Expression Help - Sort Gallery, 1st Item Selected

[Matren]

Hello Power Apps Community,

I would like the 1st item (i.e. item at top of gallery) to always be selected whenever a user clicks a button to sort a gallery. If the user sorts ascending or descending, the 1st item showing in the gallery (i.e. item at top of gallery) should be selected. 

Configuration:

• My Sort Button (icoSort) OnSelect property is: Select(Gallery,1,icoViewRecord); Set(gblSort, !gblSort)
• icoViewRecord is an icon in the gallery that the user can click to view that record
• Gallery.OnSelect property is empty
• Gallery.Default property is frmRecord.LastSubmit (this allows the last submitted record data to be viewable in a form whenever a new record is added or edited)

1st Attempt (select statement first):

• Sort Button (icoSort) OnSelect property is: Select(Gallery,1,icoViewRecord); Set(gblSort, !gblSort)
• Result is last record always remains selected (no matter if ascending or descending sort)

2nd Attempt (select statment last): 

• Sort Button (icoSort) OnSelect property is: Set(gblSort, !gblSort); Select(Gallery,1,icoViewRecord)
• Result is whatever item is selected, remains selected (no matter if top, bottom, or anywhere else in gallery).

3rd Attempt (select statment added before and after Set gblSort:

• Sort Button (icoSort) OnSelect property is: Select(Gallery,1,icoViewRecord); Set(gblSort, !gblSort); Select(Gallery,1,icoViewRecord)
• Result is last record always remains selected (no matter if ascending or descending sort)

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Matren

P.S. Gallery.Items property is:

If(
gblFilterActive,
SortByColumns(Filter(DataSetA,

StartsWith(NAME,gblFilterList.Name),
StartsWith(IDNumber,gblFilterList.IDNumber),
StartsWith(CITY,gblFilterList.City),
StartsWith(STATE,gblFilterList.State),
StartsWith(SUBSET,gblFilterList.Subset)),
"ID", If(gblSort,Ascending,Descending)),
SortByColumns(DataSetA,

"ID", If(gblSort,Ascending,Descending)))

[RandyHayes]

@Matren 

First, you might want to modify your Items property to reduce the If statement (they should generally be avoided to reduce redundancy in your formula and making maintaining the easier) to the following:

SortByColumns(
    Filter(DataSetA,
        !gblFilterActive ||
        (StartsWith(NAME,gblFilterList.Name) &&
         StartsWith(IDNumber,gblFilterList.IDNumber) &&
         StartsWith(CITY,gblFilterList.City) &&
         StartsWith(STATE,gblFilterList.State) &&
         StartsWith(SUBSET,gblFilterList.Subset)
        )
    ),
    "ID", If(gblSort,Ascending,Descending)
)

Next, your Default property on the Gallery is what is going to cause you the issue you are seeing.

You stated "this allows the last submitted record data to be viewable in a form whenever a new record is added or edited"  - This is not an accurate statement!  The form does not reflect on the Gallery default for anything.  The Default on the gallery will provide the record that should be selected by default.

So, I would consider getting rid of the formula in your Default and you will have the first record then always being selected when sorted.

I hope this is helpful for you.

[Matren]

Hello @RandyHayes,

Thanks for your response -- much appreciated!

For clarification, I've wired my form so that whatever is selected in the gallery shows up in the form. To ensure that the form displays the data the user just submitted (e.g. new record), I set the gallery default setting to frmRecord.LastSubmit.

To rule out this default setting as the issue, I removed it per your recommendation and am having the same issue. Please see the attched mockups which illustrate it.

Thanks,
Matren

[RandyHayes]

@Matren 

Sorry, I should have also mentioned to remove the Select functions you have currently.  They are not needed.  The gallery, once the Items property re-evaluates, will select the Default record.  If default is blank, then it will select the first record.

As for the form submitted record being selected, you can work with that still, but the question comes with - if the user submits a form (and thus the record is selected in the gallery) and then they change the sort order, do you then want the selection to go away, or should it still show the last submitted record?

[Matren]

Hi @RandyHayes,

I removed the Select stament and now just have Set(gblSort,!gblSort) for the Sort Button OnSelect property. I also have nothing in the Gallery Default property. However, when the user clicks the Sort Button, it always remains on the item that is currently selected. It does not default to the top item in the gallery. I think I would need to write an expression in the default property to do that? 

The desired state is Case 3 from previous post -- selected item is always the top item of the gallery after the user clicks the Sort button.

 In response to your question "if the user submits a form (and thus the record is selected in the gallery) and then they change the sort order, do you then want the selection to go away, or should it still show the last submitted record?", the selection would be the 1st item in the gallery (not necessarily the last submitted record). I only use the last submitted record to show the user what they just submitted. After that, if they sort or select another record, the selection changes.  

[RandyHayes · Accepted solution]

@Matren 

Yes...selection of a record in a gallery is sometimes at the whim of PowerApps.  The reality is, depending on the Items property formula, PowerApps will try and retain the selection.  For more complex formulas (usually anything with Sort or more in it), it has to re-evaluate and will re-select based on Default.

In your case, it has "honoring" the sort and retaining the record.

So, the simple solution is a Reset in the behavioral formula of your Button:

    Set(gblSort, !gblSort); Reset(Gallery)

[Matren]

Thanks @RandyHayes! Appreciate all your help with the If, Sort, Reset Statements.

[Matren]

Hello @RandyHayes,

I have given your earlier recommendation "... reduce the If statement (they should generally be avoided to reduce redundancy in your formula and making maintaining the easier) ..." some more thought and have been going through my app and trying to reduce the IF statements.

I am so used to using IF statments that it is difficult for me to reduce them. Would you have any guidance to offer on how to reduce IF statements in Power Apps? Perhaps an article, video, or statement on how to do this in general?

For example, I have transformed the following:

If(gblVariable, Set(gblVariable2,"Hello"),Set(gblVariable2,"GoodBye"))

to

gblVariable && Set(gblVariable2,"Hello") || Set(gblVariable2,"GoodBye")

However, for nested IF statements, I'm having difficulty trying to figure it out.

Thanks,
Matren