I am encountering an issue where updating metadata columns in a SharePoint Library via Power Automate is causing the Approval Status (this column is automatically created when the Configure Approval is enabled) to reset to the default status Not submitted.
Environment:
SharePoint Online: Library has "Configure Approval" (Modern Approval) enabled.
Power Automate: Tried using the "Update item" and "Send an HTTP request to SharePoint" action
The issue: Whenever the workflow updates a specific metadata column (e.g., a "Type" or "Status" field) for a document that has already been Approved, the Approval Status automatically reverts to Not submitted.
We want to be able to update these background metadata fields without re-triggering the approval process or changing the current Approval Status of the document. Essentially, we need to perform a "silent update."
What I've Tried/Considered:
I have reached out to Microsoft Support, but I am still awaiting for response/feedback.
I tried using the ValidateUpdateListItem method via HTTP request, but it's not working
Questions:
Is there a way to configure the updating of columns without affecting the Approval Status column (reverts back to default status)?
Is there a workaround via HTTP request action to update the other columns while keeping the Approval Status column in Approved state?
Any advice or examples of how you've handled this would be greatly appreciated!
You are updating an approved doc, so that means you have to go through the whole approval cycle again (also be aware a lot of stuff is happening in the background within Dataverse, approval request rows get created/updated, etc.). That is why simply trying to set the status value isn't sufficient for this new modern approval process.
When you create your own bespoke custom approval flow (not the out of the box one from the library menu) with your own custom approval status field you would be able to use this approach though.
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