Handle People Picker Null into SharePoint Online using Power Automate

 Problem Statement

To save people picker value as null or empty is always a tricky situation in SharePoint Online List dynamically. Let's see how it can be achieved when working with Power Automate.

Scenario

Here, we are going to sync the DevOps data i.e. Text, Choice & Identity column, into SharePoint Online List as Text, Choice & People Picker value.

Step 1. Request received when Azure DevOps data saved.

The previous article with the configuration steps of the request received is here.

1. Request Received
2. Parse the field into JSON
3. Initialize the variable as a string
4. Get User Profile action (Extract email id and pass)

replace(split(body('Parse_JSON')?['Custom.TechnicalInterviewBy'],'<')?[1],'>','')

Step 2. Set variable value as "-1"

If the user email id doesn't exist or came as a null value, Configure Run after "Fail" to set the variable as "-1"  which will be treated as user ID.

 

Step 3. Check for User Email and Set User ID if it exists

Create Scope and Configure the Run after as "Skipped". It means the user email id exists and gets the user ID of that email address.

The scope has two defined actions.

• Site Address : https://m365x6151710.sharepoint.com
• Method        : GET
• URI                : _api/web/SiteUsers/getByEmail('@{outputs('Get_user_profile_(V2)')?['body/mail']}')

Send an HTTP request to SharePoint to get the user ID.

Set User ID 

@{body('Send_an_HTTP_request_to_SharePoint')?['d']?['id']}

Step 4. Create an Item in SharePoint Online List

Below is the parameter that needs to be configured.

Site Address https://m365x6151710.sharepoint.com

Method    POST

URI           _api/lists/getbytitle('Resource')/items

Header 

{

  "content-type": "application/json;odata=verbose ",

  "Accept": "application/json;odata=verbose"

}

Body

{ 

"__metadata": { "type": "SP.Data.ResourceListItem" },

"Title" : "@{body('Parse_JSON')?['System.Title']}",

"TechnicalInterviewById"  :  "@{variables('TechnicalInterviewBy')}",

"AssignmentName" :"@{body('Parse_JSON')?['Custom.AssignmentName']}",

"TechnicalSkill" : "@{body('Parse_JSON')?['Custom.TechnicalSkill']}"

}

Note. variables('TechnicalInterviewBy') always hold "-1" or "Actual user ID". in the case of  "-1", people picker value store as Null else actual user. 

 Let's execute the power automate in both scenarios to get the output.

Output scenario. Azure DevOps Identity column as blank value and sync the same with SPO List People Picker

Output scenario. Azure DevOps Identity column as user value and sync the same with SPO List People Picker

Hope you have learned something useful here

Get and Set People Picker Value

Friends, this is simple example to save the people picker value in share point list and get the people picker value form list shown to people picker control on the custom form . But most of the developer do very silly mistake and forget the one important scenario while start the coding.

Most of the time issue arise,

If Active Directory having multiple user with same first and last name.

Get value from People Picker Control Note: - people picker control pass as parameter.

public string GetPeoplePickerValue(PeopleEditor peoplePicker)         {             string userValue = string.Empty;             try             {                 if (peoplePicker.ResolvedEntities.Count.Equals(1))                 {                     PickerEntity pickerAppEntity = (PickerEntity)peoplePicker.ResolvedEntities[0];                     userValue = pickerAppEntity.Key;                 }             }             catch (Exception)             {                 throw;             }             return userValue;         }

Set value to People picker control Note:- People Picker Control pass as parameter and value as SPListItem Object , where Web object can also pass as parameter.

public void SetPeoplePickerValue(PeopleEditor peoplePicker, object value)         {             try             {                 if (value != null)                 {                     SPWeb edgeWeb = SPContext.Current.Web;                     string user = Convert.ToString(value);                     SPFieldUserValueCollection userCol = new SPFieldUserValueCollection(edgeWeb, user);                     peoplePicker.CommaSeparatedAccounts = Convert.ToString(userCol[0].User);                     peoplePicker.Validate();                 }             }             catch (Exception)             {                 throw;             }         }