Update List Item step

Use the Update List Item step to update a SharePoint list item. You can, for example, use the Update List Item step in a workflow to update a list item's status based on an approval step outcome.

To use the SharePoint steps in Workflow Designer, you must have SharePoint installed in your environment. To see the version of SharePoint that the product supports, view the Compatibility and Support Matrix.

Drag the Update List Item step from the SharePoint category, Favorites bar, or the Recent category onto the canvas.

Example of an Update List Item step in a workflow

See the following resources for more information:

See How To: Add a Dynamic View Flow Link to a SharePoint List for an example of creating an application from a SharePoint list and adding a View Flow report link to a SharePoint list item.
See How To: Filter and Update List Items for an example of updating a SharePoint list column based on a decision path.
See How To: Use the Action Result property for an example of using the Action Result workflow property to update a list item in a SharePoint List after a user task completes.

How to add an Update List Item step

From the Toolbox click the SharePoint category, the List Items category and then drag the Update List Item step onto the canvas.

Error Console

Select the added step and click the expand / collapse toggle to expand the Configuration Panel. You can also double click the step to expand the panel.
Select the Update List Item tab. Use this tab to configure the list properties.

The following table explains the options available on this tab:

Option	Explanation	How to Use
Pick List Item	Use this to pick a list item. The menu contains a list of available list item referenced in the workflow. If you don't see items in the menu, you need to create a SharePoint referenced item using a SharePoint reference step within the workflow.	Select the Pick List Item radio button to enable this option. Click the menu and select the reference name.
Find List Items	Use this to browse to the list containing the list item to update.	Click the Find List Item radio button to enable this option. Click the menu and select Browse to browse to a specific list.
Filters	Filter enable you to specify parameters and / or filters to return data dynamically. Use the operators to refine the filters. Select between the following options: Equal, Not Equal, Starts With, Ends With or Contains Applying parameters and filters is optional. Parameters are dependent on the Service Object it is mapped to.	Click the Add Filter link to add filters. Select filter values from the drop-down menu. Click the operator button to select the operator. Click Add to add additional filter properties Type values or create dynamic values by dragging Functions, Fields, SmartObjects and Workflow-related items from the Context Browser into the fields. To delete properties, select them and click the Trash bin.
Properties	Use this to add name and description detail for the list. Type values or create dynamic values by dragging Functions, Fields, SmartObjects and Workflow-related items from the Context Browser into the fields. Note that when a SmartObject Load method property is used, an input property is required for the correct data to load.	Click Add to add a property. Click the menu to select the property. Type values or create dynamic values by dragging Functions, Fields, SmartObjects and Workflow-related items from the Context Browser into the fields. To delete properties, select them and click the Trash bin.
Use List Item Later	Use this to create a reference to use from other steps within the workflow. A reference can only be created if a reference is NOT consumed.	Click the Create link to create a reference. Click the Edit link to edit the reference name. If you edited the reference name and want to reset it, click the Reset Name link.

From the List Item section select either Pick List Item (select a referred list item from the menu) or Find List Items (browse to required list). For this example, select Find List Items. From the drop-down menu select Browse and navigate to a list to update the list item.
Select the site and list and click OK.

For more information about the different browse states and errors, see the Browse States topic.

For more information on how to use the breadcrumb bar, see the How to use the Breadcrumb topic.

Click the Add Filter link to filter for specified values in one or more fields to identify the list.

Applying filters is optional. Parameters depend on the SmartObject method and are sometimes required. The filter may have a positive impact on performance by limiting the number of records returned. When you create a filter, only records that match the filter criteria are returned.

Select a property from the menu. Select an operator to define the filter. Type values or create dynamic values by dragging Functions, Fields, SmartObjects and Workflow-related items from the Context Browser into the fields.

For more information on how to use Smartfields see the Smartfield Composer topic. Added filters can be grouped together to form parameters. To group parameters, click the AND button.

In the Filters section, click Add to add a property.
To delete properties, select them and click the Trash bin.
In the Properties section add fields and values to update the list item with. Click Add.
Select a property from the menu. Type values or create dynamic values by dragging Functions, Fields, SmartObjects and Workflow-related items from the Context Browser into the fields.
To create a reference click Create. Reuse this reference in the current step or from another step in your workflow.
To edit the auto-generated reference title, click Edit.
To locate the added reference, expand the Context Browser, select Fields and then expand the Reference section.
With the step selected, select the Properties tab.

The following table explains the options available on this tab:

Option	Explanation	How to Use
Title / Name	By default, each step on the canvas has a step title. You can change this title to suit your workflow logic and show it on the canvas by checking the Show Label box.	Enter a value into the Title/Name field.
Reset link	Use the link to reset any changes to the title.	Click the Reset link to reset the Title/Name field to default value.
Show Label	Allows you to see the step label on the canvas. The label shows the value of the title.	Check the check box to display step label on the canvas.
Description	Allows you to add a detailed description for the step.	Enter a value into the Create New field.
Notes	Allows you to add additional notes for the step.	Enter a value into the Notes field.

Click the Errors tab.

Different types of exceptions can occur on a step, such as:

Type	Description
Known exceptions	Any SmartWizard or standard wizard that has Boolean options for handling known exceptions have these options displayed as check boxes in the Known exceptions section of the Exceptions tab.
Unhandled exceptions	Any unknown runtime exceptions.

The tab contains the following known exception:

Exception	Explanation	How to Use
Continue on error	On step execution and an error occurs, continue to the next step in the workflow.	Check the check box to continue the workflow.

The tab contains the following unhandled exceptions:

Exception	Explanation
Log Exception	Logs the exception to the error log.
Force error when required SmartObject inputs are missing	Will forcefully throw an error if a SmartObject method has input missing.
Continue on error	Will force the workflow to continue running the SmartObject method, even if it runs into an error.

The exceptions in the table above is an example of those available in Workflow steps. The exceptions available depend on the Workflow step used in the design canvas.

Your changes are automatically saved.

For more information on how to configure a Recursive Search Filter see the How to configure a Recursive Search Filter for SharePoint Lists and Libraries in the Workflow Designer knowledge base article (KB002074).