Power Automate Delete SharePoint List Items | How to Set Up

• Why Make Power Automate Delete SharePoint List Items?
• Power Automate Delete SharePoint List Items [Step-by-Step]
• Bonus Tip: How to Automate the Transfer Process between SharePoint and Other Clouds
• Conclusion

Why Make Power Automate Delete SharePoint List Items?

Manually deleting items from a SharePoint list is time-consuming, error-prone, and downright frustrating, especially when dealing with hundreds or thousands of entries. Automating this process with Power Automate ensures consistency, saves hours of work, and reduces human error. Here are some key reasons to use Power Automate delete SharePoint list items:

Power Automate Delete SharePoint List Items [Step-by-Step]

After knowing the necessities of using Power Automate, let’s dive into 3 practical ways to make Power Automate delete items from SharePoint list, including troubleshooting tips for common hiccups.

Solution 1: Power Automate Delete All Items in SharePoint List

Sometimes, you need a fresh start, like clearing a log list or resetting a template. Power Automate can handle this with a simple flow. However, SharePoint’s default actions only process 100 items at a time, so you’ll need separations for larger lists.

Step 1. Enter Power Automate and click “+ Create” in the left sidebar. Then, choose “Instant cloud flow” > “Manually trigger a flow”.

Step 2. Click the plus icon and add the "Get items" SharePoint action (select your site and list).

Step 3. Choose “Settings”, turn on Pagination, and set a threshold.

Step 4. Click the plus icon and add an "Apply to each" loop.

Step 5. Inside the loop, click the plus icon and add "Delete item" (same SharePoint list, ID = current item’s ID).

Step 6. Save the settings and test this flow.

Solution 2: Delete Items Based on Conditions

Do you have some specific demands for the flow? This method uses filters to Power Automate delete SharePoint list items matching criteria, such as "Modified > 30 days ago". However, poorly configured filters can skip items or crash the flow.

Step 1. Start with a "Get items" action but add a filter query in “Code view“. For example: Created le '@{addDays(utcNow(), -30)}' (items older than 30 days).

Step 2. Use "Apply to each" + "Delete item" as in Solution 1.

Solution 3: Delete Items in Batches with Approvals

For mission-critical lists, accidental deletions are a nightmare. Adding an approval step ensures humans verify deletions before they happen. In this way, you may encounter slower execution, but safer results.

Step 1. Build a flow with "Get items" (filtered if needed).

Step 2. Add "Create HTML table" to summarize items slated for deletion.

Step 3. Use "Start and wait for an approval" (email approvers the table).

Step 4. Add a condition: If approved, proceed with "Apply to each" + "Delete item".

Bonus Tip: How to Automate the Transfer Process between SharePoint and Other Clouds

Apart from automating the deleting process, have you thought of transferring files from SharePoint to another cloud automatically? If so, forget the troublesome downloading and uploading, or creating a flow on Power Automate, a better but free way is waiting for you!

MultCloud is a web-based cloud file transfer service that supports SharePoint Online, Google Drive, OneDrive, iCloud Drive, MEGA, pCloud, and over 30 clouds. As you can see, using Power Automate requires you to have some professional tech knowledge. However, MultCloud is easier to use even if you are not tech-savvy. Moreover, the transfer process can run automatically and offline, which can save you much time and energy.

Let’s take transferring SharePoint files to Dropbox as an example.

Step 1. Go to the MultCloud website and click “Get started for free” to get an account.

Step 2. Click “Add Cloud” and the SharePoint Online logo. Then, log in to your SharePoint account and allow MultCloud to access it in the pop-up window. Also, add Dropbox to MultCloud with the same step.

Step 4. Choose the “Cloud Transfer” function in the left sidebar and select SharePoint files in the FROM box and OneDrive in the TO box.

Step 5. Open “Options” to check the transfer settings and tap “Transfer Now” to initiate this task.

Conclusion

Here you can see 3 methods to create a flow on Power Automate delete SharePoint list items. The specific steps are given for establishing a basic flow or one with conditions or approvals. Choose a preferred method and try the specific steps now!

Moreover, if you plan to transfer, back up, or sync SharePoint files with OneDrive, Google Drive, or other clouds, MultCloud can do you a big favor with an automatic task.