How to Add an Item's Created Date to a Power Automate Approval Email
Question details
The user wants to display the creation date of a specific SharePoint or list item within the body of an approval email generated by a Power Automate flow.
- Product
- Power Automate
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Configuring an approval workflow in Power Automate where approvers need to know exactly when the requested item was created.
- Observed behavior
- The user needs to locate and insert the correct dynamic-content field into the approval email action to successfully display the item's creation date.
Ensure you have an active Power Automate flow connected to your data source (like a SharePoint list) and have already added a 'Start and wait for an approval' or 'Create an approval' action to your workflow.
Insert the Created Dynamic Content Field
Use the built-in dynamic content menu in Power Automate to seamlessly add the item's creation date directly into your approval message.
Power Automate automatically pulls metadata from your triggers and actions. By utilizing the Dynamic Content panel, you can effortlessly extract the 'Created' date of a list item and embed it into your email body or details section without complex coding.
Navigate to your Power Automate flow and click on the specific approval email action (e.g., 'Start and wait for an approval') to expand its settings.
Click inside the 'Details' or message body text box. A Dynamic Content panel will appear on the side or as a pop-up. Search for and select the 'Created' or 'Created date' field related to your initial trigger.
If the default date format is too technical (like UTC format), you can format it. Switch to the 'Expression' tab and use a function like formatDateTime(). For example: formatDateTime(triggerOutputs()?['body/Created'], 'yyyy-MM-dd').
Click 'Save' at the top right of the screen. Run a manual test of your flow by creating a new item in your list, then check the generated approval email to confirm the date appears correctly for the approver.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why does the 'Created' date look like '2023-10-24T14:30:00Z' in my email?
Power Automate handles dates in ISO 8601 UTC format by default. To make it readable, you should wrap the dynamic content in a formatDateTime() expression within the Expression tab, specifying your desired format like 'MM/dd/yyyy'.
Can I put the creation date in the approval email subject line?
Yes. You can click on the 'Title' or 'Item Link Description' field inside your approval action and insert the 'Created' dynamic content from the menu just as you would in the main message body.
What if the 'Created' dynamic content field is missing from the list?
If it is missing, ensure your flow starts with a trigger that actually fetches the item data (e.g., 'When an item is created'). If your trigger doesn't fetch metadata, add a 'Get item' action before your approval step to pull the necessary date fields.
