Others

How to Limit Email Body Lines in Power Automate and Microsoft Lists

WPS Editor Oct 1, 2026 868 views

Question details

The user needs to limit or truncate the text copied from a flagged email's body into a Microsoft List using Power Automate.

How to Limit Email Body Lines in Power Automate and Microsoft Lists

Product: Power Automate, Microsoft Lists
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Automating the transfer of flagged email content into a list or spreadsheet without storing excessive text.
Observed behavior: By default, Power Automate transfers the entire email message body, resulting in overly long entries in the destination list.

Before you start

Ensure you have edit access to your Power Automate flow and the target Microsoft List or SharePoint list.

Solution 1Recommended

Use Power Automate Expressions to Truncate Text

Apply the substring expression in your flow to limit the character count of the email body before saving it to your list.

Power Automate does not have a native drag-and-drop action to limit string length, but you can achieve this easily using built-in expressions. This method ensures only a specific number of characters are passed to your destination column.

Locate the List Action

Open your flow in Power Automate and find the step where you create or update the item in Microsoft Lists.

Access Dynamic Content

Click inside the input field for the list column where the email body will be stored. This action opens the dynamic content menu.

Apply the Substring Expression

Switch to the 'Expression' tab in the dynamic content menu and enter a formula like substring(triggerOutputs()?['body/body'], 0, 250). This limits the text to the first 250 characters.

Test the Flow

Save your flow and flag a test email in your inbox to ensure the truncated text is successfully passed to your Microsoft List.

Use Power Automate Expressions to Truncate Text

Handle HTML Formatting: If the original email body contains HTML tags, add an 'Html to text' action in your flow before applying the substring expression to avoid cutting off HTML tags midway and breaking the formatting.

Free Microsoft Office alternative

Manage Data and Lists Seamlessly with WPS Office

While Microsoft Lists and Power Automate handle automated workflows, WPS Office provides a free, lightweight alternative for manually analyzing and tracking list data using robust spreadsheets. Enjoy full compatibility with Microsoft Excel formats and an intuitive, familiar interface that makes data management effortless.

1. Download WPS Office: Visit the official WPS website to download and install the free office suite on your device.
2. Open WPS Spreadsheet: Launch the application and open your exported list data or start a new workbook.
3. Apply Text Formulas: Use built-in text functions to clean, truncate, or organize your list data efficiently.

Fully compatible with Microsoft Excel (.xlsx) files for seamless data migration.Use advanced text formulas like LEFT, MID, and RIGHT to manage and truncate list data locally.Familiar interface makes transitioning from Microsoft Office quick and easy.Lightweight software that runs smoothly on almost any desktop or mobile device.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does my transferred email body contain HTML tags?

Power Automate captures email bodies in HTML format by default. To remove these tags, add the 'Html to text' action before your truncation step and use its plain text output in your final expression.

Can I extract specific lines instead of setting a character limit?

Yes. You can use the 'split' expression to divide the text at line breaks, and then use the 'take' expression to extract only the specified number of lines from the array.

How do I truncate text using an Excel or WPS Spreadsheet formula?

If you export your list data to a spreadsheet, you can use the formula =LEFT(A1, 100) to display only the first 100 characters of the text located in cell A1.

Office Quick Solutions