Once again, you're mind reading. We were just talking about a process we have that is being done via Outlook voting for approval and One Note, and now want to switch to Power Automate approvals as attachment. So this, partnered with PA print to PDF is going to be golden for us. I also love the Chapters feature added to your videos, so you can share directly to a specific spot. Thank you for adding that!!
Reza, thank you for making this video. You really helps me out today and obviously many others with almost 60,000 views. We appreciate all you do. Please keep the great content coming. Not sure what we’d do without you. Best regards, Teresa
Thank you for a fantastic explanation for how to do this process and WHY you're having to add certain steps. This is the second video I've digested of yours today that has gotten me further than any Power Automate learning documentation has. Thank you!
Man, I would like to thank you for this video! I was looking for days for a way to catch attachments from Outlook e-mail to approvals without any success! Your video explained all scenários with a LOT of USEFUL information! Thanks, thanks and thanks!!!!!
OMG!! Thank you Reza! Now Im going to speak in Portuguese (my language). Obrigada Reza, os seus vídeos estão me ajudando muito. Ótima explicação e ótimos exemplos.
I am a non engineering, non IT guy, with background in commerical studies only and now learned so much just from two videos and in-fact even started implementing at my workplace. WoW.
@@RezaDorrani In a scenario where after the list item ( eg expense reimbursement) & its attachment (eg invoice) have been approved, how can the log of approval + attachment be generated as one file or a sharepoint item so that user can now proceed to upload the approval as well attachment on Expense reimbursement tool/ Payment tool
Spend ages today looking for a solution for processing Outlook email attachments and attaching them to an Approval workflow. Your video was very helpful and resolved by issue. 👍👍
thank you so much😭My friend and I struggle to create the flow :') We use the fourth scenario to create in lieu submission approval. This video really helpful!🤓
This is a fantastic and comprehensive view of the most likely scenarios. The method you use for the Forms attachments is quite a bit simpler than what I've been using. I'll have to try that with a group form to see if it works there as well (I suspect it will). Also, as a heads-up to anyone that wants to save those files to SharePoint, you might want to append something to the file name to ensure uniqueness (for example, the current timestamp). If the "Create file" action tries to add a file with a name that already exists, the flow will fail.
OK, tried with a Group form and found that in the "Get file content" input, you need to add the "driveId" and a period before the "id". This can be done in one expression: concat(item()['driveId'],'.',item()['id']). The only issue is that I like to append a timestamp to the file name (to ensure unique values) and because the value returned by item()['name'] includes the file extension, it's difficult to insert it between the name and the extension. I got around this by adding a "get file metadata" action, which has a "file name without extension" output, and using some string manipulation to split out the extension and append it after the timestamp. Kind of messy, but it works.
Thank you very much, Reza. A very useful video on sending attachments from a SharePoint email. Please make a video about archiving SharePoint with attachments.👍🤝🙏
Amazing, thanks for sharing! Is it possible to track the versioning history of the file changes that are attached to an item in the SP list attachments (Word/PDF/Excel)?
Such a detailed video, thank you. I've been battling with this and I'm so close, but I'm still hitting a couple of snags... - I'm trying to send an email after the create file step and include a copy of the attachment, but it's tapping out because it's looking for 'ContentBytes', not Content. - My attachments, although they are coming through and also saving in the correct format, are blank and I'm not sure why - Is there a point in the flow where I can rename the attachment to something more descriptive? Ideally using the dynamic content from the form itself? Thank you 😊
1) Create file step needs contentbytes structure. You would need to modify the flow accordingly. 2) I would have to look at your flow in action to provide guidance. 3) When creating the file is your data source, you can rename it. I do not have a video reference on the above scenarios and would have to try it out to provide guidance. I would recommend posting your issue/query with screenshots on the forums at powerusers.microsoft.com
Thank you Reza :) Microsoft has improvements to make in order to make such scenario more accessible to business users... It is a low code platform.. Waiting for that there is Reza !!!
@@RezaDorrani using Forms we are getting data from user then further generated approval process using power automate. Can we create same kind of form using SharePoint? so we can take input or response from user and automate this SharePoint for approval process. Could you please make this video Thank you So much !!! Really appreciated the way you explain in video.
@@dhootsachin Power Automate approval forms cannot be customized. You could use SharePoint forms and trigger approval by calling flow. It all depends on use case. I do not have a specific video on this. I would recommend you post your query with screenshots on the forums at powerusers.microsoft.com/
LOVE This video. I was looking for a solution for so long and not being use to flow I did not understand the other videos. But this is great. I was wondering if I look at (Microsoft Forms file uploads - add as attachments to approval workflow) How do I add the responses in the Form as an attachment with the other attachments.
Responses of the form is something that you could create an html file or pdf file of and then load it to attachments. I do not have a specific video on this. I have one that shows how to build the pdf file - czcams.com/video/Da4do2DxmJE/video.html which may help.
Great video! I have a question regarding your start and due dates in your list, how were they populated? Is there a video where you demonstrate this? I would like to create the same flow with attachments that runs from the date the request is submitted up until a particular due date, with email reminders.
Thanks Reza for all your amazing videos & tips. Is it really recommendable to use approval attachments? What about the underlying Dataverse? Doesn't this approach consume an incredible amount of memory? Is there an "auto-cleanup" or something else to get rid-off already processed approval actions and their attachments? Otherwise, I see a big risk if such an approach is widely used in an organization.
Great question. As far as I know, all approvals related data, history etc. get deleted after 28 days or so. So my assumption is the attachments will also get deleted.
Hi, thank you so much for your tutorial, it's really helpfull! I'm trying to do the same thing but from a Sharepoint Document library and the ''Get attachements'' action doesn't work. Do you know which action I should choose? Thank you!
Hi Reza, Thanks for the great videos! 1) What's the difference between using the compose action with json() and just using the parse json action? 2) When I use your method I seem to be having problems getting Flow to recognize the array and allow me to use it in the approval action as an attachment. Not sure why. 3) What do I do if I have more than one question with attachments that need to be approved? (Not multiple uploads in the same question -- multiple questions.) 4) I seem to be getting the 'AttachmentContentNotValidBase64String' which is frustrating.
1) You could go either ways. Parse JSON will always expect a particular JSON schema. json() will just return the JSON equivalent of the data. 2) I would have to look at your flow in action to provide guidance. Post your issue with screenshots on the forums at powerusers.microsoft.com/ 3) You loop through each question separately and load it in same attachments array 4) Post your issue with screenshots on the forums at powerusers.microsoft.com/
Hi Reza, Thank you for showcasing the approval flow with attachments! I follow the steps and successfully create the flow with attachments in the Outlook email. However, the action "start and wait for an approval" will also trigger approval requests on MS Teams with no attachment. My question is, would it be able to have the attachment on MS Teams too? If this is another limitation of Power Automate, is it possible to suspend the notification on MS Teams?
Hello Reza! Another great video. Question, with the attachments, if an approver needed to make edits to one of the documents, would they be able to open the document and make their edits? Or will the document need to be downloaded to their desktop, edited, and reuploaded? TIA
Very helpful! I have been struggling, though, with what if the form results (and corresponding attachment) reside in sharepoint, not onedrive? Thank you!
Reza, great video again. Is there a way to add attachments when utilizing a Approval Matrix and a Create an approval. Adding Attachment array seems to work under a normal create an approval, but when doing custom utilizing an approval matrix I can't seem to get the attachment to add.
Thank you for this Reza. I could never have figured it out without your wonderful explanation. One thing though, I have not been able to get a submit button to appear in the approval email. Clicking approve or reject always opens the Approvals Center. Is there something I am missing?
I do not have a video reference on this scenario. I recommend checking on the forums at powerusers.microsoft.com/ in case someone has done something similar.
Great video Reza. I need to create a flow where the attachments from a Sharepoint form generate on 2 subsequent approvals and then an email with attachments. The Attachments array variable you described works perfectly for both approvals and keeps failing on the last step 'Send an email'. Do you have any suggestions?
I will have to look at your flow in action to know the cause of your issue. I would recommend posting your issue with screenshots on the forums at powerusers.microsoft.com
Thanks. Attachments cannot be made mandatory as far as I know. You could rename them. I kind of show it in my latest video - czcams.com/video/Aerky9hiYDo/video.htmlsi=WELuuimiuNwFcsAT
Hi Reza, thanks so much for your content. @27:40 in the video you mention that the attachments cannot have special characters, but could be fixed using Expressions and Flow. Just wondering if you have a video on how this can be done? have a flow that copies attachments to a document library, but ones with special characters do not display. I’m hoping to find a solution to sanitize the attachment file names. Thanks for any direction/video that you can provide.
you would need to use replace function to replace all those special characters example: replace(replace(filename,'*',''),'|','') I will recommend checking on the forums at powerusers.microsoft.com/ in case someone has done something similar.
Hi Reza, another great video. Is it possible to upload an attachment to a sent approval? Eg. An approver needs to upload an additional attachment in to their Teams approval, which then gets added to the SharePoint list.
Hi Reza, Greats videos! I need to insert a checkbox in the approval email such that the approver, reads and understands the text/string and clicks on the checkbox before they click on the Approve button. Is this something that can be accomplished?
Hello Reza, Thanks for the videos helping people around the world. I always first come to your channel to get help :). I need your expert guidance/opinion, please. if an approver edits the attachment (In case of a list item with an attached file) or document (A library uploaded file) before approving or rejecting will save the edited file so that the updated/edited file now should be visible to all users? I mean if an approver edits the attachment or file it should be overwritten the actual attachment or file. Shall be very thankful if you please guide on it. Thanks
The attachments being sent for approvals action cannot be edited. It is more like a copy. Approver would need to download it, edit it and the upload it back to data source (list or library).
Reza, thank you for another great video. Question about this process. If the approver adds comments to a word document, do the comments get retained throughout the approval process across all approvers?
Word doc is independent of the process. The doc is shared as an attachment so any updates made there wont reflect. Best for user to make changes to original document (wherever it is stored)
Hey, 1st of all thanks for this video. I am using power automate for the 1st time in my career and really need your help. I have set up approval flow which is working perfectly fine, but when approvers try to open the file, they can't see the content. I have implemented the 1st of your scenario. When it is Excel file, the error comes file is corrupt, and when it is PDF, it just open but blank pdf. We mainly have to deal with PDFs and they contain drawings.. Looking forward for your help.
Welcome! I have not come across the mentioned issue and hence not sure what the cause could be. I recommend posting your issue on forums in case someone has experienced something similar powerusers.microsoft.com
Hi Reza, this is a great video as always. Is there a way to make the sharepoint list readonly when the approver needs to approve/reject so as to avoid making changes to the list item?
Hi Reza, Nothing short of brilliant. I noticed the keys for the approval action in the JSON was {"name": _________, "content": ______} whereas for an email action it's {"Name": _________, "ContentBytes": ______}. Will one work in the other or only for their respective actions (Approval vs Email)?
Great video Reza. Thanks for the insight. I have a question, what if we have multiple fields with attach documents on the Microsoft Forms. How do initialize and append variables for the individual fields on the Forms?
@@RezaDorrani Hi Reza, thank you for the video. In this scenario where there are multiple fields with attached documents, which expression should be used to combine them in order to attach all documents to the approval email? Thank you
@@tproto223 It is not only expressions. Multiple actions and expressions would be needed to get it to work. I do not have a video reference on this scenario and would have to try it out to provide guidance. I will recommend checking on the forums at powerusers.microsoft.com/ in case someone has done something similar.
Hi Reza, excellent video once a gain. I have a question. I can get the flow working correctly, but the attachments only come through with the email notification and in the Power Automate Approvals area. The MS Teams approval is not showing the attachments. We either need to have the attachments coming through in MS Teams as well, or we need to be able to turn off the approval requests going to Power Automate and MS Teams, and only have them going to email. Thanks in advance for your help!
Hi Reza thank you once again. I was looking for MS form file upload and this video helped. Is there another shorter way to create Ms forms file ulpoad approval flow you can show us? Thanks.
I am not aware of any other shorter way / I would have to try it out to know more. I will recommend checking on the forums at powerusers.microsoft.com/ in case someone has done something similar.
Hi Reza, thank you for the video, is it possible to customize the approvals for different items in one email? sample, if we submit 3 items and attachments in ms. form then we send the items in 1 email and we can approve the item from 3 items based on our preference. Thank You
I do not have a video reference on this scenario and would have to try it out to provide guidance. I would recommend posting your issue/query with screenshots on the forums at powerusers.microsoft.com
Thanks for this walk through Reza, and for all your other awesome content. It makes our lives much much easier. Do you have any thoughts on why my use case of trying to extract attachments from a list item results in corrupt files that will not open? I've followed the section in your tutorial for this, but still get corrupt files in my approval email. Your thoughts will be much appreciated Reza, thank you.
You are most welcome! I have not come across the mentioned issue and hence not sure what the reason for your issue is. I recommend posting your issue with screenshots on the forums at powerusers.microsoft.com
Hello Reeza,please let me know if we can filter a value from Excel online based on time stamp. Basically I want to filter response which was submitted today after 9AM,not before that
Hi Reza, Thanks for these helpful videos. How can we have the audit log of these approvals for internal/external auditors. Further, if you could consider making a video on a scenario where initiator places a file on preapproval folder document library, approver receives the email, once approver approves the document, the files in preapproval folder are moved to another approved folder.
I will have to look at your flow in action to provide guidance. I would recommend posting your issue/query with screenshots on the forums at powerusers.microsoft.com
Thanks for your video, really helpful! For the sharepoint list attachment, I did exactly the same configuration, but got error message saying "bad request. The request failed. Error code "attachmentcontentnotvalidbase64string" could you please advise what's the reason?
I will have to look at your flow in action to provide any guidance. I would recommend you post your issue/query with screenshots on the forums at powerusers.microsoft.com
Really informative videos Reza. I am trying to get data populated on my share point through MS forms (having attachments) and I am trying to get approvals where the approver gets the link to those attachments. The error that I get is Flow save failed with code 'OpenApiOperationParameterValidationFailed' and message 'Input parameter 'WebhookApprovalCreationInput' validation failed in workflow operation 'Start_and_wait_for_an_approval': The parameter with value '"@{variables('varAttachments')} "' in path 'WebhookApprovalCreationInput/attachments' with type/format 'String' is not convertible to type/format 'Array'.' and I don't really understand why
Thanks for another great tutorial Reza. I have used this to design an Approval flow with files attached. It works great but for a small error. As my flow calls for emailing the original file back to responder who submitted the form I'm getting the below error at that stage : The API operation 'SendEmailV2' is missing required property 'emailMessage/Attachments/0/ContentBytes'.
I will have to look at your flow in action to provide guidance. I would recommend posting your issue/query with screenshots on the forums at powerusers.microsoft.com
Hi Reza, this video is great, it is exactly what I needed for the workflow I am working on. However, I did encounter a tiny issue (referring specifically to the 3rd scenario explained in this video - about attaching attachments to the approval email). In the event where attachments are uploaded, the flow works beautifully. If no attachments are uploaded in the MS Form then the flow fails. Do you have a fix for this? The flow I am working on is: It starts with MS form is submitted with or without attachments, sent to the approver (with attachments where applicable) if approved the information and is saved in the group SharePoint list and if the form is declined, it is not saved anywhere.
@@RezaDorrani can you expand on this a bit more - I have similar issues when the user does not attach anything which in this use case attachments are optional
@@nohpetsrs Length is an expression in flow. Difficult to showcase steps here in chat. Check flow expressions video - czcams.com/video/O97IdCbfMQI/video.html
Great video, but I am getting a base64encoded error when I use a docx file. I am using the file is created or modified trigger which works fine until I use the attachment options. I have the get file properties, get file content, all the same steps, but the base64encoded error at the 'start and wait' step at the Attachment Content spot. Do you have any thoughts on that?
I did not run into that specific issue. I will have to look at your flow in action to provide any guidance. I would recommend you post your issue/query with screenshots on the forums at powerusers.microsoft.com
Sir, I have used tabbed forms, learnt from your video tabbed forms video. In that I want to disable and enable buttons based on check boxes. If check box is checked then button should be enable. Otherwise it should be disable. And the buttons are in the gallery, so what should I do sir? Please clear my doubt.
I would have to recreate your scenario to provide any guidance. Idea would be to set the formula on the display mode property of the button. Here you will set the mode based on the checkbox value. I would recommend you post your issue/query with screenshots on the forums at powerusers.microsoft.com
Thank you for a very thorough demo. I have followed "Add SharePoint list item attachments as approval attachments" video but Im getting an error for at the "Start and Await for an approval stage" . This is the error - The request content was invalid and could not be deserialized: 'Unexpected character encountered while parsing value: {. Path 'attachments[0].content', line 1, position 1994.'.'. thanks once again.
I have not come across this issue and hence not sure what is the cause for your issue. I recommend posting your issue/query with screenshots on the forums at powerusers.microsoft.com
Great video, Reza! Thank you so much again. I need one idea regarding this. When I click the attachment to open in the approval form in Teams, it automatically downloads. When I try to open it in email, it does open, but when we save it, it saves to our system instead of updating the changes. Is there any possibility to edit the document in the online version (maybe in another tab) instead of downloading? Thanks
Thank you for this useful video. Still, I found some problem with my flow which is the file attachment is attached as html, not pdf/words while the original file is pdf/words. Also, in my flow, the attachment content in the Approval action always automatically changes into "Body" (from SharePoint) instead of "File content" (from SharePoint). I keep changing it manually and it still does not work.
I will have to look at your flow in action to know the cause of your issues. I will recommend posting your issue with screenshots on the forums at powerusers.microsoft.com
Thank you for the video! I'm creating a form where an attachment is optional. How do I make it so the flow can accept a Null entry? When I tried submitting the form without an attachment, I get this error: ExpressionEvaluationFailed. The execution of template action 'Apply_to_each' failed: the result of the evaluation of 'foreach' expression '@outputs('Compose')' is of type 'Null'. The result must be a valid array.
You can probably do a null check using a condition prior to applying the for loop. Condition: Compose out is equal to null Where null is the expression null
Hi Is there a way to make the Array Solution of multiple Atachment but from the Get File Content function from the Document Library? I use first Get File Properties, then Apply to Each Get File Content and populated the Array. The document is on the array but withe the file extention.
I'm sure there is a way, but I would have to try it out to provide guidance. I would recommend posting your issue/query with screenshots on the forums at powerusers.microsoft.com
Hello, this video was very helpful, but I think I confused myself. Everything seemed to be going well, but when you selected the onedrive to grab the attachments I got a bit lost because I had watched one of your other videos on automated email messages with form responses and in that video you pulled from the sharepoint file location. I wasn't using onedrive to automate the approval, so I tried to pull from the sharepoint file path, but that didn't work. Is it possible to do Flow Approval with Attachments using a sharepoint file path?
Hello Reza, thanks for this flow. I am trying to use this flow and upload additional files as part of the input in the selected file action. I used "For a selected file and add input. As part of the input , I included additional files. But the files are not readable while i tested the flow. I guess i need to bring them in somehow? Please I do i bring those additional files in and make the approver view them. Thanks
I do not have a video reference on this scenario and would have to try it out to provide guidance. I recommend checking or posting your query on forums in case someone has done something similar powerusers.microsoft.com
@@RezaDorrani Thanks Reza. I will appreciate if you can try it. This is really important for me for with management. I have tried to include the additional files but not working. I think i need to get/read the file content and include them in the approval attachments. I will also post it on forum as advised
is it possible to edit the attachment by clicking on it in the approval email directly, press approve & then save the edited document on sharepoint? thanks
Hello Reza, I have a question regarding power approval attachment. Is there any possibility to open file from an email which power flow sent, then edit it (for example add signature) and then clicking approve button to send approval notification to requester with edited file? Thank you in advance. BR
Can you help me, I have a question, what if the approver open the attachment and then edit the file such as insert a note or a picture into the file, and when a create flow send a email notifications and setting the attachment field as a file content it didn't show up in the recipient email, how to make the updated file show up in the notification email?
Rezza, would love to see a intro into adaptive cards in teams. I found a video from you speaking at SPC, wondering if you have time for an intro video?
It is in my list. Have been waiting for it to go out of preview (some actions are in preview with Teams connector). I will be covering daptive cards (very basic version) as part of my live series czcams.com/video/SF6iF6aEhsA/video.html
Once again, you're mind reading. We were just talking about a process we have that is being done via Outlook voting for approval and One Note, and now want to switch to Power Automate approvals as attachment. So this, partnered with PA print to PDF is going to be golden for us. I also love the Chapters feature added to your videos, so you can share directly to a specific spot. Thank you for adding that!!
So glad to hear that this will be leveraged in a real world use case. Thanks for sharing the info.
Chapters is my favorite as well :)
I was struggling with this problem for about 5 hours and was so thankful to come by this video. THANK YOU!
You are most welcome!
Reza, thank you for making this video. You really helps me out today and obviously many others with almost 60,000 views. We appreciate all you do. Please keep the great content coming. Not sure what we’d do without you. Best regards, Teresa
Thank You so much Teresa for all the appreciation
This is amazing! All your videos are PURE GOLD! Thank you so much Reza!
Most welcome and thanks so much for watching and liking the videos.
Thank you for a fantastic explanation for how to do this process and WHY you're having to add certain steps. This is the second video I've digested of yours today that has gotten me further than any Power Automate learning documentation has. Thank you!
So happy to hear the feedback! Thanks so much for watching and learning from the videos.
Great video. Full scenario of approval attachments. Thanks for sharing
Glad you enjoyed it
Man, I would like to thank you for this video! I was looking for days for a way to catch attachments from Outlook e-mail to approvals without any success! Your video explained all scenários with a LOT of USEFUL information! Thanks, thanks and thanks!!!!!
Glad to know this video is useful. I always try to cover most common scenarios. Happy to hear the positive feedback.
Thanks for watching.
Thanks Reza... Awesome...Your teaching style is excellent and is based on real-world projects...👍💚
Glad you enjoyed the video. Thank You for your kind words :)
OMG!! Thank you Reza! Now Im going to speak in Portuguese (my language). Obrigada Reza, os seus vídeos estão me ajudando muito. Ótima explicação e ótimos exemplos.
You are most welcome!
VOCÊ É MUITO BEM-VINDO
This is an awesome video. Pure gold as always!!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Amazing video, been struggling with List Item attachments for Approvals for a while now! Thank you
Most welcome! Thanks for watching Joe
thank you for your guideline. this is a method what i've been waiting for multiple attachment.
Thanks for watching
Amazing Video. You are a Genius Reza. I have been looking for this solution for such a long time. 😊
Glad I could help. Goal was to cover multiple scenarios of approval attachments. Thank You for watching.
Thank you Reza for your great videos!
Most welcome
Great video. Full scenario of approval attachments. Thanks for sharing
totally agreed， perfect guide for the fresh learner
Glad you enjoyed it!
excellent video reza. Very practical example. thanks a lot ! ( martin from South Africa)
Thanks for watching
Thanks for sharing. It was exactly what I was looking for.
Glad it was helpful!
I am a non engineering, non IT guy, with background in commerical studies only and now learned so much just from two videos and in-fact even started implementing at my workplace. WoW.
Great story this! So happy to hear how quickly you have started implementing these at your workplace. Best of luck & keep learning.
@@RezaDorrani In a scenario where after the list item ( eg expense reimbursement) & its attachment (eg invoice) have been approved, how can the log of approval + attachment be generated as one file or a sharepoint item so that user can now proceed to upload the approval as well attachment on Expense reimbursement tool/ Payment tool
You are great!!! Thanks, your video helped and taught me a lot.
Glad to hear that!
The best video, thank you very much! :)
Glad you liked it!
Just what I needed, thanks!
Glad to hear it!
Thank you Reza! That is what I need!
Great!
Hi, Reza tks for the video!
U r the best!
Hey, thanks!
Thanks for sharing this. For me perk of video was Limitations related info
Thank you for watching
You just saved my life... thanks a million
Most welcome
Great tutorial, thanks Reza
Thanks for watching
Your a legend mate! Thank you
Thanks Nick. My subscribers are legends who keep suggesting awesome topics.
thank you so much! been trying to find a tutorial how to attach existing sharepoint file to power automate approval.
You're welcome!
Very useful, congratz Reza
Thanks
Spend ages today looking for a solution for processing Outlook email attachments and attaching them to an Approval workflow. Your video was very helpful and resolved by issue. 👍👍
Glad I could help!
Thanks Reza, big fan 👍👍
Thank you for following my work.
This lesson is very good with Zoom screen too helpful .
Glad to hear that!
thank you so much😭My friend and I struggle to create the flow :') We use the fourth scenario to create in lieu submission approval. This video really helpful!🤓
You're most welcome
This is a fantastic and comprehensive view of the most likely scenarios. The method you use for the Forms attachments is quite a bit simpler than what I've been using. I'll have to try that with a group form to see if it works there as well (I suspect it will). Also, as a heads-up to anyone that wants to save those files to SharePoint, you might want to append something to the file name to ensure uniqueness (for example, the current timestamp). If the "Create file" action tries to add a file with a name that already exists, the flow will fail.
Thank you.
All valid points. Group forms with SharePoint will also work. Check - czcams.com/video/kbqXsKPTmZk/video.html
OK, tried with a Group form and found that in the "Get file content" input, you need to add the "driveId" and a period before the "id". This can be done in one expression: concat(item()['driveId'],'.',item()['id']). The only issue is that I like to append a timestamp to the file name (to ensure unique values) and because the value returned by item()['name'] includes the file extension, it's difficult to insert it between the name and the extension. I got around this by adding a "get file metadata" action, which has a "file name without extension" output, and using some string manipulation to split out the extension and append it after the timestamp. Kind of messy, but it works.
@@cvkealey As long as it works :)
Thanks so much!!!
You're most welcome!
Great!!, Really you save me!!
Glad to know the video is helpful.
Thank you very much, Reza.
A very useful video on sending attachments from a SharePoint email. Please make a video about archiving SharePoint with attachments.👍🤝🙏
Thanks!
I make videos when I receive multiple requests on a topic. I have ideas with over 50+ requests in my backlog
Thank you!
You're welcome!
Great video
Thanks!
Thank you sir
Most welcome
Amazing, thanks for sharing! Is it possible to track the versioning history of the file changes that are attached to an item in the SP list attachments (Word/PDF/Excel)?
I don't think list item attachments are versioned.
Such a detailed video, thank you. I've been battling with this and I'm so close, but I'm still hitting a couple of snags...
- I'm trying to send an email after the create file step and include a copy of the attachment, but it's tapping out because it's looking for 'ContentBytes', not Content.
- My attachments, although they are coming through and also saving in the correct format, are blank and I'm not sure why
- Is there a point in the flow where I can rename the attachment to something more descriptive? Ideally using the dynamic content from the form itself?
Thank you 😊
1) Create file step needs contentbytes structure. You would need to modify the flow accordingly.
2) I would have to look at your flow in action to provide guidance.
3) When creating the file is your data source, you can rename it.
I do not have a video reference on the above scenarios and would have to try it out to provide guidance. I would recommend posting your issue/query with screenshots on the forums at powerusers.microsoft.com
Thank you Reza :) Microsoft has improvements to make in order to make such scenario more accessible to business users... It is a low code platform.. Waiting for that there is Reza !!!
I wish all the JSON outputs were the same for consistency. Till then you have my videos :)
Thank you Reza great
You are most welcome
You are Awesome !!!. Great Thank you
Happy to help!
@@RezaDorrani using Forms we are getting data from user then further generated approval process using power automate. Can we create same kind of form using SharePoint? so we can take input or response from user and automate this SharePoint for approval process. Could you please make this video
Thank you So much !!! Really appreciated the way you explain in video.
@@dhootsachin Power Automate approval forms cannot be customized. You could use SharePoint forms and trigger approval by calling flow. It all depends on use case. I do not have a specific video on this. I would recommend you post your query with screenshots on the forums at powerusers.microsoft.com/
LOVE This video. I was looking for a solution for so long and not being use to flow I did not understand the other videos.
But this is great.
I was wondering if I look at (Microsoft Forms file uploads - add as attachments to approval workflow) How do I add the responses in the Form as an attachment with the other attachments.
Responses of the form is something that you could create an html file or pdf file of and then load it to attachments.
I do not have a specific video on this.
I have one that shows how to build the pdf file - czcams.com/video/Da4do2DxmJE/video.html which may help.
Great video! I have a question regarding your start and due dates in your list, how were they populated? Is there a video where you demonstrate this? I would like to create the same flow with attachments that runs from the date the request is submitted up until a particular due date, with email reminders.
Its a standard SharePoint list with 2 custom date columns added. I do not have a video showcase the steps.
Thanks Reza for all your amazing videos & tips. Is it really recommendable to use approval attachments? What about the underlying Dataverse? Doesn't this approach consume an incredible amount of memory? Is there an "auto-cleanup" or something else to get rid-off already processed approval actions and their attachments? Otherwise, I see a big risk if such an approach is widely used in an organization.
Great question. As far as I know, all approvals related data, history etc. get deleted after 28 days or so. So my assumption is the attachments will also get deleted.
Hi, thank you so much for your tutorial, it's really helpfull! I'm trying to do the same thing but from a Sharepoint Document library and the ''Get attachements'' action doesn't work. Do you know which action I should choose? Thank you!
Get attachments is only for list items.
Get files is for document library.
Hi Reza,
Thanks for the great videos!
1) What's the difference between using the compose action with json() and just using the parse json action?
2) When I use your method I seem to be having problems getting Flow to recognize the array and allow me to use it in the approval action as an attachment. Not sure why.
3) What do I do if I have more than one question with attachments that need to be approved? (Not multiple uploads in the same question -- multiple questions.)
4) I seem to be getting the 'AttachmentContentNotValidBase64String' which is frustrating.
1) You could go either ways. Parse JSON will always expect a particular JSON schema. json() will just return the JSON equivalent of the data.
2) I would have to look at your flow in action to provide guidance. Post your issue with screenshots on the forums at powerusers.microsoft.com/
3) You loop through each question separately and load it in same attachments array
4) Post your issue with screenshots on the forums at powerusers.microsoft.com/
Hi Reza,
Thank you for showcasing the approval flow with attachments!
I follow the steps and successfully create the flow with attachments in the Outlook email. However, the action "start and wait for an approval" will also trigger approval requests on MS Teams with no attachment. My question is, would it be able to have the attachment on MS Teams too? If this is another limitation of Power Automate, is it possible to suspend the notification on MS Teams?
I don't believe Teams attachments are supported yet. This is a current limitation.
Hello Reza! Another great video. Question, with the attachments, if an approver needed to make edits to one of the documents, would they be able to open the document and make their edits? Or will the document need to be downloaded to their desktop, edited, and reuploaded? TIA
Downloaded, edited and reuploaded.
Very helpful! I have been struggling, though, with what if the form results (and corresponding attachment) reside in sharepoint, not onedrive? Thank you!
I have done videos on those too. Check the Power Automate playlist on my channel.
Reza, great video again. Is there a way to add attachments when utilizing a Approval Matrix and a Create an approval. Adding Attachment array seems to work under a normal create an approval, but when doing custom utilizing an approval matrix I can't seem to get the attachment to add.
Not sure as I have not tried this. I will recommend checking on forums in case someone has done something similar
powerusers.microsoft.com
Thank you for this Reza. I could never have figured it out without your wonderful explanation.
One thing though, I have not been able to get a submit button to appear in the approval email. Clicking approve or reject always opens the Approvals Center. Is there something I am missing?
Thank you for watching.
Actionable emails in Outlook is related to Outlook versions. Check docs.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook/actionable-messages/
Hi Reza, great video. Do you have a video for permissions with attachments?
I do not have a video reference on this scenario. I recommend checking on the forums at powerusers.microsoft.com/ in case someone has done something similar.
Great video Reza. I need to create a flow where the attachments from a Sharepoint form generate on 2 subsequent approvals and then an email with attachments. The Attachments array variable you described works perfectly for both approvals and keeps failing on the last step 'Send an email'. Do you have any suggestions?
I will have to look at your flow in action to know the cause of your issue. I would recommend posting your issue with screenshots on the forums at powerusers.microsoft.com
Hey i love the way u teaching ✨..want to ask u can we mandate or rename attachment field in sharepoint new list?
Thanks.
Attachments cannot be made mandatory as far as I know.
You could rename them.
I kind of show it in my latest video - czcams.com/video/Aerky9hiYDo/video.htmlsi=WELuuimiuNwFcsAT
Hi Reza, thanks so much for your content. @27:40 in the video you mention that the attachments cannot have special characters, but could be fixed using Expressions and Flow. Just wondering if you have a video on how this can be done? have a flow that copies attachments to a document library, but ones with special characters do not display. I’m hoping to find a solution to sanitize the attachment file names. Thanks for any direction/video that you can provide.
you would need to use replace function to replace all those special characters
example: replace(replace(filename,'*',''),'|','')
I will recommend checking on the forums at powerusers.microsoft.com/ in case someone has done something similar.
Hi Reza, another great video. Is it possible to upload an attachment to a sent approval? Eg. An approver needs to upload an additional attachment in to their Teams approval, which then gets added to the SharePoint list.
Approval forms does not allow for attachments to be uploaded.
Hi Reza, Greats videos!
I need to insert a checkbox in the approval email such that the approver, reads and understands the text/string and clicks on the checkbox before they click on the Approve button. Is this something that can be accomplished?
The approval email form cannot be customized.
Thanks for the step by step tutorial. How about if I need to exclude specific types of attachment like zip or pdf?
You could use the Filter data operation to remove specific file types from the attachments array.
Hello Reza, Thanks for the videos helping people around the world. I always first come to your channel to get help :). I need your expert guidance/opinion, please. if an approver edits the attachment (In case of a list item with an attached file) or document (A library uploaded file) before approving or rejecting will save the edited file so that the updated/edited file now should be visible to all users? I mean if an approver edits the attachment or file it should be overwritten the actual attachment or file. Shall be very thankful if you please guide on it. Thanks
The attachments being sent for approvals action cannot be edited. It is more like a copy.
Approver would need to download it, edit it and the upload it back to data source (list or library).
Reza, thank you for another great video. Question about this process. If the approver adds comments to a word document, do the comments get retained throughout the approval process across all approvers?
Word doc is independent of the process. The doc is shared as an attachment so any updates made there wont reflect. Best for user to make changes to original document (wherever it is stored)
Hey, 1st of all thanks for this video.
I am using power automate for the 1st time in my career and really need your help.
I have set up approval flow which is working perfectly fine, but when approvers try to open the file, they can't see the content. I have implemented the 1st of your scenario.
When it is Excel file, the error comes file is corrupt, and when it is PDF, it just open but blank pdf. We mainly have to deal with PDFs and they contain drawings.. Looking forward for your help.
Welcome!
I have not come across the mentioned issue and hence not sure what the cause could be.
I recommend posting your issue on forums in case someone has experienced something similar powerusers.microsoft.com
@@RezaDorrani thanks for your reply, I will try that
Hi Reza, this is a great video as always. Is there a way to make the sharepoint list readonly when the approver needs to approve/reject so as to avoid making changes to the list item?
You would need to set permissions on the list item as the item moves through the approval process.
@@RezaDorrani thank you..
Reza to the rescue again 🙌🏻
:)
Hi Reza, Nothing short of brilliant. I noticed the keys for the approval action in the JSON was {"name": _________, "content": ______} whereas for an email action it's {"Name": _________, "ContentBytes": ______}. Will one work in the other or only for their respective actions (Approval vs Email)?
Yes, it differs based on the connector type.
Thank you Reza, how do I enable Actionable Email in my tenant? It used to be enabled and something changed - Chang was effected by Microsoft
I would recommend to create a support ticket with Microsoft in that case.
Hi Reza, very useful, would it be possible to describe how to send an email to another email once validation is performed with the attachments ?
Send an email to another email?
Great video Reza. Thanks for the insight.
I have a question, what if we have multiple fields with attach documents on the Microsoft Forms. How do initialize and append variables for the individual fields on the Forms?
You can create variables for each field and then combine them (if required) using expressions.
@@RezaDorrani thank you so much
@@RezaDorrani Hi Reza, thank you for the video. In this scenario where there are multiple fields with attached documents, which expression should be used to combine them in order to attach all documents to the approval email?
Thank you
@@tproto223 It is not only expressions. Multiple actions and expressions would be needed to get it to work. I do not have a video reference on this scenario and would have to try it out to provide guidance. I will recommend checking on the forums at powerusers.microsoft.com/ in case someone has done something similar.
Hi Reza, excellent video once a gain. I have a question. I can get the flow working correctly, but the attachments only come through with the email notification and in the Power Automate Approvals area. The MS Teams approval is not showing the attachments. We either need to have the attachments coming through in MS Teams as well, or we need to be able to turn off the approval requests going to Power Automate and MS Teams, and only have them going to email. Thanks in advance for your help!
I believe that is a current limitation.
@@RezaDorrani Hi, is there a way to stop notifications going to MS Teams or Power Automate, and only have them going by email?
@@shannonp3mo169 Im not aware of an option
Hi Reza thank you once again. I was looking for MS form file upload and this video helped. Is there another shorter way to create Ms forms file ulpoad approval flow you can show us? Thanks.
I am not aware of any other shorter way / I would have to try it out to know more. I will recommend checking on the forums at powerusers.microsoft.com/ in case someone has done something similar.
@@RezaDorrani Thank you for the feedback
Hi Reza, thank you for the video, is it possible to customize the approvals for different items in one email? sample, if we submit 3 items and attachments in ms. form then we send the items in 1 email and we can approve the item from 3 items based on our preference. Thank You
Approvals action is meant for a single entity. You would need to fire multiple approval actions (emails).
Great Video! I have one question, how can I do it in case get the attachments of different questions from forms and send to approval, please? Thanks
I do not have a video reference on this scenario and would have to try it out to provide guidance. I would recommend posting your issue/query with screenshots on the forums at powerusers.microsoft.com
@@RezaDorrani Thanks a lot!
Thanks for this walk through Reza, and for all your other awesome content. It makes our lives much much easier. Do you have any thoughts on why my use case of trying to extract attachments from a list item results in corrupt files that will not open? I've followed the section in your tutorial for this, but still get corrupt files in my approval email. Your thoughts will be much appreciated Reza, thank you.
You are most welcome!
I have not come across the mentioned issue and hence not sure what the reason for your issue is. I recommend posting your issue with screenshots on the forums at powerusers.microsoft.com
@@RezaDorrani sure thing, i'll post an issue in the forum
Hello Reeza,please let me know if we can filter a value from Excel online based on time stamp. Basically I want to filter response which was submitted today after 9AM,not before that
I believe it is possible but I would have to try that out. I will recommend you check on the forums at powerusers.microsoft.com/
Hi Reza, Thanks for these helpful videos. How can we have the audit log of these approvals for internal/external auditors. Further, if you could consider making a video on a scenario where initiator places a file on preapproval folder document library, approver receives the email, once approver approves the document, the files in preapproval folder are moved to another approved folder.
Track approval history - czcams.com/video/lYE7NXTDPJY/video.html
I will add your approval scenario request to my backlog.
@@RezaDorrani Thank you so much boss.
Hi Rezza
Thanks for the useful video. I am unable to see the attachment col in my sharepoint List though it has attachments. Can you please help.
I will have to look at your flow in action to provide guidance. I would recommend posting your issue/query with screenshots on the forums at powerusers.microsoft.com
Thanks for your video, really helpful! For the sharepoint list attachment, I did exactly the same configuration, but got error message saying "bad request. The request failed. Error code "attachmentcontentnotvalidbase64string" could you please advise what's the reason?
I will have to look at your flow in action to provide any guidance. I would recommend you post your issue/query with screenshots on the forums at powerusers.microsoft.com
Really informative videos Reza. I am trying to get data populated on my share point through MS forms (having attachments) and I am trying to get approvals where the approver gets the link to those attachments. The error that I get is
Flow save failed with code 'OpenApiOperationParameterValidationFailed' and message 'Input parameter 'WebhookApprovalCreationInput' validation failed in workflow operation 'Start_and_wait_for_an_approval': The parameter with value '"@{variables('varAttachments')}
"' in path 'WebhookApprovalCreationInput/attachments' with type/format 'String' is not convertible to type/format 'Array'.'
and I don't really understand why
I have not come across this issue hence not sure. I recommend posting your issue with screenshots on the forums at powerusers.microsoft.com
hai ur video is very helpful to me but got a question is it possible if add 2 attachments at the start and wait for an approval video 20.35
You can add multiple attachments.
Check czcams.com/video/Aerky9hiYDo/video.html
Thanks for another great tutorial Reza. I have used this to design an Approval flow with files attached. It works great but for a small error. As my flow calls for emailing the original file back to responder who submitted the form I'm getting the below error at that stage :
The API operation 'SendEmailV2' is missing required property 'emailMessage/Attachments/0/ContentBytes'.
I will have to look at your flow in action to provide guidance. I would recommend posting your issue/query with screenshots on the forums at powerusers.microsoft.com
I changed the JSON from "content": to "contentBytes": and it corrected this error.
Thanks Reza, Any limit to add number of approvers
I don’t believe there is any defined limit.
Hi Reza, this video is great, it is exactly what I needed for the workflow I am working on. However, I did encounter a tiny issue (referring specifically to the 3rd scenario explained in this video - about attaching attachments to the approval email). In the event where attachments are uploaded, the flow works beautifully. If no attachments are uploaded in the MS Form then the flow fails. Do you have a fix for this?
The flow I am working on is: It starts with MS form is submitted with or without attachments, sent to the approver (with attachments where applicable) if approved the information and is saved in the group SharePoint list and if the form is declined, it is not saved anywhere.
You can use the length expression to check if length of attachments array is more than 0.
@@RezaDorrani can you expand on this a bit more - I have similar issues when the user does not attach anything which in this use case attachments are optional
@@nohpetsrs Length is an expression in flow. Difficult to showcase steps here in chat.
Check flow expressions video - czcams.com/video/O97IdCbfMQI/video.html
I'm having a similar issue but the flow is failing when an attachment is included.
Great video, but I am getting a base64encoded error when I use a docx file. I am using the file is created or modified trigger which works fine until I use the attachment options. I have the get file properties, get file content, all the same steps, but the base64encoded error at the 'start and wait' step at the Attachment Content spot. Do you have any thoughts on that?
I did not run into that specific issue. I will have to look at your flow in action to provide any guidance. I would recommend you post your issue/query with screenshots on the forums at powerusers.microsoft.com
Sir, I have used tabbed forms, learnt from your video tabbed forms video. In that I want to disable and enable buttons based on check boxes. If check box is checked then button should be enable. Otherwise it should be disable. And the buttons are in the gallery, so what should I do sir? Please clear my doubt.
I would have to recreate your scenario to provide any guidance. Idea would be to set the formula on the display mode property of the button. Here you will set the mode based on the checkbox value. I would recommend you post your issue/query with screenshots on the forums at powerusers.microsoft.com
Hi Reza, can we also change the approval incase if the approver leave the company/on vacation ?
You can always check if user is active or on vacation prior to assigning the approval task.
czcams.com/video/r8jk5xigpQg/video.html
Thank you for a very thorough demo. I have followed "Add SharePoint list item attachments as approval attachments" video but Im getting an error for at the "Start and Await for an approval stage" . This is the error - The request content was invalid and could not be deserialized: 'Unexpected character encountered while parsing value: {. Path 'attachments[0].content', line 1, position 1994.'.'. thanks once again.
I have not come across this issue and hence not sure what is the cause for your issue. I recommend posting your issue/query with screenshots on the forums at powerusers.microsoft.com
Great video, Reza! Thank you so much again. I need one idea regarding this. When I click the attachment to open in the approval form in Teams, it automatically downloads. When I try to open it in email, it does open, but when we save it, it saves to our system instead of updating the changes. Is there any possibility to edit the document in the online version (maybe in another tab) instead of downloading? Thanks
I don't believe we have any control over the default behavior.
@@RezaDorrani Is there any possibility to provide link of attachments in approval form directly Reza?
@@Thaara1424 Body of approval is one place where that could be done
Thank you for this useful video. Still, I found some problem with my flow which is the file attachment is attached as html, not pdf/words while the original file is pdf/words. Also, in my flow, the attachment content in the Approval action always automatically changes into "Body" (from SharePoint) instead of "File content" (from SharePoint). I keep changing it manually and it still does not work.
I will have to look at your flow in action to know the cause of your issues. I will recommend posting your issue with screenshots on the forums at powerusers.microsoft.com
Thank you for the video! I'm creating a form where an attachment is optional. How do I make it so the flow can accept a Null entry? When I tried submitting the form without an attachment, I get this error:
ExpressionEvaluationFailed. The execution of template action 'Apply_to_each' failed: the result of the evaluation of 'foreach' expression '@outputs('Compose')' is of type 'Null'. The result must be a valid array.
You can probably do a null check using a condition prior to applying the for loop.
Condition:
Compose out is equal to null
Where null is the expression null
Is there a way to put e-signature of the approver in the attachment? And save the signed document to sharepoint. Thanks!
Possible using third party/ premium connectors. I believe encodian is one of them.
Hi Is there a way to make the Array Solution of multiple Atachment but from the Get File Content function from the Document Library? I use first Get File Properties, then Apply to Each Get File Content and populated the Array. The document is on the array but withe the file extention.
I'm sure there is a way, but I would have to try it out to provide guidance. I would recommend posting your issue/query with screenshots on the forums at powerusers.microsoft.com
Hello, this video was very helpful, but I think I confused myself. Everything seemed to be going well, but when you selected the onedrive to grab the attachments I got a bit lost because I had watched one of your other videos on automated email messages with form responses and in that video you pulled from the sharepoint file location. I wasn't using onedrive to automate the approval, so I tried to pull from the sharepoint file path, but that didn't work. Is it possible to do Flow Approval with Attachments using a sharepoint file path?
At what time in video I show the OneDrive action?
@@RezaDorrani oh wow fast response, thanks. It was 18:41.
Hello Reza, thanks for this flow. I am trying to use this flow and upload additional files as part of the input in the selected file action. I used "For a selected file and add input. As part of the input , I included additional files. But the files are not readable while i tested the flow. I guess i need to bring them in somehow? Please I do i bring those additional files in and make the approver view them. Thanks
I do not have a video reference on this scenario and would have to try it out to provide guidance. I recommend checking or posting your query on forums in case someone has done something similar powerusers.microsoft.com
@@RezaDorrani Thanks Reza. I will appreciate if you can try it. This is really important for me for with management. I have tried to include the additional files but not working. I think i need to get/read the file content and include them in the approval attachments. I will also post it on forum as advised
@@olalekanodutola5723 I have no plans to try it out as I am working on multiple new video topics. Forums will be your best bet.
is it possible to edit the attachment by clicking on it in the approval email directly, press approve & then save the edited document on sharepoint? thanks
I don’t think that is possible.
Hello Reza,
I have a question regarding power approval attachment. Is there any possibility to open file from an email which power flow sent, then edit it (for example add signature) and then clicking approve button to send approval notification to requester with edited file? Thank you in advance.
BR
Email attachment via flow are only for that email itself. It will not edit file in data source.
Can you help me, I have a question, what if the approver open the attachment and then edit the file such as insert a note or a picture into the file, and when a create flow send a email notifications and setting the attachment field as a file content it didn't show up in the recipient email, how to make the updated file show up in the notification email?
The attachment being mailed out is a copy. Update is not currently a feature.
Rezza, would love to see a intro into adaptive cards in teams. I found a video from you speaking at SPC, wondering if you have time for an intro video?
It is in my list. Have been waiting for it to go out of preview (some actions are in preview with Teams connector). I will be covering daptive cards (very basic version) as part of my live series czcams.com/video/SF6iF6aEhsA/video.html
@@RezaDorrani i've added to my reminders. I'm inspired to start learning JSON now.
If CZcams live works well, I will cover many more topics including JSON.