Quick Setup: Power Automate Send Email with File Attachment from OneDrive

Overview of Power Automate

Power Automate is Microsoft's cloud-based workflow automation platform that helps users connect Microsoft 365 services and automate repetitive tasks without extensive coding. One of its most popular use cases is automatically sending emails with attachment stored in OneDrive, allowing teams to distribute reports, invoices, contracts, and other documents more efficiently.

However, many users encounter challenges when setting up this workflow. Common questions include how to correctly configure a flow to retrieve files from OneDrive, how to attach files to Outlook emails, or how to schedule recurring email deliveries. This can prevent the flow from working as expected.

This guide provides a quick and practical walkthrough of how to set up Power Automate to send email with file attachment from OneDrive. You'll learn how to complete the same workflow with a more straightforward alternative solution.

What You'll Need Before Getting Started

Before creating a flow to send emails with OneDrive attachments in Power Automate, make sure you have the following ready:

Compatible Microsoft Account: Power Automate cloud flows no longer support personal Microsoft accounts. You need a Microsoft 365 work or school account to create flows that integrate OneDrive and Outlook email actions.

Access to OneDrive Files: The files you want to send must be stored in a OneDrive location that your account can access. Missing permissions can prevent Power Automate from retrieving attachments.

Outlook Mailbox Connection: Make sure the Outlook account used for sending emails is properly connected and authorized in Power Automate.

Stable Service Connections: Both OneDrive and Outlook connections should be active and free of authentication issues before creating the flow.

Having these elements prepared will help you avoid common setup issues and make it easier to create a reliable flow. Once ready, you can proceed to build the automation efficiently, ensuring files are delivered automatically and consistently without manual intervention.

How to Send Emails with OneDrive File Attachments Using Power Automate

Now, you can start building flows to send emails automatically. Sending emails with a single attachment differs slightly from sending multiple attachments, and this section details the respective steps for both scenarios.

Part 1. Send a Signle Attachment from OneDrive

This method is ideal when you need to send a specific file stored in OneDrive to one or more recipients. It ensures the email is sent automatically without manually downloading and attaching the file each time.

Step 1. Go to Microsoft Power Automate official website and log in with your Microsoft account.

Step 2. Click "Create" > "Automated cloud flow" to create your flow.

Step 3. Enter a flow name and choose your flow's trigger When a file is created, then click the Create button.

Step 4. Expand the trigger and select the folder in OneDrive containing the files you intend to send as an attachment. Whenever a new file is saved to this folder, Power Automate automatically sends an email with the new file attached to recipients.

Step 5. Click the "+" button to add action for the trigger. Select "Get file content" action to get attachment account. Pass the Dynamic content value of "File Identifier".

Step 6. Now, you can customize the specific email content. Select "Send an email V2" for Outlook action and enter the repient's emial, email subject, body.

Step 7. In the "Advanced parameters" field, check the box of  "Attachments". Select "File name" and "File content" from the dynamic content as the attachment name and content.

Step 8. Save the flow and upload a file in OneDrive for business to run the flow. The recipients will automatically receive an email with a single attachment from OneDrive.

Part 2. Send Multiple Attachment from OneDrive

Since the "When a file is created" trigger fires for only one file at a time by default, the trigger will run separately for each new file when multiple files are added to the folder simultaneously. It cannot bundle multiple files into a single batch of attachments in one email. Therefore, you have to build an extra flow to send email with several different or multiple attachments from OneDrive using PowerAutomate.

Step 1. Sign in Power Automate with your correct Microsoft account.

Step 2. Click "Create" > "Instant cloud flow" to create a new flow.

Step 3. Enter your flow name and select "Manually trigger a flow" for schedule emails, then click "Cretae".

Step 4. Click the Plus button, select "Initialize variable" to add an action. Fill in the variable name and set the type as "Array".

Step 6. Add "List files in folder" as the next action and select the folder where your attachment files are stored. When you run the flow, it will list out all of the files in the folder within the email attachments.

Step 7. Insert a new action "Get file content" OneDrive for Business to retrieve all the attachments content based on the ID. Choose "Id" value from dynamic content. It will automatically create "For each" action which is running for each file under target folder.

Step 8. Create "Append to array variable" for next step to append all files into this initial variable. Choose the "Name" in step 4 and enter the following JSON code.

Step 9. Select "Send an email V2" action from the triggers and input the To, Subject, Body field. Check "Attachments" in "Advanced paramenters" and map the array variable to the "Attachments" field.

Step 9. Save the flow and test it to ensure Power Automate sends email with multiple attachments from OneDrive as expected.

Part 3. Send Weekly Email with Attachment from OneDrive

If you want to schedule Outlook emails with attachments from OneDrive (e.g., weekly) instead of running the flow manually, only minor edits to the Part 2 flow are required. Here is how to do:

Step 1. Delete the "Manually trigger the flow" trigger and create a new one "Recurrence". Set "Interval" to 1 and "Frequency" to Week.

Step 2. Select your time zone and configure your preferred start time. Power Automate will automatically dispatch an email with attachments to your Outlook inbox every week at your specified time (if Outlook is selected as the mail client).

However, this action sends every file inside your selected folder. To avoid repeatedly sending old files weekly, add a "Filter array" action after "List files in folder" to filter only new files created within the past seven days. Follow these steps:

Click the Plus button to add a new action "Filter array". Then, click "Edit in advanced mode" and enter the code: @greater(item()?['Created'], addDays(utcNow(), -7)).

Save the flow and test whether it works as expected.

Power Automate Attachment Limits You Should Know

While Power Automate lets you build flows to send Outlook email with attachments from OneDrive and streamline workflows, the service comes with numerous limitations that can trigger failed attachment deliveries.

Attachment Size Limit:

The maximum practical email size supported by Power Automate’s Outlook Connector stands at 25-35 MB (with attachments), making it poorly suited for transferring large files exceeding this threshold.

Complex Configuration:

The attachment setup workflow is complicated for novice users, who frequently encounter errors such as invalid Template during configuration.

Slow Execution for Large Files:

Transferring large file can take several minutes or longer, raising the risk of flow run failures.

Notes:✎...

During our test with a 14 MB file as an email attachment, the Power Automate flow required 6 seconds to complete delivery to Outlook.

Mailbox Storage Consumption:

Frequently triggered flows consume extra mailbox space, as every newly sent file gets duplicated and stored repeatedly.

Bonus Tips: How to Share OneDrive Files Without Size Limits via MultCloud [4 Steps]

As noted above, Power Automate will throw errors and abort the workflow when you need to automatically send hundreds of MB reports or videos. Skip cumbersome flow setup for size-limit bypass and use MultCloud as an intermediate hub for OneDrive file sharing.

You can centrally manage large files on OneDrive via MultCloud and distribute them with one click, effortlessly bypassing Microsoft’s email attachment limits to generate permanent or password-protected share links. It offers easy and intuitive web interface, ensuring you can manage your clouds in one place.

Now, you can share your OneDrive files to anyone you like in just 4 steps:

Step 1. Create a MultCloud account for free and loo in. Click "Add Cloud" and choose "OneDrive for Business".

Step 2. Select the files you want to share and click "Share" > "Share with MultCloud". You can also transfer your files in OneDrive via MultCloud by clicking on "Create a transfer".

Step 3. You can share the files with Public or Private as you like, click "Create Share". It automatically generates a link pointing to the file you intend to share and a random password if you choose "Private Share". You can paste the link to anyone or anywhere you like.

★Tips:

Public Share: Anyone who gets the link can view the file without password.

Private Share: Others need to enter password to view the file.

Source Share: Create a sharing link of the source cloud drive.

Step 4. Tap the email icon and enter your recipient's email address, then click "Send email". Then, your recipient will receive an email containing the sharing link of you shared files. You can also share the link to social medias like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.

The End

Automatically sending email with OneDrive attachments using Power Automate can significantly improve workflow efficiency. By following the step-by-step methods outlined in this guide, you can set up flows to send single or multiple attachments, or even schedule recurring emails, while minimizing common errors.

If you’re after a simpler alternative, MultCloud is well worth your consideration. With it, you can share OneDrive files securely via links, maintain control over file access, and avoid the overhead of managing bulky email attachments—all without leaving your browser.

FAQs

Q1: Can Power Automate send emails with attachments?

Yes. Power Automate can automatically send emails with attachments using Outlook connectors. You can retrieve files from OneDrive, SharePoint, or other supported services and attach them to emails. However, attachment size limits and account requirements may apply, especially when using Microsoft 365 business environments.

Q2: Can I automate a weekly email in Outlook?

Yes. You can automate weekly emails in Outlook using Power Automate's Recurrence trigger. Simply set the frequency to Week, choose your preferred day and time, and configure the email action. The flow will then send emails automatically according to the schedule you specify.

Q3: How to auto send emails with attachments in Outlook?

Create a Power Automate flow with a trigger such as Recurrence or When a file is created. Then add a Get file content action and a Send an email (V2) action. Map the file name and content to the attachment fields before saving and testing the flow.

Q4: How to send recurring emails in Outlook using Power Automate?

Use the Recurrence trigger when creating a cloud flow. Configure the interval, frequency, and start time, then add a Send an email (V2) action. You can also include OneDrive attachments, dynamic content, or customized messages to automate recurring reports and notifications.

Q5: How to automatically save emails to OneDrive?

Power Automate can automatically save email content or attachments to OneDrive. Create a flow using triggers such as When a new email arrives, then add actions like Create file in OneDrive. If you find configuring flows too cumbersome, you can also use MultCloud’s Email Migration feature to save emails and their attachments directly to OneDrive.

Q6: Why can't I attach a file in Outlook from OneDrive?

Common causes include insufficient file permissions, expired OneDrive connections, unsupported account types, or attachment size limitations. Verify that the file is accessible, your Outlook and OneDrive accounts are properly connected, and the file size does not exceed Outlook's attachment limits.