Code Explanation: formatDateTime Function in Power Automate

This code snippet is utilized in Microsoft Power Automate (previously known as Microsoft Flow) to manipulate and format date and time values. Below is a detailed breakdown of each component within the code.

Code Breakdown

Code Snippet

formatDateTime(
    Contact(
        formatDateTime(
            convertFromUTC(utcNow(), 'Japan Standard Time'), 
            'yyyy-MM-dd'
        ), 
        'T18:30:00Z'
    ), 
    'yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ssZ'
)

Components Explained

1. utcNow()

   • This function returns the current time in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). It serves as a starting point for time calculations and conversions.

2. convertFromUTC(...)

   • Purpose: Converts a UTC time (obtained from utcNow()) to a specified time zone, in this case, 'Japan Standard Time'.
   • Input:
     • First argument: utcNow() - the current UTC time.
     • Second argument: 'Japan Standard Time' - specifies the target time zone.
   • Output: The current time adjusted to Japan Standard Time.

3. formatDateTime(... , 'yyyy-MM-dd')

   • Purpose: Formats the date from the previous step into a more readable format.
   • Input:
     • First argument: The result from convertFromUTC (in Japan Standard Time).
     • Second argument: 'yyyy-MM-dd' - a format string that dictates how the date should be structured.
   • Output: A string representing the date in the 'YYYY-MM-DD' format.

4. Contact(...)

   • Purpose: This function appears to concatenate or format the resulting date with a specific time.
   • Input:
     • First argument: The formatted date string from the formatDateTime function.
     • Second argument: 'T18:30:00Z' - a fixed time string that signifies 6:30 PM in UTC.
   • Output: A new string that combines the date from the first argument and the time from the second argument in the format YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ.

5. formatDateTime(... , 'yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ssZ')

   • Purpose: Final formatting of the combined date and time string.
   • Input:
     • First argument: The result from the Contact function.
     • Second argument: 'yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ssZ' - a format string used to ensure the output matches the ISO 8601 standard for date and time.
   • Output: A string in the format YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ.

Overall Functionality

The entire code snippet accomplishes the following:

• Retrieves the current date and time in UTC.
• Converts this UTC time to Japan Standard Time.
• Formats the resultant date into the 'YYYY-MM-DD' format.
• Combines this formatted date with a fixed time of 6:30 PM in UTC.
• Finally, reformats this combined date and time string to comply with the desired standard format of YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ.

Conclusion

This code snippet effectively utilizes functions in Power Automate to perform date and time manipulations. It illustrates key concepts such as time zone conversion, date formatting, and string concatenation. Understanding these components can enhance one’s capability to work with date and time data in various applications, particularly within automated workflows. For further exploration of similar concepts, consider engaging with resources available on the Enterprise DNA platform.