Check If Field Is Blank in Power Automate [SharePoint, Excel & Trigger Conditions]

A few days ago, I worked with a client who needed to check if a field was blank in Power Automate. The requirement was simple before proceeding with certain actions. They wanted to ensure that a specific field wasn’t empty. If it was blank, the flow should take a different path.

I will explain how to check if a field is blank in Power Automate, covering scenarios like SharePoint lists and Excel data. Additionally, we will learn Power Automate trigger conditions if the field is empty.

Check If Field Is Blank in Power Automate

Let’s discuss one by one how to check if the field is blank in Power Automate:

Check If the SharePoint List Field Is Blank Using Power Automate

Suppose you have a SharePoint list called Support Tickets that tracks customer issues. Each ticket has an Assigned To column (Person or Group field). If a ticket remains unassigned (blank in the Assigned To field) for more than 24 hours, an email should be sent to the support manager to escalate the issue.

To do this, follow the below steps:

1. Navigate to the Power Automate Home page, click + Create, and select the Scheduled Cloud Flow. Then provide the following information:

• Starting: Provide the date you want to run your flow.
• at: Provide the time you want to run the flow, in my case, at 9:00 AM.
• Repeat every: We want to run the flow daily.

2. Then, I use the Get Items action to get the items where Assigned To is blank from the SharePoint list and provide the below parameters:

• Site Address: Select the site address where the task tracker list is present.
• List Name: Select the task tracker list from the drop-down.
• Filter Query: Field, check if the Assigned To column is empty:

AssignedTo eq null

3. Use a Filter array action to check for Unassigned Tickets Older Than 24 Hours. I used the below parameters in the Filter array:

• From:

@{outputs('Get_items')?['body/value']}

• Filter Query:

@{addHours(item()?['Created'],24)} is less than @{utcNow()}

4. Add a Send an email (V2) action and provide the below parameters:

• To: Provide the support manager’s email.
• Subject: Unassigned Support Tickets Pending for Over 24 Hours.
• Body:

<p>Dear Support Manager,</p>  

<p>The following support tickets have been unassigned for more than  <b>24 hours</b> and require immediate attention:</p>  

<table border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0">
    <tbody><tr>
        <th>Ticket ID</th>
        <th>Client Name</th>
        <th>Issue Description</th>
        <th>Created On</th>
    </tr><tr>
        <td>@{item()?['TicketID']}</td>
        <td>@{item()?['ClientName']}</td>
        <td>@{item()?['IssueDescription']}</td>
        <td>@{formatDateTime(item()?['Created'],'dd/MM/yyyy')}</td>
    </tr></tbody></table>

<p>Please assign these tickets to the appropriate team members as soon as possible.</p>

<p>Best Regards,</p>  
<p>IT Support Team</p>

Click on Save in Power Automate after setting up all the actions. Click Test -> Select Manually -> Click Run Flow. After the flow run is successful, the support manager will review the below email:

Check If the Excel Field Is Blank Using Power Automate

Suppose you have an Excel table named Employee Data with the following columns:

• Employee ID
• Employee Name
• Date of Birth
• Email Address

You want to check if the Date of Birth field is blank for a particular row; if it is, send an email to notify the relevant person to fill it out.

Now, follow the below steps:

1. Go to make.powerautomate.com and sign in with your Microsoft account. Select Scheduled cloud flow under the Start from blank section. Then provide the below parameters:

• Flow name: Enter a name: Check Blank Date of Birth.
• Starting: Choose a start date (e.g., today, April 1, 2025).
• At: Set a time (e.g., 9:00 AM).
• Repeat every: Select “1 Day” to run daily.

2. Search for Excel Online (Business) and select it. Choose the action List rows present in a table. Then provide the below parameters:

• Location: Select the location of your Excel file.
• Document Library: Choose the appropriate library.
• File: Click the folder icon and select your Excel file containing the EmployeeTable table.
• Table: Select EmployeeTable from the dropdown (ensure your data is formatted as a table in Excel with this name).

This step retrieves all rows from the EmployeeTable table.

3. Search for Apply to each and select it. In the Select an output from previous steps field, choose a value from the List rows present in a table action (this loops through each row in the table).

4. Inside the Apply to each block, click Add an action. Search for Condition and select it.

• First box: Click and select Date of Birth from the dynamic content (under List rows present in a table).
• Operator: Choose is equal to.
• Second box: Leave it blank (this checks if the Date of Birth field is empty).

5. In the True branch (where Date of Birth is blank), click Add an action. Search for Send an email (V2) under Outlook. Then provide the below parameters:

• To: Select Email Address from the dynamic content (this sends the email to the employee’s email).
• Subject: Enter something like Action Required: Missing Date of Birth.
• Body:

Dear @{item()?['Employee Name']},

Your Date of Birth is missing in our records. Please update it in the Employee Data table at your earliest convenience.

Employee ID: @{item()?['Employee ID']}

Thank you,
HR Team

Click Save at the top of the flow editor. Click Test in the upper-right corner. Choose Manually and click Test. Ensure your Excel file has at least one row with a blank Date of Birth to verify the email is sent correctly. After the flow runs successfully, the employee receives an email if the date of birth is blank.

Power Automate Trigger Condition If Field is Empty

Suppose you have a SharePoint list named Task Tracker with the following columns:

• Task ID (Single line of text): The task ID.
• Task Name (Single line of text): The task Name
• Due Date (Date and time): The deadline for the task.
• Assigned To (Person or Group): The person responsible.

The goal is to trigger a Power Automate flow only when a new item is created in the Task Tracker list and the Due Date field is empty. When triggered, the flow will send an email to the team leader.

To do this, follow the below steps:

1. Create an automated cloud flow. Give the flow a name and select the trigger when an item is created. Also, provide the Site Address and List Name.

2. Click the ellipsis (…) on the When an item is created trigger and select Settings. Scroll down to Trigger Conditions. Add the below expression to check if the Due Date field is empty:

@empty(triggerOutputs()?['body/DueDate'])

Here:

• triggerOutputs()?[‘body/DueDate’]: retrieves the Due Date value from the SharePoint item.
• empty(): checks if that value is null or empty.

3. Search for and select Send an email (V2) (Office 365 Outlook) and provide the below parameters:

• To: Enter the team leader’s email.
• Subject: Task Created Without Due Date: @{triggerBody()?[‘TaskName’]}
• Body: Add a message like:

A new task has been added to the Task Tracker list without a due date.
Task: @{triggerBody()?['TaskName']}
Assigned To: @{triggerBody()?['AssignedTo/DisplayName']}

Please follow up to ensure a due date is assigned.

Click Save to save the flow. Go to your Task Tracker list in SharePoint and create a new item without adding the due date.

After the flow runs successfully, the team leader will receive an email like the one below:

Conclusion

This tutorial taught us to check if a field is blank in Power Automate and take appropriate action. We covered scenarios for SharePoint lists and Excel data. For SharePoint, we set up a flow to identify unassigned support tickets and escalate them via email if they remained unassigned for over 24 hours.

In Excel, we checked for missing Date of Birth entries and notified employees to update their records. Lastly, we demonstrated how to use a trigger condition to run a flow only when the Due Date field is empty in a SharePoint list.

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