In this Pragmatic Works tutorial, Nate Halliwell walks viewers through an effective method for filtering galleries in a Power Apps canvas app using multiple selected items from a ComboBox—without running into delegation issues. While this approach is ideal for Dataverse tables, it can also work with SharePoint, although with delegation warnings.
Overview of the App
- The app is built on top of an asset management dataset.
- Assets include laptops, desks, monitors, and more—each tagged by asset type and total quantity.
- The goal is to allow users to filter asset types using a multi-select ComboBox and further filter them by quantity using a slider control.
Step-by-Step Implementation
1. Setting Up the Gallery
- Nate begins by creating a new blank screen in the canvas app.
- A vertical gallery is added and connected to the
Assets table.
- The gallery displays the asset name, type (retrieved from a related table), and total quantity.
2. Adding a Multi-Select ComboBox
- Insert a ComboBox and set its data source to the
Asset Types lookup table.
- Enable the "Allow multiple selections" toggle.
- This allows the user to select multiple asset types, converting the ComboBox into a checklist format.
3. Filtering the Gallery Based on ComboBox Selections
Nate shows how to use a Filter() function to filter the gallery:
Filter(
Assets,
'Asset Type'.'Asset Type' in ComboBox2.SelectedItems.'Asset Type'
)
- He explains that because "Asset Type" is a lookup field, dot notation is necessary.
- The
SelectedItems property of the ComboBox returns a table of selected values.
- Comparison is done using the GUIDs of the selected asset types to avoid delegation issues.
- Intellisense does not always assist here, so developers may need to manually enter column names.
4. Verifying ComboBox Filter
- With the ComboBox filter applied, users can filter the gallery dynamically by selecting and deselecting items.
- If no items are selected, all assets are shown by default—no additional logic is needed to handle empty selections.
5. Adding a Quantity Filter Using a Slider
- A slider is inserted to filter assets based on the minimum total quantity.
- Its maximum value is dynamically set using the
Max() function to reference the highest quantity value in the dataset.
- A label is added to display the current slider value for reference.
6. Combining Multiple Filters
The ComboBox and slider filters are then combined using multiple logical tests in the Filter() function:
Filter(
Assets,
'Asset Type'.'Asset Type' in ComboBox2.SelectedItems.'Asset Type',
'Total Quantity' >= Slider2.Value
)
- Each additional logical test is added using a comma in the
Filter() function.
- This setup allows users to filter by asset type and by quantity simultaneously.
- It ensures flexibility while avoiding delegation issues common in SharePoint scenarios.
Key Takeaways
- This method works best with Dataverse but can be adapted for SharePoint with caution.
- Using
SelectedItems with GUIDs enables filtering without delegation warnings.
- ComboBox and slider filters can be combined effectively in a single
Filter() function.
- Manual configuration may be required due to limited Intellisense support for ComboBox.SelectedItems.
This walkthrough simplifies a commonly requested feature—multi-select filtering—and demonstrates a reliable, scalable way to implement it using Power Apps canvas apps and Dataverse. Nate’s practical example makes it easy to follow and apply to real-world applications.
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