ComboBox default value

[common_user]

Hi all,

I have two sheet, edit screen and view screen (copy of edit screen).

Both of screen have a combobox with some items ([name1,name2,name3...]).

When I insert an information in a box on edit screen, I read same information in the box on the view screen (on default proprierty I have Parent.Default).

My problem is about comboBox, I have an error, in default proprierty, if I write Parent.Default, they tell me that I have a string.

How can I read same information that I write in the editscreen on my combobox?

Thanks all

[RusselThomas]

Hi @common_user ,

As it's a combo-box, it helps to understand a few things in order to troubleshoot:

• Are you allowing multiple selections to be saved?
• What is actually being saved back to the source, or what is the data type of the column the combo list is being saved back to?  (Is it plain text or choice or something else?)  
• What does a saved value look like in the source? eg: "name1;name2" 
• Are you using the Default: property, or the DefaultSelectedItems: property on the view combo?

One way to get a lot of these answers is to look at the Update: property function of the card that is saving the combo data.  If you can share that and try to answer some of the above, we can figure out the best way to view that data with the view combo.

Kind regards,

RT

[common_user]

Hi @RusselThomas,

I hope to answer all your doubts.

1. I only allow single selection;
2. Data type is a Single text row (city names);
3. Rome, Paris, New York....;
4. I have some object in my editForm, textBox, dropdown... I use everytime only default;

In the Update funcion I use ComboboxName.Selected.Value

[RusselThomas · Accepted solution]

Hi @common_user ,

The Combo Box control expects a table as Items: input containing rows and columns, and the DisplayFields: property allows you to choose which particular field from that table to display in your 'dropdown'. 

Because you're providing an array of strings as input into the combo, it must auto-convert this construct into a table with one column called "Value" and multiple rows of strings.

When you save it back, you therefore use combobox.selected.Value to extract just the field and save this back to SPO as a string.

To view the saved string in a combo control as a default selection, it needs to be a record that matches with a record in the Items: property (remember Items: is a single column table) - so you must convert backwards from a string into a record construct that the combo can find in its Items: 

You also need to use DefaultSelectedItems: for viewing saved items, because Default: is used to pre-select a default item in the list when submitting new data - that item has not yet been selected by the user though and won't show in a combo like it does on a dropdown.

All things considered, you should probably use a dropdown for this - but assuming you must use a combo, then to get your Combo to display the saved text value, set it's DefaultSelectedItems: property to

{Value: Parent.Default}

This is a record construct the combo recognises as matching it's Items: input and should give you the result you're looking for.

Kind regards,

RT

[common_user]

Hi @RusselThomas, 

thank you for the solution, your explanation was clear and correct, finally working!

I have a last question about comboBox.

I would like to search words that starts with the first letter of the word I write, now it work with the letters that are contained in the word.

Can you help me please?

King regards

[RusselThomas · Accepted solution]

Hi @common_user ,

The combo has built in search functionality using the Search() function, which looks for matches using "contains".

What you're looking for is StartsWith() functionality - but you can't change a combobox search function to use StartsWith() instead of Search() - that's just the way it's built.

You could hack it to get that behaviour,  by filtering the Items: in the combo based on StartsWith() - It's not really affecting the search, it's actually filtering the available items before search is applied, but because it happens to the items as input into the combo, the effect is the same.  

For an Items: property containing a table it would look something like this;

Filter(myDataTable, StartsWith(ColumnToSearch, Self.SearchText))

In your case I think you're using an array, so it would look like this;

Filter(["name1", "name2", "name3"], StartsWith(Value, Self.SearchText))

Kind regards,

RT

[common_user]

Thank you very much @RusselThomas. That is that I was waiting for implement in my App. 

You are a Power Apps master for me.

I hope  you will help me again in the future.

Thank you again,

King regards,

LL