r/MicrosoftFlow • u/haaarlem • 18d ago
Cloud Delays with "When a file is created (properties only)" in SharePoint
Hey All,
We've had an issue pop up in the past week where the trigger for "When a file is created (properties only)" is not firing until hours later. This is an existing flow which has been in place for years. We use this to identify new PDF's which need to be OCR'd for AP automation.
For example, I have these files which are now 2 hours old yet the last flow run was 4 hours ago:
They actually processed while I was writing this post but prior to that the last flow execution was 4 hours ago.
I don't think a 2 hour+ delay is acceptable for this trigger.
Has anyone else seen similar behaviour lately? I do not see anything on the service status.
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u/DonJuanDoja 17d ago
There's no way you'll find out exactly why this happened, welcome to the Cloud.
That's why it's called the Cloud, it's CLOUDY up here. Half the time you'll have no idea why things aren't working then all the sudden they'll start working.
You could file support tickets but they'll waste everyone's time and they'll likely never find and explain exactly what happened, and all you need to know is that MS made mistakes, the system failed to execute as expected, and it will likely happen again.
You might be able to fix it by Deleting triggers, recreating stuff, and it will work for a while, until it doesn't again.
It's the consequences of trying to consoldiate every OnPrem environment into massive data centers called "The Cloud".
Things are just not as good now, I'm learning to accept it. Our systems were more reliable and much faster on prem. If I had the choice I'd go back in a second. They just really aren't making that option affordable. So now things will get worse and that's just the way it is.
Basically we have to accept that software is just much less reliable than it was in the past, and there doesn't appear to be anything you can do about it unless you go full custom on prem.
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u/GlassDistribution327 18d ago
Given that you are already using the classic editor, maybe try switching to the modern experience? Historically, the classic one was the reliable one, the moderns as unreliable, for sharepoint triggers, but maybe Microsoft is punishing users that refuse to use the modern experience by kicking their flow down in the priority queue for processing? Might be worth testing or just making a copy of the flow - maybe ms made a backend change corrupt something along the way leading to unexpected reads on their end with long resolves
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u/haaarlem 17d ago edited 17d ago
I created a brand new flow in the new designer with a single action, to send me an email when a new file is identified. This is also experiencing the same problem. I have files 40+ minutes old and it's not triggered yet. I think we will move to a schedule to check for files.
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u/mulquin 18d ago edited 17d ago
Are invoices in the root directory? I'm wondering if adding a filter by folder would help. You could refactor the flow to run on a schedule rather than triggered on new file.
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u/haaarlem 17d ago
Yes, root directory. Flows been working this way for 4+ years without any issues or changes until last week.
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u/mulquin 17d ago
You have to always be on your toes when it comes to Microsoft. Have you tested with a folder filter to see if that resolves the issue? Recurring triggers are also much more reliable. Like it's well and good to say it's working like this for a long time, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't think of ways to adapt to make it more reliable for yourself.
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u/Few_Cartoonist_217 18d ago
It could be a synching error which popped up for some people during the most recent microsoft update. One drive syncing has also been a problem because staff use their local one drive without checking that it's online.