions
• Adaptive Card submissions contain actual newline characters
• decodeUriComponent('%0A') correctly represents a real line feed character

This is the standard workaround commonly used in Power Automate for newline replacement.

Please ✅ Does this answer your question if my post helped you solve your issue. This will help others find it more readily. It also closes the item.

If the content was useful in other ways, please consider answering Yes to Was this reply helpful? or give it a Like!

Was this reply helpful? Yes No
Vish WR 3,418 on at

Like (0)

Report
Copy link

Link copied!

@IA-09020654-0

Wanted to check if you are able to resolve your problem? Let me know if you need any clarification

When replying, please don't forget to mention my userid so that it will be notified

Vishnu WR

LinkedIn - My Tech Space

Please ✅ Does this answer your question if my post helped you solve your issue. This will help others find it more readily. It also closes the item. If the content was useful in other ways, please consider answering Yes to Was this reply helpful? or give it a Like ♥

Was this reply helpful? Yes No