Checklist in PowerApps

[Scott_Wightman]

Hi there,

I am new to PowerApps but starting to get a basic understanding.

I'm trying to create a checklist app using a Canvas app. Since I have no data source to start from, I basically just created the app layout first and now want to connect to an Excel sheet to capture the results of the checklist. I have created a sheet where I would like to capture the date, user, site where the checklist is for (currently a drop down list), and the Yes/No answers to the checklist questions (currently a toggle for each question). I've connected the sheet but I'm at a loss how to capture the information and write it into the spreadsheet.

I'm guessing we need to have the app create a new record (or row in the sheet) on startup and store the values until the end of the sheet (click the Submit button) when it will write them all into the approriate columns. But the how is where things get quite difficult. I've been reading about the Patch function but I can't work out how to use it in this context.

Any help would be much appreciated. 

[Scott_Wightman]

Hi Chris,

OK my current problem now is that nothing in the Data Cards is displaying when I preview the app.

Everything looks perfect in the design screen, but when I click the "Play" button to preview the app everything in the Form is blank. I made sure the Visible toggle is on for all cards and the parent Form but that has made no difference. What have I done wrong here? 

Just FYI - I have changed the Text property of the DataCardValues to display what I want, for example set to the Now() function for the current date and time. However these text fields do not seem to have the Update property so I'm just hoping the value in the text property is what will be written to the DataField of the DataCard. 

Thanks for your help, I'm certainly learning alot and getting closer to understanding how all this fits together now.

Cheers

Scott

[chrisog]

Hi Scott,

I'm glad you have managed to make some progress. 

When you say that it is blank, I assume that you mean there is absolutely nothing displayed in your form, rather than there being no data. If so, the first thing to do would be to ensure that the formmode is New. This is found by selecting the Form control and then setting the DefaultMode property to FormMode.New. If it is set to Edit and there is no Item property, it will display as blank as there is no item to display. 

If the entry fields are displaying as blank and you have the form set as FormMode.New, it could be because any references to ThisItem would return blank due to the form effectively creating a new empty item for you to populate.

As for the Update property:

The Update property is found in the DataCard itself, rather than the DataCardValue. It should point to the relevant DataCardValue you want to populate that field when the form is submitted.

You have to make sure it references the value within the control though, and not just the control itself. For example, DataCard1 update property would be DataCardValue1.Text if the field is a text input or label. If it is a dropdown, it would be Dropdown1.Selected.Value. 

I hope this helps clear some of this up. If you have more issues and would like some help, you can also PM me and I would be happy to help as much as I can.

[rebeccas]

If you change out the controls in a card...say from a text field to a radio button you have to change several things with it.

One is the Update of the card...the default will be DataCardValue1.Text (that is looking at the text input it gave automatically) and you have to change that update to Radio1.Selected.Value for it to save your selection...then you can just delete the text input if you would like. 

The other is the the the form that is in Edit mode (if you have one) you have to tell it what the default is so it will pull in the previously selected data. That is pretty simple...you just set the Radio Button default to Parent.Default (like it would have been on the text input if that was still there). 

[robort]

watching this thread with interest.  also a beginner who wants a checklist app.  are there no clear resources anywhere for this as would think its a pretty common use/wish for a powerapp?

eg I want a daily checklist that is stored to be reported on, so users can go around a building checking eg are the toilets clean each day.

thanks

[Scott_Wightman]

Thanks yes I did work out that I had to change FormMode from Edit to New for the controls to show up.

My next challenge was that I was creating a view only text object and setting it to Now() to display the date which I was hoping would also be written to the table but when I tried to SubmitForm it was complaining that there was no value to write to the data source. The workaround I made for that was to use an edit box and set that to Now() so the date was filled in automatically and then set that to hidden as I don't want the user to change that. Then I displayed the date using an ordinary text object. Then the SubmitForm worked and wrote the date into the sheet exactly as I wanted. 

Next I just have to do the same with the rest of the objects and confirm they save. Once I have gotten a couple of them working I'll consider this resolved and give credit where it is due. I have a full week ahead so it'll have to be next week before I can do that.

[Scott_Wightman]

Yes you'd think so wouldn't you.. but there's almost nothing! No templates of this sort of checklist etc

One thing I did find was this:

A PowerApps Audit Solution

Which is pretty close to what we want to do but is a little vague on how it was done.

I'll certainly be happy to share what I've learned though once I've got it going.

[rebeccas]

I have an app (its really several apps that are tied together by a common field) that is sevaral sections of lot's of checklist. Ours is used in the shop, on cell phones and different "phases" have differnt check list.

If I have time tomorrow I will make a video that runs through it and post it...just for ideas of ways we are currently using this.

[robort]

Ha yes I watched that - its pretty much what I want but very vague how it was made.

eg they seem to have saved the checkbox data all in one column - do you do that or have a column for each question?  if their way how is that done?

[rebeccas]

I use a column for each questions. I make my columns single line text and then put in radio buttons and store the value of the radio button in each column as text.

Some of mine go on to being placed onto a document which is made into a pdf and attached back to the sharepoint list item so I needed mine to be separate columns.

[robort]

thanks thats good to know - half the issue of learning something is am I doing it right so helps to hear how you are doing it!

why text box rather than yes and no?  do you have to go in a change every text box to a radio button one by one?

I can get it to work by doing yes/no and then changing it to a check box but its a pain to do each one so wondered if there is an easier way.

basic question - when i create the form and then run it and press a submit button it does not then let me run the form again?  do i need to reset it or something?  thanks