When I run the Remove function on multiple records, it fails to remove some of the records.

[Fuku-Shima]

I am trying to delete multiple records in a SharePoint list with the following code.

Refresh('Table');
Remove(
  'Table',
  Filter('Table',ItemType = XX)
)

When this process is executed, it may fail to delete some records.
I have confirmed with the Monitor tool that the response of the deleteRows operation that is causing the error has the following contents.
"status": 400, "message": "Exception from HRESULT: 0x80131904 ...."

I've been using this app and SharePoint site for about a year, and I've noticed that the deletion process has been failing more frequently in the past few days compared to a year ago.
If there are more than 20 items to be deleted, the deletion process fails at least once in two times.
Incidentally, I don't feel that errors occur frequently in the insert and update processes.

I found a similar question, but I could not solve it with just this information.
> https://powerusers.microsoft.com/t5/General-Power-Automate/Exception-from-HRESULT-0x80131904-when-de...

I understand that this error is caused by a combination of factors, but I don't know where to start checking.
Please let me know the possible causes of the problem or give me some advice.
I would also appreciate it if you could ask me some questions to help me identify the cause.

Thanks in advance.

[v-bofeng-msft]

Hi @Fuku-Shima :

Could you tell me:

Is the number of items in your data source greater than 500? If so, due to delegation, your remove operation may only be effective for the first 500 items.(You can set the threshold to a maximum of 2000)

In addition,maybe it is more stable to delete one by one:

Refresh('Table');
ForAll(
    Filter('Table',ItemType = XX) As A,
    Remove('Table',LookUp('Table',ID=A.ID));Notify("Deleting Item ID."&A.ID)
)

Best Regards,

Bof

[RusselThomas]

Hi @Fuku-Shima ,

I think you're right, indications seem to point to a source issue, not a PowerApps issue - is this SharePoint Online or on premises? 

Either way, I don't know what the underlying cause is, or whether this make a difference, and I like what @v-bofeng-msft suggested, but perhaps something else you can try is using RemoveIf() instead of a Filter?  Might result in the same Odata query and give you the same errors, but perhaps worth a try.

// Refresh('Table');  
//Try testing without this before the remove function, or place it after. 
RemoveIf(
  'Table',
  ItemType = XX
  )

I'm also curious as to the use of Refresh() before the remove - is it necessary?

I suspect it's an asynchronous call, in which case it might still be running when you run your remove - not sure if that could create a conflict, but try testing without it, or placing it after the Remove() function?

Hope you come right, let us know if anything works 🙂

Kind regards,

RT 

[Fuku-Shima]

Hi @v-bofeng-msft 
Thanks for the reply.

I have well over 2000 items in my data source.
Therefore, I am careful that the result of the Filter I am running in Remove does not exceed the delegation limit.
Also, I was able to run Remove even with more than 10000 items, so I don't think the delegation issue is affecting this case.

The code you gave me gave me the error "This function cannot operate on the same data source used in ForAll", so I tried the following code. (The message may be a little different from your screen, as I am using it in a Japanese environment.)

Refresh('Table');
ForAll(
    Filter('Table',ItemType = XX).ID As A,
    Remove('Table',LookUp('Table',ID=A.ID));Notify("Deleting Item ID."&A.ID)
)

 I tried several times and was able to succeed in deleting about 200 records. Thank you.

However, in the case of iterative processing using ForAll, I am concerned about the following, since the getRows and deleteRow operations are repeated one record at a time.
(1) Limitation on the amount of API calls
In our environment, the plan is to call the API up to 2000 times a day. Therefore, we are worried about wasting the amount of API calls due to a large number of repetitive operations.
(2) Execution speed
When we tested it, we found out that it takes about 3 minutes to delete 200 items using ForAll.
I feel that the processing is slowed down by the getRows operation that occurs for each record.

I would be very happy if you could continue to give me advice.
Thank you in advance.

[Fuku-Shima]

Hi @RusselThomas 
Thanks for the reply.

The data source I'm using is a SharePoint Online list.

The table to be removed has more than 2000 records, so I am using Remove('Table',Filter(,,)) instead of RemoveIf.

Since my application is designed to have more than 1000 users, I thought there was a high possibility of an error due to ETAG mismatch, so I wrote Refresh() before Remove().
I am referring to the following question about errors due to ETAG mismatch.
https://powerusers.microsoft.com/t5/Building-Power-Apps/Server-Response-ETAG-mismatch-clientRequestI...

Let me ask you one question.
I thought Refresh() was a function for synchronous calls, but is it an asynchronous function? If Remove() is executed without waiting for Refresh() to complete, then it needs to be replaced by another means. (For example, executing it with OnVisible on the screen.)
I couldn't understand it just from the Refresh function description page, so I hope you can tell me.

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/powerapps/maker/canvas-apps/functions/function-refresh

Please continue your advice.

Kind regards.

[RusselThomas]

hi @Fuku-Shima ,

To be honest, I'm not sure - it's maybe not the best test, but if I add a button to do something like this;

Refresh(Source);
UpdateContext({var: true})

and update a record in the backend, when I monitor the Network activity after pushing the button (using the browser devtools), it looks like the variable update happens immediately while the Refresh() is still getting data back, which looks like PowerApps is not waiting for the Refresh() to complete before moving on to the next line of code.

You can see this in a gallery when you update the data in SPO then hit refresh in the App, the variable updates long before the gallery updates.

It's not definitive, but I would expect the variable update to happen more or less at the same time as the Gallery update if it was synchronous...

Kind regards,

RT

[Fuku-Shima]

hi @RusselThomas 

Thanks for the reply.

I have tried commenting out Refresh() and deleting multiple records with Remove(), but unfortunately I get the same error as before.

Also, since my app does not use a gallery with the value of the data source set in the Items property, the display refresh process that is performed as a result of Refresh() in that example does not seem to be executed. So I don't think there is any possibility of a data exchange conflict in Refresh.

I would be very happy to continue with your advice.
Thank you for your time.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

[RusselThomas]

Hi @Fuku-Shima ,

Bearing in mind, I think we're still looking at a source issue, not a PowerApps issue - so anything we try in PowerApps is only an attempt to work around what appears to be a source issue - meaning it may not be possible to work around it at all.  But we can keep trying until we've exhausted all avenues 🙂

Some additional questions:

• Is this SharePoint Online, or SharePoint on premises?
• If Online, is this a global commercial public cloud tenant? (i.e. not a specialised government or controlled tenant, i.e. Government, China, Germany or similar)  
• Is there a row count threshold where you can reliably delete rows without an error every time?  (even if it's just two rows, it helps to know where the threshold is)
• Ignoring delegation for now, do you get the same issue using RemoveIf()
• Do you get the same issue running this on a different list in a different site?

Kind regards,

RT 

[Fuku-Shima]

hi @RusselThomas 

Thanks for the reply.

• Is this SharePoint Online, or SharePoint on premises?

The data source we are using is SharePoint Online.

• If Online, is this a global commercial public cloud tenant? (i.e. not a specialised government or controlled tenant, i.e. Government, China, Germany or similar)  

The environment we are using is a global commercial public cloud tenant

• Is there a row count threshold where you can reliably delete rows without an error every time? (even if it's just two rows, it helps to know where the threshold is)

I tried several times, but could not find the threshold.
I have never gotten an error when requesting a deletion of two rows.
However, I have had only one successful request to delete 10 rows.

• Ignoring delegation for now, do you get the same issue using RemoveIf()

Using RemoveIf(), I was able to successfully delete almost 200 records.
However, since my app is designed to have a data source of more than 2000 records, RemoveIf() is not a solution.

• Do you get the same issue running this on a different list in a different site?

It is not immediately possible to prepare a different list in a different site for verification, so I will try it later and report back.
Incidentally, I have a similar problem with a different list on a different subsite within the same site.

I would appreciate your continued advice.
Kind regards.

[Neha · Accepted solution]

Hi @Fuku-Shima , 

Did you try indexing the column on your Sharepoint list that you use in your filter? Indexing helps in delegation performance.

It seems RemoveIf can also be delegated if the criteria is delegable , please refer to this post https://powerusers.microsoft.com/t5/Building-Power-Apps/RemoveIF-function-and-PowerApps/td-p/918852 .

Also try using primary ID column in your filter and see if that makes a difference in the error you receive.

Thanks,

Neha