SharePoint Document Issues

How to Automatically Populate SharePoint File Metadata in Folders

Khadija Khan Oct 13, 2026 869 views

Question details

The user needs to automatically apply or cascade metadata from a SharePoint folder to all the files stored inside it when the folder's columns are updated.

How to Automatically Populate SharePoint File Metadata in Folders

Product: SharePoint / Power Automate
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Updating required metadata properties on a parent folder in a SharePoint document library.
Observed behavior: Files stored inside the folder do not automatically inherit or populate the newly updated metadata from the parent folder.

Before you start

Ensure you have access to Microsoft Power Automate and the necessary site permissions to create flows and edit properties in the target SharePoint document library.

Solution 1Recommended

Use Power Automate to Sync Folder Metadata to Files

Create an automated cloud flow in Power Automate that triggers when a folder is modified and updates the properties of all files contained within it.

SharePoint does not natively push folder metadata down to individual files within standard folders. To achieve this automation, you must build a custom workflow using Microsoft Power Automate.

This approach requires identifying when a folder's properties change, fetching all files inside that specific folder, and applying the new metadata values to each file.

Create an Automated Cloud Flow

Log in to Power Automate, click 'Create', and select 'Automated cloud flow'. Choose the SharePoint trigger 'When an item or a file is modified' and connect it to your Site Address and Library Name.

Add a Condition for Folders

Add a 'Condition' action to verify that the modified item is a folder. You can set the condition to check if the 'IsFolder' property is equal to 'true'.

Get Files in the Folder

In the 'If yes' branch, add the 'Get files (properties only)' action. Use the folder path from the trigger to filter and retrieve only the files located inside the modified folder.

Update File Properties

Add an 'Apply to each' control using the value output from the previous step. Inside this loop, add the 'Update file properties' action to map the folder's dynamic metadata values to the corresponding columns of each file.

Use Power Automate to Sync Folder Metadata to Files

Community Support: If you need specific help designing or troubleshooting this flow, consider asking experts in the Microsoft Power Automate Community.

Solution 2

Use SharePoint Document Sets Instead of Folders

Enable Document Sets, which are a special type of folder in SharePoint that natively support sharing metadata columns with the files inside them.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why doesn't SharePoint apply folder metadata to files by default?

SharePoint treats standard folders and the files within them as entirely separate distinct items in its database. Because they are separate entities, metadata on a folder does not automatically inherit or cascade downwards to its contents unless configured via Document Sets or automated through Power Automate.

Will updating file properties via Power Automate create new version histories?

Yes, by default, using the 'Update file properties' action in Power Automate will trigger a new version for each file in SharePoint. If you need to update metadata without changing the version number, you must use HTTP REST API calls with the 'SystemUpdate' method within your flow.

Can I apply metadata automatically based on the folder location without modifying the folder?

Yes, you can use SharePoint's 'Column default value settings' found in the Library Settings. This allows you to define a specific default metadata value for any new file uploaded into a specific folder, though it does not automatically update existing files if you change the default later.

Document & File Issues