Power Platform Community Forum Thread Details

I’m building a cloud automation that saves Gmail attachments into specific subfolders within a Google Drive folder that has been shared with me (I'm set as editor, but I'm not the owner of the folder).

My approach is based on filename prefixes. Each attachment filename starts with a prefix that matches the name of the destination subfolder. For example, an attachment named Invoices_report.pdf should be saved into a folder called Invoices.

To implement this, my plan is to:

Extract the prefix from the attachment filename.
Use the “List files in folder” action on the shared parent folder.
Compare the filename prefix with the names of the subfolders inside that shared folder.
Save the attachment in the matching folder when a match is found

However, I’m running into an issue: the “List files in folder” action does not seem to return any subfolders from the shared folder.

Is this a limitation of the action? Does “List files in folder” only work with folders that I own, and not with folders that are shared with me?

Hi @EK-30041220-0,

If your logic looks solid but the “List files in folder” action is returning empty, you’re likely running into a known Google Drive connector limitation. This usually happens when the folder is in “Shared with me” or owned by someone else. The connector works reliably with your own files, but it often struggles to enumerate subfolders in shared locations.

Workarounds
You don’t need to change your logic. Instead, try one of these:

Use the Folder ID
Instead of using the folder picker, open the folder in your browser and copy the ID from the URL. Paste that directly into the Folder field in Power Automate. This is often the most reliable fix because it bypasses navigation issues.

Use a Shared Drive
If this is part of a team setup, move the folder into a Google Shared Drive. The connector tends to behave more consistently there than with “Shared with me”.

Add a shortcut to My Drive
In Google Drive, right-click the shared folder and choose “Add shortcut to Drive”, then place it in My Drive. This can sometimes help the connector resolve the folder properly.

Bottom line
The connector doesn’t consistently pick up subfolders in shared locations. Using the folder ID directly is usually the quickest and most dependable fix.

✅ If this answer helped resolve your issue, please mark it as Accepted so it can help others with the same problem.
👍 Feel free to Like the post if you found it useful.

Sunil Kumar Pashikanti, Moderator
Blog: https://sunilpashikanti.com/posts/