cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 
Reply

Update document properties without changing approval status and version

Hi,

I'm working on an approval workflow (two approval stages) which uses the "When a file is created or updated (properties only)" trigger. In the beginning of the flow, I check if the Approval Status is "pending" - because I only want to run the flow when someone has checked in a major version.

I'm almost there, but I'm facing a challenge. During the flow, I update a column for the document, to show where in the flow process we are. Well, turns out that this also automatically changes the Approval Status back to "draft" and upps the minor version number. Well, this obviously makes the final Approval action fail. because that only works when the Approval Status is "waiting", not "draft".

 

Does anyone know if it's possible to update the document properties without changing the Approval Status and Version? Like SystemUpdate() in C#? I was thinking I could change the Approval Status to "waiting" before changing it to "approve", but this sounds like a really bad idea. It will probably trigger a new instance of the flow (??).

 

I hope somebody has a straight and great answer/solution for this... 🙂

 

Thanks!

6 REPLIES 6
v-yamao-msft
Community Support
Community Support

Hi @HelgeNorvang,

 

It seems that you have enabled the Content Approval for the library. As far as I know, once we enabled the Content Approval, there are only three statuses, Approve, Reject and Pending. The approval status won’t change until you approve a document that has been uploaded or added to a library.

 

From your description, it seems that the approval status will be changed automatically to “draft”. Do you have an approval status of “draft” and how is it changed automatically? Please share more details about this part.

 

Besides, whenever changes are made on a file, the version will be updated and I assume that it doesn’t relate to Microsoft Flow.

 

Before you change the approval status to Approve/Reject, it will be Pending. And once you change the status from Pending to Approve/Reject, the flow with the trigger When a file is created or modified (properties only) will be triggered. If you only want to send out an approval email when the status is Approve, please try to add a Condition in the flow.

 

Please feel free post back if you need more help.

 

Reference docs:

Require approval of items in a site list or library

 

 

Best regards,

Mabel Mao

Community Support Team _ Mabel Mao
If this post helps, then please consider Accept it as the solution to help the other members find it more quickly.

Hi,

 

Yes, Content Approval is enabled. I also have major and minor versions enabled. Also, it is not required to check out documents before editing.

 

So, I just realized that I wasn't precise enough in my description.

 

As mentioned I have a two stage approval flow. The trigger is, as mentioned "When a file is created or modified (properties only)", but the actual approval process doesn't start unless Moderation Status is equal to 2 (Waiting). 

Before the first approval gets started I update a field in the property documents (text column which indicated where in the flow process we are at all times). I update this field several places in the process. Then I start the first approval. If the result of this is Approve, I start the next approval.

It seems to me that as soon as I update the field, the Moderation Status is changed to Draft, and this results in that it's not possible to set the document to Approve.

 

When using the action Set content approval status, does it update the Moderation Status field or something else? 

Hi @HelgeNorvang,

 

Thanks for detailed clarification.

 

I am afraid that it might be a default behavior for SharePoint that the Approval status would be changed to Pending whenever a change is made on the field.

 

For your scenario, I would suggest you use a Choice column instead of using the Approval content. You could specify selections of Approve, Reject and Pending for the column, and I assume that the selection won’t be changed when you modify the field.

 

Action Set content approval status will update the status with specified value, however, once you make changes on the field, the approval status changes to Pending.

 

Please take a try with it.

 

 

Best regards,

Mabel Mao

Community Support Team _ Mabel Mao
If this post helps, then please consider Accept it as the solution to help the other members find it more quickly.

Hi,

Thanks for the reply.

 

I have to admit that I didn't exactly understand what you suggested.

Did you mean that if I use a Choice column instead and update the value of it during the flow, the OOTB Approval Status won't change??

@HelgeNorvang , Did you up finding a solution to this problem? I'm considering making a separate "approval history Log list" or database where i create an item everytime the file is modified.  Didn't really want to do that though as writing to a multi line comments field is cleaner...

 

I am having the same issue 

I have a Days Left to Approval column calculating the number of days left from today until the review date 

for these days left numbers to decrease daily i need to run a flow on the library to update a column i created called current date 

The OOTB Date column with today's date enabled works only as long as a file is modified

If files are not modified in the library for several days these days left done decrease as expected hence the need to run a flow to update this column with the UTCNow() expression for my time zone

Have this all working and email notification reminders sent to the authors and reviewers at 0, 7, 14 & 30 day triggers

Issue is when i enable the OOTB content approval on the library and run the flow daily to update the current date this triggers the content approval status to thinking the file itself has been modified instead of its properties only and changes all the documents content approval statuses back to pending. 

I have the automation support team looking into how we can circumnavigate this issue but after 48 hours multiple emails and a 2 hour remote session I am loosing faith that they may have a solution. 

In my head i am thinking I may need to move the days left columns and notifications to separate library where the flows run and have content approval on a library for only authors and reviewers to view and edit files then building flows on that when an item is approved copy to the public facing library.

I wander if its even possible to update SharePoint column without triggering content approval

Helpful resources

Announcements

Community will be READ ONLY July 16th, 5p PDT -July 22nd

Dear Community Members,   We'd like to let you know of an upcoming change to the community platform: starting July 16th, the platform will transition to a READ ONLY mode until July 22nd.   During this period, members will not be able to Kudo, Comment, or Reply to any posts.   On July 22nd, please be on the lookout for a message sent to the email address registered on your community profile. This email is crucial as it will contain your unique code and link to register for the new platform encompassing all of the communities.   What to Expect in the New Community: A more unified experience where all products, including Power Apps, Power Automate, Copilot Studio, and Power Pages, will be accessible from one community.Community Blogs that you can syndicate and link to for automatic updates. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation during this transition. Stay tuned for the exciting new features and a seamless community experience ahead!

Summer of Solutions | Week 4 Results | Winners will be posted on July 24th

We are excited to announce the Summer of Solutions Challenge!    This challenge is kicking off on Monday, June 17th and will run for (4) weeks.  The challenge is open to all Power Platform (Power Apps, Power Automate, Copilot Studio & Power Pages) community members. We invite you to participate in a quest to provide solutions to as many questions as you can. Answers can be provided in all the communities.    Entry Period: This Challenge will consist of four weekly Entry Periods as follows (each an “Entry Period”)   - 12:00 a.m. PT on June 17, 2024 – 11:59 p.m. PT on June 23, 2024 - 12:00 a.m. PT on June 24, 2024 – 11:59 p.m. PT on June 30, 2024 - 12:00 a.m. PT on July 1, 2024 – 11:59 p.m. PT on July 7, 2024 - 12:00 a.m. PT on July 8, 2024 – 11:59 p.m. PT on July 14, 2024   Entries will be eligible for the Entry Period in which they are received and will not carryover to subsequent weekly entry periods.  You must enter into each weekly Entry Period separately.   How to Enter: We invite you to participate in a quest to provide "Accepted Solutions" to as many questions as you can. Answers can be provided in all the communities. Users must provide a solution which can be an “Accepted Solution” in the Forums in all of the communities and there are no limits to the number of “Accepted Solutions” that a member can provide for entries in this challenge, but each entry must be substantially unique and different.    Winner Selection and Prizes: At the end of each week, we will list the top ten (10) Community users which will consist of: 5 Community Members & 5 Super Users and they will advance to the final drawing. We will post each week in the News & Announcements the top 10 Solution providers.  At the end of the challenge, we will add all of the top 10 weekly names and enter them into a random drawing.  Then we will randomly select ten (10) winners (5 Community Members & 5 Super Users) from among all eligible entrants received across all weekly Entry Periods to receive the prize listed below. If a winner declines, we will draw again at random for the next winner.  A user will only be able to win once overall. If they are drawn multiple times, another user will be drawn at random.  Individuals will be contacted before the announcement with the opportunity to claim or deny the prize.  Once all of the winners have been notified, we will post in the News & Announcements of each community with the list of winners.   Each winner will receive one (1) Pass to the Power Platform Conference in Las Vegas, Sep. 18-20, 2024 ($1800 value). NOTE: Prize is for conference attendance only and any other costs such as airfare, lodging, transportation, and food are the sole responsibility of the winner. Tickets are not transferable to any other party or to next year’s event.   ** PLEASE SEE THE ATTACHED RULES for this CHALLENGE**   Week 1 Results: Congratulations to the Week 1 qualifiers, you are being entered in the random drawing that will take place at the end of the challenge.   Community MembersNumber SolutionsSuper UsersNumber Solutions Deenuji 9 @NathanAlvares24  17 @Anil_g  7 @ManishSolanki  13 @eetuRobo  5 @David_MA  10 @VishnuReddy1997  5 @SpongYe  9JhonatanOB19932 (tie) @Nived_Nambiar  8 @maltie  2 (tie)   @PA-Noob  2 (tie)   @LukeMcG  2 (tie)   @tgut03  2 (tie)       Week 2 Results: Congratulations to the Week 2 qualifiers, you are being entered in the random drawing that will take place at the end of the challenge. Week 2: Community MembersSolutionsSuper UsersSolutionsPower Automate  @Deenuji  12@ManishSolanki 19 @Anil_g  10 @NathanAlvares24  17 @VishnuReddy1997  6 @Expiscornovus  10 @Tjan  5 @Nived_Nambiar  10 @eetuRobo  3 @SudeepGhatakNZ 8     Week 3 Results: Congratulations to the Week 3 qualifiers, you are being entered in the random drawing that will take place at the end of the challenge. Week 3:Community MembersSolutionsSuper UsersSolutionsPower Automate Deenuji32ManishSolanki55VishnuReddy199724NathanAlvares2444Anil_g22SudeepGhatakNZ40eetuRobo18Nived_Nambiar28Tjan8David_MA22   Week 4 Results: Congratulations to the Week 4 qualifiers, you are being entered in the random drawing that will take place at the end of the challenge. Week 4:Community MembersSolutionsSuper UsersSolutionsPower Automate Deenuji11FLMike31Sayan11ManishSolanki16VishnuReddy199710creativeopinion14Akshansh-Sharma3SudeepGhatakNZ7claudiovc2CFernandes5 misc2Nived_Nambiar5 Usernametwice232rzaneti5 eetuRobo2   Anil_g2   SharonS2  

Check Out | 2024 Release Wave 2 Plans for Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform

On July 16, 2024, we published the 2024 release wave 2 plans for Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform. These plans are a compilation of the new capabilities planned to be released between October 2024 to March 2025. This release introduces a wealth of new features designed to enhance customer understanding and improve overall user experience, showcasing our dedication to driving digital transformation for our customers and partners.    The upcoming wave is centered around utilizing advanced AI and Microsoft Copilot technologies to enhance user productivity and streamline operations across diverse business applications. These enhancements include intelligent automation, AI-powered insights, and immersive user experiences that are designed to break down barriers between data, insights, and individuals. Watch a summary of the release highlights.    Discover the latest features that empower organizations to operate more efficiently and adaptively. From AI-driven sales insights and customer service enhancements to predictive analytics in supply chain management and autonomous financial processes, the new capabilities enable businesses to proactively address challenges and capitalize on opportunities.    

Updates to Transitions in the Power Platform Communities

We're embarking on a journey to enhance your experience by transitioning to a new community platform. Our team has been diligently working to create a fresh community site, leveraging the very Dynamics 365 and Power Platform tools our community advocates for.  We started this journey with transitioning Copilot Studio forums and blogs in June. The move marks the beginning of a new chapter, and we're eager for you to be a part of it. The rest of the Power Platform product sites will be moving over this summer.   Stay tuned for more updates as we get closer to the launch. We can't wait to welcome you to our new community space, designed with you in mind. Let's connect, learn, and grow together.   Here's to new beginnings and endless possibilities!   If you have any questions, observations or concerns throughout this process please go to https://aka.ms/PPCommSupport.   To stay up to date on the latest details of this migration and other important Community updates subscribe to our News and Announcements forums: Copilot Studio, Power Apps, Power Automate, Power Pages

Users online (1,070)