Connect and download a Sharepoint Excel File

I have a link to an Excel File that is currently stored on our Sharepoint folder. I also have access to the folder that it is in and can move around in it but I can't seem to download the file automatically either through Power Automate or Alteryx.

I connected the Sharepoint List connector but I didn't see the file when I did that (it also didn't show any file names which I thought was odd).

This is Sharepoint 365.

I also tried using HTTP but didn't have any success.

Has anyone done this? Is this possible with Alteryx? I figure as cloud computing becomes bigger and bigger that this would be more in demand.

Thanks

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BrandonB

You may need to sync the files locally using onedrive sync if they aren't available on a traditional network drive. Please see the following Microsoft link for more information: https://support.office.com/en-us/article/sync-sharepoint-files-with-the-onedrive-sync-app-6de9ede8-5b6e-4503-80b2-6190f3354a88

When the files are synced locally you should be able to leverage them in Alteryx

jacob_kahn

@ISUGraber

I work in an organization that is strictly on SharePoint and have some solutions for you.

Firstly, I think that @BrandonB 's response is 100% perfect. The best option is to have OneDrive synced to your file explorer.

Secondly, if you are using SharePoint, rather than SharePoint you have a few options.:

1. You can add the file location to your file explorer by right-clicking on "My PC" and 'add a network location.'

2. Even better, regarding on the permissions you have been granted on the SharePoint site, you can chose to 'Map Network Drive." This is more efficient for storing files on your laptop.

3. If you have total access to the permissions on your SharePoint site, simply sync it to any location on your local hard drive.

I personally use the first two suggestions being that those are the only options my granted permissions allow me to use.

Hope this post helps!

Have a good evening.

Jacob

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-kahn-

KP_DML

Hello,

Can you establish an App-Only account for your SharePoint site?

We use SharePoint 365 and can access files on the site by using this account. It requires the Alteryx workflow to make a call to the authorization service to get an access token, then passing that token along to another with the request to SharePoint. I can provide more info if it is something that may work for you.

jacob_kahn

@KP_DMLI would love to hear a little more about how you are successfully connecting. Sounds a little more complicated than my experience and would be interested to hear a little more detail-per-detail instruction.

Thank you!

Jacob

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-kahn-/

ISUGraber

Please let me know what you are doing @KP_DML I would be interested in that as well.

Thanks for teh suggestions @BrandonB and @jacob_kahn I will play with that to see if it'll work.

ISUGraber

btw, why can't we use the download tool to download files like this? When I attempt it i get a 403 forbidden error and I haven't found any articles online stating how to do that.

KP_DML

Hello @ISUGraber and @jacob_kahn!

Here is what I am using for SharePoint with workflow attached. I hope you find it useful!

Note: This information is based on my organization’s infrastructure using Azure Active Directory, SharePoint 365, and authentication at https://accounts.accesscontrol.windows.net/. Your results may vary depending on your organization’s configuration.

Information you will need:

Base SharePoint Site URL

Example: https://mycompany.com/sites/Sales

Relative Path to SharePoint folder

Examples: /MonthlyReports/

Tenant ID

You can get this info from https://portal.azure.com/ or https://www.whatismytenantid.com/

Client ID and Client Secret

Follow the first part of this article about creating the account: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/dev/solution-guidance/security-apponly-azureacs

The sample workflow makes a call to the authentication web service where a token is returned if authentication is successful. The authentication is passed with subsequent calls to the SharePoint API. The sample calls the SharePoint API to get a list of files, then calls the SharePoint API again to download files. The API is documented at https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/dev/sp-add-ins/get-to-know-the-sharepoint-rest-service and provides various methods for interacting with SharePoint. I have used Alteryx with the Blob tool to upload files to SP this way.

SharePoint365AuthDownloadSample.yxmd

jacob_kahn

@KP_DML

I'm sure this is a fantastic idea. Personally, I'm not that familiar with the download tool.

Therefore, I suggested the mapping the file locations and then mapping to the file via that route from your file explorer.

Let me know if you tried that option.

Sincerely,

Jacob

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-kahn-/

Vijuzy

Hello @KP_DML,

Workflow you provided is perfectly working for me. I wanted to know is there a similar way to upload file back to sharepoint?

Thanks,

Vijay

Samanthaj_hughes

Hey all, its great to see more people talking about this. I have also been using SharePoint and Alteryx together of late.

We are not yet on version 2021.3 where the new sharpoint tools from the Gallery are useful but if you are check them out.

I am using 2020.3 so I went for the linked files method via one drive locally. This is absolutely instant. We are writing up pdf files to SharePoint folders as part of a workflow.

Great sharing all. Its great to read around and know what different environments offer.

Shodhan

Thanks Vijay for your reply

barnap03

I tried this workflow but I get stuck when calling the get file list SharePoint Web Service. The make SharePoint request returns successfully

However, when I pass it on to parse the JSON it returns null data. I'm suspecting it's because of my download data but can't figure out what's wrong with it.

What does the download data look like when the workflow runs successfully? And why would be my download data different, when I have files in my SharePoint folder? Any pointer why it might be going wrong will be appreciated! Thanks!

psubramanian

Hi @barnap03 ,

I am facing a similar issue as yours. I am getting the below error HTTP/1.1 403 Forbidden, does that mean anything to you? Help would be appreciated.

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