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.

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