Going nuts with Automate / Get File proporties only showing deleted files

[Marcin88888]

I am going nuts with this absolutely not user friendly Automate. I am using Get File Properties Only to get list of files(their properties) to further check if file with a declared name is present in a folder BUT IS SHOWS ME DELETED FILES as well (crazy)(and the deleted one is the one I would like to check). This is jus madness. Can't do a simple task, always some mine. How to get list of file which are really in a folder?

[RobElliott]

@Marcin88888 Welcome to the forum. it's always useful for us if you can include a screenshot of your flow. In my flow (and I normally use the classic designer) there are only 2 files in the folder:

The flow loops through the library and brings back both files but then there is a condition to check for a specific filename, and if it exists, take some action, otherwise take some other action.

If you want a list of the files then after the get files action you could use a Select control followed by a Create an html table action. This removes the need for an apply to each and is usually better for performance of the flow.

Rob
Los Gallardos
Principal Consultant, SharePoint, Forms and Power Platform, WSP Global (and classic 1967 Morris Traveller driver)

[Marcin88888]

This part in my flow is pretty simple. It should be. TBH I had never worked with such bad tool as Automate flows.

Part of my flow : I just use

1/ get files properties from a folder then

2/filter through array by a file name (after testing the output shows me the file which is not there!).

3/ Then I check the lenght of filtered array which is 1! So for automate the file is there even it is not there.

It is made for further conditional flow for http requests etc

[RobElliott]

@Marcin88888 I will have a look at what your flow is doing, but I and many other users who have used Power Automate for quite a few years (me since 2018) do not find it a bad tool in any way. Yes it occasionally has its quirks, particularly the new designer, but it and Power Apps totally transformed my career and has saved my company hundreds of thousands of dollars because we don't need to use external developers for most apps & flows.

Rob
Los Gallardos
Principal Consultant, SharePoint, Forms and Power Platform, WSP Global (and classic 1967 Morris Traveller driver)

[Marcin88888]

I did a new flow with Get properties and list folder to check. Same result. It shows file which is not there. Here are 2 screenshots. The 3rd file which is in the output array is not in this folder. 

What is more interesting is that I see this file on list under "Delete file" option. But I do not see it in SharePoint folder.

[creativeopinion]

@Marcin88888 The List Folder action isn't necessary in your case as (if I'm understanding your requirement correctly) you are looking to filter out specific files and return their properties. If you could show a screenshot of your Get Files (properties only) action—it would be helpful and provide more insight as to what the issue could be.

First, I would recommend using the Classic Designer—the New Designer is still buggy.

The Get Files (properties only) action actually returns files and folders. Without filtering for files only, the action will return files and folders. I'd recommend going through these steps to test it out and review the outputs. 

First, turn on the totals column in your document library. This will display a total number of files and folders.

Limit Entries to Folder

Unless you want to return all files from your selected document library—it's always best practice to limit entires to a specific folder. This way you are only returning items from the selected folder.

Enable Pagination

The default number of files and folders returned in a single Get Files (properties only) call is 100. Depending on how many files and folders you have in your document library you will need to toggle on pagination and set a threshold. The maximum number of items SP Online allows per call is 5,000 items. However, when you keep this number low, it can avoid performance issues.

Press done at the bottom of the dialog to save your changes.

Return Count of Items

Without defining a filter query, return an item count. I do this with all my flows to help with troubleshooting. It is also helpful especially when using a filter query with a Get files (properties only) action to confirm that the filter query is filtering out the items as expected.

Insert a Compose action. Add an Expression. Use the length() function.

Select the Dynamic content tab and insert the value dynamic content from the Get Items action into the length() function.

Run a test. Review the outputs. Because the Get Files (properties only) action returns files and folders—the total item count is 6 which matches my screenshot at the start of this post.

Filter Out Files Only

To return files only—you need a filter query.

FSObjType eq 0

Run a test. Review the Output.

If you want to only return folders—change the 0 to a 1 (try it out and run a test!)

Filter Out Files by File Name

To filter out files by a file name you can use the following filter query.

For example, I'll add this to my filter query to filter out this single file. In this particular case, the string of text is not case sensitive.

Run a test. A single file has returned.

Filter Out Files by String of Text

Unfortunately, you cannot use a contains operator in the Filter Query. Let's say I want to filter out files that contain the word "document".

This isn't valid. You'll get an error when you run the flow.

This is:

substringof ('document', FileLeafRef)

Run a test. It's returned two items.

Condition Check

Add a Condition action to your flow. If items have returned (aka there is number stored in the Compose action—that is not equal to 0), add the rest of your actions to the Yes branch. If not, do nothing.

For more flow troubleshooting tips—check out this YT Tutorial: 5 Power Automate Troubleshooting FAQs and Helpful Tips for Creating Better Flows

In this Power Automate tutorial, I explore 5 frequently asked questions that pop up when troubleshooting a flow. If you’d like to to level up your Power Automate flow skills and learn how to troubleshoot your Power Automate flow—this tutorial is for you!

IN THIS VIDEO:

✅ How to troubleshoot a false Condition action result

✅ How to get dynamic content when it isn’t selectable from the list of dynamic content

✅ How to troubleshoot an Apply to Each action that isn’t looping through

✅ How to troubleshoot a skipped Apply to Each action

✅ How to troubleshoot a Filter Query

✅ How to use a SharePoint yes/no column in a Filter Query

✅ How to use Compose actions to troubleshoot a Power Automate flow

✅ How to troubleshoot multiple emails being sent

✅ How to troubleshoot multiple Teams messages being sent

Hope this helps!

If I helped you solve your problem—please mark my post as a solution ✅.
Consider giving me a 👍 if you liked my response!

👉 Level up your Power Automate skills by checking out my tutorials on YouTube
👉 Tips and Tricks on TikTok and Instagram

[Marcin88888]

First of all - thank You for your effort and very detailed instructions. I studied and tried a lot of things (studied from YouTube and this Forum and I have some basic experience) You have mentioned in Your post and I tried most of them by my own before. 

This ,main file will contain maximum 12 .csv files so pagination is not necessary, I guess.  (The final flow should add a .csv file from current month and replace it every day. Other files should be added by other flow which need HTTP request and some more complicated iteration through API pagination (due to API limitations) but the general picture is not the case at this moment). I am stuck on this particular step - the most basic. 

Here is the problem (I did totals according to your suggestion and indeed it shows total 3 files in this folder where there are 2 files):

Here is the classic view and GET PROPERTIES step:

I see 3 items in JSON output and 3 as a result of lenght "fuction", 3 as Total in Sherepoint but the real count of files there is 2.

[creativeopinion]

@Marcin88888 It's really odd that your file count is displaying 3 files when it looks like there are only 2 files. Are you currently viewing your files in a filtered view—or the default All Files view? Also could you try (not sure if it'll have the same result—but worth a try). Can you try to add a total for the Name column?

Can you provide more insights to your workflow? Where are the files coming from when you say: 

• The final flow should add a .csv file from current month and replace it every day.
• Other files should be added by other flow which need HTTP request