Update Sharepoint List with PowerApp

[yunho_534]

Hello,

I am completely new to PowerApps and I've searched for hours trying to find the answer to this problem I have, but either the solutions I've found don't work for my specific situation or I am not knowledgeable enough to apply the solutions properly.

I have a sharepoint list containing some columns that are prefilled and others that aren't. For example, let's say that I have the following item in my sharepoint list:

ID	Email	Date	Status	Comments
1	Asdf@asdf.com

So the first two columns are already filled and the other three aren't. The PowerApp already has the [Date] pre-populated with today's date, [Status] is a drop-down list, and [Comments] is a long-text. Both ID (system-generated) and Email are hidden in the PowerApp since I don't want those to be edited.

I have a Power App form that contains those three columns as fields for the user to fill in with a submit button.

I also have a Power Automate flow that sends the user an email with the link to the PowerApp as soon as the item is created in the Sharepoint List so that they can submit the form in PowerApp to update the item with the other three columns filled in.

Whenever I press the submit button on the PowerApp, a new item gets generated like below:

ID	Email	Date	Status	Comment
1	Asdf@asfd.com
2		8/10/2021	Complete	Blah Blah Blah

Instead, I need all of the information updated to the first line like this:

ID	Email	Date	Status	Comment
1	Asdf@asdf.com	8/10/2021	Complete	Blah Blah Blah

I've looked into form edit, patch function, matching by ID, and tons of videos., but nothing seems to be working.

I would appreciate any help with this issue.

Also, apologies if there's already a solution to this issue, I probably just don't know how to make that solution work in my case.

Thank you!

[RandyHayes]

@yunho_534 

See the thing is...I'm not really sure what it is that you're trying to do from the app perspective.

Usually an app will have some sort of list (gallery) that has the records that can be edited.  A user selects one and then edits.

In your case, it sounds like you are trying to skip that step by passing in some record ID in the URL.  This is fine if that is what you want, although it could be problematic. 

[yunho_534]

@RandyHayes 

Yeah, I want the PowerApp to act as a form that will record the user's responses and for those responses to be updated to the item in the list. It seems like the PowerApp has limitations to this and the only other way of getting this done is to have the responses recorded to a separate list and then to join that list with the list containing the pre-filled information.

[RandyHayes]

@yunho_534 

No, this is actually quite easy in PowerApps, but what we are still missing here is the link of the user using the app to a record in the list.

As you saw in your post, you had a record in the list (ID 1) and then you ran the app to update the items, but, since your Item property for the form is empty, it has no connection to record 1 and thus...it created record 2.

If you can describe more about the list and how it relates to the user using the app.  Is it the email address that is relevant?  Will there only be one record per email address?

[yunho_534]

@RandyHayes 

The field that I want to use to link the PowerApp to the SP list is the system generated ID field. Should I just create a separate ID column to use as a link?

Right now, we have only one email per item, but there are discussions as to whether to allow multiple responses per item. In which case, I could definitely see it getting more complicated.

[RandyHayes]

@yunho_534 

I apologize that I am still not seeing your connection of the list to the user.  You can generate and create whatever in the list, but what is it that then connects to the user?  

If I create an item in a list, that does not mean anything to a user.  If the user starts the App...what will connect them to the list item?  And what is it that would have prompted the user to even go into the app to begin with?

[yunho_534]

@RandyHayes 

Not at all, it's my mistake not answering your question clearly.

Once I create a Sharepoint Item which includes the email for the user, there is a Power Automate flow that automatically emails the user with a link to the PowerApp. They can access the PowerApp form via the link in the email to fill out the form and submit.

[JayashreeKrish]

Hi 

Looks like an easy task but I'm unable  to debug without seeing ur actual canvas app. Can u once ensure if you are following  the same steps as this link -  https://www.c-sharpcorner.com/article/create-sharepoint-online-customize-list-form-with-powerapps-ca...

[JayashreeKrish]

No this is not required 

[RandyHayes · Accepted solution]

@yunho_534 

Okay...making some progress now!

So then the URL is most likely the best place to pass in the record identifier.  So, let's say that you have created a parameter on the URL called RecordID.

With that you can set the Item property of your form to : LookUp(yourDataList, ID=Value(Param("RecordID")))

Now, that is easy enough, but you might want to consider something more secure.  If your email url has a link that has something like ?RecordID=1 then anyone could simply modify the url and change to some other ID.

I'd recommend using a GUID as your record identifier.  But either way, the above on your Item property is what you are looking for.

[yunho_534]

@JayashreeKrish 

Hello,

I pretty much follow the same directions for setting up the PowerApp and connecting it to my SP List. I don't have an issue with my responses from the PowerApp form being recorded into the SP List. The issue is that they're being recorded as a new item, rather than updating the currently existing item.

@RandyHayes 

Before I test your solution out, should I do something about the OnSuccess property that I currently have in place? I currently have this:

Set(currentRecord,Form1.LastSubmit.ID)