List of input parameters is ERASED when changing Misc -> TypeArgument variable type

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1

I’ve been struggling for the last days (and still haven’t solved it) to get the output of a Power Shell command.

The command name is “New-Team”, it’s used for creating Microsoft Teams groups, and it needs several parameters as -DisplayName, -Owner, -Description and -Visibility, all them as Strings.

I can get the output of running that command by specifying a variable in the “Output” section from the Invoke Power Shell activity. But, so far, only if a define it as a collection of generic Object type. Then, in the element 0 (as it only contains one element), I have this TeamsSettings object:

TeamSettings
{
AllowAddRemoveApps=true,
AllowChannelMentions=true,
AllowCreatePrivateChannels=true,
AllowUserEditMessages=true,
Archived=false,
Classification=null,
GiphyContentRating=moderate,
InternalId=“19:XJXxyaBYW3-yqtF31C5OzNWr8MqnpaE1@thr.tav2”,
…
}

The property I need to collect is InternalId, a mere String. I understand it should be straightforward to be able to choose the TeamSettings as the output type (a collection of it, to be more specific), but it’s not available, no matter what I attempt.

And then there’s starts my pain. I’m trying a number of tricks, mainly selecting different output types to see if there’s some that could be “compatible” with that format or who knows what; just mere trial and error.

So everytime I change that type, the input parameters get ERASED, no matter if the types involved there are all String, and are input parameters for the command that gets executed and have nothing to do with that output parameter.

So everytime I have to manually enter -DisplayName, -Owner, -Description and -Visibility again, which is a pain in the ass.

And, by the way, the documentation about how the activity works is so scarce that I can’t still not undersand what the “Input → Input” Textinput value is for. “A collection of PSObjects that are passed to the writer of the pipeline used to execute the command. Can be the output of another InvokePowerShell activity”, and you can only see this is you keep the mouse pointer on it. Is it really that difficult to provide proper documentation, with AT LEAST ONE EXAMPLE?

5

Hi @pere,

There is a lot to unpack from your feedback; thank you very much for sharing it!

The disappearing arguments situation does indeed sound like a bug, and we will have to look into how to fix it for a future version.

Considering how you got to this point is also interesting, as it tells us several things:

  • We should be doing a better job with this activity to prevent the need for trial and error (I’m uncertain what solutions would be possible here just yet, but we will think about it).
  • The documentation could indeed use some improvements, not only explaining the properties better but also presenting examples of how to use those different properties.
  • Different properties of this activity could use some enhancements in their display names and tooltips to make things more straightforward as well.

We will have a look at all the points mentioned above and consider those improvements for future versions.

7

Hi @loginerror and thanks for caring,

  • We should be doing a better job with this activity to prevent the need for trial and error (I’m uncertain what solutions would be possible here just yet, but we will think about it).

I don’t know, either, but, at least… is there a real reason why the input parameters list gets erased everytime you do a change in the type of variable? As the “trial and error” procedure can’t be avoided at all, at least that would save a lot of hassle…

8

Just wanted to close the loop and confirm that the upcoming System 23.12 will address this specific issue as well.

9

@loginerror is it on your radar for the Integration Service activities being far too guilty of this too?
I had filters disappearing on one activity randomly, I don’t know why and noted that if you accidentally click the advanced editor instead of the filter option, even if you press cancel, you lose your filters.

10

Not as far as the scope of this fix, no.

Would you mind creating a separate new topic for that issue under Integration Service? I will pass it to the right team afterward :slight_smile:

A small gif or a video of the interaction would probably be the easiest for us to reproduce the issue.

11

@loginerror

I can add it to the one I already made? :sweat_smile:

1 Like
12

Yes, that’s good enough I think :slight_smile: I’ll pass your bundle of feedback and see what can be done.

13

Thanks, I added some more details there.

1 Like