Missing Attachment Files Column in Power BI from Microsoft Lists

Question

When connecting Power BI to a Microsoft List, the column for AttachmentFiles is missing when transforming data. This feature is needed to expand the column and launch attachments saved in the list from Power BI. Was this feature removed, and if so, what is the reason for the change?

Answer 1

Hi Stace,

You are not doing anything wrong. With the current SharePoint Online List connector used by Power BI for Microsoft Lists, the nested column called AttachmentFiles is no longer surfaced in the Navigator or in Power Query. The v2 implementation of this connector switched to newer APIs and a simplified default schema for reliability and performance, and it exposes only the boolean Attachments flag rather than the expanded attachment table. Attachments are still supported in SharePoint Lists, but are now treated as item-scoped files you access via API or by addressing the hidden attachments location, not as an auto-expanded column in the connector.

Best way to proceed in Power BI today is to bring attachments in as a separate table and relate them by list item ID. In Power BI Desktop, connect with Get Data > SharePoint Folder to your site URL, then filter the file list to the folder path Lists/<YourListName>/Attachments. Each subfolder is named with the list item ID, so add a column that parses the ID from Folder Path, keep File.Name and the ServerRelativeUrl or Path columns for the link, and load this as an Attachments table. Separately, load your list rows with the SharePoint Online List connector as usual. Create a relationship between Items[ID] and Attachments[ItemID]. You can then build a column or measure in Power BI that concatenates the site root with the attachment ServerRelativeUrl to launch the file from a table or button in your report. This keeps refresh stable and matches Microsoft’s current guidance for the v2 connector's schema.

For clarity, this change is unrelated to the recent retirement of the Visualize the list entry point inside SharePoint. That affects the in-SharePoint button, not connector capabilities. The connector change described above is why AttachmentFiles no longer appears during transform.