SharePoint Online - New or update list item

Use the SharePoint - New or update list item start event The connector and event for triggering the workflow to run, including required configuration. An example is Box - New file, which triggers the workflow to run when a new file is uploaded to the specified folder. to start your workflow whenever a new item is added or an existing item is updated in a specified SharePoint Online list.

SharePoint Online has other start events as well as actions. For more information, see SharePoint Online.

Before you begin:

Understand Variables
Learn about Handling files in your workflow

Tip:

If a workflow uses both a SharePoint - New or update list item start event and a SharePoint Online - Update items action A tool for building the processes, logic, and direction within workflows. that references the same SharePoint Online list, we recommend that you add a condition to the SharePoint Online start event so that the workflow does not repeatedly start new instances of itself in an infinite loop. If you do not add a condition, the item updates from the workflow will subsequently start a new instance in reaction to the item update. For example, assume the credential used in the SharePoint Online connection for the SharePoint Online - Update items action is serviceaccount@contoso.com. Set the condition on the start event as 'Modified By (Username) does not equal (≠) serviceaccount@contoso.com'. This will allow the workflow to be started by any item update event except for updates the workflow itself has made.

Jump to:

Select the SharePoint - New or update list item start event
Configure the SharePoint - New or update list item start event
SharePoint - New or update list item start event variables
SharePoint - New list item start event fields and settings

Select the SharePoint - New or update list item start event

Open your workflow and in the designer canvas, click Start event. The configuration panel is displayed.
In the Start from drop-down under CONNECTORS, select SharePoint Online. The Event field is displayed.
For Event, select SharePoint - New or update list item.

The Configuration section is displayed to configure the start event.

Configure the SharePoint - New or update list item start event

In the configuration section, select a SharePoint Online Connection. If you do not have a connection, see Add a connection.
Note: Only the connections created with the List and libraries authentication method are available in the drop-down. For more information about authentication methods for SharePoint Online connections, see Authentication methods for SharePoint Online connections.
Type a SharePoint site URL and click .

All the lists in the specified site are displayed in the List name drop-down.

Example: https://domain.sharepoint.com/sites/hr

Select the List name that you want to monitor for this start event.

See the SharePoint - New list item start event fields and settings table for all the configuration fields.

SharePoint - New or update list item start event variables

Important: If the SharePoint Online list has a multi-value enabled column of Person type with a user that doesn't have the email address configured, only the user ID is returned for that column. All other Person columns in that list are also impacted and only the user ID is returned for all Person columns.

You can view the start event variables automatically added to the workflow.

In the designer canvas, click Start event to open the configuration panel.
Click Show variables. The Variables pane opens.

Start event objects and variables

The following start event variables are available in an object called Start variable:

Site Context: (Object) that includes the following variables:
- Site ID: (Text) The unique identifier of the site selected for the workflow.
- Site URL: (Text) The URL of the site selected for the workflow.
- Site Title: (Text) The title of the site selected for the workflow.
- List ID: (Text) The unique identifier of the list selected for the workflow.
- List URL: (Text) The URL of the list selected for the workflow.
- List Name: (Text) The name of the list selected for the workflow.
Attachments: (Boolean) The attachments of the item that starts the workflow.
Compliance Asset Id: (Text) The unique identifier of the compliance asset of the item that starts the workflow.
Content Type ID: (Text) The unique identifier for the content type of the item that starts the workflow.
Created: (DateTime) The created date of the item that starts the workflow.
Created By (Display Name): (Text) The display name of the user that created the item that starts the workflow.
Created By (Email): (Text) The email of the user that created the item that starts the workflow.
Created By (ID): (Integer) The unique identifier of the user that created the item that starts the workflow.
Created By (Username): (Text) The username of the user that created the item that starts the workflow.
File Type: (Text) The type of the file of an the item in a document library that is updated to start the workflow.
GUID: (Text) The Global Unique Identifier of the monitored list item.
ID: (Integer) The unique identifier of the created item in the monitored SharePoint Online list
Item Attachments: (Collection) The attachment(s) included in the list item. IF there are attachments, the following variables will be returned:
- Name: Name of the attachment file(s).
- Url: Link to the attachment file(s)
Item URL: (Text) The link to the newly added item in the monitored SharePoint Online list.
Modified: (DateTime) The timestamp of the item being created or edited.
Modified By (Display Name): (Text) The display name configured for the user who modified or created the item in the monitored SharePoint Online list.
Modified By (Email): (Text) The email address of the user who modified or created the itemin the monitored SharePoint Online list.
Modified By (ID): (Integer) The unique id of the user who modified or created the item in the monitored SharePoint Online list.
Modified By (Username): (Text) The username of the user who modified or created the item in the monitored SharePoint Online list.
Title: (Text) The title provided for the new item created in the monitored SharePoint Online list.
Version: (Text) The version of the newly added item in the monitored SharePoint Online list

SharePoint - New list item start event fields and settings

Section	Field	Description
Start event	Show variables	Opens the Variables pane where you can view all the start event variables.
	Hide variables	Closes the Variables pane.
(unlabeled)	Start from	Lists the Nintex connector and third-party connectors, such as SharePoint, Salesforce, and Dropbox Business.
	Event	The event that must occur in the selected connector to trigger the workflow.
Configuration	Connection Credentials and other settings required to pass data between the workflow and the indicated service, which could be a cloud service, business application, or content store.	SharePoint Online connection to access the SharePoint Online site containing the list to be monitored. To refresh the available connections, click .
	SharePoint site URL	The URL of the SharePoint Online site containing the list that you want to monitor. To retrieve the lists or libraries for the SharePoint site URL, type the SharePoint site URL and click . Example: https://domain.sharepoint.com/sites/hr To edit the SharePoint site URL: Click . Edit the site URL and click .
	List name	The name of the SharePoint Online list that you want to monitor for this start event. When a new item is added or an existing item is updated in the selected list, the workflow will be started.
Conditions	Add conditions/Edit conditions	Displays the condition builder to define new conditions or edit existing conditions. Add conditions - Displayed when there are no existing conditions specified for the action. Edit conditions - Displayed when there are existing conditions set for the action. You can edit the conditions. The Condition builder supports nested conditions, enabling you to create conditions within another condition.
Condition builder	When	Displays the items from the Column field of the selected list. Note: The following columns are not supported in the Condition builder: Calculated Hyperlink Managed Metadata Multiple lines of text
	Operator	How the item from the When drop-down and Value are compared. Select from the drop-down.The operators available in the drop-down depend on the data type of the item selected from the When drop-down.
	Value	The value you are expecting in the column (field) specified for When. The data type of Value must match the data type of the item selected in the When drop-down.
	Add	Adds a new condition. When adding a new condition you have to select the level of the condition. Select Nested condition to nest the new condition within the condition above it.
	And/Or	The connecting operator to use for the conditions. If you select: And: The workflow starts when the item that is added matches all the conditions. Or: The workflow starts when the item that is added matches any one of the conditions.
		Displays the following options menu for a condition. The following options are available: Promote: Promotes the condition to a higher level. Promote option is shown if the condition is nested within another condition and allows you to move it to a higher level. Demote: Demotes the condition to a lower level. If you demote a condition it is moved to a lower level making it nested within the condition immediately above it. Delete: Deletes the selected condition.