Datacard control value depending on another dropdown control

[Etienne79]

Hi there and thanks ahead to read/help me,

my case is the following :

I have 2 Sharepoint lists :

[Owners] with ID (automatically set) and OWNER_NAME (text)

[Homes] with ID (automatically set) and OWNER_ID (numerical) fields

In order to avoid mistakes, [@HOME].OWNER_ID is linked (through lookup in Sharepoint) with [@OWNERS].ID

In the form edit/new for [HOMES], I'd like to get the dropdown of OWNER_NAMES instead of OWNER_ID (or some trick so).

Before arriving here, I searched (not enough it seems 🙂 ) :

- control dependant of

- input.text with value

- filter / loopkup in Items, DisplayFields

Now, I'm lost...

I succeeded by adding a field "OWNER_ID" in [OWNERS] and setting the value of ID in it but this is not what I was aiming to...

Is the problem related with the use of ID ? any restrictions with links between Sharepoint lists ?

Thanks for taking me out of this 3 days nightmare !

Etienne, humble PowerApps beginner but already convinced !

[RandyHayes]

@Etienne79 

Welcome to PowerApps!  Sit back and enjoy the ride.  

What? You say you hit a bump?  Okay, let's explore.  You mentioned that you want the DropDown to have the Owner Name in it.  Do you want ALL of the Owner Names from your Owners list?  If so, then you can set the Items property of your DropDown to the following:  Owners

Make sure then (in the properties pane of the designer) that you select the OWNER_NAME to display.

I hope this is helpful for you.  If you wanted something besides all the names, just let me know.

[Etienne79]

Thanks for the ride, I’m in !

I tried your proposal but, beside there’s no more error message, it’s still not working, the field is not update.

in parallel, I created a simple form with classical dropdowns based on values (as automatically designed) and field updates works. It shows that the problem is still existing... I have the impresssion it’s because of dealing with the ID field of the lists...

[RandyHayes]

@Etienne79 

Can you perhaps share a screen shot or two of what you are seeing?

Originally I was addressing just your plan to have the Owner Names in the dropdown - did we get that working?

Now, as I understand it, you have an Edit for with this DropDown and when you submit the form, you are not getting what you expect in the record created?

[Etienne79]

Thanks @RandyHayes ,

here's my view (simplified) :

in for Form, I'd like to replace the Owner_ID dropdown of DataCard by the "Dropdown_Owners" of names and take the value into account in the form.

I changed "Update" of the DataCard : nok, as you can see for House5 entry : the entry has been added but no OWNER_ID...

Thanks for help,

I'll switch to Patch function (more risky and painfull) if no solution...

Etienne

[Etienne79]

@RandyHayes 

This is not yet THE solution but... a bit progress on my side :

I filter the DataCard_Control of OWNER_ID with the formulas including "Id" for both "Items" and "DefaultSelectedItems".

Thus, I can add my DropDown_Owners button and hide the DataCard_Control.

My wish, purer, was to keep only one control or use the DataCard_Control to display directly the OWNERS_NAMES instead of going tricky like this.

If you (all) get better solution, please reply !

Thanks

[RandyHayes · Accepted solution]

@Etienne79 

So if that column is a SharePoint lookup column, then change the Update property of your datacard to the following:

{
    Value: Dropdown_Owners.Selected.OWNER_NAME,
    Id: Dropdown_Owners.Selected.ID,
    '@odata.type': "#Microsoft.Azure.Connectors.SharePoint.SPListExpandedReference"
}

This is assuming again that you have a lookup column.

Let's see if that moves you forward.

[Etienne79]

Works perfectly ! Many thanks @RandyHayes although the solution seems to me a bit dark!

I confirmed it worked even by deleting the control of DataCard keeping only the DropDown_Owners button ! Exactly what I wanted !

How could I've guessed / found out from references the '@odata' line ?

Aim is to "force" the data when updating the DataCard ?

---

Thanks,

Etienne

[RandyHayes]

@Etienne79 

It's because of the complex column type you are using.  Keep it in mind - any time you are trying to alter a Choice column, a Person Column, or a Lookup Column, you need to give it this special attention.

If you use an EditForm out of the box, it will account for it for you automatically.  However, in your case, you are actually trying to derive your true value from someplace else (the Dropdown).  So you have one of two choices, get your Dropdown items to have that exact field "signature", or just force it in the Update property.  I usually opt for the second.

Yes, it is a bit obscure.  There is an article on getting your Dropdown with the correct signature here.  You'll find example of all the signatures for the three complex types and patching them (which would also indirectly apply to using the Update property of your datacard) here.

Plus, if you search this forum, you'll find many references to it.

But yes, it's not something that you "just know"...you "just learn".

[Etienne79]

Thanks again @RandyHayes for not ony your solution but for the explanation of it !

It clearly highlighted me !