Let's POWER Automate

From no-code to low-code

Menu
  • Expressions
  • Filters
  • General
  • Application specific solutions
    • Dataverse
    • Excel
    • Forms
    • Outlook
    • Planner
    • Power Apps
    • SharePoint
    • Teams
  • Triggers
  • Ready to use solutions
    • Approval Process Template
    • Task Delegation App
    • The Ultimate Power Automate expressions cheat sheet
    • Power Automate HTTP requests to SharePoint cheat sheet
    • Power Automate HTTP requests to Graph API cheat sheet
  • ABOUT ME
  • Get help with your flow
  • POWER PLATFORM SERVICES
Menu

Power Automate filter on SharePoint calculated column

Posted on September 9, 2020April 14, 2021 by Tom

“I need to use calculated column in a filter but Power Automate always returns Action ‘Get_items’ failed”

“The field ‘MyField’ of type ‘Calculated’ cannot be used in the query filter expression.”


As the error message tells you, in Power Automate you can’t use calculated columns in the Get items’ Filter Query, no matter how hard you try. It is a simple query that can compare only columns with a static value, calculated fields with their dynamic values depending on multiple columns are not supported. Are there any workarounds then?

It depends on what type of formula are you using in the calculated column.

Comparison between multiple columns

=[Column1]>[Column2]

There’s no workaround, the filter can’t compare one column with another. It needs a single column compared to a specific value.

Date operations using multiple columns

=DATEDIF([Column1], [Column2], "d")

Again, no workaround as there’s no specific value to compare with.

Mathematical operations using multiple columns

=[Column1]-[Column2]

No workaround.

Text operations with multiple columns

=CONCATENATE([Column1], " ", [Column2])

Finally something (unless you need to use the text columns in a logical operation, that would be again not possible). If you’re using the calculated column to build a string, you can split it into multiple pieces in the filter. Instead of :

CalculatedColumn eq 'Number One' 

use:

 Column1 eq 'Number' and Column2 eq 'One'.

Operations using just one column

=[Column1]+3 or =IF([Column1]="Number One", "OK", "Not OK")

These can be rewritten into the filter. When you look on it, the formula contains only a single column and a specific value:

 Column1 eq '<value-3>' or Column1 eq 'Number One'

General workaround

There’s also possibility to skip the Filter Query in the Get items / Get files action, get all items from a list / library and implement the filter (incl. formulas with multiple columns) later in the flow using IF conditions. I’d avoid such approach as such flows are slow, difficult to test and difficult to debug.

Summary

In the end, you should consider if you really need to use calculated columns in your flow, maybe there’s another non-calculated column you could use instead.


🚀 Master Power Automate

Join 2,000+ professionals getting actionable Power Automate tutorials, solutions, cheat sheets & tips every week.

No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.

1 thought on “Power Automate filter on SharePoint calculated column”

  1. Pingback: Power Automate Reminder sử dụng Ngày trong Cột được Tính toán của SharePoint - SharePoint Châu Âu, Office 365 & Azure Conference, 2022 - Plugin Thanh Toán

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

🚀 Master Power Automate

Join 2,000+ professionals getting actionable Power Automate tutorials, solutions, cheat sheets & tips every week.

No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.

Working on an Approval process?

Use the Approval Process Template and the Task Delegation App to skip the hard part and deploy a fully functional approval solution on a SharePoint list in minutes! And then the next one, and the next one...

Approval Template Preview ✨ Learn more ✨

Turn ideas into flows with ease!

Grab the complete Power Automate Cheat Sheet Bundle—everything you need to master expressions, SharePoint HTTP calls, and Graph API in Power Automate.

Cheat Sheet Bundle Preview ✨ Get the Cheat Sheets

Didn't find what you were looking for?
Need to adjust a solution to fit your needs?
Or would you just like to get an assistance from somebody with thousands of hours of experience with Power Automate?

Power Automate blogs worth visiting

Damien Bird
Dennis (Expiscornovus)
Paul Murana

©2025 Let's POWER Automate | Theme by SuperbThemes