Combo Box values delay on appearing on a form

[Ady2marie]

I created an issue tracker application from a SharePoint list. The issue that I’m dealing with is that the there is a substantial amount of delay for the choices in a combo-box to display. The issue seems to occur when opening the application after hours of not using it and I try to create or edit a record on the form. The values will eventually appear if I click on other fields and then click on the Combo Box again. The form default property is:

DefaultMode=If(newMode, FormMode.New, editMode, FormMode.Edit, FormMode.View)

the combo box item property =

Choices([@'MyList'].'Role') 

Is there a better way to fetch these values when the form is in edit or new mode?

[WarrenBelz]

Hi @Ady2marie ,

Is Role a Choice or Lookup field and how many items are in the list displayed ?

[Ady2marie]

Hi @WarrenBelz,

I appreciate you taking the time to respond. Roles is a choice column in my Sharepoint List. There are only 4 choices to select from. The list currently has only 9 items but is anticipated to have at least 1,000 records in the future not sure if that impacts the choice. Hope that I’m answering your question correctly. 

[WarrenBelz]

@Ady2marie ,

OK - I was trying to eliminate one possibility which I know now is not the case. Rather than base your Form Mode on a Variable, why not simply set the Form Mode instead of setting the Variable

NewForm(FormName)

EditForm(FormName)

ViewForm(FormName)

It however probably does not explain a time delay on a Combo Box with that small number of items, but is worth a try.

[Ady2marie]

@WarrenBelz I will keep this option in mind thank you, you’re right it is a worth a try. I tried deleting the field from the form and adding it again first. Your question about what type of field it was reminded me that these columns were initially single text and then I changed them to choices after the app was created. Perhaps changing the column type after it has been created is causing some sort of issue. This is me hoping for a simple solution. So far it has been working but will need to test it more to confirm. 

[WarrenBelz]

Hi @Ady2marie ,

Have you re-created the data card since you changed the column type ?

[Ady2marie]

Hi @WarrenBelz ,

I did immediately after I made the change in column type. So the chance of this resolving my issue is small the only reason I gave it a shot was because the behavior is only occurring on the combo boxes that are tied to those columns. The other combo boxes are working as expected. I was also contemplating having the choices of the combo box in a collection. I was reading on how to do this but I’m still learning PoweraApps. Do you think that’s a possible solution to minimize delays? If so, how should I go about doing this? I’m avoiding changing the form more than necessary since I have other items that are dependent on the forms variable. So I’m exploring my options. 

[WarrenBelz · Accepted solution]

 @Ady2marie ,

I actually do not use SharePoint choice field unless I need the multiple value Table structure. It is easier (and more flexible) to use a Text field in SharePoint and hard-code the choices in the Items of the Combo Box (or get them off a list is that is what you need to do)

["Choice1", "Choice2", "Choice3", "Choice4"]

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[Ady2marie]

@WarrenBelz thanks for the suggestion. I created a Formula with these choices and then referenced them in the Combo Box. I still don’t have an explanation as to why I was experiencing a delay  but all that matters is that is working and the delay is gone. Thank you for your help! 

[WarrenBelz]

@Ady2marie ,

This method is "local" and makes no reference to the data source, so it will be a bit quicker, but not to the extent you were experiencing.