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PowerShell Move-Item in PAD reports success but file remains in source folde

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Posted on by CU11082013-1

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PowerShell Move-Item in PAD reports success but file remains in source folder

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Hi everyone,

I'm encountering an issue with Power Automate Desktop (PAD) when executing a PowerShell script that should move a .xlsx file from the Downloads folder to a destination folder. The script runs without errors and logs a successful move, but the file remains in the source folder and does not appear in the destination.

✅ Context:

Platform: Power Automate Desktop (PAD)

OS: Windows 11

Script type: PowerShell via "Run PowerShell Script" action

Goal: Move a .xlsx file downloaded by the flow

Note: A separate .xlsm file is used for iteration logic and variable ranges, but is not involved in the move operation

🧪 Script used:

$origen = "%ArchivoOrigen%"      # .xlsx file downloaded by the flow
$destino = "%RutaDestino%"
$logPath = "%LogPath%"

$log = @()
$inicio = Get-Date

if (Test-Path $origen) {
    $log += "$($inicio.ToString('yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss')) - Source file found: $origen"

    if (Test-Path $destino) {
        Remove-Item $destino
        $log += "$(Get-Date -Format 'yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss') - Destination file already existed and was deleted: $destino"
    }

    Move-Item -Path $origen -Destination $destino
    $log += "$(Get-Date -Format 'yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss') - File successfully moved to: $destino"
} else {
    $log += "$(Get-Date -Format 'yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss') - ERROR: Source file does not exist: $origen"
}

$fin = Get-Date
$duracion = ($fin - $inicio).TotalSeconds
$log += "$($fin.ToString('yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss')) - Total duration: $duracion seconds"

$log | Out-File -FilePath $logPath -Append
$log -join "`n"

🔍 Observations:

The .xlsx file exists before and after execution

Excel is not running (checked via Task Manager)

No errors are thrown in PAD

The script works correctly when run manually in PowerShell outside PAD

Logging and path validation are implemented

❓ Question:

Are there any known limitations or issues with Move-Item when executed from PAD that could prevent the file from being moved despite no error being thrown? Could this be related to execution context, virtualization, permissions, or caching?

Any insights or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Francisco

Categories:

Building Power Apps

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stampcoin 5,146 Super User 2026 Season 1 on at

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@CU11082013-1 Hi,

I think it's your script problem.

You have below code, I guess you want to check if the file exist or not.

That is not correct to use it....

if (Test-Path $destino) { Remove-Item $destino $log += "$(Get-Date -Format 'yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss') - Destination file already existed and was deleted: $destino" }
,

then you use below code for moving file, since above code deleted $destino, you will get a file created rather than a folder, which means it won't work ( move files to a file).
Move-Item -Path $origen -Destination $destino $log += "$(Get-Date -Format 'yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss') - File successfully moved to: $destino"

So, I suggest that delete the if statement for Test-Path $destino, use

Move-Item -Path $origen -Destination $destino -Force

it will overwrite the file if you have it in folder $destino.

You can try this in PAD without create any variable, or run it in powershell ISE directly

$origen = "C:\test\FromDownload\*.xlsx" # .xlsx file in this folder (exclude subfolder) $destino = "C:\test\MoveTest" #target folder $logPath = "C:\test\MoveLog\log.txt" # log file $log = @() $inicio = Get-Date if (Test-Path $origen) { $log += "$($inicio.ToString('yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss')) - Source file found: $origen" Move-Item -Path $origen -Destination $destino -Force $log += "$(Get-Date -Format 'yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss') - File successfully moved to: $destino" } else { $log += "$(Get-Date -Format 'yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss') - ERROR: Source file does not exist: $origen" } $fin = Get-Date $duracion = ($fin - $inicio).TotalSeconds $log += "$($fin.ToString('yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss')) - Total duration: $duracion seconds" $log | Out-File -FilePath $logPath -Append $log -join "`n"

If you want log each file, use for each for example, but that is out of this community's topic.

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CU11082013-1 4 on at

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Thanks for your input — I appreciate the suggestion.
In my case, `$destino` is a folder path, and the `Test-Path` check is used to validate if a file with the same name already exists in that folder. If it does, I remove it to avoid conflicts before moving the new file.
The issue I'm facing is specific to Power Automate Desktop (PAD): even when `Move-Item` reports success, the file remains in the source folder. I've validated this with detailed logging (timestamp, duration, and file existence checks before and after the move).
✅ The same script works perfectly in PowerShell ISE, but fails silently in PAD — which suggests a bug or context issue within PAD itself.
🛠️ As a temporary workaround, I added a post-move validation. If the file wasn't moved, I fallback to `Copy-Item` + `Remove-Item`.
Bug has been reported to Microsoft. If anyone else is facing this, feel free to share your PAD version and environment details.
Thanks again for contributing!

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stampcoin 5,146 Super User 2026 Season 1 on at

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@CU11082013-1 Hi,

Your code doesn't work for me, that's why I doubted your code and made some changes.

like I said your code deleted the destino folder, then when you uses move-item , it created a file instead a folder.

My env:

PAD:Version: 11.2507.134.0

Powershell 7.4.11

Window 11, Enterprise 23H2

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CU11082013-1 4 on at

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Quiero agradecer profundamente al foro por el acompañamiento técnico y humano que he recibido durante el desarrollo de este proyecto de automatización multiempresa.
Gracias a los aportes, sugerencias y debates compartidos aquí, pude evolucionar desde flujos monolíticos hacia una arquitectura modular, con subs independientes, validaciones dinámicas y logging técnico en cada etapa.
Cada bug resuelto, cada función reconstruida y cada ajuste de lógica fue posible gracias al intercambio colaborativo que este espacio promueve.
Hoy el proceso cuenta con trazabilidad contable, control de auditoría y una estructura escalable que sigue creciendo.
A quienes respondieron con paciencia, con código, con ideas o simplemente con aliento: gracias. Este trabajo lleva su huella.
Seguimos aprendiendo, compartiendo y mejorando. ¡Un abrazo a toda la comunidad!

Francisco

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