Power Platform Community Forum Thread Details

Session bleeding in Multistep forms

I'm using power pages with a multistep form

I have the following structure.

Client (parent)

Business (child)

In my multistep form

I want to set a Client (parent) and then 3 seperate business for that client (using different steps but the same dataverse table) in this format

Client (insert) - Client (edit) - Business "a" (insert) - Business "a" (edit) - Business "b" (insert) - Business "b" (edit) - Business "c" (insert) - Business "c" (edit)

However the details from Business "a" is bleeding into Business "b" whereas I'm expecting it to create a new record in the Business table (meaning that I'm just editing the same table record even though it's in insert mode)

I'm certain I was able to add 3 records like this 2 years ago,

For this I CANNOT use subgrids (which would otherwise have been my go to answer)

Categories:

Power Apps portals

Hello Lee-Martin ,

Thanks for raising the question in Q&A forum.

The "bleeding" occurs because multistep form sessions persist step history and record IDs across tests, causing subsequent Business insert steps to reference the prior record instead of creating new ones—even in insert mode. This changed from older portal behavior (pre-2023), requiring explicit session cleanup and precise step configs for multiple child inserts on the same table.

Clear Sessions First
Navigate to Power Pages Management app → Content → Multistep Forms → open your form → Sessions tab → delete all records (or filter by user/contact). Then Sync the site and test incognito. This resolves stale history from prior runs.

Step-by-Step Config in Design Studio/Portal Mgmt
Use Portal Management for precision (Design Studio for initial setup). Ensure Client steps create/update properly, propagating clientid query string.

Step 1 (Client Insert): Load Form → Client basic form → Create new record → Label "Create Client". Output query param: clientid.
Step 2 (Client Edit): Load Form → Client basic form → Update existing record → Record source: Query String → Primary Key Param: clientid → Key Attribute: clientid → Next step chains to Business A.
Step 3 (Business A Insert): Load Form → Business basic form → Create new record → Associated Table Reference: Set Client lookup = clientid (from prior step). Label "Add Business A". Output param: businessid_a.
Step 4 (Business A Edit): Load Form → Business basic form → Update existing record → Record source: Query String → Primary Key Param: businessid_a → Key Attribute: businessid.
Repeat for B (businessid_b) and C (businessid_c), chaining Next Step sequentially and reusing clientid for each insert's parent link. Save, publish forms, Sync site.

Permissions & Troubleshooting
Grant web role (e.g., Authenticated Users) parent perms on Client (Read/Write/Create, Contact access via relation) + child on Business (Create/Read/Write, same scope). Verify no shared record source across Business steps. If bleed persists, use distinct basic forms per Business pair or add JS to clear form fields on load. Test: Submit yields 1 Client + 3 Businesses linked correctly.

If helpful, please accept the answer and support the community.

Best Regards,

Jerald Felix

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