SharePoint Document Issues

How to Display Word and Excel Metadata in SharePoint Columns

Rana Garcia Oct 9, 2026 870 views

Question details

The user wants to know how to automatically extract and display metadata from Word and Excel files in SharePoint columns.

How to Display Word and Excel Metadata in SharePoint Columns

Product: SharePoint Online, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Uploading Office documents to a SharePoint library and attempting to map internal document properties to SharePoint list columns.
Observed behavior: Word and Excel document properties do not automatically synchronize with SharePoint Online columns upon upload by default.

Before you start

Ensure you have the appropriate permissions to create and manage Power Automate flows within your Microsoft 365 SharePoint environment, as native automatic synchronization of document metadata is not supported.

Solution 1Recommended

Use Power Automate to Extract and Map Document Metadata

Since SharePoint Online does not automatically sync Word and Excel document properties, you must create a custom Power Automate flow to extract these values and populate the SharePoint columns.

Power Automate can detect when a new file is uploaded to your SharePoint document library, read the file's internal properties, and update the associated SharePoint list item accordingly.

Open Power Automate

Navigate to the Power Automate portal (make.powerautomate.com) and sign in using your Microsoft 365 credentials.

Create an Automated Cloud Flow

Click on 'Create' from the left sidebar and select 'Automated cloud flow'. Name your flow and choose the trigger 'When a file is created (properties only)'.

Configure the Trigger

Select the target Site Address and the specific Library Name where your Word and Excel documents will be uploaded.

Add a File Metadata Action

Click 'New step' and search for the 'Get file metadata' action for SharePoint. Link the 'File Identifier' field to the dynamic content 'Identifier' from your initial trigger.

Update File Properties

Add another step and search for 'Update file properties'. Point it to the same Site Address and Library Name. Map the extracted metadata fields (like Title, Subject, Author) to your custom SharePoint columns.

Save and Test the Flow

Click 'Save' at the bottom. Test your flow by uploading a new Word or Excel document to the configured SharePoint library and verify that the columns populate correctly.

Use Power Automate to Extract and Map Document Metadata

Alternative Workarounds: If you find Power Automate unreliable for your specific setup, you can ask for advanced workflow troubleshooting in the Microsoft Power Automate community, or submit a feature request via the Microsoft Feedback portal to restore native sync.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why did my document properties sync automatically in older SharePoint versions?

Older on-premises versions of SharePoint (like SharePoint 2013 or 2010) featured an integrated 'property promotion and demotion' parser that automatically extracted Word and Excel metadata upon upload. This native feature was deprecated in SharePoint Online, requiring users to rely on Power Automate instead.

Can I use custom Content Types to enforce metadata in SharePoint Online?

Yes, you can create custom Content Types in SharePoint and attach document templates to them. When users create a new document based on that Content Type, they can be prompted to fill out required metadata via the Document Information Panel. However, previously created files uploaded to the library will still require a Power Automate flow to extract internal properties.

What metadata fields can Power Automate easily extract from an Office document?

Using the 'Get file metadata' action in Power Automate, you can typically access standard document properties such as the Title, Author, Subject, Keywords (Tags), Comments, and the internal Creation or Modification dates.

Document & File Issues