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Power Platform Community / Forums / Power Apps / Bulk edit form control...
Power Apps
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Bulk edit form controls/datacard keys

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Posted on by 7
Finding PowerApps to be extremely unintuitive in many ways. Basic functionality we had 20 years ago completely absent, e.g. rich text formatting, 'select all' options, etc.

Could anyone possibly tell me why in the year 2025 there still is not a way to bulk edit form controls? Specifically, I have forms with e.g. 80 fields. The data cards are generated automatically when I select a SharePoint list as my data source. Great. But the formatting is all default. 

Is there any way (I'm 99% there is not) to edit the formatting for all the datacard keys at once?

Either by selecting multiple datacard keys, or editing the form's code, or setting a default formatting, or whatever?

Is it really necessary for me to go through 50-something forms, often with 50-80 fields, and edit the formatting for each one individually? Madness!
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  • Suggested answer
    Power Platform 1919 Profile Picture
    1,890 on at

    Hey @RB-23071539-0, here’s a cleaner way to do it:

    1. Export the form’s view code (YAML/JSON).

    2. Feed it to an AI and ask it to spot repeating control types—DatePickers, TextInputs, ComboBoxes, etc.—and bundle each type into its own template.

    3. Have the AI generate a small Python script (easy to follow) that applies your styling to each template.

    4. Adjust the template as you like, run the script to rebuild the full form code, then re-import.

    Instead of clicking through 80 cards, you tweak one template and regenerate the entire form in seconds if not minutes, and you can dump it back.

    Also, a quick heads-up: when you re-import(pasting back) that regenerated file, Power Apps might throw a “webpage is unresponsive” warning. Just hit “Continue” or give it a few seconds -it usually finishes loading your updated form without any issues.

    It’s ridiculously faster gives you pixel-perfect consistency, and when you want to tweak the look later, you just tweak your Python template instead of hunting through dozens of forms. Until Microsoft builds a real “bulk edit” feature, this code-driven shortcut is a lifesaver for me.

  • WarrenBelz Profile Picture
    153,075 Most Valuable Professional on at
    This is a "hack" that has been around undocumented for many years.
     
    When you first create the form, select it and change the Layout on the right panel from Vertical to Horizontal (or reverse if necessary), then select the Undo button (top left to the right of the <- Back button). You will now notice that all the controls in the left tree are highlighted. Hold down the Ctrl key and de-select the ones you are not working on (I leave the Labels first) and update all the required properties. Repeat as necessary for the different types on controls.Note that there are several items that can be possibly done on all the controls before moving to individual categories (Font, FontSize, BorderColor etc).
     
    The other (but slower) option (the above does not work after a lot of changes have been made) is to format one control of each type and paste them into all the relevant Data Cards. Copy the name of the existing control, delete this control and rename the new one to that name. You will have to adjust things like Items of Combo Boxes and possibly a few other things you have changed. Still way quicker than formatting every control (especially the amount of changes I make).
     
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  • RB-23071539-0 Profile Picture
    7 on at
    Hi @WarrenBelz, thank you for your response. I actually saw the vertical/horizontal trick recommended but cannot replicate it however much I try, even if it is the first thing I do after selecting my SharePoint list as the data source and regenerating the datacards. I think it may no longer work, unless you can confirm otherwise? I also cannot select/deselect multiple controls from different fields using Ctrl. I can do so with controls within the same field, but not between different fields.

    The second suggestion seems just as difficult for my use case (creating a form automatically from a SharePoint list of 80+ columns), if I have to go through each field, link it to a new source, change the names, position, etc.

    @Power Apps 1919 thank you for the reply. I have actually tried this method two, but could not see a way to paste/import the edited code back into my app. Am I missing something?

     
  • WarrenBelz Profile Picture
    153,075 Most Valuable Professional on at
    Yep - seems to be broken - I had not done one for a while. Option #2 is a pain, but I find that if you do it before any major code changes to the controls (Default /Text is still Parent.Default) , then swapping the names with that of the existing control fixes most things apart from the Items of drop-downs/combo boxes.
  • Verified answer
    Power Platform 1919 Profile Picture
    1,890 on at
    HI @RB-23071539-0, I understand it can be complicated but it can reduce a lot of manual work.

    Let me explain what i meant by last comment.
    take this form as example: ( it is connected to most_complex_sample_datas table (first data source)).

    this form has around 30 datacards:
    now select the view code:
    here you would get entire form code:

    copy the code to any code editor (my choice is notepad++ or VS code) and if you are comfortable with keyboard shortcuts then change the structure as you like and do (we can do this AI and prompts also).
    once that is done:
    then select the screen where you want to add the list back:

    This approach much better than manually going through each data card.
  • RB-23071539-0 Profile Picture
    7 on at
    @Power Apps 1919 Thank you very much, that works perfectly! 

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