Microsoft Forms character limit is 4,000 but Automate fails after 255 characters

Question

I have a Microsoft Forms with an automate attached that has a long answer question. Since the Form allows more than 255 characters and the Automate fails with higher number of characters. How can I limit the characters entered in the form or truncate the users entries in Automate so the Automate does not fail?

Answer 1

Dear Mary,

Thanks for your updates.

If you use multi-line text, the flow should run successfully as follows.

For example, I type such text in Forms, you can see that the form text has been populated to the multi-line text column in the SharePoint list by the flow.

So if it is convenient, I suggest you remove the column and re-create a multi-line column and then add the action again in the flow or refresh the flow page and wait some time and then do a test to see and let us know the result.

Moreover, if the issue persists in your environment, please expand the flow action so that we can see what requirement you want to achieve for further investigation.

Thanks for your effort and time.

Sincerely,

Cliff | Microsoft Community Moderator

Answer 2

Dear Mary,

Good day! Thank you for posting your query in our community. We are happy to help you.

If it is convenient, could you provide the screenshots of the flow you have created so that we can confirm what destination data source you have transferred to from Microsoft Forms and check whether there are some workarounds applied to your scenario in your environment?

Note: Remove any private information before uploading the screenshots.

Thanks for your effort and time.

Sincerely,

Cliff | Microsoft Community Moderator

Answer 3

Form Question:![](https://learn-attachment.microsoft.com/api/attachments/5b7c9ecb-f8c0-4458-a658-4b1e550fc966?platform=QnA"https://learn-attachment.microsoft.com/api/attachments/f4bbcc48-a8a9-4b7b-b526-77dcfe73bdcd?platform=QnA" rel="ugc nofollow">

Output is going into a SharePoint list. Field is limited to 255 Characters. It will not allow me to make it longer.

****

Error from Automate:

Answer 4

Dear Mary,

Thanks for your detailed screenshots and updates.

You may need to change the column type from single-line text to multi-line text and then the flow should be ran successfully.

Welcome to share any updates when you have time if you need further help on this issue.

Sincerely,

Cliff | Microsoft Community Moderator

Answer 5

I changed the 2 fields this could happen in to multi line and the flow still failed.