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Discover how to create dropdowns in Power Apps, customise properties, and integrate with data sources like SharePoint in this easy-to-follow guide.
Dropdowns in Power Apps are a simple yet effective way to offer users a selection from a predefined list, saving space and ensuring consistency.
In this blog, we’ll cover the basics of creating a dropdown, working with data sources like SharePoint, and customising properties.
Whether you’re new to Power Apps or refining your skills, this guide will walk you through everything you need to know to get started.
A dropdown is an input control that can be used to contain a list of options for a user to select from. They are great for condensing screen space whilst restricting the input options to a pre-determined set of choices.
Microsoft defines it as “A list that shows only the first item unless the user opens it”.
Default – The value of the dropdown unless it is changed.
Items – The data source. If the data source has multiple columns, you will need to set the Value property as well to specify the column
AllowEmptySelection – Does what is says on the tin. Allows the user to choose a blank value if set to true and forces the user to pick an option if it is false.
A dropdown’s primary use is granting the user the ability to input data from a predefined list of options. They are excellent for interacting with choice columns in a database.
Whilst you can do this without connecting to a data source, the chances are that you will be connecting to a data source.
To use one without a data source, you can add this expression to the dropdown’s Items property:
[“Chester”, “Manchester”, “Liverpool”, “Wrexham”]
This example will follow with a data source – namely SharePoint Using the previously created list – Pet_data and app template.
You will need a data source to connect to In this example, I will be using SharePoint with some sample data, but you can use any that you have. If you wish to follow this example download the pet_data.xlsx csv file In your SharePoint site select New > List Select “from CSV” On the import screen select “Title” for the pet's name and click next Click create on the confirmation popup This will then import the list and make it available to you https://.sharepoint.com/sites//Lists/pet_data/
Now you should come across a few errors, as to be expected when changing a data type. The first error we will tackle is on the Browse Screen where ThisItem.’Pet Type’ has become invalid. Choices are effectively small tables. So, by simply referencing the table the app does not have enough information to know which field to pull through. To fix this we must specify that what we want is the value of the choice. Therefore, ThisItem.’Pet Type’.Value will give the app enough information to pull the correct information.
Having now created a dropdown from a choices column, have a play with the properties and design of the dropdown so you become familiar with it. Ready for a challenge? Create yourself a People picker dropdown.
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