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Power Platform Community / Forums / Power Automate / Copy file to another d...
Power Automate
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Copy file to another document with multiple choice - What am I doing wrong 😥

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Posted on by 31
Flow: Trigger - when a document changed to approved a copy of that document will be created in another document library.
Problem: I have two columns with multiple choice (Document type & Process) and I'm not able to get all choices over to new place. 
What am I doing wrong?
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  • Suggested answer
    MS.Ragavendar Profile Picture
    7,162 Super User 2026 Season 1 on at
     
    Is your flow run successfully or is it failing any where can you share the flow run history ?
     
    If the Update File Properties are not working replace with Send an HTTP request to SharePoint.
     
    ✅If this helped, please Accept as Solution to help others ❤️ A Like is appreciated 🏷️ Tag @MS.Ragavendar for follow-ups.
  • Suggested answer
    Haque Profile Picture
    3,217 on at
    Hi@IB-20031015-0,
     
    Let's troubleshoot these following areas:
     
    • Choice columns store their values as arrays of objects, not simple strings, so you need to handle them accordingly.
    • When copying the file or item, need to explicitly map and convert these multi-choice values to the target library’s target columns.
    • If you just copy the file metadata without properly handling multi-choice fields, only partial or no values get transferred.

    What might be missing:

    1. After the trigger, let's use a "Get file properties" or "Get item" action to retrieve the full metadata including multi-choice fields.
    2. For each multi-choice field, the value will be an array of objects with Value or Label properties.
    3. Use an expression or loop to extract the choice labels or values and join them into a semicolon-separated string. 
    4. When creating the copy in the destination library, map these processed strings to the multi-choice columns.
    5. Ensure the destination library’s multi-choice columns have the same choice options defined, or the values may not map correctly.
     
    Sample expression to join multi-choice values: If multi-choice field is called DocumentType, you can use an expression like:
    join(triggerOutputs()?['body/DocumentType'], ';')
    
    Or if the choices are objects with Value or Label:
    join(select(triggerOutputs()?['body/DocumentType'], 'Value'), ';')
     

    I am sure some clues I tried to give. If these clues help to resolve the issue brought you by here, please don't forget to check the box Does this answer your question? At the same time, I am pretty sure you have liked the response!
     
  • Suggested answer
    Valantis Profile Picture
    5,303 on at
     
    The issue is how multiple choice columns are formatted when you try to write them to the destination library. SharePoint multiple choice columns return an array of values from the trigger, but the Update file properties action expects them in a specific format.

    When you look at the trigger output for a multiple choice column, it comes back as an array like ["Choice1","Choice2"]. If you pass that array directly into the destination column field, SharePoint often only takes the first value or throws an error.

    The fix: use a Join expression to convert the array to a semicolon-separated string, then pass that to the destination column.
    In the Update file properties action, for your Document type column use:
    join(triggerOutputs()?['body/Document_x0020_type/Value'], ';')
     
    And for Process:

    join(triggerOutputs()?['body/Process/Value'], ';')
    The exact internal column name (the part after body/) depends on how SharePoint named it internally. If the trigger output shows a different field name, use that.
    If you're using Get file properties to read the source and then Update file properties to write to the destination, the same apply join the array from the Get output before writing.

    Can you share what the trigger output shows for those columns? That will confirm the exact expression to use.
     

     

    Best regards,

    Valantis

     

    ✅ If this helped solve your issue, please Accept as Solution so others can find it quickly.

    ❤️ If it didn’t fully solve it but was still useful, please click “Yes” on “Was this reply helpful?” or leave a Like :).

    🏷️ For follow-ups  @Valantis.

    📝 https://valantisond365.com/

    💼 LinkedIn

    ▶️ YouTube

  • Suggested answer
    11manish Profile Picture
    2,337 on at
    The most likely issue is that you are mapping the raw multi-choice object instead of the choice values array.
     
    The fix is:
    • Use “Update file properties” after copy
    • Map ColumnName Value instead of ColumnName
    • Ensure destination columns are also multi-select choice fields
    • Use a Select action if array transformation is needed
    That resolves this issue in most SharePoint multi-choice copy scenarios.
  • IB-20031015-0 Profile Picture
    31 on at
    @valantis - my choises comes over, but I get message below - but even more important - version information into a text field are now empty. 
     
  • IB-20031015-0 Profile Picture
    31 on at
    @11manish: thanks a lot.... but sorry.... I don't understand what you mean with
    "Map ColumnName Value instead of ColumnName"
  • IB-20031015-0 Profile Picture
    31 on at
    @Haque - My flow complains byt this is doing it's job - BUT - why is there always a but....
    now I no longer can see version number.... source defult version, new place text column....
     
  • Suggested answer
    Haque Profile Picture
    3,217 on at

    Hi @,

    If you are missing version history - please have a look at the following areas:

    1. Check Versioning Settings on the New Library: Go to the SharePoint document library settings. Under Versioning Settings, ensure that versioning is enabled (major versions or major and minor versions). If versioning is off, the version number won’t appear.
    2. Ensure the Version Column is Visible in the View: Edit the view of the document library. Make sure the Version column is selected and visible. Remove or hide any custom text columns that might be replacing or confusing the version display.
    3. When Copying Files via Power Automate: Understand that version history does not copy with the file. Only the current version of the file is copied. The new file will start with version 1.0 (or 1.0/0.1 depending on versioning settings). You cannot transfer version history via Power Automate out of the box.
    4. If You Need Version History: Consider using third-party tools or SharePoint migration tools that support version history migration. Alternatively, keep files in the original library and notify users or archive differently.

     


    I am sure some clues I tried to give. If these clues help to resolve the issue brought you by here, please don't forget to check the box Does this answer your question? At the same time, I am pretty sure you have liked the response!
     

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