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Extract file original created and modified date (Not the uploaded date)

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Posted on by Riftsan

I am building a PowerApp for file uploads, and it must maintain the file's creation and modification dates of these files. The challenge arises because platforms like SharePoint, OneDrive, and the Graph API typically overwrite these dates upon upload. Finding a solution is crucial, as manual entry of these dates before uploading is not viable, given the application's use across the company and the large number of files it will handle. An automated process to accurately capture and preserve this metadata is necessary to avoid substantial operational difficulties.

I've contemplated requiring users to input these properties before uploading manually, but this approach is far from ideal. Given the application's company-wide usage and the management of thousands of files, such a manual process would lead to significant inconvenience. Finding an automatic method for retrieving this information is imperative to streamline operations.

Does anyone have any creative ways to solve this problem?

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Power Apps Pro Dev & ISV

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v-jefferni on at

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Hi @Riftsan ,

You can use SharePoint, add two custom Date and time columns in library, and use a flow to save the initial created/modified time "When a file is created".

Best regards,

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cchannon 4,702 Moderator on at

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The same is true of Dataverse, you can add custom columns for CreatedOn and ModifiedOn and set those during your upload. The OOB CreatedOn and ModifiedOn refer to the record, your custom ones would refer to the document.

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CU20080325-0 9 on at

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Hello @cchannon & @v-jefferni,

Thank you for your assistance with this matter. I've tried your suggested approach, but unfortunately, the dates are not being preserved. Cloud services tend to overwrite these dates upon upload, giving us the upload dates instead of the original ones since those become the initial dates in their system. I understand local access is required to obtain the original file date information.

Could you look at the screenshot attached below to see the outcome of my test?

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cchannon 4,702 Moderator on at

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You're not comparing the correct columns. Created and Modified are OOB: You are populating the columns, "Original Created" and "Original Modified". The Response Body is just sending you back default values. Check the record in the UI.

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CU20080325-0 9 on at

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@cchannon Thank you for pointing this out. I understand that the "Created" and "Modified" are the out-of-the-box (OOB) columns, and I've been populating "Original Created" and "Original Modified" instead. However, I do not see the correct user interface (UI) columns that would retain the original file dates. Could you guide me on where to find these columns in the UI or suggest how I should track these dates to ensure they accurately reflect the original file properties? I appreciate your help in clarifying this for me.

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v-jefferni on at

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Hi @Andres-san ,

Using Power Automate can only get file created/modified time in SharePoint, which is also when you upload the file into cloud drives. If you want to get the initial creating time of the file created in your computer, you need to use File system connector with the help of gateway installed in your machine.

Best regards,

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CU20080325-0 9 on at

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@v-jefferni Yes, that is what I thought, but unfortunately, this system will be used by many users, which makes your suggestion unfit for the requirement. I am wondering how @cchannon's suggestion works, though.

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