cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 
Reply
Gustavo_C
Frequent Visitor

Help with: ForAll items in a collection Patch in SQL table If record doesn’t exist, else UPDATE

 

 

Hello. I tried the suggested articled in this post to solve my problem with no luck. So if someone here can give me a hand it will be greatly appreciated.

I have a gallery that lists basic information of a long list of clinical research papers. The idea is to allow the user to look at what is available and mark for future review those that catch their attention. This is achieved by clicking on a star icon that OnSelect takes the information of that paper and adds it to a collection called FavCol.  The collection has several columns two of which are “record”(the unique identifier) and “favorite” that will toggle between  “Yes”or “No” each time the user clicks the star icon.

Once the user has reviewed the gallery they press a button that will patch the collection into an SQL database (dbo.Table_DQ) only if those records don’t already exist, if they do exist, only the “record” column will be updated.

I have used several variations of this code with no success. Any help will be appreciated. Best regards.

 

ForAll (FavCol, (LookUp ('[dbo].[Tbl_DQ]', record = record))); If (IsBlank ('[dbo].[Tbl_DQ]'), Patch('[dbo].[Tbl_DQ]', Defaults('[dbo].[Tbl_DQ]'), {favorite:favorite, id:id, record:record, nct_id:nct_id}), Patch('[dbo].[Tbl_DQ]', {favorite:favorite})

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION

Accepted Solutions
Anonymous
Not applicable

@Gustavo_C 

I think your formula structure still needs some work, try this:

ForAll( RenameColumns(FavCol, "record", "record1"),
          If(!IsBlank(LookUp('[dbo].[Tbl_DQ]', record = record1)),
                  Patch('[dbo].[Tbl_DQ]', LookUp('[dbo].[Tbl_DQ]', record = record1), 
                        {favorite:favorite}),
          // else
                  Patch('[dbo].[Tbl_DQ]', Defaults('[dbo].[Tbl_DQ]'),
                        {favorite:favorite, id:id, record:record1, nct_id:nct_id})
               )
)

 

 

 

View solution in original post

21 REPLIES 21
WarrenBelz
Most Valuable Professional
Most Valuable Professional

Hello @Gustavo_C ,

The problem seems to lie in the last Patch

Patch(
   '[dbo].[Tbl_DQ]',
   {favorite:favorite}
)

You need to specify which record you are Patching in the place of Defaults(datasource) for a new record like 

id=the id you know

 

Please click Accept as solution if my post helped you solve your issue. This will help others find it more readily. It also closes the item. If the content was useful in other ways, please consider giving it Thumbs Up.

Anonymous
Not applicable

@Gustavo_C , @WarrenBelz is definitely onto something with his comment.

 

The other thing I noticed is that your formula structure seems off? In the pic below your ForAll() ends at 1 and your If() at 2, this doesn't seem to be correct - or maybe it is?

ForAll_EndsEarly.jpg

 

Thanks @WarrenBelz  and @Anonymous for your help so far. I made the corrections suggested by Eelman and the errors I had in the formula went away, so no red lines. The issue is that it doesn't patch or update records.

 

It now looks like this: 

ForAll (FavCol, (LookUp ('[dbo].[Tbl_DQ]', record = record)); If (IsBlank ('[dbo].[Tbl_DQ]'), Patch('[dbo].[Tbl_DQ]', Defaults('[dbo].[Tbl_DQ]'), {favorite:favorite, id:id, record:record, nct_id:nct_id}, Patch('[dbo].[Tbl_DQ]', {favorite:favorite}))))

 

Now, I am just learning here so forgive me if I say an atrocity. This is the way I understand the code.

 

 

ForAll (FavCol, (LookUp ('[dbo].[Tbl_DQ]', record = record)); // This part will evaluate every record in my collection against the SQL I am writing to ('[dbo].[Tbl_DQ]') and give a list of those items present in the collection and in the database.

 

If (IsBlank ('[dbo].[Tbl_DQ]'), Patch('[dbo].[Tbl_DQ]', Defaults('[dbo].[Tbl_DQ]' , {favorite:favorite, id:id, record:record, nct_id:nct_id}), // This part will evaluate the first condition of IF which is, if there is no record in '[dbo].[Tbl_DQ]' with a "record" field matching any of those in the collection Patch will write a new one

 

Patch('[dbo].[Tbl_DQ]', {favorite:favorite}))))// This would be the ELSE part of the IF which is the action that would be applied to any record that already exists in the source.

 

@WarrenBelz  What do you mean when you say that the record needs to be identified? 

WarrenBelz
Most Valuable Professional
Most Valuable Professional

Hi @Gustavo_C ,
Try this - I could not test so make sure all brackets and commas are there.

ForAll(
   FavCol, 
      If(
         IsBlank(
            LookUp(
               '[dbo].[Tbl_DQ]', 
                record = FavCol.record  //matching fields in db and oollecton
            )
         )
      ),
      Patch(
         '[dbo].[Tbl_DQ]', 
          Defaults('[dbo].[Tbl_DQ]'), 
          {
             favorite:favorite, 
             id:id, 
             record:record, 
             nct_id:nct_id
          }
      ),
      Patch(
         '[dbo].[Tbl_DQ]',
         record = FavCol.record,  // ***** ADDED
         {favorite:favorite}
      )
   )
)

 

Please click Accept as solution if my post helped you solve your issue. This will help others find it more readily. It also closes the item. If the content was useful in other ways, please consider giving it Thumbs Up.

Anonymous
Not applicable

@Gustavo_C it's good to see you've got rid of those pesky red lines! Nothing worse, haha

 

First suggestion I'd make is that you may be getting an error from 'record = record'. The way I usually deal with these is to use RenameColumns, like this:

 

ForAll(
       RenameColumns(
          FavCol,"record", "record1"),   // here I rename column 'record' to 'record1'
          (LookUp ('[dbo].[Tbl_DQ]', record = record1));...   // here I reference 'record1'

 

Next, I think (not sure) that:

 

(LookUp ('[dbo].[Tbl_DQ]', record = record1))

 

 creates a 'Value' you can reference further in your code, so that your IsBlank becomes:

 

If(IsBlank(Value), Patch(...

 

And as @WarrenBelz suggested, you need to reference a record for the last part of your Patch and you may be able to use 'Value' here, like this:

 

Patch('[dbo].[Tbl_DQ]', Value, {favorite:favorite})

 

 

Putting all the above together gives you this (note: I haven't tested this so you may need to tinker a bit?):

 

ForAll( RenameColumns(FavCol, "record", "record1"),
        (LookUp ('[dbo].[Tbl_DQ]', record = record1));
               If(IsBlank(Value),
                  Patch('[dbo].[Tbl_DQ]', Defaults('[dbo].[Tbl_DQ]'),
                  {favorite:favorite, id:id, record:record1, nct_id:nct_id}),  // you had a ')' missing here
                 // else
                 Patch('[dbo].[Tbl_DQ]', Value, {favorite:favorite})
               )
)

 

 

If this doesn't work and 'Value' isn't available to select, you could just remove the LookUp() at the start and replace the 2 places where 'Value' appears in my solution with the removed LookUp() formula ... maybe 🙂 

 

Like I said, I've not tested this but let me know how you go.

 

 

EDIT: Whoops @WarrenBelz replying at the same time 🙂 

jKell
Advocate III
Advocate III

I have used favorite functionality in the past. Is there a reason why you are not Patching on the Star button itself?

 

Your description sounds like user must:

  1. Select which item to favorite (and they can select multiple)
  2. Then you batch process all favorites to favorites list

Why not put the Patch action on the selector so that OnSelect, you can patch the value to the favorite column?

This way you can avoid the ForAll() and changes are made instantly as opposed to needing to process.

 

I am suggesting:

  1. Make the user interaction of selecting the Favorite run your Patch Statement

On the OnSelect of your Favorite icon you can have 1 if statement that Toggles the favorite

If(
//CHECK IF ITEM EXISTS
IsBlank(LookUp(DatasourceForFavorites, Condition)) ,
//IF ITEM DOESN'T EXIST, Add it
Patch(DatasourceForFavorites, Defaults, Value)//add item as Favorite,
//IF ITEM DOES EXIST, Remove it
Remove(DatasourceForFavorites,LookUp(DatasourceForFavorites, Condition))//remove item )

 

 

WarrenBelz
Most Valuable Professional
Most Valuable Professional

@jKell 

There are many solutions to any problem - @Anonymous and myself try to stay within the structure of the code given and make it valid - it makes a smaller journey for the user to take an in particular understand for future usage.

@Gustavo_C , @Anonymous and myself can both solve this for you - please tag which whichever path is best for you to follow.

Hello Warren, last night I tried to make this work following your suggestions and @Anonymous. This is how it looks like with the code you suggested:

 

 

Screenshot 2020-03-04 20.44.34.png

I reviewed the parenthesis and comas and they seem to be fine. I made several changes back and forth and couldn't make it work.

Any other suggestion, no matter how different from my rookie code, will be appreciated. 

 

 

 

 
 

Hello Eelman. Thanks for your suggestion, same as with Warren's I tried to make it work, using Value or the LookUp statement, to no avail. Here is how it looked like when I used the Value. 

 

Screenshot 2020-03-04 21.11.07.png

 

I checked for parenthesis and other obvious errors but couldn't identify anything. Grrrr. 

 

Any suggestions please let me know. Thanks for your help so far with this.

Helpful resources

Announcements

Exclusive LIVE Community Event: Power Apps Copilot Coffee Chat with Copilot Studio Product Team

  It's time for the SECOND Power Apps Copilot Coffee Chat featuring the Copilot Studio product team, which will be held LIVE on April 3, 2024 at 9:30 AM Pacific Daylight Time (PDT).     This is an incredible opportunity to connect with members of the Copilot Studio product team and ask them anything about Copilot Studio. We'll share our special guests with you shortly--but we want to encourage to mark your calendars now because you will not want to miss the conversation.   This live event will give you the unique opportunity to learn more about Copilot Studio plans, where we’ll focus, and get insight into upcoming features. We’re looking forward to hearing from the community, so bring your questions!   TO GET ACCESS TO THIS EXCLUSIVE AMA: Kudo this post to reserve your spot! Reserve your spot now by kudoing this post.  Reservations will be prioritized on when your kudo for the post comes through, so don't wait! Click that "kudo button" today.   Invitations will be sent on April 2nd.Users posting Kudos after April 2nd. at 9AM PDT may not receive an invitation but will be able to view the session online after conclusion of the event. Give your "kudo" today and mark your calendars for April 3rd, 2024 at 9:30 AM PDT and join us for an engaging and informative session!

Tuesday Tip: Unlocking Community Achievements and Earning Badges

TUESDAY TIPS are our way of communicating helpful things we've learned or shared that have helped members of the Community. Whether you're just getting started or you're a seasoned pro, Tuesday Tips will help you know where to go, what to look for, and navigate your way through the ever-growing--and ever-changing--world of the Power Platform Community! We cover basics about the Community, provide a few "insider tips" to make your experience even better, and share best practices gleaned from our most active community members and Super Users.   With so many new Community members joining us each week, we'll also review a few of our "best practices" so you know just "how" the Community works, so make sure to watch the News & Announcements each week for the latest and greatest Tuesday Tips!     THIS WEEK'S TIP: Unlocking Achievements and Earning BadgesAcross the Communities, you'll see badges on users profile that recognize and reward their engagement and contributions. These badges each signify a different achievement--and all of those achievements are available to any Community member! If you're a seasoned pro or just getting started, you too can earn badges for the great work you do. Check out some details on Community badges below--and find out more in the detailed link at the end of the article!       A Diverse Range of Badges to Collect The badges you can earn in the Community cover a wide array of activities, including: Kudos Received: Acknowledges the number of times a user’s post has been appreciated with a “Kudo.”Kudos Given: Highlights the user’s generosity in recognizing others’ contributions.Topics Created: Tracks the number of discussions initiated by a user.Solutions Provided: Celebrates the instances where a user’s response is marked as the correct solution.Reply: Counts the number of times a user has engaged with community discussions.Blog Contributor: Honors those who contribute valuable content and are invited to write for the community blog.       A Community Evolving Together Badges are not only a great way to recognize outstanding contributions of our amazing Community members--they are also a way to continue fostering a collaborative and supportive environment. As you continue to share your knowledge and assist each other these badges serve as a visual representation of your valuable contributions.   Find out more about badges in these Community Support pages in each Community: All About Community Badges - Power Apps CommunityAll About Community Badges - Power Automate CommunityAll About Community Badges - Copilot Studio CommunityAll About Community Badges - Power Pages Community

Tuesday Tips: Powering Up Your Community Profile

TUESDAY TIPS are our way of communicating helpful things we've learned or shared that have helped members of the Community. Whether you're just getting started or you're a seasoned pro, Tuesday Tips will help you know where to go, what to look for, and navigate your way through the ever-growing--and ever-changing--world of the Power Platform Community! We cover basics about the Community, provide a few "insider tips" to make your experience even better, and share best practices gleaned from our most active community members and Super Users.   With so many new Community members joining us each week, we'll also review a few of our "best practices" so you know just "how" the Community works, so make sure to watch the News & Announcements each week for the latest and greatest Tuesday Tips!   This Week's Tip: Power Up Your Profile!  🚀 It's where every Community member gets their start, and it's essential that you keep it updated! Your Community User Profile is how you're able to get messages, post solutions, ask questions--and as you rank up, it's where your badges will appear and how you'll be known when you start blogging in the Community Blog. Your Community User Profile is how the Community knows you--so it's essential that it works the way you need it to! From changing your username to updating contact information, this Knowledge Base Article is your best resource for powering up your profile.     Password Puzzles? No Problem! Find out how to sync your Azure AD password with your community account, ensuring a seamless sign-in. No separate passwords to remember! Job Jumps & Email Swaps Changed jobs? Got a new email? Fear not! You'll find out how to link your shiny new email to your existing community account, keeping your contributions and connections intact. Username Uncertainties Unraveled Picking the perfect username is crucial--and sometimes the original choice you signed up with doesn't fit as well as you may have thought. There's a quick way to request an update here--but remember, your username is your community identity, so choose wisely. "Need Admin Approval" Warning Window? If you see this error message while using the community, don't worry. A simple process will help you get where you need to go. If you still need assistance, find out how to contact your Community Support team. Whatever you're looking for, when it comes to your profile, the Community Account Support Knowledge Base article is your treasure trove of tips as you navigate the nuances of your Community Profile. It’s the ultimate resource for keeping your digital identity in tip-top shape while engaging with the Power Platform Community. So, dive in and power up your profile today!  💪🚀   Community Account Support | Power Apps Community Account Support | Power AutomateCommunity Account Support | Copilot Studio  Community Account Support | Power Pages

Super User of the Month | Chris Piasecki

In our 2nd installment of this new ongoing feature in the Community, we're thrilled to announce that Chris Piasecki is our Super User of the Month for March 2024. If you've been in the Community for a while, we're sure you've seen a comment or marked one of Chris' helpful tips as a solution--he's been a Super User for SEVEN consecutive seasons!       Since authoring his first reply in April 2020 to his most recent achievement organizing the Canadian Power Platform Summit this month, Chris has helped countless Community members with his insights and expertise. In addition to being a Super User, Chris is also a User Group leader, Microsoft MVP, and a featured speaker at the Microsoft Power Platform Conference. His contributions to the new SUIT program, along with his joyous personality and willingness to jump in and help so many members has made Chris a fixture in the Power Platform Community.   When Chris isn't authoring solutions or organizing events, he's actively leading Piasecki Consulting, specializing in solution architecture, integration, DevOps, and more--helping clients discover how to strategize and implement Microsoft's technology platforms. We are grateful for Chris' insightful help in the Community and look forward to even more amazing milestones as he continues to assist so many with his great tips, solutions--always with a smile and a great sense of humor.You can find Chris in the Community and on LinkedIn. Thanks for being such a SUPER user, Chris! 💪🌠

Tuesday Tips: Community Ranks and YOU

TUESDAY TIPS are our way of communicating helpful things we've learned or shared that have helped members of the Community. Whether you're just getting started or you're a seasoned pro, Tuesday Tips will help you know where to go, what to look for, and navigate your way through the ever-growing--and ever-changing--world of the Power Platform Community! We cover basics about the Community, provide a few "insider tips" to make your experience even better, and share best practices gleaned from our most active community members and Super Users.   With so many new Community members joining us each week, we'll also review a few of our "best practices" so you know just "how" the Community works, so make sure to watch the News & Announcements each week for the latest and greatest Tuesday Tips!This Week: Community Ranks--Moving from "Member" to "Community Champion"   Have you ever wondered how your fellow community members ascend the ranks within our community? What sets apart an Advocate from a Helper, or a Solution Sage from a Community Champion? In today’s #TuesdayTip, we’re unveiling the secrets and sharing tips to help YOU elevate your ranking—and why it matters to our vibrant communities. Community ranks serve as a window into a member’s role and activity. They celebrate your accomplishments and reveal whether someone has been actively contributing and assisting others. For instance, a Super User is someone who has been exceptionally helpful and engaged. Some ranks even come with special permissions, especially those related to community management. As you actively participate—whether by creating new topics, providing solutions, or earning kudos—your rank can climb. Each time you achieve a new rank, you’ll receive an email notification. Look out for the icon and rank name displayed next to your username—it’s a badge of honor! Fun fact: Your Community Engagement Team keeps an eye on these ranks, recognizing the most passionate and active community members. So shine brightly with valuable content, and you might just earn well-deserved recognition! Where can you see someone’s rank? When viewing a post, you’ll find a member’s rank to the left of their name.Click on a username to explore their profile, where their rank is prominently displayed. What about the ranks themselves? New members start as New Members, progressing to Regular Visitors, and then Frequent Visitors.Beyond that, we have a categorized system: Kudo Ranks: Earned through kudos (teal icons).Post Ranks: Based on your posts (purple icons).Solution Ranks: Reflecting your solutions (green icons).Combo Ranks: These orange icons combine kudos, solutions, and posts. The top ranks have unique names, making your journey even more exciting! So dive in, collect those kudos, share solutions, and let’s see how high you can rank! 🌟 🚀   Check out the Using the Community boards in each of the communities for more helpful information!  Power Apps, Power Automate, Copilot Studio & Power Pages

Find Out What Makes Super Users So Super

We know many of you visit the Power Platform Communities to ask questions and receive answers. But do you know that many of our best answers and solutions come from Community members who are super active, helping anyone who needs a little help getting unstuck with Business Applications products? We call these dedicated Community members Super Users because they are the real heroes in the Community, willing to jump in whenever they can to help! Maybe you've encountered them yourself and they've solved some of your biggest questions. Have you ever wondered, "Why?"We interviewed several of our Super Users to understand what drives them to help in the Community--and discover the difference it has made in their lives as well! Take a look in our gallery today: What Motivates a Super User? - Power Platform Community (microsoft.com)

Top Solution Authors
Top Kudoed Authors
Users online (5,760)