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3Hi Community,
We’re looking for a supported way to resize or compress images inside Power Automate so our flow can safely store them in SQL without exceeding the Service Bus message size limit (~8–8.5 MB).
End-to-end setup
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Power Apps (canvas app): users take photos in the app.
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SharePoint Online: the app writes to a SharePoint list; photos are saved as list attachments on each item (not a document library).
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Power Automate (cloud flow): we read the attachments, get file content, convert images to base64, and call a SQL stored procedure.
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SQL / Reporting: images land in SQL and are used in Paginated Reports.
The problem
Phone photos can be modest as files (e.g., ~3.26 MB), but once they pass through the flow they inflate:
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Base64 adds ~33%.
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Some actions treat content as text/UTF-16, roughly doubling again.
Result: the payload can exceed ~8–8.5 MB, so the flow fails (often at the SQL step).
What we already tried
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We changed our SQL side to accept
varbinary(max)and attempted to pass binary rather than base64. This did not solve it because the payload becomes too large earlier in the flow (before SQL), i.e., during file handling/conversion. -
We’d like to reduce image size before any step that would push the payload over the limit.
What we’re hoping to find
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Is there any first-party (Microsoft) way in Power Automate to resize or compress images that are SharePoint list attachments—before we convert/persist them? (Action, expression, or supported API.)
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If not natively possible, which third-party connectors are reliable for in-flow image resize/compress (e.g., Encodian, Plumsail, Cloudmersive, Muhimbi)? Any pros/cons or recommended settings (e.g., longest side ~1600 px, JPEG quality 0.6–0.7; avoid upscaling small images).
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If the recommended pattern is to move images into a document library (so they become drive items) and then work with Microsoft Graph/SharePoint image renditions or thumbnails, do you have a simple, robust flow pattern for:
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copying list attachments to a library,
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storing a reference back on the list item, and
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obtaining a smaller rendition for SQL?
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Constraints / goals
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Prefer first-party capabilities; we can consider 3rd-party if that’s the only viable route.
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Keep UX the same (Power Apps → list attachments), unless the library pattern is clearly the supported path.
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Keep final images < ~3 MB raw so base64/text overhead won’t exceed limits.
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Final destination is SQL for Paginated Reports.
Any proven patterns, sample flows, or official guidance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
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