TL;DR: Resize an image for free by storing it on SharePoint and using the ‘Upload file from URL’ action’s thumbnail output, no image editor needed.
Need a smaller version of an image inside a flow, without a premium image-processing connector or external editor? SharePoint automatically generates thumbnails for images stored in a library. Combine the Upload file from URL action with that thumbnail output to get a resized copy.
💡 Challenge
Handling large images is cumbersome when you only need them in a smaller size, and full image-editing usually means extra tooling.
✅ Solution
Use the Upload file from URL action together with the thumbnail output for image files stored on SharePoint.
🔧 How it’s done
1. Store the image on SharePoint
🔸 Upload (or already have) the large image file in a SharePoint document library.
2. Use Upload file from URL
🔸 Add the Upload file from URL action for the stored image.
3. Access the thumbnail output
🔸 Use the action’s thumbnail output, a smaller, resized version of the original image.
🎉 Result
You get a smaller version of your image without any complex processing or external editor.
🌟 Key Advantages
🔸 Simple: SharePoint does the resizing for you.
🔸 Built-in: uses SharePoint’s storage and thumbnail feature.
🔸 No editor needed: avoids external image-editing tools.
🎥 Video Tutorial
🛠️ FAQ
Q1: Which image formats does this work with?
Common web image formats such as JPEG, PNG and GIF render reliably through SharePoint’s thumbnail service.
Q2: Can I resize multiple images in one run?
Yes. Loop with Apply to each over your images, mindful of the flow’s execution-time limits.
Q3: Does resizing affect image quality?
The thumbnail preserves the aspect ratio at a smaller size. Avoid upscaling beyond the original dimensions for the best result.
Marcel Lehmann
Microsoft MVP