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How to Create Unique Support Ticket IDs in Power Automate

Maira Mehtab Sep 22, 2026 869 views

Question details

The user needs to generate unique IDs for each support ticket in a Power Automate flow that populates a SharePoint list from email data, but the current workflow is producing garbled output.

Product: Power Automate
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Building an automated email-based ticketing system that logs status updates to a SharePoint list.
Observed behavior: Instead of properly formatted unique identifiers, the flow generates and outputs garbled data into the ticketing system.

Before you start

Gather your exact flow steps, SharePoint column types, and any dynamic content expressions you are currently using, as these details are essential for diagnosing data formatting errors.

Solution 1Recommended

Consult the Microsoft Power Platform Community

Since complex Power Automate data formatting issues fall outside standard Office support, asking the dedicated Power Platform Community is the best way to get expert help.

Microsoft 365 and Office forums primarily focus on built-in Office features. Power Automate (formerly Microsoft Flow) questions require specialized knowledge regarding API connections, expressions, and data mapping.

Navigate to the Power Platform forum

Open your web browser and go to the official Microsoft Power Platform Community forums.

Prepare your troubleshooting details

Take screenshots of your flow steps in edit mode, document your SharePoint list column types, and copy the exact expressions causing the garbled output.

Submit your query

Create a new thread in the 'Building Flows' section, providing all your gathered details and sample outputs so the experts can identify the cause of the garbled data.

Helpful Tip: Providing a clear sample of what the 'garbled data' looks like will help community members determine if it's an encoding issue or a corrupted formula.

Solution 2

Use Built-in Unique Identifiers (Alternative approach)

To avoid complex string manipulations that might result in garbled text, use SharePoint's native indexing or standard Power Automate expressions.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why is my Power Automate ID outputting as garbled text?

This usually happens due to incorrect data type mapping, improper encoding when parsing emails, or using the wrong dynamic content expressions when transferring data to SharePoint.

Can I use the default SharePoint ID as my ticket number?

Yes. SharePoint automatically assigns a unique integer ID to every new list item. You can use this reliable built-in numbering system for basic ticketing solutions instead of creating complex ID generation flows.

What expression generates a random unique identifier in Power Automate?

You can use the `guid()` expression within a Compose action to generate a universally unique identifier (UUID) string, which is highly unlikely to ever duplicate.

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