**Alert Relay Documentation**

Guidance for building Alert Relay flows, choosing the right action, and understanding SharePoint version-history comparisons.

# Parse Compare From

`Parse Compare From` is a utility action.

It decodes a `TriggerWindowStartToken` or raw SharePoint change token so the flow can inspect the timestamp before calling the main Alert Relay actions.

## Why this action exists

Sometimes you may want to inspect the trigger token before using it.

You may want to:

- understand what timestamp is inside the token
- compare the token time to a specific date
- decide whether to use the token or a fixed baseline date

## When to use this action

Use `Parse Compare From` when:

- you are building a flow with cutover or migration logic
- you want to ignore older changes before a specific start date
- you want to inspect token details for troubleshooting

## Inputs

### **Compare From** (`compareFrom`)

Type: string.

Use a `TriggerWindowStartToken` or a raw SharePoint change token.

This action supports token values such as:

- `TriggerWindowStartToken`
- a raw SharePoint change token

It does not parse:

- version labels
- ISO dates
- ISO date-time values

### **Timezone** (`timezone`)

Type: string.

Use this if you also want the output to include a local time value as well as UTC.

Defaults to returning only the UTC value when no timezone is supplied.

## Outputs

The response includes:

- **Success** (`success`): boolean. `true` if the token was parsed successfully.
- **Message** (`message`): string. A human-readable message describing the result.
- **Token Date Time UTC** (`tokenDateTimeUTC`): date-time. The timestamp from the token in UTC.
- **Token Date Time Local** (`tokenDateTimeLocal`): date-time. The timestamp converted to the selected timezone, when a timezone is supplied.
- **Decoded Token** (`decodedToken`): string. The decoded raw token value.
- **Is Base64 Token** (`isBase64Token`): boolean. `true` if the input token was base64 encoded.
- **Sequence** (`sequence`): integer. The SharePoint change sequence value inside the token.
- **List GUID** (`listGuid`): guid. The list or library GUID inside the token.
- **Token Version** (`tokenVersion`): integer. The token version number.
- **Token Type** (`tokenType`): integer. The SharePoint token type number.
- **Error** (`error`): string. Error details when parsing fails.

## Typical usage pattern

1. start with a SharePoint trigger
2. pass `TriggerWindowStartToken` into `Parse Compare From`
3. compare **Token Date Time UTC** (`tokenDateTimeUTC`) or **Token Date Time Local** (`tokenDateTimeLocal`) against your chosen specific date
4. decide whether the main Alert Relay action should use:
   - the original trigger token, or
   - an explicit baseline date

## Example scenario

You launch a new flow on April 20, 2026 and only want comparisons from that point onward.

You can:

1. parse the trigger token
2. compare the parsed timestamp to `2026-04-20`
3. if the token is earlier than that date, use `2026-04-20`
4. otherwise use the token directly

## Related pages

- [Compare From Baselines](/content/alert-relay/docs/compare-from-baselines/index.html)
- [Use Detailed JSON Changes](/content/alert-relay/docs/use-detailed-json-changes/index.html)
- [Troubleshooting](/content/alert-relay/docs/troubleshooting/index.html)