Question regarding power automate with shared file

Question

Question regarding power automate with shared file

Justin 0

Hello,

I have an excel file which was shared with me, url in format: "xxx-my.sharepoint.com/:x/r/personal/john_doe_org". I am trying to set up some sort of automation using power automate, where every hour I want to download the excel file/scrape the data, but I am unable to find the correct flow/connector.

Is this possible, or is this not possible because the file is shared from a personal folder?

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Answer 1

EmilyS726 271K Independent Advisor

The URL format xxx-my.sharepoint.com/:x/r/personal/john_doe_org indicates that the file is stored in someone else's OneDrive for Business, rather than a regular SharePoint document library.

OneDrive for Business connector does not support cross-drive operations. It can only operate on files owned by the account used for the connection. This explains why you may not be able to locate the shared file in Power Automate, even though you can open it in Excel.

Justin 0 Reputation points

2026-10-06T22:02:26.9733333+00:00

I am able to locate the file in power automate, but when I try copying the file contents and creating a new file I keep getting "Couldn't Open the Workbook. This workbook couldn't be opened because the file format may not be matching with the file extension."
EmilyS726 271K Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-10-06T22:09:56.5666667+00:00

Are you using a Microsoft 365 work/school account? Does the person who shared the Excel file belong to the same Microsoft 365 organization (tenant)?

Also, which connector and actions are you using to retrieve the file contents and create the new workbook?
Justin 0 Reputation points

2026-10-06T22:24:55.0066667+00:00

Work account, same organization. And I tried Recurrence -> get file content using path -> create file. The shared file is .xlsm if that matters.
EmilyS726 271K Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-10-06T22:35:08.2433333+00:00

Thanks for confirming. Since you're both using work accounts within the same organization, we can rule out cross-tenant access issues.

The .xlsm format shouldn't prevent Power Automate from copying the file.

However, the OneDrive for Business connector has a limitation with files stored in another user's OneDrive, even within the same organization.

Could you try the same flow with an .xlsm file stored in your own OneDrive instead of the shared file?

If that works, we can narrow the issue down to the shared-file access and explore using the SharePoint connector with the original owner's OneDrive site.
Justin 0 Reputation points

2026-10-06T22:55:51.45+00:00

Testing with a .xlsm in my own onedrive works. I guess the issue is because the file is shared then
EmilyS726 271K Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-10-06T22:57:01.88+00:00

I think that's the issue too. Since you are in the same tenant, have the other user share via Sharepoint, not their personal business OneDrive.