Fix Power Automate Apply to Each Sending Multiple Emails
Question details
The user wants to send a single combined email instead of multiple individual emails when processing a SharePoint list with a multi-select column.
- Product
- Power Automate
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Triggering an automated email flow based on data from a SharePoint list containing a multi-select category column.
- Observed behavior
- Power Automate automatically wraps the email action in an 'Apply to each' loop, sending one email for every selected value rather than one consolidated email.
Ensure you have edit access to your Power Automate flow and verify the schema of the connected SharePoint multi-select column.
Combine Multi-Select Values Before the Email Action
Extract the multi-select values into a single string variable before sending the email to bypass the automatic Apply to Each loop.
When Power Automate detects an array (like multiple selected items in a SharePoint column), it automatically applies a loop to process each item individually. To fix this, you need to consolidate the array into a text string and send the email outside of the loop.
At the beginning of your flow (before the loop), click 'New step', search for 'Initialize variable', name it (e.g., 'CombinedCategories'), and set the type to 'String'.
Add an 'Apply to each' loop for your multi-select column. Inside this loop, add the 'Append to string variable' action. Select your variable and insert the dynamic content of your category value followed by a comma and a space.
Drag your 'Send an email' action so that it sits completely outside and below the 'Apply to each' loop.
In the body of your 'Send an email' action, insert the 'CombinedCategories' variable you created. Save and test the flow; it will now send just one email containing all selected values.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Power Automate automatically add an Apply to each loop?
When you reference dynamic content that contains an array of items (such as a multi-select column, email attachments, or multiple rows from Excel), Power Automate assumes you need to execute the action for every individual item. It automatically wraps the action in an 'Apply to each' loop to handle the array.
How can I format combined SharePoint values with line breaks instead of commas?
If you are using the 'Join' data operation, you can press 'Enter' in the 'Join with' delimiter box to create a line break. If using the 'Append to string variable' method, simply press 'Enter' after the dynamic value in the variable's value field.
Can I prevent an Apply to each loop when sending to multiple email addresses?
Yes. Instead of placing the 'Send an email' action inside a loop of user profiles, you can append the email addresses to a single string variable separated by semicolons (;). Then, place that single string variable into the 'To' field of a single email action located outside the loop.
