Workflow Runs on New Document Upload Before Metadata is Set?

That’s the expected behavior! When Workflows configured to start on Item creation, They’ll start as soon as you upload a new document and will not wait until you enter Meta-data. In fact, the Metadata page is an Edit form!

Alright, How to Mitigate this issue? 

  • Change the workflow trigger from “Item Creation” to “Item Change” if possible. If you want to check whether the document is newly created, Just compare the Created & Modified fields. They’ll be the same when you upload a document for the first time.
  • At the beginning of Your workflows, including the logic to check whether the metadata values are present. If not, Just wait for the metadata to set or end up the workflow. 
  • Alternatively, you can set the default values for your metadata fields, so that they will not be empty.
  • You can set the “Require content to be checked out” option so that the workflow will not run until you enter the mandatory fields and check-in.
  • Using a Pause action may work (e.g. pause for 5 min) which I don’t recommend, however!

Salaudeen Rajack

Salaudeen Rajack - Information Technology Expert with Two-decades of hands-on experience, specializing in SharePoint, PowerShell, Microsoft 365, and related products. He has held various positions including SharePoint Architect, Administrator, Developer and consultant, has helped many organizations to implement and optimize SharePoint solutions. Known for his deep technical expertise, He's passionate about sharing the knowledge and insights to help others, through the real-world articles!

4 thoughts on “Workflow Runs on New Document Upload Before Metadata is Set?

  • From SPD, select workflow under consideration. On the right pane “Settings”, uncheck Automatically update the workflow status to the current stage name.

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  • Nilanjan, same problem here. Did you find a resolve for this?

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  • I have a SharePoint 2013 document library with mandatory metadata and a workflow runs upon document upload. However, during document upload when the metadata is entered in the second step, I am getting the following error “The file xxxxx has been modified by yyyyy on date/time” and the metadata is not saved. However, the workflow is running. Any help is much appreciated.

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  • Thank you so much. This solved my problem flawlessly!

    Reply

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