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Access a sharepoint file's previous version properties and content

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Posted on by EugeneM

Hi. I've searched here around the internet for days before posting. First post, be gentle. I'm struggling with "Get File Properties" and "Get File Content" of a previous version of a file in a sharepoint library.

Its pretty easy getting it for my trigger in a Documents library in sharepoint, I just call it from a "For a selected file". But how can I get the properties and content of a previous file version?

I can confirm the file exists, versioning is turned on, I can retrieve the values from a send http request; however since "Get file properties" asks for the file ID (and that file ID on previous versions is the same static integer) - how can I set those?

Tried a URI in send an http request to sharepoint but unlike a list, that doesn't seem valid, and even if it returned a value, I'm still stuck having to use the ID in (Get File Properties & Content using the identifier found in the file properties)

I've used logic to find the version I want to access, but just can't seem to nail this URI to get it and even if I did, not sure how to reference the result under Get file properties and then get file content (using the identifier found from the properties).

Thanks in advance for any help.

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EugeneM 4 on at

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So, trying to help myself.... I went into the version history of the files, I hovered over the previous version I'm trying to access and I see a URL:

https://XXXX.com/sites/SiteName/_vti_history/1536/Shared%20Documents/Project%20TRFs/USPS/TSS/FY23/AMD/TRF_AMDMachineLearning_FY23.xlsx

So I then noticed there is a "Get file content using path" and figured I know the URL - lets just plug it in there and see if it works. I know using that URL in a browser downloads the file version in question (yay) so it works and I have access and its available BUT... when trying to use this action, it claims it can't find the file.

It it because the action wasn't meant to access that /_vti_history/XXXX/ area before shared documents?
wskinnermctc 6,519 Moderator on at

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FYI: I have poked at this a few times since you originally posted because it is an interesting challenge, but I'm not able to crack it. Mainly because of the address of the version history. I can't tell where they are stored.

Even knowing the address, I think it will take a few HTTP request gymnastics to get what you want.
EugeneM 4 on at

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Thanks for the response. This is a great challenge to someone who stands out from the crowd for sure.

I know the URL and how its in a "/_vti/{versionNumber}/Shared Documents....ABC.xlsx" path, I know the URI, I know the version in the history I want to get, I can get the http request, I even got the fie content stored in some type of base64 that just melted my mind - #frustrated.

I hate myself, but I am proceeding forward to consider just making a "copy" of the file to a temp location when someone submits a file for approval - when they submit it a second time - I automation so I can compare the "current" selected file version, with the previously approved copied version just to compare the list rows against each other.

I feel dirty. I shouldn't have to copy a file for "later" usage, when I know the current file version I want to access. I also shouldn't have to consider restoring by label temporarily and then restoring the actual after.

Let me access the previous version's file properties directly!
TanyaMc365 63 on at

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If you can get the base 64 version then you can use a binary expression to convert the file contents so it's readable.

Shane young talks about that in this video: https://youtu.be/3QaiM8SeWfM?t=906

If you get it to work please post your full gymnastics routine as I need to do the same!