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Look for file names in a folder

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Posted on by NT-15101604-0

I need to look for file names using a regular expression (e.g. Invoice*.xlsx) within a folder. If any matches are found, I want to proceed; if not, I want to terminate the power automate desktop flow.

I came across the 'If file exists' action, but it requires a fixed file name as the input.

Has anyone figured out a solution for this?

Thanks in advance!

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Power Automate Desktop

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Infamous_Let 332 Super User 2026 Season 1 on at

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You can do the following to search for files by pattern in Power Automate Desktop.

Start by using the "Get files in folder" action to grab all files from the folder where you want to search.
Next, use a "For Each" action to loop through the list of files one by one.
Inside the loop, add a "Matches Text" action to check if the file name matches your pattern, such as Invoice.*\.xlsx.
If a match is found, exit the loop and continue with your flow.
If the loop finishes without finding a match, you can use the "Terminate flow" action to stop the process.

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NT-15101604-0 14 on at

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Thank you for getting back to me. That should definitely serve as a workaround.

I also found a way to address it as an exception when 'Get files from folder' generates an error if no files are present.

Thanks again!

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