Allowing Multiple Fill-In Choices & Multi-Select in a Combo Box

[camaraneni]

I am trying to create a Power App connected to a sharepoint List. The Requirement is to Allow users to Fill in Multiple Values along with Selecting Multiple Items from the Combo Box.

Solutions Tried: Creating a collection at 'OnChange' property of the combo Box using below formula.

ClearCollect(colHeading1,{Value: DataCardValue17.SearchText});
Collect(colHeading1,DataCardValue17.SelectedItems)

I always get a Blank for my ClearCollect Statement though i have value in my Search text (I have created a Label to verify whether the SearchText value is showing up or not. It did)

The Other way i tried is creating the same steps using a Button and the Result looks like below:

Below is the screenshot of Combo box values:

Formula at on Select of a Button: 

Collect(colHeading1,{Value: DataCardValue17.SearchText})

Formula at OnChange of Combo Box Control:

ClearCollect(colHeading1,DataCardValue17.SelectedItems)

I would like to have the both to be run at On-change. But Somehow, the SearchText always returns Blank.

Can Someone please help in this regard? 

@RameshMukka 

[RandyHayes]

@camaraneni 

A couple things to be considered with your approach.

1) Search Text will only be one item.  And it must be the last thing done.  You cannot select any further items after searchtext is entered.

2) SearchText does not activate the OnChange action.  Only a selection of an item in the Items list of the combobox.

3) SearchText is not resettable, 

I'm not sure if your attempt is to simply add on another item to your selected items list or to have your combobox list of items include the new value for selection.

Either way, there is not a chance to grab this on an On action as they will not respond to the search text alone.  The only way to really get it at that point is by means of another user action (like an Add ation)

Getting something like that with an add action is fairly straightforward, and it looks something like this:

 

But, I'm not sure that is the direction you would like to go.

I hope this is informative for you.  Feel free to post back with how you are going to proceed.

[camaraneni]

@RandyHayes  Thanks a lot for your response.

In my Scenario, the user should simply be able to Type-In another Item to the list of Selected Items ( The Type-In Item should be saved to the Share point List but it should not show up in my Combo Box Options.)

I have 20+ such choice fields in the App that I am going to create. Will it help to use Collections? If Yes, Can you please hint me with some solutions.

If you think there is much better solution, i would really love to learn and implement it. (Please brief me in which ever solution you suggest as of what to use and where to use). Thanks in advance. 

[RandyHayes]

@camaraneni 

So on your first statement...you do realize that if your column allows write-ins, that the next time, the new typed in value WILL appear in the comobox choices as an option?  The write-in feature must be on in order to save a value not in the predefined choices.  And, once the write-in is written in...it now becomes a future choice for that column.

Collections are of no value to you in this case.  Avoid as much as possible for this solution you are seeking.

I believe my first point above about write-ins is most significant.  I am not sure that you want the write in to become a future choice (as you said this "but it should not show up in my Combo Box Options").  So, if that is a true statement, then consider another column to contain write-in values and keep it out of the choices.  In that case as well, I would consider that using the SearchText is not user intuitive as it is meant to Search the combobox.  So perhaps consider a clearly delineated and "user clear" way to add an additional option.

[camaraneni]

@RandyHayes , Hey, I agree with you. Creating another column for search text wont help me in this situation. So can you please help me with the Formulas you have used in implementing this solution in your first reply. (Which is considering Type-Ins on clicking "+" button). I will try to implement it and see if that solution helps in my case. Thanks in Advance.

[Anusha_504]

Hi @camaraneni , Can I please check if "+" button trigger worked for you ?  
I have the same requirement. Can you please let me know if you have got any other solution ?

Thanks

[RandyHayes]

@camaraneni 

Sorry for the long delay in this response.  Thanks to @Anusha_504 for "re-triggering" a notice on it that I saw.

Where are you on this issue?  

The plus icon I had in the post only added the typed in item to the choices list.  I don't think that is what you wanted.  Your solution was to store write-ins to another column or list as you did not want them to be in the choices column for the future.

@Anusha_504 What troubles are you running into on this?

[camaraneni]

Yes It did work. But our requirement was slightly different. We are not Supposed to show any "+" button, so i used collections to resolve this.

[TPest]

@RandyHayes 

I would like to use this solution in an App I am working on.  But I am not following exactly how you did it, can you explain a bit more how you accomplished this?  Which functions go on which property?

Thanks!

[M-Hamadah]

Hi,
I would like to use this solution in an App I am working on, but I am not following exactly how you did it, can you explain a bit more how you accomplished this?  Which functions go on which property?
I was able to add + icon and make it visible only if the option is not in the list, but still I can't make it add the option to the selected items