Use Document Libraries not Attachments with SharePoint

[@CameronPawluk]

Awesome. This is great. I had to figure all of this out by myself just last week. Nice to have a few extra tips that I can now go back and make some small adjustments to make it work even better. I add, if you want to be dynamic with the folder you want to share to, you can easily create a variable in powerapps first with the folder/s name and add that in when creating the file. I had to do this as the documents, I was uploading had to go to a specific folder based on the task the document was for.

[@ShanesCows]

Love it, thanks for sharing

[@anthonyschoester1192]

Hi, i'm interessed in that to store the uploaded docs in a dynamic folder based on my custom reference per record, can you share the details?

[@ShanesCows]

@@anthonyschoester1192 This video has some of hte mechanics. kzbin.info/www/bejne/d3m6p3poeJ6ph9E

[@anthonyschoester1192]

@@ShanesCows Thank for that, i fixed it today and it was more easy then i thought 😅

[@jeremys1977]

Thanks for this. I've always used attachments in form controls. But this really adds some additional functionality. I could also see the potential for adding the files to a dynamically selected doc library or folder.

[@ShanesCows]

Perfect idea! 😎

[@gosyomei]

Thank you for the very easy-to-understand content. I'll implement it in my app right away!

[@ShanesCows]

Awesome, love to hear that

[@Rich-hm9ux]

Very well explained but not sure how this could work with a new form scenario since the new form does not have an ID yet in the main list. How would you account for new submissions?

[@ShanesCows]

Put the flow code in OnSuccess of the form. You can then reference Self.LastSubmit.ID to get the ID of the new record.

[@FrancescaHulbert]

Thank you for the video. The explanation is very clear. One question if we keep getting an error about expecting a string and getting null. Do you have any idea what the issue may be?

[@ShanesCows]

Usually that is because whatever dynamic data you are passing in is blank. So maybe you are saying get Field X but sometimes fieldx is blank. That would cause that error.

[@spen2431]

As always .💥💥💥💥💥💥 Thank You

[@ShanesCows]

You bet, glad it helped.

[@mr_pika]

Hi Shane , awesome video as always, I just have a one doubt what if I creating a new list item there i want to upload files , I be missing the parent ID right bc the item is not even created yet. Should I use Last(list).ID+1 as parent ID for new item creation but it feel like not reliable . I really love to get your insights ❤

[@ShanesCows]

Change your order of operations so you Create the Parent first and then upload the file. So don't have OnAddFile do the upload put that code in OnSuccess of the form.

[@nickc655]

Thanks Shane, I will use this for the document control app I am working on. Did you draw for the radio at PPCC yet?

[@ShanesCows]

Awesome. I will check with the team but I think I am waiting on them to give me the list. I will try for a Nick. 🤩

[@nickc655]

@@ShanesCows Fingers crossed!

[@ivanpalacios3965]

Very nice! 💪😎

[@ShanesCows]

Happy to help. Have a great day. 🐶

[@billpatterson1371]

Nice one Shane! Do the same principles apply for choosing Dataverse for the document library?

[@ShanesCows]

I think SharePoint doc lib is better than storing files in DataVerse in a lot of scenarios. That edit and view docs in browser is just too good with SharePoint

[@MyMSZA]

@@ShanesCows Hi Shane, this would be just perfect without that delegation issue. Is there maybe any way with Dataverse to edit and view docs in the browser and skip even the SP library or is it the same as with SP list attachments?

[@tomka5050]

Hello Shane, what effects does placing a filter function inside a gallery on performance and the number of API calls?

[@ShanesCows]

As long as the filter query is delegable it is performed on the server side, reducing the payload to the client. So filtering is a good thing. :)

[@Eth_Mey]

Great video i had a form in but this is next level brilliant content 🎉 is how can one preview a zip file or video file? When i upload the file it works but cant see which file i would like to open if i attach a zip or video just asking if possible but great work brother

[@ShanesCows]

Glad it helped. Attachments are the worst in my book. 😎 But to be fair I have felt that way since SharePoint 2003 😲

[@drewbdoo]

Great video - for me, I can't seem to make it refresh correctly within the upload code - I keep having to manually refresh or have some other process outside of the upload refresh for me, doesn't seem to be firing after waiting for power apps.

[@ShanesCows]

You have your flow set to respond to power apps and power apps waiting for it, that should work. Other things we have seen is someone creating a timer and on timerend having it do the refresh. Time waits like 3 seconds or so.

[@bitokay147]

I just launched a invoicing tool sharepoint site, We use the sharepoint list to upload the invoice as attachment and fill out necessary fields as a invoice submission to be processed. Shall I change this attaching process? They also have ai builder scanning form for invoices t be uploaded and fields filled automatically. Can this be my option rather than document libraries ?

[@ShanesCows]

If what you are doing works for you then don’t change for me. 😎 Just if you find attachments don’t work know that doc libs usually work better. Sounds like you are doing cool stuff. 🤩

[@SaranLearning-q3r]

Brilliant Video, Shane you're PowerApps legend!!!! I have a question: this works perfectly for uploading existing items linked to Gallery.Selected. How can I apply this to new items/records? I have a SharePoint list where users submit a form and upload documents as list attachments. I’m considering directing these uploads to a SharePoint document library instead, so users can edit them dynamically. However, I’m not sure if it’s possible to preview the attachment before it’s added to the SharePoint document library. Is there a workaround for this? Additionally, I creating variable to generate a unique number when the form is submitted and sent to the SharePoint list Form_ID column . How can I link this Form_ID to the document uploaded to the document library?

[@andrewproudman952]

Can this be used to upload multiple images from the camera

[@ShanesCows]

Yes, multiple uploads is covered in this video kzbin.info/www/bejne/mZvGdXttlNtpmac

[@caraziegel7652]

I tried using this but my users couldnt use the button to save a document - not sure if it was permission or license - my manager who was a co-owner could also use teh button. but testers couldnt.

[@ShanesCows]

It is most likely permissions as the flow will run as the user who presses the button. So they will need access to the doc lib. License should be fine if they are using the Power Apps app

[@ravirachchh4062]

What is best way to upload large sized documents using power apps? Attachment control comes with file size limitations

[@ShanesCows]

I have never gotten anything larger than 50 MB to upload reliably. 🤷

[@ravirachchh4062]

@@ShanesCows any alternative approach we can take to implement this need?

[@aladris5443]

Sharepoint size limit is i think 250mb which you can increase it in attachment control in powerapps

[@andrewproudman952]

Can you use this way to add multiple files from the camera control

[@LemasterDave]

it's silly to have to do this when there is an Attachments folder under the List already with a subfolder for each item id.

[@ShanesCows]

I think all of that infrastructure is hidden, at least I don't know how to address it directly or use it when doing things like editing a doc?

[@radiosonicfan1726]

Intestering video. Watched a portion, going to have to finish later. OMG losing my mind. Moving cards in Power Apps is so glitchy. They won't move to where I want. Then it starts randoming moving stuff even though snap columns is off.

[@ShanesCows]

Turning snap to columns off never goes well. Turn it to 12 columns and that is the best, most flexible scenario

[@dlutchner]

Great video. Your scenario is great for uploading a new file. However if you build a Power App to manage multiple users and updating a document then you could hit an issue. For instance if the document is open (e.g open in Word) then the App cannot save the library metadata until the document is closed. I made a video about this kzbin.info/www/bejne/lWmaiGepobZpbtk Be interested in your thoughts.