Skip to main content

File Loader Component

The File Loader step fetches a file from a SharePoint folder, so the workflow can process it without anyone uploading it by hand. If the folder holds several files, the most recently edited one is used. It suits unattended workflows, for example a scheduled import of the latest export that someone drops in a shared folder.

When the workflow runs, the File Loader looks in the chosen SharePoint folder, picks the most recently edited file, and passes it on to the next step, for example an Excel step.

The file is always chosen from the folder you configured. The step does not ask the person running the workflow to choose a file.

Set it up​

  1. Make sure an administrator has created a connection to OneDrive or SharePoint. See OneDrive & SharePoint.
  2. Add the File Loader step to the workflow.
  3. In Connection, choose the connection. The list shows the connections of the type used for OneDrive and SharePoint, by name.
  4. Next to Path, click Browse and pick the SharePoint folder to read files from.
  5. Click Save.

Both Connection and Path are required. If one is missing, you get the message "Connection is required" or "Path is required".

Example​

A supplier drops a new price list in a SharePoint folder every week, and you want it imported without anyone opening the workflow.

  1. Start the workflow with a Schedule trigger set to run every Monday at 06:00.
  2. Add a File Loader step, choose the SharePoint connection, and browse to the folder Price lists.
  3. Add the step that uses the file after it, for example an Excel step that reads the rows, followed by a step that writes them to a table.

Each Monday the workflow takes whichever file in Price lists was edited last, whatever it is called.

Tips and limits​

  • "Most recently edited" means the last-edited time in SharePoint, not the file name. If someone edits an old file, it becomes the newest one. Keep the folder to the files the workflow should read.
  • The step reads from a folder. You cannot pick a single file in the step.
  • Only SharePoint folders can be browsed in the step.
Last updated on