ClearCollect a SharePointlist and uploading it back

[Suni]

Hi,

I am working on an app which is based on 2 sharepoint-lists ("Test1" and "Test2"). The lists are build 100% the same so all the columns are named exactly the same ("free written text", "Date", "Yes/No"). 

I work with three types of fields. Yes/No, Date and Text. 

The SharePoint-lists are used by two different persons and they cant see what the other list has. At the start of the App, the user chooses which list he wants to import.

I use 

ClearCollect(MyCollection;'Test1')

and 

ClearCollect(MyCollection;'Test2')

Here begins my problem. I need to "upload" the changed "MyCollection" back to the List it came from. Is there any kind of simple solution to that? There is no other person using the List besides the "owner". That means, I do not need to check anything. I just want to upload the entire MyCollection back to the SP-list it came from. The user cant change field types or add new rows/columns. 

Is there something like 

ClearCollect(Test1;'MyCollection')

to overwrite the SP-list with the Collection I created at the begining? 

I have little knowledge in PowerApps and programming in general, so please ask for any information you need in addition. 

Thank you all for your help! 

[WarrenBelz]

Hi @Suni ,

Do you simply want to put all the values back in the List. Using List1 as an example (I assume these are not your real field names).

ForAll(
   MyCollection As MyCol,
   Patch(
      List1:
      {ID:MyCol.ID},
      {
         'free written text':MyCol.'free written text',
         Date:MyCol.Date,
         'Yes/No':MyCol.'Yes/No'
      }
   )
)
    

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[Suni]

Hey @WarrenBelz ,

you are right. I want to put all the values back in the List. The problem is that my SP-List contains more then 130 columns. I was hoping for a simple command to blindly copy everything. The SP-List is used as a kind of online storage. I dont need to double check if the field is exactly the same typ. 

Is there a way to use something like:

ForAll(Patch("XXX")) 

 and simply patch all fields from the Collection back to the SharePoint? Like ClearCollect does the other way around. Without naming every single field? 

[WarrenBelz · Accepted solution]

@Suni ,

Yes, but Clear collect writes all new records without having to match anything. You can also do this is the reverse (which I use regularly) for instance

Collect(
   List1,
   colMyCollection
)

will add the collection as NEW records in List1. For existing records, you need to tell Patch which records in the list belong the the corresponding ones in the collection.
However, I have been meaning to test a new PowerApps function ThisRecord and believe it may do what you want - try this and let me know

ForAll(
   MyCollection,
   Patch(
      List1,
      ThisRecord
   )
)

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[Suni]

@WarrenBelz 

Alright. I am a bit confused. I tried to implement the solution with ThisRecord. 

It worked once, but now I get an error with: 'The specified column is read only and cant be modified.'. 

On top of that, I changed two fields in MyCollection, and just one got written into the SP.

Edit!:

I tried a bit, and as long as I use the app "OnStart" instead of just working inside the page I edit stuff, it works perfectly! At least for 2-3 changes. I will start and expand my testing through the entire app, and see if it will work!

[WarrenBelz]

Thanks @Suni ,

As I mentioned I have not used it myself yet, but the documentation suggests it may do the job.

You can still go back and list the fields that are likely to change (you do not need to Patch everything) and my original post will work.

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[Suni]

Hey @WarrenBelz ,

after a lot of testing, ThisRecord seems to work fine! I havent found any problems with it so far.

I read the documentation, but wasnt able to understand what ThisRecord is doing exactly. 

Could you give me an easy '2 Sentence" summary so I can explain it to my colleagues without going into to much detail? 

Thank you so much for your help! 

[WarrenBelz]

Thanks @Suni ,

As I mentioned, this is a quite recent addition (less than 2 months ago) to PowerApps and it seems quite powerful as you have established. I have not done any real testing on it yet, but it seems to me (and I have seen other similar examples) that when you have identical field structures, it "lines them up" for you within a function. ThisRecord in this case refers to the entire record of each item in the collection and you are asking Power Apps to cycle through them and Patch them to a list with aligning records (you have the ID in both).