Fix Power Automate Planner Flow Not Retrieving Assigned User IDs
Question details
The user is attempting to export Microsoft Planner tasks into a SQL database using a scheduled Power Automate flow, but the fields for assigned user details are returning blank.
- Product
- Power Automate
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Scheduling a workflow to retrieve Planner tasks and store task details, including assignee emails, names, plan names, and bucket names, into SQL storage.
- Observed behavior
- The flow successfully retrieves the Planner tasks, but the assigned user fields remain completely blank instead of populating with the corresponding user IDs, names, or email addresses.
Ensure your Power Automate connections to Microsoft Planner and Office 365 Users are fully authenticated, and that you have the appropriate directory permissions to view user profile data.
Use the Office 365 Users Connector to Extract User Details
Since the Planner connector often returns assignments as a complex object or raw IDs, you need to parse these IDs and map them to the Office 365 Users connector to retrieve actual names and emails.
Microsoft Planner stores task assignments as a JSON object where the User ID is the key. To get human-readable data like email addresses and display names for your SQL database, you must extract this ID and query the directory.
After your 'List tasks' or 'Get task' Planner action, add an 'Apply to each' control and select the 'Assignments' dynamic content.
Use a 'Compose' action or 'Parse JSON' inside the loop to extract the specific User ID from the task assignment object.
Search for the Office 365 Users connector, select 'Get user profile (V2)', and pass the extracted User ID into the User (UPN) field.
Once the profile is retrieved, use dynamic content such as 'Display Name' and 'Mail' to populate the corresponding fields in your 'Insert row' SQL action.
Consult the Power Automate Community for Advanced Flow Templates
For highly customized data transformations—such as simultaneously retrieving Bucket Names, Plan Names, and user details—the official community offers specialized guidance.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Power Automate return assignment IDs instead of names for Planner tasks?
The Microsoft Planner API is designed to return raw assignment IDs for database efficiency. To get human-readable names and emails, you must cross-reference these IDs with Azure Active Directory using the Office 365 Users connector.
How do I get the Bucket Name instead of the Bucket ID in my flow?
You need to add a 'List buckets' action for the specific Plan before your task loop. Inside your loop, you can then use a 'Filter array' action to match the Bucket ID from the task to the Bucket Name from your list.
Why are the assignment fields completely blank in my SQL database?
This usually happens when dynamic content is improperly mapped. Because 'Assignments' is a complex JSON object rather than a simple string, passing it directly into a SQL text column without parsing it or looping through it first will result in blank or NULL values.
