#PowerPlatformTip 97: 'Enhanced Pagination'

TL;DR: Raise the default item limits (Excel 256, SharePoint 100) by enabling Pagination and setting a higher threshold in the Get items action settings.

💡 Challenge

In Power Automate, the default “Get items” action settings limit the number of items returned from Excel and SharePoint sources. Excel is capped at 256 items, while SharePoint defaults to 100.

✅ Solution

Adjusting the pagination settings is crucial for Excel and SharePoint integrations. It ensures that you retrieve more than the default number of items, enhancing data handling capabilities.

🔧 How It’s Done

Here’s how to do it:

1. In Power Automate, open your flow and locate the “Get items” action.
2. Click the three dots (…) on the action and open Settings.

3. Turn on Pagination and set the Threshold to the number of items you need.
   🔸 For Excel: increase the limit beyond the default 256.

   🔸 For SharePoint: raise it above the default 100.

4. Carefully balance performance and data retrieval needs.

🎉 Result

Efficient and complete data retrieval from Excel and SharePoint, overcoming the default item limit constraints.

🌟 Key Advantages

🔸 Comprehensive data access for larger datasets.

🔸 Customizable settings to match specific project requirements.

🔸 Improved data handling and performance in complex workflows.

🎥 Video Tutorial

🛠️ FAQ

1. What are the default item limits for Excel and SharePoint in the ‘Get items’ action?

By default, the Excel connector returns up to 256 items, while the SharePoint connector returns up to 100 items.

2. How can I increase the pagination threshold in my flow?

Open the ‘Get items’ action, click on the three dots to access Settings, enable Pagination, and set the Threshold to the desired value.

3. Will increasing the pagination limit slow down my flow?

Raising the item limit can impact performance and run time. Test different threshold values to find a balance between data retrieval needs and performance.

🔗 Related Tips

🔸 #PowerPlatformTip 95: ‘Optimized SharePoint Queries’ - filter with OData first, so you need less pagination in the first place.

🔸 #PowerPlatformTip 47: ‘Batch-Method within SharePoint’ - the write-side counterpart, for bulk create/update/delete instead of bulk reads.