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STA-Admin
Frequent Visitor

Using PowerApps to create files (access denied)

I've created an app that takes user input and puts it in a Power Automate flow. Part of the flow is creating a file in a secure location that I do NOT want all of my users to have access to. Until now, I've used MS Forms to trigger all my flows, and it allows me to create and save files in any location I have access to, even if the user completing the form does not have access to it.

 

It seems this is not the case with PowerApps because the user must have access to the sharepoint where things are being saved. Is there any workaround to this? I find it hard to believe there aren't any use cases for collecting user input to then save a file somewhere that user does not have access to.

12 REPLIES 12

Your flow is being triggered by a button in Power Apps, right?


Regards. JD.
STA-Admin
Frequent Visitor

Yes, that's correct.

One way to do it is to create a flow that is triggered by a new record. That way you can run all actions with your user of choice.


Regards. JD.

But if users are creating new records on an SP list, don't they need to have access to it? This creates the same privacy problem with giving them access to the area the files are stored in.

STA-Admin
Frequent Visitor

I may have come up with a solution but need to see what others think because this may be a GDPR issue:

 

If I remove the users from the Sharepoint group BUT grant them access to the folder, it seems to be impossible for them to navigate to the folder to see the SP list or the files others have created. Does this seem correct? 

 

Edit: Nope, this doesn't work. The folder shows up in the "Shared" section on the users OneDrive page. Very annoying. I really can't believe that PowerApps cannot be used to collect confidential information. Surely I'm missing something?

 

Edit 2: The solution is here in case anyone is looking https://powerusers.microsoft.com/t5/Building-Power-Apps/User-should-only-be-able-to-see-own-data-in-... 

 

Have the PowerApp write to a sharepoint list that is set so people can only see items they have created. Run a separate flow that is triggered when an item is updated/created and use this flow to create the files.

Sharepoint is not suited for complex security models. Dataverse, on the other hand, will support robust security rules.


Regards. JD.
WarrenBelz
Most Valuable Professional
Most Valuable Professional

Hi @STA-Admin ,

Yes, there is a quite easy workaround.

  • Create a list with all the fields that the flow would normally receive as parameters. The user needs access to this but you would leave it off any navigation in SharePoint.
  • Create a new record in this list instead of running the Flow and send the parameter fields to this record.
  • Trigger the Flow on When an item is created in this list and instead of using Ask in Power Apps use the fields you have just sent as the parameters.
  • The Flow will then run on the account of whoever created the relevant connections (generally the flow owner) and has access to the target list.
  • If you are concerned about users seeing parameters sent, delete the record at the end of the Flow.

This process also has other useful functions with connectors all users may not have access to.

 

Please click Accept as solution if my post helped you solve your issue. This will help others find it more readily. It also closes the item. If the content was useful in other ways, please consider giving it Thumbs Up.

Visit my blog Practical Power Apps

WarrenBelz
Most Valuable Professional
Most Valuable Professional

Hi @STA-Admin ,

Just checking if you got the result you were looking for on this thread. Happy to help further if not.

Please click Accept as solution if my post helped you solve your issue. This will help others find it more readily. It also closes the item. If the content was useful in other ways, please consider giving it Thumbs Up.

Visit my blog Practical Power Apps

Hi @WarrenBelz ,

Would this work for a flow that's suddenly stopped working?

It works perfectly for me if I use the PowerApp that links to the flow, but if anyone else tries to do the same thing using the App (I've saved, refreshed,  cleared cache etc) I keep getting the following "Access Denied" error when the flow tries to upload a file to a Sharepoint document library:

 

Katdragon_0-1695102209048.png

 

 

Katdragon_1-1695102247973.png

 

Any idea why it's suddenly decided to go pear-shaped on me and will the above post work? I don't want to rework things if I don't have to.

 

Thanks 🙂

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