#PowerPlatformTip 59 – ‘Handle Dynamic Content’

💡 Challenge

When using expressions like item()['id'] in Power Automate, flows can fail if the id property is missing from some items, causing errors and unreliable behavior.

✅ Solution

Leverage the safe navigation operator ? to safely access properties, preventing errors by returning a null when a property is absent.

🔧 How It’s Done

Here’s how to do it:

1. Locate the dynamic content expression.
   🔸 Identify expressions like item()['id'] in your flow action.
   🔸 Note that this expression throws an error if id is missing.
2. Add the safe navigation operator.
   🔸 Update the expression to item()?['id'].
   🔸 The ? ensures the flow returns null instead of failing on missing properties.

🎉 Result

By using item()?['id'], your flows gracefully handle missing properties, returning null and avoiding crashes when processing inconsistent data.

🌟 Key Advantages

🔸 Prevents flow failures due to missing properties.
🔸 Simplifies error handling by returning null instead of errors.
🔸 Improves flow reliability when dealing with dynamic or inconsistent data.

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🎥 Video Tutorial

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🛠️ FAQ

1. What is the safe navigation operator (?) in Power Automate?
The safe navigation operator (?) prevents runtime errors when accessing properties that may not exist on an object or array element, returning null instead of throwing an error.

2. When should I use item()?['property'] instead of item()['property']?
Use item()?['property'] whenever a property might be missing or undefined to ensure your flow doesn’t fail and handles missing values gracefully.

3. Will using the safe navigation operator affect performance?
No, the safe navigation operator has minimal performance impact and greatly improves the stability of your flows by avoiding unnecessary errors.