Hello Community,
Recently, while working on a ServiceNow ↔ Azure DevOps (ADO) bidirectional integration, I came across a tricky issue in Flow Designer.
Since that time I was having this blocker so, I thought of sharing the approach here in case it helps others.
⚡ The Issue
I had a flow configured to run on update, which meant it could run for any Work Item ID.
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In my case, I was using the Update Work Item action from the Microsoft Azure DevOps Boards Spoke.
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The Work Item ID was being pulled dynamically from the trigger record (using a data pill).
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Normally, this field queries ADO in the background to fetch the Additional Fields available for that specific Work Item type (since the fields differ based on type).
The blocker:
When I passed the Work Item ID dynamically through a data pill, the Additional Fields section became read-only. This happened because no actual value was available at design time, so Flow Designer could not fetch the available fields.
📷 [Screenshot 1 – Additional Fields greyed out when using data pill]
📷 [Screenshot 2 – Additional Fields working when passing a static Work Item ID]
This meant I couldn’t configure or select the necessary Additional Fields for my integration.
✅ The Fix
The solution was to use the Generate Encoded Query action from the Utility Actions Spoke.
Here’s the step-by-step approach:
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Install Utility Actions Spoke (if not already installed).
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In Flow Designer, add an action before Update Work Item called Generate Encoded Query.
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Pass the required field name(s) and value(s) dynamically
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In the Update Work Item step, reference the output of Generate Encoded Query in the Additional Fields input.
With this setup, the Work Item ID remained dynamic, and Flow Designer was still able to fetch and update the correct ADO fields based on the Work Item type.
🔎 Why This Works
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ADO fields are context-sensitive and depend on the Work Item type.
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A static ID works fine because Flow Designer can resolve the available fields at design time.
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But with a data pill, the value isn’t known until runtime — so the fields appear locked.
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By generating an encoded query first, we essentially provide Flow Designer with the necessary reference, unlocking the Additional Fields dynamically.
🎯 Takeaway
In my case, this issue appeared while working on a ServiceNow ↔ Azure DevOps (ADO) integration, but the same situation can happen in other integrations too.
If you ever notice the Additional Fields section locked when passing values dynamically (via data pills), the Generate Encoded Query action can be a simple but powerful fix.
It’s a small trick, but it can save hours of head-scratching and make your flows more robust when working with dynamic data across different spokes.
Thanks for taking the time to read through this post! I hope this solution helps anyone who might run into a similar situation in Flow Designer.
If you’ve faced this issue (or found other approaches), I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences in the comments below.
And if you found this useful, please consider hitting 👍 Like and sharing it with anyone who might be facing the same challenge.
