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How to Check If a Person Is in a Multi-Person Column in Power Automate

· 7 min read
Jagdish Kumawat
Jagdish Kumawat
Founder @ Dewiride

A SharePoint Person column that allows several people comes into a flow as an array of people. To check whether one person is among them, turn the column into a list of emails with Select, then test the list with contains() in a Condition. Lower-case both sides so capital letters don't matter.

The example is Get Waiting Approvals, a flow of the Overtime Timesheet app. Each department in its Departments list has an Approvers column with one or more people, and the flow needs the departments that the person running it approves.

Why Not a Filter Query?​

The obvious idea is to ask SharePoint for the departments where Approvers includes the person. Microsoft's SharePoint REST query article rules it out: Because multi-value lookup fields are returned as a string of multiple values, there's no way to query for them. So the flow gets the departments and checks each one itself.

Prerequisites​

Step 1: Turn the Column into a List of Emails​

Inside the loop, add Select. I named it Approver emails. Set From to the current item's column, with an expression:

Approver emails → From
items('For_each_department')?['Approvers']

The Approver emails pane with From required and empty, Map in key and value mode, and the expression editor beside it containing items('For_each_department')?['Approvers']

Don't pick Approvers from the dynamic content list here: the designer wrapped the action in a second loop over all the departments when I did (Fixed: Power Automate Adds a Second For Each Loop When You Pick a Token).

Switch Map to text mode and enter each person's email in lower case (How to Pick One Field from Each Item with Select in Power Automate):

Approver emails → Map (text mode)
toLower(item()?['Email'])

The Approver emails pane with From set to items(...) and Map to toLower(...), next to the canvas with Approver emails directly inside For each department

Step 2: Check the List with contains()​

Add a Condition after Select (How to Add a Condition in Power Automate). I named it Check the caller approves it. On the left, an expression that's true when the list holds the person's email, also in lower case. Set the operator to is equal to, and on the right, the expression true:

Check the caller approves it → left value
contains(body('Approver_emails'), toLower(outputs('Get_the_caller')?['body/mail']))

Its Code view:

The Code view of Check the caller approves it: type If, an expression whose and contains one equals of contains(body('Approver_emails'), toLower(outputs('Get_the_caller')?['body/mail'])) and @true, and in its actions Add_the_department, an AppendToArrayVariable of items('For_each_department')?['ID'] to MyDepartmentIds

contains() on an array checks whether one of its items is the value. Microsoft's functions reference notes that it's case-sensitive, which is why both sides go through toLower().

Step 3: Act on the Result​

In the True branch, do what a match means. The example keeps the department's ID in an array (How to Add Items to an Array Variable in Power Automate). The loop with both steps:

For each department containing Approver emails and Check the caller approves it, with Add the department in the True branch and 0 Actions in the False branch

The Result​

For Daniel, the approver of Radiology, the condition was true for Radiology only, and the flow went on to return the entries waiting in that department.

Common Mistakes​

MistakeWhat happensDo this instead
A filter query on the multi-person columnSharePoint can't query multi-value person fieldsCheck each item in the flow
Comparing emails without toLower()A capital letter stops a matchtoLower() on both sides
Picking the column from dynamic content inside the loopA second loop over all the itemsitems('<loop name>')?['Column']

Troubleshooting​

SymptomLikely causeFix
The condition is never trueDifferent capitals, or the wrong email fieldCheck both values in the run
Select returns objects, not emailsMap is in key and value modeSwitch to text mode
A new For each appeared around SelectThe column came from dynamic contentUndo, then the items() expression

FAQ​

Does this work for a Person column with one person?​

A single-person column comes through as one object, not an array. This flow reads one the same way for Created By: item()?['Author']?['Email']. Compare that email with equals(), with no Select and no contains().

Can I check by name instead of email?​

Names aren't unique, and people's display names change. The email identifies the person.

Conclusion​

SharePoint can't filter on a multi-person column, so check it in the flow: Select the column's emails in lower case, and test them with contains() and the person's lower-case email in a Condition.

Additional Resources​