BUG2 TODAY: Sharepoint columns renamed by PowerApps to random strings

[ericonline]

ugh

- Yesterday I created a large Sharepoint custom list 
- Today I connected this list to a Form Control in the PowerApp I've been working on
- MANY of the fields were somehow "auto-named" by PowerApps to random strings
- This makes calling or Patching values quite impossible
![
- What gives?

[anees]

@ericonline those are likely the internal names for your SharePoint field. You can confirm by going to SharePoint list > List settings > Columns > [Column you see a different name for]. In the URL you should see a field parameter with the name you are seeing in PowerApps.

We have work on our side in-progress to surface the display name instead of the internal name.

+ @LanceDelano for awareness

Thanks

Anees

[ericonline]

Thanks for the prompt response @anees. I followed your instructions and indeed, the URL shows a different name for the column than the one I created. 

Questions: 

• I've been working with Sharepoint lists as PowerApps Data Sources for 3-4 months now. I've never come across this issue.
  • What types of Sharepoint Sites have this problem? (Team Sites, On-prem, etc.)
• I created this list myself, just as I always have, and named the columns in a human-readable form.
  • Why did Sharepoint change them and how do I prevent this in the future?

Your advice is appreciated. 

[LanceDelano]

yes, unfortunately, you're looking at the underlying physical names.  

[ericonline]

Is it on the Sharepoint side or the PowerApps side? 

[anees]

@ericonline The physical names are from SharePoint. We need work on the PowerApps side to use the display name instead of the physical names in this case.

Thanks

Anees

[ericonline]

Thank you @anees and @LanceDelano for the replies. 

Its very strange as I personally created the Custom List with particular names and NEVER renamed them. I can't figure out how I named them one thing, then Sharepoint named them something completely random. 

Tried to reproduce problem with Microsoft during a screenshare yesterday to no avail. This was like a 40 column list that I'll need to rebuild before proceeding with rest of PowerApp dev. Bummer.

[anees]

@ericonline To clarify are you saying that your field name were something and PowerApps working as expected but now have somehow been renamed and the existing PowerApps is broken?

AFAIK SharePoint automatically decides the physical name when you create the fields so it should not be about renaming.

Thanks

Anees

[ericonline]

Not quite. 

I'm saying: 

• I created a sharepoint list the same way I have for the past 3-4 months
• I named the columns in a human readable form ("track_rep", etc)
• Only when I connected a Form to my PowerApp, and add the SP List as a Data Source did I notice that the names of the fields in the Form were NOT what I named the columns in the Sharepoint list

That led me to create this post thinking that PowerApps somehow CHANGED my column names. 

I still don't know HOW the columns I created were automatically named something other than what I named them. 

[anees · Accepted solution]

Thanks for clarifying. As far as SharePoint is concerned there are two names associated with your field

Display name - This is the name you provide. You can change this as much as you want.

Internal/Physical name - This is automatically decided by SharePoint based on some logic when you create the field. This never changes.The internal name is something you never see or use.

Unfortunately in PowerApps we are surfacing the internal name instead of the display name leading to confusion. When the bug is fixed you will see the same user friendly display names you provided.

Happy to jump on a call if needed for clarification. Please send me a direct message with your email if you feel that is needed.

Thanks

Anees