I have workflow that was previously using a formatted column to grab the next available request number. Now they seem to unsupported. I get the number from a column I call NextNumber, add leading zeros, and tack it at the end of a string I put together from 2 other columns, so it looks like TravelRequest-FY19-0001.
I tried using some RegEx I found on this forum (not much) and internet but I get weird results or it only gives me the number with no zeros. I want a max of 4 numbers (0001 to 9999)
This is one I tried, but it only gives me the number without 0.
(d+)/'0' x (4-length($1))
I also assume using a RegEx (replace?) to build the leading zeros first then a build string would be the easiest?
Best answer by jacquenv
This proved to be more hassle than it was worth. I was trying to improve on a logic the previous builder of this workflow had done and get around the suddenly unsupported nature of using calculated columns.
I decided to get my fiscal year from this list as I had redesigned (rather than using calendar year) but not to generate an ID from here. Previously it would take the number stored in NextNumber and add 1 for the next workflow but many times in the past it would not be a unique number due to how frequently people submitted new requests.
So to solve my unique ID problem and this weird issue of trying to keep with the same logic, I used the actual ID of the item instead of this generated one. To solve any sorting weirdness I also sort descending by request number (to capture FY first) then sort descending by ID.
This proved to be more hassle than it was worth. I was trying to improve on a logic the previous builder of this workflow had done and get around the suddenly unsupported nature of using calculated columns.
I decided to get my fiscal year from this list as I had redesigned (rather than using calendar year) but not to generate an ID from here. Previously it would take the number stored in NextNumber and add 1 for the next workflow but many times in the past it would not be a unique number due to how frequently people submitted new requests.
So to solve my unique ID problem and this weird issue of trying to keep with the same logic, I used the actual ID of the item instead of this generated one. To solve any sorting weirdness I also sort descending by request number (to capture FY first) then sort descending by ID.
