Sharepoint Input List dropdown / selection

[Mario36]

I'm trying to connect to a Sharepoint via the Sharepoint Input List Tool and run this on the Gallery. Currently, the Sharepoint Input List Tool has an inbuilt option to select the required list from the Sharepoint. Is there a way that this list can be populated as a dropdown list when this is run on the Gallery or Analytic App ?

The reason I require this is so that it gives the user an option to choose the required data from the list and run the workflow.

Could someone please help at the earliest ?

[jacob_kahn]

I'm wondering if you can use a Dropdown Interface tool that updates the List value.

The Dropdown interface tool allows you to specify certain values to push to the tool being updated via the connected Action tool with a specified value.

Have you any experience in that world?

Jacob

[danilang]

Hi @Mario36 

If the names of the SharePoint lists don't change regularly, you can just enter the list as manual entries in a Drop Down tool.  Connect this to the SharePoint List Input tool and have the action tool update the List entry.  It will help if you always use the same view, i.e. Default for each list

Dan

[Mario36]

I did explore this route but it did not help. The dropdown needs to be dependent on a list and I want this list to be on the dropdown. Confusing but hope that made sense.

[Mario36]

Hi Dan,

The Sharepoint list does change monthly, I did try this option of choosing a Date tool to provide the user to choose the month and then convert this date to match the sharepoint list name and feed this as an input on the Dropdown List. Unfortunately, this did not help either.

• Reference Date = 3/26/2021
• Converts to =  March2021
• Concatenates with the Sharepoint List Name  = ListMarch2021
• Do the same for the prior month
• Feed this as a dropdown list

This did not work.

[danilang]

Hi @Mario36 

The config of the interface tools, values in the drop downs, etc,  is determined when the workflow is opened based on the metadata contained in it .  The tools in your Reference Date container don't run until the user presses the Run button so the values in Drop Down 54 don't get updated until it's too late.  

You can get around this by splitting the workflow into 2 chained apps.  The first contains everything in the Reference date container.  Modify it so that it writes the list names to a yxdb stored in the %temp% directory.  Put the rest of the code in the 2nd app and change Drop Down 54's list values to External source and point it to the yxdb created in the first app.  

The first app will run, update the yxdb and then automatically launch the second app.  The second will read the values form the yxdb, before the drop drown is displayed so the newly generated values will be correctly presented to the users

Dan

[Mario36]

Hi Dan,

This solution you proposed was one of my trials and it was successful and met my requirements.

I was looking for a more dynamic way to get the Sharepoint list as a dropdown. Something which can be used across any Sharepoint and not restricted to this one where the list name depends on the date and couple of concatenations. The dropdown on the Sharepoint Input list tool is what I want to be displayed on the Analytic app or Gallery.

Grateful if you could help.

[danilang · Accepted solution]

Hi @Mario36 

The only way that I can think to do this is to call the SP API and get a list of the SP Lists defined on a specific site.  Use this to populate the yxdb. 

The internals of the SP Input tool are a black box, but it probably does something similar in the background to populate the list.    

Dan

[danilang]

Hi @Mario36 

If you've never connected to an API before, here's a good tutorial to start with.  I've never had to connect to the SP API before ,but the REST api documentation is here.   You'll need to get an authentication token for your SP domain as well.

Dan