Issue with attachment field in power apps

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Posted on by Youssef_Arouay

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In Edit form control we have attachment field and my data base is SharePoint list, when we upload any PPT or Excel file of size more than 5 mb it gets uploaded in SharePoint, but when we try to download same file using PowerApps then the file doesn't gets downloaded instead it shows error msg of file couldn't download.

Please refer screen shot attached.

PS: I can download power point file, the error is with excel file !

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Michael E. Gernaey 53,978 Moderator on at

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Hi @Youssef_Arouay

This is and has been a known issue for a long time :-( , because you are using attachments, and btw attachments get treated different now, that's a side note, but anyhow, either save them in a document library, or leverage direct links to the files for people to download.

@WarrenBelz Any other tricks you can think of for this continued abomination of an issue lol with the control.

If these suggestions help resolve your issue, Please consider Marking the answer as such and also maybe a like.

Thank you!
Sincerely, Michael Gernaey

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WarrenBelz 155,240 Most Valuable Professional on at

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Hi @Youssef_Arouay and thanks @Michael E. Gernaey for the tag.

Yes - what @Michael E. Gernaey has noted is absolutely correct - it is a known limitation (downloading files over 5mb reliably) that has been around a long time with an attachment control.

Another limitation example is that the built-in download function also does not work (at all) if the attachment control Items is not referring directly to the SharePoint attachment field - I often use a secondary form with only an attachment control with Items being the ones of the primary ones so I can optionally submit separately with Patch(Form.Updates).

One workaround you might try (it seems to work OK for me in testing) is to put a Gallery on the screen with the Items (using the Item of the Form or the example)
LookUp( SPList, ID = YourGalleryName.Selected.ID ).Attachments

Then have Label with the name ThisItem.DisplayName and a icon with
Download(ThisItem.AbsoluteUri)

You need to refer to the data source as tke Items of an attachment control does not contain the AbsoluteUri.

You might consider the advice to use a SharePoint Library as this allows far more flexibility.

Please ✅ Does this answer your question if my post helped you solve your issue. This will help others find it more readily. It also closes the item. If the content was useful in other ways, please consider answering Yes to Was this reply helpful? or give it a Like ♥
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SebS 4,805 Super User 2026 Season 1 on at

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Hello,

Here’s my suggestion for the download link approach with Gallery usage:

Download(
"https://<tenant>.sharepoint.com/sites/<site-name>/_layouts/15/download.aspx?Sourceurl="
& ThisItem.AbsoluteUri
)

This approach has a few benefits, with the biggest one being that it hides the actual SharePoint file URL from the user.

Additional benefits include more consistent download behaviour, reduced exposure of internal site structure, and better alignment with SharePoint’s native download mechanism.

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VASANTH KUMAR BALMADI 352 on at

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This is a known limitation/bug in Power Apps attachments when using SharePoint, and you’re not doing anything wrong.

The key detail is this:

The file uploads successfully to SharePoint, but Power Apps fails when trying to download Excel files larger than ~5 MB from the Attachments control.

PowerPoint works, Excel fails — exactly as you described.

✅ Why this happens

Power Apps handles attachments very differently from SharePoint.

What actually occurs behind the scenes:

Files are uploaded correctly to SharePoint ✔

When downloading, Power Apps tries to:

load the file into app memory

convert it to Base64

then trigger the browser download

Excel files (.xlsx) are ZIP-compressed binary files, and Power Apps hits an internal memory/streaming limit.

PowerPoint files stream differently and often don’t hit the same limit — which is why PPT works but Excel fails.

This is not related to SharePoint size limits.

⚠️ Known limitations

Power Apps has the following constraints:

Attachment download uses client-side memory

Large Excel files exceed the canvas app binary buffer

Error appears even though the file exists in SharePoint

Happens typically at ~5–7 MB and above

Only affects certain file types (mainly .xlsx, sometimes .csv)

Microsoft has acknowledged this limitation but has not fixed it yet.

❌ What will NOT fix it

Increasing SharePoint attachment limit ❌

Changing form settings ❌

Using different browsers ❌

Using Power Apps mobile ❌

Rebuilding the form ❌

✅ Recommended workaround (best practice)

👉 Do NOT download attachments through Power Apps

Instead, redirect the user to the actual SharePoint file.

✅ Solution 1 — Open attachment directly from SharePoint

Use this formula in your attachment gallery:

Launch(ThisItem.AbsoluteUri)

or

Launch(ThisItem.Value)

(depending on your attachment schema)

This opens or downloads the file directly from SharePoint, bypassing Power Apps completely.

✅ Works for all file sizes
✅ Works for Excel
✅ Works for PPT
✅ No memory limits

✅ Solution 2 — Store files in a Document Library (recommended)

Instead of SharePoint list attachments:

Use a SharePoint Document Library

Store file link in your list

Then download using:

Launch(ThisItem.FileLink)

This is Microsoft’s recommended architecture for files larger than a few MB.

✅ Solution 3 — Use Power Automate to generate download link

Flow steps:

Receive Item ID

Get attachments

Generate sharing link

Return URL to Power Apps

Launch(URL)

This also bypasses Power Apps file memory limits.

🧠 Why Microsoft recommends document libraries

List attachments were never designed for:

large files

Excel documents

repeated downloads

mobile access

Power Apps consumption

Document libraries support:

streaming downloads

large files

version history

stable URLs

performance

✅ Summary

✔ SharePoint upload works correctly

❌ Power Apps attachment download has size/type limitations

❌ Excel files >5 MB fail to download

✔ This is a known Power Apps limitation

✔ Not fixable from app side

✅ Best solution

Use SharePoint direct links instead of Power Apps attachment downloads.

Launch(ThisItem.AbsoluteUri)

or move files to a document library.

✅ Final recommendation

If files can exceed 5 MB:

Never rely on SharePoint list attachments inside Power Apps.

Always use:

document libraries

or direct SharePoint links

This avoids this issue permanently.

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WarrenBelz 155,240 Most Valuable Professional on at

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Hi @Youssef_Arouay,

A quick follow-up to see if you received the answer you were looking for. Happy to assist further if not.

Please ✅ Does this answer your question if my post helped you solve your issue. This will help others find it more readily. It also closes the item. If the content was useful in other ways, please consider answering Yes to Was this reply helpful? or give it a Like ♥
Visit my blog Practical Power Apps LinkedIn

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