Default font and textbox size in Edit Form

[ColinI]

To increase the flexibility and ease by whcih PowerApps can develop for desktop and non-mobile platforms, it would be a good idea to set the default font and textbox sizes when creating forms (rahter than having to come back after the fact and change these values for each datacard one by one manually--or perhaps add a Text Size property for Form controls.

[rdavis6]

@PhilD 

I have eventually come up with a work around of sorts. It's a bit labor intensive during set up. Since I usually have to set most of these values for each field anyway, it's not EXTRA work. But at least now I only have to do it ONCE.

Basically I replicate the styles functionality from Word in Power Apps. I choose a few fields to set the style definition for font size, weight, position, color, etc. Then I set the properties of all subsequent fields of that type or in that group to match that initial field. Then, when I change an attribute for my 1st field, all the other fields update to match. This lets me choose to set values globally or I can set different styles for each section of the form.

Pro tip: I have learned to add a naming convention by including "Def" in the name of the card that contains the defining field(s). That way if the fields get rearranged, it's easy to find the one defining field. And if you're building this for someone else, make sure you INSTRUCT them in what you've done and DOCUMENT it for when they forget.

Yes, this is still a ROYAL PITA. I would much prefer a global select > change attribute option. But doing it once sure beats doing it REPEATEDLY.

[PhilD]

Hi @rdavis6 

This sounds very similar l to what I do. I create a whole series of labels (that I hide) that contain font size, data card height, control height, etc. Actually I do the colors this way too, using a screen I name "ScreenTheme" and then have text boxes with each main color I use in the app. Then I use these main colors, with lighter or darker intensity using the ColorFade function so I can change colors separately and it changes everywhere. Lighter shaded backgrounds also change but their relative intensity remains so it works out.

As you said, in the form you still have to update each of the individual controls (which I do while cursing MS the entire time) to point to the references, but once this is done, it is much easier to adjust to get the look and feel you desire.

What makes this such a pain is that it is not just the font size that needs to be adjusted. Once you decide that having gigantic, child-like fonts on your desktop app is not for you, after you bring them down to a size that allows the user to actually use the form, you must also adjust the spacing, control height/width. Of course I always have to get rid of the garish, 4pt focused border thickness.

I have learned my lesson a long time ago with trying to use themes... short answer is that unless you want to randomly loose all of your customizations in one exciting click, just don't (use it that is). Other exciting ways to hose your carefully built form include manually setting any of these attributes by moving the item (instantly erases what ever was in the property) or using the anxiety-invoking "snap to columns" feature.

All that would really be needed would be a few different scales to choose from. Nobody is looking for anything that "wild"... just a form where one control does not take up the entire screen. Something along the lines of "small", "medium" and "super gigantic" (what appears to be the current default).

[rdavis6]

@PhilD  You're clearly more sophisticated/experienced than I am. I deal mostly with SharePoint lists and do everything in my power to AVOID customizing forms regardless of the application. (I have an aversion to complicated things. Smells like more work.)

I too would settle for small, medium, large and mega - as long as it's applied CONSISTENTLY. The biggest issue I have with themes is that I get WILDLY different size fonts depending on the field type. So I'll often apply them FIRST to set the basic color scheme and then apply all my own styles.

I don't have a huge issue with the snap to columns feature. I set my columns to the max # allowed and then just stretch cards/fields across columns as needed. It's easier than having to align everything manually. I am inordinately fussy about that kind of stuff. How is it I can see that this is off by ONE pixel?!?!? 

[Alleghanys]

Hi, I don't understand why we are bot able to set the color and font when we creat the app... The apps i'm building are quite simple... I'm spending half of my time "branding" the app to fit the compagnie font and color... This is honestly very desapointing since I can read that many users have been asking for a fixe since 2017... Will it ever be a way to change font for all data card at once... A simple copie paste the formathing like in word, Excel, Powerpoint.... that would be a start

[PhilD]

Have a complex app, with a half dozen different forms, as many tables, etc.

I will be spending hours today going back and making all the forms appear as if they were designed by an adult, mostly making the fonts something reasonable for a desktop computer to display. This is important, business information and cannot look like Candy Crush or something like that... So many things cascade though when changing the font size and control height. All the positioning gets messed up, data card heights, everything... very, very frustrating but I can't put out something for desktop use by executives with giant text boxes where only a few fit on their screen at once... this simply isn't going to sell as a serious solution if it looks like that so toil on, one by one...

Please address this as I don't think this how you envisioned serious developers spending their time.

[PhilD]

Here is a possible trick to help create a form with a normal size font.

I have an app I'm creating from a SharePoint on-premises list that I migrated to Office 365. Instead of the InfoPath form, I will use a PowerApps app (not a customized form, a desktop oriented app). There are over a hundred fields  that need to be provisioned in the form so of course the Mickey Mouse, giant font-form was not going to work. I was ready to give up on this completely and start over in another platform when I realized that I could create a custom PowerApps form in SharePoint, then copy and paste the form into my stand-alone app. The custom SharePoint form set all the data card labels and controls to a normal-looking 10.5 font size! New fields added are still added in "giant font mode" so be sure to get all the fields you want in the customized form first, then copy it over to an app. This saved a ton of work setting these all manually.

I thought this might help someone else with the ridiculously frustrating task of making a normal looking form in PowerApps.

[JonathanDavey1]

Any news on this fundimental basic functionality?

I too am spending MORE TIME on resizing than I am building the Apps!

Its almost as insane as finding that all 'Dates' (regardless of Regional Settings) are still mentally deranged and quite frankly dangerous, DD/MM/YY is the ONLY logical way as MM/DD/YY can always be mis-read.