In Power Automate, setting an already-populated SharePoint list or library field to blank isn’t as simple as leaving the field blank in your flow. Luckily, it’s just a couple extra steps to make it possible.
In this post I’ll cover multiple column types as they’re a bit different.
- How to set text, date, number, and yes/no column values to blank
- How to set single choice column values to blank
- How to reset multi-choice column values to blank
- How to reset person column values to blank
How to set SharePoint text, date, number, and yes/no column values to blank
The steps in this section will work for these column types:
- Single line of text
- Multiline text
- Date
- Number
- Yes/No
- Click into the field you want to reset to blank
- Select Expression
- Type Null in the expression box (not case-sensitive)
- Click OK
Test your flow and it should reset the field value(s) to blank wherever you used the Null expression.
How to set SharePoint single choice field values to blank
To set a choice field back to blank (no selection) follow these steps:
- Add a step before updating the item that initializes a variable. The step is called Initialize Variable.
- Set the variable name to Blank, and the type to String. Do not set a value.
- In your update action, set the choice field value to the new variable from dynamic content.
Test your flow, and you should see your single choice field reset to no choice.
How to reset SharePoint multi-choice column values to blank
A normal choice column in SharePoint has more options that allow it to be set to multiple choice.
Changing a single-select choice column to a multi-choice field alters how Power Automate resets the field, but it’s still similar to the steps involved for a single choice field.
To set a multiple-choice field back to blank (no selections) follow these steps:
- Add a step before updating the item that initializes a variable. The step is called Initialize Variable.
- Set the variable name to BlankArray, and the type to Array. Do not set a value.
- In your update action, select the T icon next to your multiple-choice field.
- Set the multi-choice field value to the new variable from dynamic content.
Test your flow and your multi-choice fields should now reset to blank.
How to reset SharePoint person column values to blank
Perhaps one of the more complicated column types to reset, a person field takes a bit more work to reset. To accomplish this, we can use an HTTP request. Follow these steps to empty a SharePoint person column’s value.
- Add the Send an HTTP request to SharePoint step
- Following the screenshot below, set the fields as follows (you must replace all red items with your own values):
- Site Address (select your site)
- Method: POST
- Uri: _api/web/lists/getbytitle(‘YOUR LIST TITLE‘)/items(YOUR ITEM ID FROM DYNAMIC CONTENT)
- Headers
- IF-MATCH | *
- X-HTTP-Method | MERGE
- Content-Type | application/json;odata=verbose
- Accept | application/json;odata=verbose
- Body:
{
“__metadata”:{
“type”:”SP.Data.YOUR_x0020_LIST_x0020_TITLEListItem”
},
“YOURPERSONFIELDId”:”-1″
}
Important notes for the Body field
If your list name has a space, replace it with _x0020_ such as Null_x0020_demo.
Field names are different than display names. Even if your field displays with a space (Person field) it is likely Personfield on the backend. You can verify your column’s actual name by going to List settings (gear icon) and selecting your column from the Columns section. Your field’s actual name will be displayed in your browser’s URL.
Test your flow and you’ll find that your person column has been reset.
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