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How to stop having ~tmp from appearing in file identifier

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Posted on by Karen K

I have a flow that is trigger when a file is created in SharePoint. However, sometimes when the file is created the filename sometimes appears with a "~tmpXX_" (where XX is random numbers/characters) at the start of the filename. I can check for the existence of this string and remove it for any specific processing. However, at the end of the flow we want to delete the file, which means using the File Identifier. The File Identifier has the "~tmpXX_" still referenced at the end of the flow. By the time the flow has run, the "~tmpXX_" does not appear in the filename anymore. Nor is it ever visible within SharePoint. It's like the "When a file is created" action is triggered, it's still uploading the file.

How can I prevent this flow from triggering too early or remove the "~tmpXX_" from the file identifier so the flow doesn't fail deleting the file?

Outputs from when a file is created:

Delete File action:

Failure message:

The filename in the library does not contain "~tmp9D_".

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Building flows

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creativeopinion

10,502 Super User 2025 Season 2 on at

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@kemppaik Add a delay action before the Delete File action. You could also add a Trigger condition to your flow to check to ensure it only runs for files that do not start with ~tmp9D_.

For more flow troubleshooting tips—check out this YT Tutorial: 5 Power Automate Troubleshooting FAQs and Helpful Tips for Creating Better Flows

In this tutorial I cover:

✅ How to troubleshoot a false Condition action result

✅ How to get dynamic content when it isn’t selectable from the list of dynamic content

✅ How to troubleshoot an Apply to Each action that isn’t looping through

✅ How to troubleshoot a skipped Apply to Each action

✅ How to troubleshoot a Filter Query

✅ How to use a SharePoint yes/no column in a Filter Query

✅ How to use Compose actions to troubleshoot a Power Automate flow

✅ How to troubleshoot multiple emails being sent

✅ How to troubleshoot multiple Teams messages being sent

Hope this helps!

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Karen K 20 on at

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I have a 30 second delay action in the flow and that hasn't resolved the issue.

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creativeopinion 10,502 Super User 2025 Season 2 on at

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@kemppaik You can try to increase the delay. Or as I mentioned in my prev post—try using a trigger condition to avoid triggering the flow when a temp file is created.

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Karen K 20 on at

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We've tried increasing the delay to 90 seconds and that still doesn't resolve the issue.

The "~tmpxx_" never appears to the end-user in the document library. The file always shows as "ThePlan.pdf". It only shows up sometimes in the flow with "~tmpXX_ThePlan.pdf". If I filter out out the files that start with "~tmpXX" how will "ThePlan.pdf" be processed?

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creativeopinion

10,502 Super User 2025 Season 2 on at

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@kemppaik Your flow is triggering whenever a new file is created. By using a trigger condition to prevent the flow from triggering when a temp file is created, the trigger will only fire when a non temp file is created. In your case, it will only trigger when ThePlan.pdf file is created (or any other file is created that doesn't start with ~tmp.

Hope this helps!

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Karen K 20 on at

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I'm not sure I'm communicating my issue correctly.

The file that gets uploaded to SharePoint is called "ThePlan.pdf".
When the flow is triggered, it is picking up the file as "~tmpXX_ThePlan.pdf". No user or other process is adding the "~tmpxxx_" value. It is only occurring when the flow is triggered.

Is it possible to remove the "~tmpXX_" value from the File Identifier to the Delete File doesn't fail?

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OB94 2 on at

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I also have a flow with a When a File is Created trigger and I've been having the exact same issue with '~tmpXX' sometimes appearing in the file name (I'd say 25% of the time). It seems to be what's causing my flow to fail on a Create Sharing Link action. I've tried adding a delay of 30 seconds at various points but this keeps happening. Has anyone discovered a solution?

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