#PowerPlatformTip 4: 'JSON Viewer'

TL;DR: Use a browser JSON Viewer extension (or Edge’s built-in formatting) to turn raw Power Automate JSON into readable, structured data.

💡 Challenge

Navigating through unformatted JSON data in Power Automate, especially from actions like ‘List Rows’ or ‘Get Items’, is cumbersome and difficult to decipher. The run history’s “Show raw outputs” panel dumps everything as a single unindented line, and scrolling through a 200-item array looking for the one record with a wrong value quickly gets tedious.

✅ Solution

Use a JSON Viewer extension to transform raw JSON into a readable and manageable format in your browser. Where the data is sensitive, prefer a local/offline formatter or your code editor over a third-party web-based viewer.

🔧 How It’s Done

1. Install a JSON Viewer

🔸 For Chromium browsers, add a JSON Viewer extension from the store to your browser toolkit.

2. Use Edge’s native formatting

🔸 Microsoft Edge formats JSON responses automatically when you open a .json URL, no extension required.

🔸 For older builds, you can enable it via edge://flags.

3. Get the raw text out of Power Automate first

🔸 In a flow run’s history, open the action, click Show raw outputs, and copy the body. Pasting that directly into a viewer that expects a full HTTP response (with headers) will fail, most extensions have a “paste raw JSON” mode separate from “paste a URL”, use that one.

🔸 For a live HTTP action mid-development, calling the same endpoint directly in the browser (or via a REST client) and letting Edge’s native .json formatting kick in avoids the copy-paste step entirely.

4. Mind sensitive data

🔸 Flow outputs often contain customer records, email addresses, or tokens. A browser extension processes that data locally in most cases, but not all, check whether the extension claims to be offline-only before pasting production data from a customer environment. When in doubt, use your code editor’s built-in JSON formatting (VS Code: Format Document) instead, it never leaves your machine.

5. Enjoy Clarity

🔸 Open your JSON data in a new tab, or your editor, to view it in a structured, easy-to-navigate format. Collapse arrays you don’t need and expand only the object you’re debugging.

🎉 Result

By harnessing a JSON Viewer, complex JSON structures become clear and easy to navigate, making your Power Automate data handling more efficient and enjoyable, without exposing raw run data to a service you haven’t vetted.

🌟 Key Advantages

🔸 Enhanced Clarity: Say goodbye to JSON jumble and hello to structured data.

🔸 Swift Analysis: Accelerate your debugging and data scrutiny.

🔸 User Centric: Enjoy a streamlined, intuitive interface.

🔸 Data-Aware: Choosing a local formatter over a cloud-based one when the payload is sensitive keeps you compliant without slowing you down.

🛠️ FAQ

1. Which browsers support JSON Viewer extensions?

Most modern browsers including Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari support JSON viewer extensions or have built-in JSON formatting capabilities.

2. Can I use a JSON Viewer for debugging Power Automate flows?

Absolutely! A JSON Viewer is perfect for examining HTTP responses, webhook payloads, and other JSON data in your flows.

3. Does a JSON Viewer work with large JSON files?

Yes, most JSON Viewer extensions can handle large files, though performance may vary depending on the file size and your browser.

🔗 Related Tips

🔸 #PowerPlatformTip 104: ‘Efficient JSON Handling’ - once the structure is readable, use it to build null-tolerant Parse JSON schemas.

🔸 #PowerPlatformTip 29: ‘ParseJSON Description’ - label the Dynamic Content entries a viewed JSON schema generates.