Appended Comments

[AdamH]

I have been fighting with this little problem for a while now. 

I have seen SEVERAL posts around this subject and yet I still cannot find a stable solution. 

I watched a post on youtube by Shane Young and got the appended comments to work. I was able to enter a comment, it would post (using patch) to the sharepoint list, and then display the comment back in the PowerApp. However there was a small bug.

As soon as another field within the record was changed, the comments in the 'Note History' field vanished - but still remained within the sharepoint list and no longer display.

This is what I have so far: 

Has anyone concurred this issue? 

[AdamH]

Hi @WarrenBelz 

I have double checked the 'Notes' column in SharePoint and the data is indeed still here - just refusing to show in the app once another column (field) is edited. 

I was doing some further research and Initially Shane Young advised to use Patch, I'm still learning so I looked Patch up. I'm wondering that by using SubmitForm(EditForm1) is having an effect on all of the columns where as Patch and Updateif only affects columns that have been changed. 

I'm starting to run out of idea's with this one. 

[WarrenBelz · Accepted solution]

@AdamH ,

You can try to Patch the contents of that form, but if the data is in SharePoint and not displaying with the formula

LookUp(
    'NC MST Tracker',
    ID = BrowseGallery1.Selected.ID
).Notes

there may be something wrong with the HTMLBox. As an experiment, put a Rich Text Editor on the screen with the same formula and change its DisplayMode to View.

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.

[AdamH]

Hi @WarrenBelz 

Exactly the same behaviour. 

I have HTMLText above the Rich Text Editor, as soon as I enter a note and press save, it appears in both HTML and Rich Text windows. As soon as i come away and edit another field in the record and return to the notes screen, the comment has gone. 

If I was to select the edit record 'pencil' but not change anything, and select the tick to SubmitForm(EditForm1) - the notes are still there. Its only if i physically change the contents of a field and then select the tick does it cause the issue.

[WarrenBelz]

@AdamH ,

Sorry, that was my last throw of the dice . . . almost

The whole point is that the data is in SharePoint and should simply be referenced by the control when it is displayed.

The saving of a form on another screen should be totally irrelevant to this, even if it is on the same list (if you do not change this field).

Try to (and this is bad practice) refresh the list when you enter the screen with the HTML on it.

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.

[AdamH]

@WarrenBelz 

Unfortunately that did not work either. I take it you have made a little test app or already have this type of example in your library - I wounder if it's something to do with my Column setting. 

I have my 'Notes' column set as:

• multi lines of text
• Number of lines for editing: 20
• Specify the type of text to allow: Rich Text
• Append Changes: Yes

Does that look right?

[WarrenBelz]

@AdamH ,

Yes - it needs to be Plain Text - you are already generating HTML, so no need for SharePoint to do it for you.

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.

[AdamH]

@WarrenBelz 

I changed that to plain but still didn't fix the issue. I think the ONLY thing I can try now is to find a different command to replace SubmitForm(EditFrom1) with a possible Patch or Updateif

After that.... I'll need to rethink and maybe use another software package. 

[Anonymous]

@AdamH I have been fighting the exact same problem and it is driving me crazy. I am using the same appended comments functions from a Rich Text Editor that I saw from Reza Dorani Power Apps append changes to existing text (Append Comments) - YouTube.  In addition, I have been using Patch(form.updates) to change the data and the system picks and chooses which comments disappear, at least that is the way it seems at the moment. I tried all of the methods above as well with no success.  All of the historical data is in SharePoint, but it disappears at some point in my Power Apps.  Hope you find a solution because I could sure use one.  This is one of the more important parts of my app. 

[Anonymous]

@AdamH , I found a solution to the same issue I was having, not sure if would solve your problem, but I figured I would share.  

Patch('SP List Name',varFormData,'Form1'.Updates,{Comments: User().FullName & " " & Now() & " " & RichTextComments_5.HtmlText & HtmlText6_1.HtmlText})

varFormData= Set(varFormData,Defaults('SP List Name')

Comments= Comments column in SP that allows appended comments

RichTextComments_5= This is a RichTextEditor in which the person enters their comments

HtmlText6_1 = This is a HTMLText Box that displays the historical comments inputted

In my app there are several different pages and each one has its own richtexteditor and htmltext box so the button on each page references those corresponding boxes.  So far it has been working pretty well.

In some testing I was also able to determine that the historical comments in my app would disappear if someone made any updates to the item in SharePoint rather than in the app itself.  The only thing I can figure is that when the change was made in SharePoint, a new version of the task was made and therefore it would create a new version of appended comments clearing out the old ones in the app although they would still remain in the SharePoint List. I know it has been a while since your question and you may have already determined a solution, but hopefully it may save someone the same frustration has caused me. 

[monalo]

@Anonymous  I'm having this same issue. Where is it that you're inputting the Patch() function? Also, still pretty new to PowerApps, but how and where are you setting the variable for vaFormData?