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How to Add Microsoft Forms Photos to Planner Tasks Automatically

Natalie Taylor Sep 28, 2026 869 views

Question details

The user wants to automate the process of creating Planner tasks and attaching photos submitted via Microsoft Forms.

How to Automatically Add Microsoft Forms Photos to Planner Tasks

Product: Microsoft Power Automate
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Creating an automated workflow to handle form responses containing image attachments.
Observed behavior: Converting submitted form data and associated image files into actionable tasks with attachments in Microsoft Planner.

Before you start

Ensure you have active Microsoft 365 licenses with access to Microsoft Forms, Planner, and Power Automate, and verify where your uploaded form files are stored (usually OneDrive or SharePoint).

Solution 1Recommended

Create an Automated Workflow using Power Automate

Build a flow that triggers upon a new Microsoft Forms submission, retrieves the uploaded photo, and creates a task with the attached image in Microsoft Planner.

Since Microsoft Forms does not have a native, direct integration to create Planner tasks with file attachments, you must use Microsoft Power Automate to bridge the gap. This solution requires extracting the file upload metadata (which Forms stores as a JSON string) and linking it to the newly created task.

Set up the Form and trigger

Set up your Microsoft Form to accept file uploads. Go to Power Automate, create an 'Automated cloud flow,' and select the trigger 'When a new response is submitted'.

Get response details

Add the 'Get response details' action to fetch the submitted data from the newly submitted form using the Response ID.

Parse the uploaded file data

Because file uploads in Forms return as a JSON string, add a 'Parse JSON' action. Select the file upload field from your Form as the content, and generate a schema to extract the file metadata (such as file name and link).

Create a Planner task

Add the 'Create a task' action from the Planner connector. Select your Group and Plan, and map the Form's title or details to the task fields.

Update task details with the photo

Add the 'Update task details' action. In the 'References' field, insert the URL of the uploaded photo mapped from the parsed JSON step, and set the alias to the file name so the photo is linked directly to the task.

Create an Automated Workflow using Power Automate

File Storage Location: Files uploaded to personal Forms are saved in your OneDrive, while group Forms save files to the associated SharePoint Document library. Ensure Planner task assignees have permission to view these files.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why are the photo attachments from Microsoft Forms not showing up in my Planner task?

This usually happens if the file permissions in OneDrive or SharePoint restrict access. Ensure that the Planner group members have read access to the specific folder where the uploaded Forms files are stored.

Can I attach multiple photos to a single Planner task automatically?

Yes. If your Microsoft Form allows multiple file uploads, you will need to add an 'Apply to each' loop in Power Automate to iterate through the array of uploaded files and append each file link to the Planner task's references.

Where do Microsoft Forms file uploads actually go?

If the form is created under your personal account, uploaded files are routed to the 'Apps > Microsoft Forms' folder in your OneDrive. If it is a Group form, the files go to the default SharePoint document library associated with that group.

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