Auto Update SharePoint Data in a Live View

[Timmer2005]

I am new to power apps and am still learning. I have created a Sheet with a Gallery and have a checkbox inside the gallery. The checkbox currently shows checked or unchecked based on Yes/No column in SharePoint List. What I want to be able to do is check the box and see the check appear in SharePoint List without having to click a Save button. This application is being created to be used by multiple people at the same time and as someone updates the data everyone else should be able to see the data update in the app at the same time or within a second or two. Something similar would be like working in an Excel document saved in the cloud that everyone is working on simultaneously. Thank you for any help provided. 

[ANB]

Hi @Timmer2005 , Need to see the screenshot, however I would suggest to remove the Refresh code from the controls.

For the your second query about refreshing the data you can check what @Mike2500  is suggesting

OR

You can use timer control on app which will be hidden. lets say 2 to 3 seconds as duration. On Timer Start, you can use Refresh(TESTING11). The timer will have Auto start and Repeat is enable. So in this case every 2 to 3 seconds on the timer start the Refresh(TESTING11) will get the refreshed data for your collection.

Refreshing the data source which has huge data will impact the performance of your application.  So, use this feature wisely if you think that you really need refreshed data.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I hope this helps.

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.

Thanks,
ANB

[Timmer2005]

Hi @ANB thank you for the information. Between you and @Mike2500 it sounds as though there really is no way to build an app to act like excel and as data is updated others will see it almost instantaneously. I like the timer idea but with the type of data needing to be updated we have several people updating the data all at the same time, so the chances of overlap are there if there is too big of a delay in data update.  In our current state we use a filter formula to capture names which need to be viewed based on criteria. Then several colleagues update each row with data about each name. The issue is, when one name is deleted (which happens often) the row of data no longer lines up with the right name so copy and paste is needed to realign the rows. So, I was hoping to build an app to do the same thing but when a name is deleted the data already entered for all other names stays and no more copy paste is needed to realign data. If you have any other suggestions I do thank you for the input.

[Mike2500]

I'm not following what the app is doing, but two possible thoughts, which may or may not apply:

1. You mention that names are deleted often. I don't know what this means, but in case you're referring to deleting rows, perhaps doing a "soft delete" would work better. A soft delete is when you update a yes/no field that is named something like "deleted", and have most views default to only show rows where deleted = false. This can eliminate some issues, as the deleted row is still there (though, of course, this can cause additional issues, as the deleted row is still there).
2. If multiple people are trying to update the same row at the same time, this is usually either an indication that the data model is not designed as well as it could be, or there is a business process issue. For example, if 2 people need to update 30 rows, if they both spend time looking at the same row, then time is wasted, no matter how the system handled the edit conflict. It's far better to have an app allocate certain rows to each user, rather than have users taking time to update the same row and then discover that they were stepping on each others toes. OR, perhaps one row is storing multiple names, and both users will be updating one of those names on that same row. In this case, either a process is needed so that each user will only access the row one at a time, or the data model should be fixed so that names are stored in a child list, rather than as multiple values in the same row.

[Timmer2005]

Hi @Mike2500 thank you for the information. For more backstory, my team uses an excel document to track colleague information for classes. For the first part of the app, what I am trying to create revolves around attendance for classes. We mark if the colleague is in the meeting (we teach remote) or not. So, we may have 30 - 90 colleagues in the class and as they enter the meeting (almost at the exact same time) several trainers are in the spreadsheet placing an x next to the colleague's name (via a check in column) to identify if they are here or not. It works great as the shared excel file allows us to see when another trainer places an x or not for attendance. The issue arises when one of the colleagues is removed from the class at the last second (which happens in almost every class due to last minute changes). The colleague names are being generated via a filter formula and pulling their names from another spreadsheet based on certain criteria. So, when the name is deleted from the main list all the x's are now no longer lined up with the right names. And we also have another column for notes, so the notes no longer line up either. My thought was to create a more modern app to track attendance and while we all are in marking attendance as colleagues enter the meeting, we can see the info as its updated just like in excel. But if a name is deleted the attendance is hard coded in with the colleague's name so no shuffling of data would happen. I know this is long, but I hope it helps make more sense as to what I am trying to accomplish. Thank you for your time and expertise. If you or anyone know of a better solution, feel free to share as I am open to just about anything.

[Mike2500]

I still don't know what this means: "when the name is deleted from the main list all the x's are now no longer lined up with the right names", but I suspect there is something squirrely with the data model. If each name is a row, then everything would stay "lined up". But, for class attendance, it's unusual to delete names, and it is more standard to have a status, and if someone cancels, then have the status indicate that. Either way, if each name was on its own row, there would be no issues of things "lining up". 

To handle the conflicts, I'd populate a collection of the attendees, and add a column to that collection that's just an incrementing number. I'd also have a set of buttons in the app that ask the user which attendees they are checking in, with buttons of "all", "group 1", or "group 2". If they select group 1, the next user would automatically get group2. The app could then filter the list to only show odd or even rows (based on the custom column), which would eliminate any write conflicts. yes, you would need a list to store which mode the app is in, as you can't share data between sessions without using something like a list. 

edit: since you're refreshing, the odd/even may be tricky. It may be easier to split it up by last name, assigning people with names that start with  A-M to one user, and N-Z to the other. 

[Timmer2005]

Let me try showing.

This is a screen capture as we take attendance in excel. Colleague Name list is created from a master list on another sheet via a filter formula. The 8am, 9:30am, 1pm and Daily Notes columns are manually entered data.

And when we have a last-minute change to attendance (in image below Test 2 was removed from the master list), we delete the name no longer attending class and this is what happens. 

When the colleague is removed, we then have to go in and do a copy paste to rearrange the x's and the notes. So, I am trying to create the app where a colleague's row is stored in SharePoint and then we can just update the data and if a colleague is removed from master list (SP List) the check-ins and notes all stay with colleague.

[Mike2500]

Yeah, storing the attendance rows as rows will solve the issue of things shifting. That should be a solved issue using a sharepoint list instead of the current excel solution. Assigning half the list to each admin should solve the conflict issue, and should make the process easier for each admin. 

Or, for a more advanced solution, IF you're using Teams for the meeting, you can call the MS graph to get an attendance report after the meeting has ended, and automate the whole attendance process.