The min Function finds in an array of numbers the lowest number. Quite simple and handy.
Usage
It follows a simple pattern.
- An array of numbers (integer or float)
Example:
Array called 'NUMBERS' with the following elements:
[2,4,3,1,6,8,9,10,1,22,214,55,3,2,1]
min(variables('NUMBERS'))
will return
1
Quite straightforward, right?
How about float numbers?
Array called 'NUMBERS' with the following elements:
[2,4.2,3,0.2,1,6,8,9,10,1,22,214,55,3,2,1]
min(variables('NUMBERS'))
will return
0.2
Works perfectly even if you mix them in the same array.
If you want to create the array directly in the function you can do the following:
min(createArray(1,2,3))
and it will return
1
Limitations
There are no documented limitations. I tried to do a min on an array with 200K numbers and it didn’t seem to delay the Power Automate’s execution time, so I think you should be ok on your day-to-day arrays.
Recommendations:
- Don’t create the array inside the function. Always use variables to make the Power Automate more readable and separate the responsibilities.
- Use a Compose with the function. I know that this is wasteful, but you can see if the value returned is the one you’re expecting and not another value. If you perform it inside a formula you may have difficulty debuting it, since you’re never sure of the value that comes out of the min.
- Don’t nest it. There’s no real reason to do it but if you find yourself in a situation where you have nested min functions in a formula, you should review it and make everything more straightforward.
Sources:
Microsoft’s min Function Reference
Back to the Power Automate Function Reference.
Photo by Uriel Soberanes on Unsplash