EditForm switching from freetext to dropdown not showing last saved value

[NoelaniRoy]

Hi, thank you for your help in advance. 

I am new to powerapps, so hopefully this is a simple problem to solve. 

 I am starting with the default BrowseGallery and EditForm from connecting an excel table from OneDrive for business. I'd like to change the free text options to dropdowns in the EditForm view. The way that I have done this, is by deleting the DataCardValue text input box, then generating a dropdown. When I do this, my dropdown selection is saved in the appropriate part of my excel file on excel. The issue is when I come back to that EditForm from the browse gallery, I do not see my last dropdown selection, just the default or blank value. 

Question: How do I see the last submitted value / the value on the excel sheet, when looking back at my editform?

 

Thank you in advance for your help!

Best,
Noelani

[poweractivate]

@NoelaniRoy 

Check if any formula is Resetting the form when going back and forth, and if there is, you can try to adjust it.

Because it should not be changing anything when going between the screens. Something may be resetting the Form or changing the Form's mode when changing the screens, and then resetting all the custom dropdowns, etc.

You may want to check OnVisible property of the Screen the Form is on, for instance - and potentially even the one the Gallery is on - and potentially the OnSelect of the button used to go back from Form to Gallery, and button to go from Gallery back to the Form - for any Formula that is resetting things.

Look for anything like

EditForm

ViewForm

ResetForm

anything like that - if that's there, the Form is being Reset. If that's present, that needs to be adjusted if you want to avoid the results you're seeing when going back and forth between the screens.

Or, you can make it so that going back freely is not allowed until the very end (if that's easier first) - then after that, making it work for when going back and forth mid-form-edit. 

I would say that I believe if you select another Gallery item, maybe this behavior is fine and that everything should be reset like this (though I am just presuming as a guess). However, going back and forth without changing the gallery selection is what it seems you want not to mess with anything filled out thus far. To do this, make sure any Form-resetting logic is only on the OnSelect of Gallery and is not present anywhere else like buttons that switch the screens, etc.

Check if above helps @NoelaniRoy . 

[NoelaniRoy]

Hi, thank you for your help! There are a few things that I think might be the issue but I'm not sure what to change them to?

Any chance you could identify which of them look the sketchiest from these highlighted screenshots and help with what I should adjust them to?

Thank you so much for your help!

[poweractivate]

@NoelaniRoy 

Either the Big Blue Button OnSelect

or

(not shown) the OnSelect of the tiny little checkbox - which is the one you clicked in the small gif on the first post.

One or both of those above might be the ones. However, you are submitting at that point - it seems like it might be the intended behavior.

Would you like to Submit, go back to the screen, and still prepopulate the dropdown? But if that happened, there may be irrelevant values (since another Gallery Item is selected - presumably, the form should be filled out from scratch again at that point - right?)

Or if not, please clarify it so I can make sure I understand your requirement.

[poweractivate]

@NoelaniRoy 

Well maybe I see what you may be trying to do.

Can you check if the Dropdowns  whose values are disappearing are showing up in the Data Source in the first place?

If they are, then I think it is because you may need to change the Default of DropDown to be linked to the current value. Maybe I check it some more and tell you what I think it might be.

[poweractivate]

@NoelaniRoy 

I think it is because of Custom Dropdowns you have there

I think in their Default you may need to put Parent.Default

Right now the Default just has no value, like you can see in one of the very helpful screenshots you posted of Dropdown4

Change the Default property of Dropdown4 to Parent.Default

If you do that - does it work then?

If it worked, do same to other dropdown, see if it works too then.

[NoelaniRoy]

Hi thanks for your speedy responses. 

The intention is to have the check box (or big blue button was just a tester), submit the form and return to the browse gallery. Making a gallery selection should bring you to the edit form, but retain any previous selections you had made. 

This works for the default text fields, where you can see the text is retained between the navigations, but it doesn't work for the dropdowns I've added. I'd like those selections to stay as well.

Hope this helps and thank you again for your time!

Best,
Noelani

[poweractivate · Accepted solution]

@NoelaniRoy 

I think its because you added those Dropdowns. Since you did, the Default has no value.

Try changing Default property of Dropdown4 to Parent.Default

Does this work?

If Yes, then:

Now repeat this for the other Dropdown

Does it work for that one too?

[NoelaniRoy]

YES IT WORKS THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! I have literally been struggling with this for days, thank you thank you thank you!!!!!!!