Detecting moved files in SharePoint

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Posted on by joec21

Hi,

I'm trying to create a QA process for reports, this consists of 4 stages.

1. Ready for Review

2. Ready for Edits

3. Manager Approval

4. Ready for Release

The idea is for a report (word document) to get moved through the stages and trigger alerts etc at each step. This works fine for Stage 1, as the word document is considered new when it is first placed into folder 1, that then sends a message to the review group and someone picks it up, adds comments and moves it to folder 2.

Unfortunately since the file has now been "moved" and is not considered new, the "When a file is created" trigger doesn't recognise it and nothing happens. The file will constantly be modified while the edits are being completed so it's not possible to use "When a file is created or modified" as it might trigger the original stage many times over.

I have searched for various workarounds but can't find anything that will work for this situation. Does anyone have any suggestions please?

Many thanks.

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Building flows

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str8_6 25 on at

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Power automate, frustratingly, won't trigger for moved files. What if you add a metadata column called "Status". "Status" row can either be Review, Edits, Approval, or Release value per file. When Review is complete, instruct user to change "status" to Edits instead of moving file. This metadata properties change can be detected, power automate then moves file to Edit folder and alert Edits group.

Repeat for next couple stages.

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joec21 2 on at

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Apologies for the delay, I've only just seen this reply. That sounds like one of the best ways that i've come across so far. Is there a user friendly way of getting people to change that metadata "Status" column that you're aware of? Thanks.

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str8_6 25 on at

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I would research how to add a status dropdown list in sharepoint. It should be as easy as adding a new column to sharepoint folders and selecting the multiple choice option.
Once you've created the dropdown, adjust your Power Automate to trigger when properties are updated. When testing, changing the dropdown status should automatically move the file to the appropriate folder if your script is built correctly.

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