cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 
Reply
DBJ
Helper I
Helper I

Using FirstN expression

Based on my patch statement below:

 

Patch(
SPList,
Defaults(SPList),
{Photos: First(PhotoCollection).Image}
);

 

How could I use FirstN to capture a number of table records and not just the first record. This gives me an error:

 

Patch(
SPList,
Defaults(SPList),
{Photos: FirstN((PhotoCollection).Image), 10)}
);

 

Is it possible to use FirstN for this? This documentation does not seem to provide clear limitations: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/powerapps/maker/canvas-apps/functions/function-first-last

9 REPLIES 9
timl
Super User
Super User

Hi @DBJ 

If you have a collection with say, 50 records, and you want to Patch the first 10 to SharePoint, you can use the ForAll function to do this. Here's how the syntax would look...

ForAll(
       FirstN(PhotoCollection, 10),
       Patch(
             SPList,
             Defaults(SPList),
             {
               PhotoField: Image
             }
      )
)

 

Hi @timl ,

 

Thanks for the helpful info...my complete patching statement also includes other forms:

Patch(
SPList,
Defaults(SPList),
EditFormA.LastSubmit,
EditFormB.Updates,
{Photos: First(PhotoCollection).Image}
);

 

how would I fit those with the statement you provided for patching multiple photos with FirstN?

Hi @DBJ 

 

Can you try to use the expression as:

Patch(
SPList,
Defaults(SPList),
{Photos: FirstN(PhotoCollection,10).Image}
);

This will return a list of 10 pictures in the column. What is the type of "Photos" column? If you get an error, please share more details, so that we might be able to help you better.

Also, In case you are looking for a way to get the 10th photo, then the expression needs to be changed to:

Patch(
SPList,
Defaults(SPList),
{Photos: Last(FirstN(PhotoCollection,10)).Image}
);

 

Hope this Helps!

 

If this reply has answered your question or solved your issue, please mark this question as answered. Answered questions helps users in the future who may have the same issue or question quickly find a resolution via search. If you liked my response, please consider giving it a thumbs up. THANKS!

Hi @yashag2255 ,

 

Patch(
SPList,
Defaults(SPList),

EditForm1.LastSubmit,

EditForm2.Updates,
{Photos: FirstN(PhotoCollection,10).Image}
);

 

does not work, I get error "The function 'Patch' has some invalid arguments. The type of this argument 'Photos' does not match the expected type 'Text'. Found type 'Table'."

 

The SP column I'm trying to patch to is a multiline text column.

Hi @DBJ 

Can you just clarify what you want to achieve here?

For your SharePoint list SPList, is it the case that you want to add 10 new rows to this list? The 10 rows will include an image that corresponds to the first 10 rows in your PhotoCollection collection. For each record that you want to add SPList, you want to merge the other fields that come from EditFormA.LastSubmit and EditFormB.Updates.

If that's the case, this should theoretically work...

ForAll(
       FirstN(PhotoCollection, 10),
       Patch(
             SPList,
             Defaults(SPList),
             EditFormA.LastSubmit,
             EditFormB.Updates,
             {
               PhotoField: Image
             }
      )
)

Hi @timl ,

 

Ultimately, I'm trying to patch an entire photo collection to a multi-line text column in a SharePoint list item along with two other forms. Right now I'm able to patch all the fields from the two forms, but from the photo collection only one photo gets patched with First(PhotoCollection).Image into the list item.  I want to patch all the photos from the photo collection. I thought this would also be straightforward/possible using FirstN but having trouble formatting the statement within my patch statement. 

 

Thanks for the assistance!

Hi @DBJ 

 

There is a maximum limit on number of characters that can be saved in a Multiple Lines of Text column in SharePoint.

When you say, saving 10 images in the multiple line of text column, does it mean on the same record or it is 10 different records, with same data to the all the other fields and just different pictures?

In case this is 10 pictures in a single record, I would recommend you to use attachments and upload the images there.
You can do a concat function to add all the Images data seperated by two semi-colon as: Concat(PhotoCollection, Image, ";;") -> But this will not display the images properly and will not be a good approach to proceed with considering the limitation on number of characters.

In case, this is about creating 10 different records, you can update the expression to:

ForAll(
FirstN(PhotoCollection, 10),
Patch(
SPList,
Defaults(SPList),
EditFormA.Updates,
EditFormB.Updates,
{
PhotoField: Image
}
)
)

 

Hope this Helps!

 

If this reply has answered your question or solved your issue, please mark this question as answered. Answered questions helps users in the future who may have the same issue or question quickly find a resolution via search. If you liked my response, please consider giving it a thumbs up. THANKS!

Hi @DBJ 

I would agree with @yashag2255 - it's preferable to store images in attachments, or to store each image as a separate row in a list.

 

But if you want to try to combine all 10 images together, you could use the Concat function. According to this, we can use the comma symbol to separate base64 image strings.

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/5350590/best-way-to-separate-two-base64-strings 

 

Your Patch function would look like this.

Patch(
          SPList,
          Defaults(SPList),
          EditFormA.LastSubmit,
          EditFormB.Updates,
          {
            Photos: Concat(FirstN(PhotoCollection, 10), Photo & ",") 
          }
)


To retrieve the images, you could then then call the Split function

Split(CombinedPhotoString, ",")

 

Thanks for the helpful info @timl and @yashag2255 . I ended up using a separate list to store the images via an upload with a PowerApps/flow action and referencing the images list from the master list via a custom id field I created with the GUID() function. 

Helpful resources

Announcements

Power Platform Connections Ep 15 | L. Baybutt | Thursday, 1 June 2023

Episode Fifteen of Power Platform Connections sees David Warner and Hugo Bernier talk to Microsoft MVP Lewis Baybutt aka Low Code Lewis, alongside the latest news and community blogs.   Use the hashtag #PowerPlatformConnects on social media for a chance to have your work featured on the show.      Action requested: Feel free to provide feedback on how we can make our community more inclusive and diverse.  This episode premiers live on our YouTube at 12pm PST on Thursday 1st June 2023.  Video series available at Power Platform Community YouTube channel.    Upcoming events:  European Power Platform conference – Jun. 20-22nd - Dublin Microsoft Power Platform Conference – Oct. 3-5th - Las Vegas  Join our Communities:  Power Apps Community Power Automate Community Power Virtual Agents Community Power Pages Community  If you’d like to hear from a specific community member in an upcoming recording and/or have specific questions for the Power Platform Connections team, please let us know. We will do our best to address all your requests or questions.   

May 2023 Community Newsletter and Upcoming Events

Welcome to our May 2023 Community Newsletter, where we'll be highlighting the latest news, releases, upcoming events, and the great work of our members inside the Biz Apps communities. If you're new to this LinkedIn group, be sure to subscribe here in the News & Announcements to stay up to date with the latest news from our ever-growing membership network who "changed the way they thought about code".       LATEST NEWS "Mondays at Microsoft" LIVE on LinkedIn - 8am PST - Monday 15th May  - Grab your Monday morning coffee and come join Principal Program Managers Heather Cook and Karuana Gatimu for the premiere episode of "Mondays at Microsoft"! This show will kick off the launch of the new Microsoft Community LinkedIn channel and cover a whole host of hot topics from across the #PowerPlatform, #ModernWork, #Dynamics365, #AI, and everything in-between. Just click the image below to register and come join the team LIVE on Monday 15th May 2023 at 8am PST. Hope to see you there!     Executive Keynote | Microsoft Customer Success Day CVP for Business Applications & Platform, Charles Lamanna, shares the latest #BusinessApplications product enhancements and updates to help customers achieve their business outcomes.     S01E13 Power Platform Connections - 12pm PST - Thursday 11th May Episode Thirteen of Power Platform Connections sees Hugo Bernier take a deep dive into the mind of co-host David Warner II, alongside the reviewing the great work of Dennis Goedegebuure, Keith Atherton, Michael Megel, Cat Schneider, and more. Click below to subscribe and get notified, with David and Hugo LIVE in the YouTube chat from 12pm PST. And use the hashtag #PowerPlatformConnects on social media for a chance to have your work featured on the show.     UPCOMING EVENTS   European Power Platform Conference - early bird ticket sale ends! The European Power Platform Conference early bird ticket sale ends on Friday 12th May 2023! #EPPC23 brings together the Microsoft Power Platform Communities for three days of unrivaled days in-person learning, connections and inspiration, featuring three inspirational keynotes, six expert full-day tutorials, and over eighty-five specialist sessions, with guest speakers including April Dunnam, Dona Sarkar, Ilya Fainberg, Janet Robb, Daniel Laskewitz, Rui Santos, Jens Christian Schrøder, Marco Rocca, and many more. Deep dive into the latest product advancements as you hear from some of the brightest minds in the #PowerApps space. Click here to book your ticket today and save!      DynamicMinds Conference - Slovenia - 22-24th May 2023 It's not long now until the DynamicsMinds Conference, which takes place in Slovenia on 22nd - 24th May, 2023 - where brilliant minds meet, mingle & share! This great Power Platform and Dynamics 365 Conference features a whole host of amazing speakers, including the likes of Georg Glantschnig, Dona Sarkar, Tommy Skaue, Monique Hayward, Aleksandar Totovic, Rachel Profitt, Aurélien CLERE, Ana Inés Urrutia de Souza, Luca Pellegrini, Bostjan Golob, Shannon Mullins, Elena Baeva, Ivan Ficko, Guro Faller, Vivian Voss, Andrew Bibby, Tricia Sinclair, Roger Gilchrist, Sara Lagerquist, Steve Mordue, and many more. Click here: DynamicsMinds Conference for more info on what is sure an amazing community conference covering all aspects of Power Platform and beyond.    Days of Knowledge Conference in Denmark - 1-2nd June 2023 Check out 'Days of Knowledge', a Directions 4 Partners conference on 1st-2nd June in Odense, Denmark, which focuses on educating employees, sharing knowledge and upgrading Business Central professionals. This fantastic two-day conference offers a combination of training sessions and workshops - all with Business Central and related products as the main topic. There's a great list of industry experts sharing their knowledge, including Iona V., Bert Verbeek, Liza Juhlin, Douglas Romão, Carolina Edvinsson, Kim Dalsgaard Christensen, Inga Sartauskaite, Peik Bech-Andersen, Shannon Mullins, James Crowter, Mona Borksted Nielsen, Renato Fajdiga, Vivian Voss, Sven Noomen, Paulien Buskens, Andri Már Helgason, Kayleen Hannigan, Freddy Kristiansen, Signe Agerbo, Luc van Vugt, and many more. If you want to meet industry experts, gain an advantage in the SMB-market, and acquire new knowledge about Microsoft Dynamics Business Central, click here Days of Knowledge Conference in Denmark to buy your ticket today!   COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS Check out our top Super and Community Users reaching new levels! These hardworking members are posting, answering questions, kudos, and providing top solutions in their communities.   Power Apps:  Super Users: @WarrenBelz, @LaurensM  @BCBuizer  Community Users:  @Amik@ @mmollet, @Cr1t    Power Automate:  Super Users: @Expiscornovus , @grantjenkins, @abm  Community Users: @Nived_Nambiar, @ManishSolanki    Power Virtual Agents:  Super Users: @Pstork1, @Expiscornovus  Community Users: @JoseA, @fernandosilva, @angerfire1213    Power Pages: Super Users: @ragavanrajan  Community Users: @Fubar, @Madhankumar_L,@gospa  LATEST COMMUNITY BLOG ARTICLES  Power Apps Community Blog  Power Automate Community Blog  Power Virtual Agents Community Blog  Power Pages Community Blog  Check out 'Using the Community' for more helpful tips and information:  Power Apps , Power Automate, Power Virtual Agents, Power Pages 

Microsoft Power Platform Conference | Registration Open | Oct. 3-5 2023

We are so excited to see you for the Microsoft Power Platform Conference in Las Vegas October 3-5 2023! But first, let's take a look back at some fun moments and the best community in tech from MPPC 2022 in Orlando, Florida.   Featuring guest speakers such as Charles Lamanna, Heather Cook, Julie Strauss, Nirav Shah, Ryan Cunningham, Sangya Singh, Stephen Siciliano, Hugo Bernier and many more.   Register today: https://www.powerplatformconf.com/   

Check out the new Power Platform Communities Front Door Experience!

We are excited to share the ‘Power Platform Communities Front Door’ experience with you!   Front Door brings together content from all the Power Platform communities into a single place for our community members, customers and low-code, no-code enthusiasts to learn, share and engage with peers, advocates, community program managers and our product team members. There are a host of features and new capabilities now available on Power Platform Communities Front Door to make content more discoverable for all power product community users which includes ForumsUser GroupsEventsCommunity highlightsCommunity by numbersLinks to all communities Users can see top discussions from across all the Power Platform communities and easily navigate to the latest or trending posts for further interaction. Additionally, they can filter to individual products as well.       Users can filter and browse the user group events from all power platform products with feature parity to existing community user group experience and added filtering capabilities.     Users can now explore user groups on the Power Platform Front Door landing page with capability to view all products in Power Platform.    Explore Power Platform Communities Front Door today. Visit Power Platform Community Front door to easily navigate to the different product communities, view a roll up of user groups, events and forums.

Welcome to the Power Apps Community

Welcome! Congratulations on joining the Microsoft Power Apps community! You are now a part of a vibrant group of peers and industry experts who are here to network, share knowledge, and even have a little fun! Now that you are a member, you can enjoy the following resources:   The Microsoft Power Apps Community Forums If you are looking for support with any part of Microsoft Power Apps, our forums are the place to go. They are titled "Get Help with Microsoft Power Apps " and there you will find thousands of technical professionals with years of experience who are ready and eager to answer your questions. You now have the ability to post, reply and give "kudos" on the Power Apps community forums! Make sure you conduct a quick search before creating a new post because your question may have already been asked and answered!   Microsoft Power Apps IdeasDo you have an idea to improve the Microsoft Power Apps experience, or a feature request for future product updates? Then the "Power Apps Ideas" section is where you can contribute your suggestions and vote for ideas posted by other community members. We constantly look to the most voted Ideas when planning updates, so your suggestions and votes will always make a difference.   Community Blog & NewsOver the years, more than 600 Power Apps Community Blog Articles have been written and published by our thriving community. Our community members have learned some excellent tips and have keen insights on building Power Apps. On the Power Apps Community Blog, read the latest Power Apps related posts from our community blog authors around the world. Let us know if you would like to become an author and contribute your own writing — everything Power Apps related is welcome!   Power Apps Samples, Learning and Videos GalleriesOur galleries have a little bit of everything to do with Power Apps. Our galleries are great for finding inspiration for your next app or component. You can view, comment and kudo the apps and component gallery to see what others have created! Or share Power Apps that you have created with other Power Apps enthusiasts. Along with all of that awesome content, there is the Power Apps Community Video & MBAS gallery where you can watch tutorials and demos by Microsoft staff, partners, and community gurus in our community video gallery.   Again, we are excited to welcome you to the Microsoft Power Apps community family! Whether you are brand new to the world of process automation or you are a seasoned Power Apps veteran. Our goal is to shape the community to be your ‘go to’ for support, networking, education, inspiration and encouragement as we enjoy this adventure together!   Let us know in the Community Feedback if you have any questions or comments about your community experience.To learn more about the community and your account be sure to visit our Community Support Area boards to learn more! We look forward to seeing you in the Power Apps Community!The Power Apps Team

Top Solution Authors
Top Kudoed Authors
Users online (2,296)