SharePoint "When an item is deleted" trigger - access metadata of deleted item

[jlbaker]

Hi there,

I'm trying to access the metadata of a deleted item.  However, the Dynamic content under "When an item is deleted" consists only of Deleted by, Filname with extension, ID, Is folder, Name, and Time deleted.

I tried Get Item with the ID.  That failed of course with an Item not found because the item was already deleted and in the recycle bin.

I also tried a Send an HTTP request to SharePoint with a GET for the RecycleBin but that just returns similar metadata as When an item is deleted.

I noticed that a couple new Dynamic content items appear under When an item is deleted when you click in a comparison field of a Condition step.  They are Item and List of Deleted items.  Searching as proved fruitless as to what these fields do, how to use them, and will they do what I want them to do.  Do you have any insight?

The only other option I thought of is to restore the item from the recycle bin, get its metadata, and then delete it again.  But again, I wasn't able to find any search results.  Any tips here?

Any other ideas on how to tackle this problem?  I'm not really interested in writing the metadata I need into the Title field.

Thank you!

[yashag2255]

Hi @jlbaker 

There is a bug that has been identified in the When an Item/ File is deleted trigger for SP and some of the information is missing from the body when the flow is triggered. the bug is already raised here:https://powerusers.microsoft.com/t5/I-Found-A-Bug/When-a-file-is-deleted-SharePoint-action-not-retri... and should be fixed soon in the next releases. 

Hope this Helps!

If this reply has answered your question or solved your issue, please mark this question as answered. Answered questions helps users in the future who may have the same issue or question quickly find a resolution via search. If you liked my response, please consider giving it a thumbs up. THANKS!

[jlbaker]

Thank you, yashag, for the quick response. I am experiencing the missing information in the body issue you mentioned. However, that is of way less concern than getting at the metadata of the deleted item. It doesn’t look like the item’s full metadata is available in the body by design for this trigger, only the subset. So, I am needing an alternate way of getting the item’s full metadata. Therefore, do you happen to have any input on the questions in the later part of my post…

“I noticed that a couple new Dynamic content items appear under When an item is deleted when you click in a comparison field of a Condition step. They are Item and List of Deleted items. Searching has proved fruitless as to what these fields do, how to use them, and will they do what I want them to do. Do you have any insight?

The only other option I thought of is to restore the item from the recycle bin, get its metadata, and then delete it again. But again, I wasn't able to find any search results on how to do this. Any tips here?

Any other ideas on how to tackle this problem? I'm not really interested in writing the metadata I need into the Title field, which is available in the subset.”

Thank you.

[TRundle]

Did you ever find a solution to getting the additional fields of the item that is being deleted? I am trying to capture the details of the deleted item, but I am only given Name, Filename and Deleted By. Thank you in advance for any information you can provide.

[Ulf_W]

hey@all,

i have the same problem. Need a value of the metadata/properties of the deleted item to work with it in another application. So is there anyone who can tell me the way to go?

[mizsei]

I think there is no option for that. I have built an excel, where I save every row, and when an item is deleted I can search it from the excel and get the metadata. 

This is not a nice workaround, but at least it works. 😞

[NorthernChuck]

No.. but it is definitely a workable solution! ++ you can restrict/add perms to files. 
sometimes simple is genius! cheers!

[mizsei]

I wondered, if I didn't allow deletion, but create a deleted yes/no field, and I only SET an item to deleted. But this isn't the best method either.

[Yobeekster]

Yes, this is a great idea for many reasons. We apply this also to documents, so that ALL data is retained, but for the user it gives the allusion  that items are deleted. In the background they are actually 'archived' with the same idea you have. We have a "No Deletion" philosophy for our application with users. The only time things are actually deleted is when the Admin deletes in the database. 

The one thing to be aware of is that where ever that list/library is used in the app, there needs to be attention to that Deleted column, else all the data will be used giving inaccurate results. Personally I think it is worth it. 

[Yobeekster]

Imagine knowing that NO data could ever be deleted from users. Its a great piece of mind and well worth the extra effort.