Filtering changes the behavior of the Choices function: it no longer includes all persons in the directory, but only those already present in the SharePoint list.

[benramsay2]

With a Combo Box on powerApps I can search through persons (a column called Friend in a Sharepoint List, of type Person)

This initial code in Items field was working well :

Choices([@List].Friend)

In some case we want to filter the person from "Spain". So I write this code to replace the first one:

Filter(
    AddColumns(
        Choices([@List].Friend),
        Country,
        LookUp(
            Office365Users.SearchUser({searchTerm: DisplayName}),
            Email = ThisRecord.Mail,
            Country
        )
    ),
    Country="Spain"
)

The problem of this code, is that is no more suggesting persons from all the company, but just from the Sharepoint List. So if a user has never been in that list I can not add it...
Is it possible to make this second code look and suggest persons from all the company and not just person from the SharePoint list ?

I am new with powerApps. Any help would be greatly appreciated! 

[WarrenBelz · Accepted solution]

Hi @benramsay2 ,

 Unfortunately, you need to go one way or the other with your Items - either use Choices() as you have which will limit the selection to existing entries, or do this

Filter(
   Office365Users.SearchUser({searchTerm: Self.SearchText}),
   Country = "Spain"
)

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.

MVP (Business Applications)   Visit my blog Practical Power Apps

[benramsay2]

Hi @WarrenBelz 

The function

Choices([@List].Friend)

returns a table with a "Picture" column, which can be used with the combobox to display users' photos in the dropdown suggestions provided by the combobox.

I tried exploring the direction you suggested, and indeed, it solves the first problem above. However, this function doesn't render the user photos. So I changed it into the following expression. So, theoretically, this should result in an table with a Photo column:

AddColumns(
   Filter(
      Office365Users.SearchUser({searchTerm:Combobox_1.SearchText, top:10}),
      Country = "Spain"
   ),
   Photo,
   Office365Users.UserPhotoV2(Mail)
)

But when I use this column "Photo" with the combobox, the users' photos do not appear in the suggestions provided by the combobox in the DropDown, as was the case when using the "Picture" column returned by the Choices function. 

Note that if I use the above function with another component, like the Gallery component, I can visualize the users photos. Why the combobox component does not recognise the images in this "Photo" column. It was working well with the images in the "Picture" column of the table returned by the Choices function. 

Do you know how to fix that and make the photos of the users visible on the combobox (next to the suggestions on the dropdown related to the combobox)

[WarrenBelz]

Hi @benramsay2 ,

Yes you are correct that Pictures in Combo Boxes generally need to be looking at a Person field structure to work (the setting to specify which table element represents the picture is disabled when another format is in the Items). Also displaying the user Photo using UserPhotoV2 will work fine as long as you can tell the Image control to use that reference (such as in a Gallery). Bear in mind you can make a Gallery behave almost like a Combo Box.

[benramsay2]

Hi @WarrenBelz 

Do you mean that with the combobox since I need to filter with the country, I should go with this function

Office365Users.SearchUser(...)

and not the 

Choices([@List].Friend)

And if I'm not utilizing this new function, it's impossible to retrieve photos of individuals, particularly if I wish to maintain the use of a combobox (since it's a bug fix and I'd prefer not to alter the nature of the components), correct?

btw, I tried to set the picture in the combobox in this way, but it does not work. The image are still invisible.
 

I tried also to see inside the html code of the combobox:
1/ when using the Picture returned by Choices method, powerApps generate a well formed url toward the photos (based on the email of the person).

<img src="https://blabla.sharepoint.com/sites/Global_HR/app_name/_layouts/115/UserPhoto.aspx?Size=L&amp;AccountName=userEmail@company.com" /> 

2/ when I use the Picture (or Photo) returned by the following expression the <img /> generated in html is as follow (and not working)

AddColumns(
   Filter(
      Office365Users.SearchUser({searchTerm:Combobox_1.SearchText, top:10}),
      Country = "Spain"
   ),
   Photo,
   Office365Users.UserPhotoV2(Mail)
)

the html:

<img src="appres://blobmanager/d42cb7510b044632a9c5e0a5244/69" />

[WarrenBelz · Accepted solution]

Hi @benramsay2 , 

OK - I learned something here with a lot of experimenting, this seems to work

ShowColumns(
    AddColumns(
        RenameColumns(
            Filter(
                Office365Users.SearchUser({searchTerm: Self.SearchText}),
                Country = "Spain"
            ),
            Mail,
            Email
        ),
        Claims,
        "i:0#.f|membership|" & Lower(Email),
        Picture,
        "https://yourdomain.sharepoint.com/_layouts/15/userphoto.aspx?username=" & Email
    ),
    Claims,
    Department,
    DisplayName,
    Email,
    JobTitle,
    Picture
)

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.

MVP (Business Applications)   Visit my blog Practical Power Apps

[benramsay2]

Hi @WarrenBelz 
I see, your code is creating the same structure returned by the Choices method, which well accepted by the combobox.

I tried to use your code, and I am happy to see for the first time a string in the <img src="HERE" /> component of the html output. It was always empty.
But way in my case it is not the Url we are adding to the Picture column. By some magic powerApps put in src="..." the content of the column DisplayName not the content of the column Picture. 

This would be working if that string inside src="..." is the right Url (the content of the Picture column). I mean:

"https://yourdomain.sharepoint.com/_layouts/15/userphoto.aspx?username=" & Email

Btw, the single small change I did is regarding the urls. On my case they looks like this:

"https://yourdomain.sharepoint.com/sites/Global_HR/application_name/_layouts/15/UserPhoto.aspx?Size=L&AccountName=" & Email

 What could explain why the content of DisplayName is in the HTML image tag <img src="HERE" /> (at the output), instead of the URL that is in the Picture column?

[WarrenBelz]

@benramsay2 ,

Sorry but I do not fully understand your question. Firstly is the picture displaying in the combo box as per your requirements?

[benramsay2]

Hi @WarrenBelz 
I have just reorder 

    Claims,
    Department,
    DisplayName,
    Email,
    JobTitle,
    Picture

to 

    Claims,
    Department,
    Picture,    // <---- HERE
    DisplayName,
    Email,
    JobTitle

And that start showing images. I don't understand the reason. 
Many thinks @WarrenBelz you helped me a lot!

[WarrenBelz]

@benramsay2 ,

Yes that Combo Box structure seems a bit “shaky” as I have another variation not working.