Power Automate Approval of Modified SharePoint Item With Active Link Fails

[arayawin2000]

I am working on a simple flow that triggers every time a file in a SharePoint library changes (e. g. new file, old file gets modified, etc.)  The flow has a switch that acts only when a file "ModerationStatus" is "Pending", all other values are ignored.  My problem begins when a "Start and wait for an approval" action is triggered.  I want this action to provide all approvers with an active link to the item that just changed.  The link, of course, is needed to allow all approvers to view the changed item and approve or reject it.  When a brand new file is added to the SharePoint library, the link to the new file provided to the approvers by SharePoint can't be opened likely because the new file "ModerationStatus" is not yet "Approved".  A similar problem occurs when an old file is modified, but in this case approvers get a link that points to the most recently approved version of the file.  Either way, approvers are unable to view the changed file before they can decide if they should approve it or not, which defeats the purpose of the flow.  I have not been able to find any references to this online, or any technical solutions to this problem, but ideally, SharePoint should "serve" a link to all approvers that allows them to view the changed file to be approved, not an earlier version of it.  Thank you.

[annajhaveri]

@arayawin2000  can you please go to library settings - > versioning settings -> and see what is configured in Draft item security?

[arayawin2000]

Hi there.  For Draft Item Security the selected option is Only users who can approve items (and the author of the item).  This is because I need to prevent any other users from viewing the draft document before it is properly approved.  Thank you.

[annajhaveri · Accepted solution]

@arayawin2000  then go to Gear button on top right corner, select Site Permission -> Advanced permissions settings.

Click on Permission Levels in the ribbon

Click on "Add a Permission Level". Then give a name to permission level something like Approver, then select Approve Items checkbox and click on Create button on bottom of the page. Now assign this Approver permission level to the users who need approver permission. Then check if approvers are able to see the draft changes.