Update SharePoint template spreadsheet using Power Automate

[GuyBoswell]

Hello lovely flowers, (are people who write flows called flowers?)

Can I use Power Automate to update a template document in a SharePoint document folder list of template documents?

• I have a template spreadsheet for an event packing list.  It gives an event manager a list of products they could take to an event and asks them how many of each they will take (and then a whole  lot of other process too)
• The spreadsheet exists as Template.xlsx in a subfolder of the Documents folder, hidden away out of sight of users, to stop them breaking the template
• I have added this spreadsheet as Template to the [New] list for the Documents folder
• Events managers can successfully create new packing lists from the [New] Template

My issue is the list of products changes all the time, so I need the template to update

• I have successfully written a flow that takes a csv of new products, every day, and writes it in to Template.xlsx
• But that only updates the spreadsheet called Template.xlsx
• New documents made from the [New] Template list don't have the updated product list
• I assume [New] makes a hidden Template somewhere, based on but not linked to my Template.xlsx, and uses that for new documents, not my Template.xlsx
• I can update the [New] template from Template.xlsx manually.  But obviously I don't want to have to do that manually, every day!

My question is can I add steps to my flow that update the [New] Template with the revised Template.xlsx, each time it is revised?

Thank you for all your help

Guy

[AWorley]

Hi! 

I assume it would be Flowers. 

Without being able to see the flow or file locations it would be hard to properly identify what needs to be done. But there is an action that can perform "Copy File" that takes the destination and can overwrite the file in question as long as they are the same name. 

I use this action for backing up my team(s) entire sharepoint.

[GuyBoswell]

Hi @AWorley 

But where is the template used by SharePoint for new documents stored?  I can update my template document.  But that does not update the template based on the document

[AWorley]

Hm. That's not a very standard point in SharePoint as users can really just dump anything anywhere. 

You could do a search using "when a file is created in a folder" and target the root of the SharePoint then run a condition on if the file display name "is equal to" FILENAME.xlsx and have Power Automate message you in teams with all the info you want when it finds a match ( I represented it with Compose here).

[GuyBoswell]

If it helps I will describe further.

In any SharePoint document library there is a button [ + New v ]

Clicking on this allows you to create new documents or folders from a variety of templates

By default the document templates are blank Word documnet, blank Excel spreadsheet, etc

But at the bottom of the list is an option [+ Add template]

This allows you to set up new templates, eg. an Excel spreadsheet with a number of tables already defined, etc

The template is based on a document you store somewhere (in my case in a sub folder of the document library in question)

If you update the template document you do not update the template

So far as I can see you have to update the template document, Edit the New Menu, remove your previous template and create a new template from your updated template document

I can amend the template document using Power Automate

Now I want to use the amended template document to amend the template

[GuyBoswell]

@AWorley  There is nothing to search for.  SharePoint doesn't store the template as a document.  I know where the document is but the document is not the template.  The document is what SharePoint uses to create the template.  I need to find the template so I can update that

[AWorley]

I see; This likely isnt a major focus of the sharepoint connector. It sounds like a sharepoint webpart(or multiple) generates the document from sharepoint itself. Looking over the connector the only two possible leads would be the "Generate document using SharePoint Syntex (preview)" and "Send an HTTP request to SharePoint". 

Everything else is tied directly to sharepoint's functionality as a file share or SP Lists. 

Here is an article depicting how one would go about creating the documents. Best Ways to Store Documents in SharePoint - EnovaPoint