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SharePoint List

Definition

The SharePoint Lists trigger automatically initiates a flow whenever a change occurs in a specific SharePoint list. Unlike document libraries that manage files, this trigger is designed to monitor data records—enabling you to build responsive automations for business processes like task tracking, inventory management, or helpdesk ticketing. It detects when list items are created, updated, or removed, ensuring your flows react instantly to data changes.

Key capabilities include:

  • Event-Driven Automation Trigger flows specifically when a New Item is Added, an Item is Updated, or an Item is Deleted, covering the full data lifecycle.
  • Precise Targeting Configurable to listen to a specific Site ID and List ID, ensuring the flow only reacts to changes in the relevant dataset.
  • Optimized Data Retrieval Allows you to specify exactly which Columns to Return, keeping the flow efficient by retrieving only the necessary data fields.

This trigger is essential for keeping external systems, notifications, and databases in perfect sync with your SharePoint data without the need for manual checks or scheduled polling.

Example Use Cases

  1. Automated Expense Approval Trigger a flow immediately when a new row is added to an “Employee Expenses” list to automatically route the details to a manager for approval.

  2. Customer Status Notifications Send an automated email to a client when their support ticket status in the “Helpdesk” list is Updated to “Resolved” or “Waiting for Customer.”

  3. Inventory Restocking Alert Monitor a “Product Inventory” list and trigger a flow when an item’s quantity is Updated to a value below the safety threshold, alerting the purchasing team to re-order.

  4. Sync Leads to CRM Automatically create a new contact in Salesforce or HubSpot whenever a new potential client is Added to the “Sales Leads” SharePoint list.

  5. Audit Data Removal Trigger a log entry in a secure audit table whenever a record is Deleted from the “Sensitive Client Data” list to maintain compliance and track who removed the information.


Configuration

The configuration for the SharePoint Lists trigger is divided into two main parts: Settings and Conditional Run.

Settings

These settings define exactly which SharePoint list to monitor and which specific data changes should activate your flow.

  1. Connection

    This field establishes the secure link between Zenphi and your SharePoint environment.

    • Purpose: To authorize Zenphi to access your organization’s sites and lists.
    • How to use: Select an existing SharePoint connection from the dropdown list. If you haven’t connected one yet, click the + button to authenticate with your Microsoft account. This is a one-time setup per connection.
    • Use Case: This connection provides the necessary permissions for the flow to “watch” the list and read the item details.

  2. Event Type

    This determines the specific action that will activate the flow. The trigger will only fire for the event selected here.

    • Purpose: To categorize your automation logic based on the data lifecycle.
    • How to use: Select one of the three options from the dropdown:
      • New Item Added: Fires when a new row is created.
      • Item Updated: Fires when an existing row is modified.
      • Item Deleted: Fires when a row is removed.
    • Use Case: You would use New Item Added to trigger an onboarding flow for a new employee, while you would use Item Updated to trigger a status change notification for an existing ticket.

  3. Site Id

    This identifies the specific SharePoint Site (or Team Site) where the list is located.

    • Purpose: To narrow down the monitoring scope to a specific workspace within your organization.
    • How to use: Click the dropdown to browse and select the name of the SharePoint site. This acts as the container for your lists.
    • Use Case: Select the “Sales Team” site to access lists related to leads and opportunities, ignoring lists on the “IT Support” site.

  4. List Id

    This identifies the specific List within the selected Site that you want to monitor.

    • Purpose: To pinpoint the exact “spreadsheet” or dataset to watch for changes.
    • How to use: After selecting a Site, use this dropdown to choose the list name (e.g., “Helpdesk Tickets”, “Inventory”, “Employee Directory”).
    • Use Case: By selecting the “Onboarding Checklist” list, you ensure the flow ignores changes happening in other lists like “Holiday Calendar” on the same site.

  5. Columns to Return

    This allows you to customize the output by selecting which specific data fields (columns) the trigger should retrieve from the list item.

    • Purpose: To optimize flow performance by fetching only the data you actually need, rather than the entire record.
    • How to use: Select specific columns from the dropdown. For example, if you just need to email a customer, select only the “Customer Email” and “First Name” columns.
    • Use Case: If your list has 100 columns but your flow only needs 3 of them to update a dashboard, selecting only those 3 reduces data load and speeds up execution.

Conditional Run

The Conditional Run feature allows you to control whether a flow should proceed based on the specific metadata of the event. If the conditions are not met, the flow will be skipped, ensuring your automation is efficient.

How Conditional Run Works

When enabled, Conditional Run allows you to define one or more conditions using AND / OR logic. Each condition includes four elements:

  1. Condition Type

    • When: The flow will run only if the condition is true.
    • Except When: The flow will not run if the condition is true.

  2. Value to Evaluate

    Choose the field from the Trigger Outputs that you want to check. The available fields are:

    • Event Type
    • Site Path
    • Site Id
    • List Id
    • Event Time
    • Item Id
    • Item Unique Id
    • Item Deleted

  3. Operator

    Define how the comparison will be made. Options include:

    • Text Comparisons: Equals, Contains, Starts With, Ends With (Used for Event Type, Item Id, Site Path, etc.)
    • Logic Comparisons: Is True, Is False (Specifically for the Item Deleted field)

  4. Comparison Value

    Set the value to compare against. This can be:

    • A fixed text (e.g., "ItemAdded")
    • A Vault variable (for managed constants)

Example Conditions

  • Target Specific Event Types Run the flow When Event Type Equals "ItemUpdated" (Useful if you selected multiple events in Settings but want this specific flow to only handle updates)

  • Exclude Deletions Run the flow When Item Deleted Is False (Ensures the flow only processes active items and ignores delete events)

  • Filter by Site Scope Run the flow When Site Path Contains "/sites/HR" (Ensures the flow only runs for lists located strictly within the HR site collection)

  • Target Specific Item by ID Run the flow When Item Id Equals "55" (Useful for testing or specific logic where you only want to monitor a single known record)

Outputs

When the SharePoint Lists trigger fires, it captures the essential metadata about the event and the specific list item involved. These outputs are available throughout your flow via the Token Picker.

Note: If you selected specific fields in the “Columns to Return” setting, those values will also appear as tokens under this trigger step, allowing you to use the actual data from the list row (e.g., “Title”, “Status”, “Amount”) in your flow.

Here is a breakdown of the standard system outputs:

  1. Event Type The specific type of change that triggered the flow (e.g., ItemAdded, ItemUpdated, ItemDeleted). You can use this to create branching logic in your flow—for example, using a If/Else condition to send a “Welcome” email if the event is ItemAdded, but a “Status Update” email if the event is ItemUpdated.

  2. Event Time The date and time (in UTC) when the change actually occurred in SharePoint. This is essential for audit trails or for calculating SLAs (Service Level Agreements) by comparing the event time to the current time.

  3. Site Path The full URL of the SharePoint site collection where the change occurred. This is useful for logging purposes or if you need to construct a direct link to the list item in an email notification.

  4. Site Id The unique identifier of the SharePoint site collection. This ID is often required if you need to use other SharePoint actions (like “Get Site Users”) dynamically within the flow.

  5. List Id The unique identifier of the SharePoint list where the change took place. Like the Site ID, this is a technical key used to reference the list in subsequent API calls or actions.

  6. Item Id The sequential integer ID of the specific list item (e.g., 55, 102). Crucial Utility: This is the most important token for connecting to other actions. You will use this Item Id in actions like Get Item, Update Item, or Delete Item to identify exactly which record to process.

  7. Item Unique Id The globally unique identifier (GUID) of the specific list item. Unlike the sequential Item Id, this value is unique across the entire system and is useful for reliable logging or deep-linking.

  8. Item Deleted A True/False (Boolean) value indicating whether the item was deleted. You can use this in an If/Else condition to prevent errors—for example, ensuring you don’t try to “Update” an item that has just been deleted.

📌 Example: Automated Employee Onboarding

Scenario Your HR team maintains a SharePoint list named “New Hires” to track incoming employees. When a recruiter adds a new row to this list with the employee’s name, email, and department, you want to automatically trigger an onboarding sequence that notifies the IT department to prepare their equipment.

How the Flow Works

  1. Trigger: The flow starts immediately when a new record is created in the list.
    • Event Type: New Item Added
    • List Id: New Hires
    • Columns to Return: Employee Name, Personal Email, Department, Start Date (Selecting these ensures their values are available in the flow).
  2. Conditional Run: You want to ensure this flow only runs for the “Sales” department.
    • Note: While the standard trigger outputs (like Item Id) are available here, filtering by specific list column values (like Department) is best done using an If/Else condition inside the flow designer after the trigger fires.
    • Alternatively, you can use Conditional Run to ensure Item Deleted is False.
  3. Steps in the Flow:
    • Send Email: Use the Personal Email and Employee Name (retrieved via “Columns to Return”) to send a welcome packet to the new hire.
    • Task Assignment: Use the Department value to route a task to the correct IT support team (e.g., “Setup Laptop for Sales Team”).
    • Update Item: Use the Item Id output to update the list record, changing a “Status” column from “New” to “Processing”.

Why It’s Useful This automation replaces manual email chains. By treating the SharePoint List as the “source of truth,” the flow ensures that every new hire receives the exact same experience instantly, and the IT team is notified with all the necessary details (Start Date, Department) without HR needing to send a separate request.