The use case is simple. If there is an update to a [record], send a notification with the previous values and the new values.
First, if you didn’t realize, Flow trigger execution tracks which fields have changed.
Below shows the output from above. The changed fields data is stored in an Array. This example shows one field changed (from a change request record). You can see the previous value and the new value of the field “state”. If it was a reference field, current_value and possible previous_value would show as sysIDs.
{
"Changed Fields": [
{
"current_display_value": "Authorize",
"current_value": "-3",
"field_name": "state",
"previous_display_value": "Assess",
"previous_value": "-4"
}
]
}
Second, how do I get that data and use it in an email?
Others have shared solutions that check for a specific field change—like sending a notification if the Short Description changes. But what happens if multiple fields are updated at once? Using a "For Each" loop on the changed fields array might give you the needed data, but it could lead to multiple notifications—one for each field change—which isn’t practical.
In my scenario, the email notification depended on changes to four specific fields. To handle this, I created four Flow variables, one for each field, and then used a script step to assign either the current value or the previous value, depending on whether the field had changed. Let me walk you through how I did it.
Field | Current value | Previous value |
Assigned to | Mike | Joe |
Status | Hold | In progress |
Business App | Visio | Visio |
In the script (posted below) for each flow variable, I check if the field (e.g., Assigned To) is in the list of changed fields. If it's not, the variable is set to the current value (e.g., Mike). But if the field is found in the changed fields, I set the variable to the previous value (e.g., Joe).
This way, when sending the email using the Send Email flow action, I can reference:
- The flow variable for the previous value, and
- The trigger record for the current value.
This approach ensures that only one email is sent, with clear context about what changed.
Here is my code:
//get the data from changed field output
var changedArray = fd_data.trigger.changed_fields;
//get the current value for the field I need
var output = fd_data.trigger.current.assigned_to;
for (var i = 0; i < changedArray.length; i++) {
//if you find assigned to in the changedArray
if (changedArray[i].field_name == ‘assigned_to’) {
// get the previous value
output = changedArray[i].previous_display_value;
}
}
return output;
Does anyone else have a different solution?
I hope this helps someone else!
Thanks for reading.
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