Left Navigation Navigate to

[sajarac]

Hi All,

I have followed this video, and I was able to build my left navigation component. However in my app I have 5 buttons 3 of them for the onselect property navigate to a selected screen and the other one open a share point library. And the last one open a PDF file. 

My question is ? how can I change the icons to perform those actions?

OnStart property :

Collect( NavBar, Table( { Title: "Home", Screen: WelcomeScreen, Icon: Home }, In my case I need the icon instead of navigate to the screen, launch an URL. I have changed Screen to Target, but by doing this the app open the URL on the start action.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Regards

[sajarac]

OK, I am getting only two icons in my gallery, but this is because I only put this "Your NavItems should be:"

So I need to put here the same items fas here ? "In your app, set the OnStart to:"

[RandyHayes]

@sajarac 

When you are editing the Component, you will only see the information supplied in your component properties.

This is all correct.  You should not be seeing the items defined in your app.

Once you have the component on your screen, you will set the NavItems to NavBar in the component that you have inserted into your screen.

[sajarac]

In the meantime I am going to give you half a baby yoda.

Still, a couple of things that are not working properly. But I will let you know.

But I will give you an A+

Thanks for your help and patience.

Regards

[RandyHayes · Accepted solution]

@sajarac 

Half a baby Yoda is better than no Yoda!!  

Here is what to put into your mind when working with components...

Think about creating a button component.  Yes, pretend that PowerApps had NO button control to add to your form.

So, you decide you're going to make one.  The first part that comes to mind is...you want to be able to reuse this component in every app you make.  SO, your component can have nothing to do with the current App in which you are creating the component.

You then proceed to add properties to your button component.  One you might want is a Text property so that you can display some text in the button.  So you make a property called Text and you set the Default to "Button".  When I say Default, I mean that you click on your component when creating it and then click on the Text property you just made and set it to "Button".  Then a label goes in your component and you set the Text property to : Parent.Text

Your new button now shows "Button" in the label of it.  Once you place your new component in the actual app, you set the Text property of it to show whatever you want in the button label (exactly what you do with a real button)...it then displays.

Just think about the above to let it sink in...you have not tied anything to your underlying app.  You can reuse this component in any app.  Easy enough!

The trouble people run into is with complex properties - like a Record or a Table property.  One thing you cannot do in a component is to NOT define the schema of the record or table.  Unlike a Gallery or Dropdown or any other control in PowerApps with an Items property that can be ANY schema, with components you have to define the schema for those properties.  So, in the formulas I last provided, that is exactly what I did, defined the Default Schema of the NavItems table and its records.  

Now as you're designing your component, you can alter that as needed and provide new records to accommodate the things you want, but they are all just Defaults like the Text property.  In your App with the inserted component, you would THEN change the property to reflect what you want.  In your case, the variable table that you made in the OnStart.

The moral of the story...if you create a table with schema in the underlying app and then use that for the Default in the Component designer, your component is now dependent on the underlying app and would not be usable in any other app you create.  Technically, the designer should prevent you from using it, but it currently doesn't.  So it should just be avoided.

Hopefully pretty clear and helpful info here.

[sajarac]

You deserve it my friend.

Such a nice explanation.

[RandyHayes]

@sajarac 

And you know I was just working for that other half of the baby Yoda!!  🤣😂🤣