How to Create a SharePoint Folder Using Power Automate

Creating folders in SharePoint is a common task for managing and organizing files. With Power Automate, you can streamline this process by building a flow that automatically creates folders. Whether you want to schedule this task or trigger it manually, Power Automate makes it easy.

In this guide, I’ll show you step-by-step how to create a cloud flow in Power Automate that generates a folder in SharePoint, complete with a dynamic date-based naming system.

Step 1: Setting Up the Cloud Flow

First, log in to Power Automate and create a new flow. For this example, we’ll use a manual trigger, which allows us to test the flow easily. Name the flow something descriptive, like “Test Create SharePoint Folder.”

We’ll be using the classic designer to set this up.

Step 2: Add the 'Create New Folder' Action

1. Search for the “Create Folder” action in Power Automate.

2. Select the SharePoint action called “Create New Folder.”

Step 3: Configure the Action

Site Address

Choose the SharePoint site where the folder will be created.

List or Library

Select the library where the folder will be stored.

Folder Path

This is where you define the folder’s location.

• If the folder should be created in the root of your library, simply type the folder name (e.g., “Week_of”).

• To create a subfolder, include the full path using forward slashes (e.g., “ParentFolder/SubFolder”).

For this example, let’s say you want to create a folder inside an existing subfolder in your library. Copy the folder path from SharePoint, then paste it into the Folder Path field.

Step 4: Add a Dynamic Date to the Folder Name

To avoid overwriting folders, we’ll add a dynamic date to the folder name. Here’s how:

1. In the Folder Name field, toggle to Expression mode.

2. Use the formatDateTime() function to format today’s date.

The function will look like this:
formatDateTime(utcNow(), 'MM_dd_yyyy')  

2. • This will format the date as Month_Day_Year (e.g., 11_22_2024).

Add the formatted date to your folder name, such as:
Week_of_MM_dd_yyyy  

3. Click OK to save your expression.

Step 5: Test Your Flow

Once everything is set up, save the flow and run it manually:

1. Click Run Flow and wait for the process to complete.

2. Navigate to your SharePoint library and refresh the page.

You should see a new folder created with the name “Week_of_MM_dd_yyyy” (e.g., Week_of_11_22_2024).

Conclusion

Using Power Automate to create folders in SharePoint is a powerful way to automate routine tasks and stay organized. By adding dynamic elements like dates to your folder names, you can avoid overwriting files and keep everything neatly sorted.

That’s it for this tutorial! If you found this helpful, don’t forget to check out more Power Automate tips and tricks.

Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in the next post!