Forum Discussion
Issue with flat views in SharePoint Online
I use folders within a SharePoint list to organize list items. Additionally, I apply column formatting to update values in a column via button click using customRowAction (setValue). So far, so good...
However, when I switch to a flat view (View without folders), this functionality no longer works, and error messages appear.
This Error occures for example if I click on any displayed button.
This issue occurs exclusively in the flat view and only affects items stored within folders.
Additionally, there is another issue when using the Quick Edit feature to set a date field in the flat view. For items located inside a folder, the localization is incorrect. For example, if I select April 1st, SharePoint instead saves January 4th (German Localization).
For items located outside a folder or when using a non-flat view, everything appears to function correctly.
The attached video provides a demonstration of the issue.
1. Quick Fix Methods
Method A: Reset View Defaults
Go to the target document library → click the view drop-down menu
Select “Modify View” → “Reset to Defaults”.
Reset the “Show all items without folders” option.
Method B: Creating a new view
Document Library Settings → “Create a view”
Select “Standard View” type
In the “Folders” section select:
“Show all items without folders”.
Set the necessary columns and sorting
2. Check the list threshold limit:
Administrator goes to SharePoint Management Center
Navigate to “Settings” → “List View Threshold”
Make sure it is not set to “Block actions that exceed threshold”
PowerShell forces a fix:
powershell
Connect-PnPOnline -Url “https://yourdomain.sharepoint.com/sites/yoursite” -Interactive
$list = Get-PnPList -Identity “Documents”
$view = Get-PnPView -List $list -Identity “AllItems”
Set-PnPView -List $list -Identity $view.Id -Values @{Scope=“RecursiveAll”}
3. Scenario-specific solutions
Large document library processing:
Enable “Indexed Columns” Fields used for filtering
Use modern experience (not classic mode)
Consider using metadata navigation instead of folders
4. Inherited permissions issues:
Check folders for broken permission inheritance
Ensure that the view user has read access to all subfolders
5. Alternatives
Use Power Automate:
Create a timed stream to periodically synchronize folder contents to the flat list
Use the “Get Files (Properties)” operation to recursively get all files
6. Microsoft Graph API:
http
GET https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/sites/{site-id}/drives/{drive-id}/items/{item-id}/children?$expand=children
7. Validation and Testing
Validated check method:
Add the test file to a subfolder
Refresh the view to confirm display
Check filtering/sorting functionI appreciate your feedback, but I’m not sure it fully addresses the issue or if my initial explanation was unclear.
To clarify, this is not a library but a SharePoint List. Additionally, there is no “Reset to Default” button when modifying a view. In SharePoint Online, I don’t believe it’s possible to customize list view thresholds. Other suggestions, such as indexed columns, permissions, etc., don’t appear to be relevant to the error in question.
The issue is not related to items not being displayed or any threshold/resetting concerns. Instead, the problem specifically involves column formatting (customRowAction setValue) and localized date column grid editing not functioning correctly in a flat view.
Thanks for your comment—I appreciate your input!
