Pre-populate form fields starting from existing SharePoint item in the same list

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Posted on by comms_mel

I have a complex PowerApps form built on top of a SharePoint list - the form works great and there's nothing wrong with the connection.

I've recently received a request to add a "Start from Existing" feature, allowing users to tick a "Start from existing" box then enter the client name to start from a copy of an existing list item.

Important info:

The 'existing' list item is in the exact same list as we're adding it to (it's a yearly update, so think of it as a "save-as" type of approach)
The new item - copied from the existing - would ideally pull over MOST of the fields and data points.

SO - I added a PowerFlow to the Power App with these parameters. The green arrow indicates that I want the "client name" text input in the PowerFlow to be the filter query item (is that even needed?)

But now I'm stuck. How do I pre-populate the new (identical) form fields with the information from the "existing" one? I don't need attachments to come over, if that simplifies things. I should also note that this form has up to 150 fields that COULD have data in them. At this point, there isn't a way to cut down on the number of fields, which is why we're looking to introduce this option.

Any help or direction would be MUCH appreciated.

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Building Power Apps

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jrletner 720 Super User 2025 Season 2 on at

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Since you already set up a flow that retrieves the SharePoint item using the Client Name filter, ensure the GET ITEMS action query is setup correctly (the quotation marks are necessary as well):

ClientName eq 'PowerAppsParameterHere'

Then add another step in your flow to "Respond to a PowerApp" and return all the relevant fields as separate outputs.

Example, ClientName as Text(String) and use the output from the GET ITEMS as the value

Then call the flow from your powerapp and use a variable to store the response (be sure to add the flow into your app first):

Example: Set(varClientData, YourFLowName.Run(txtClientName.Text)

Then update the Default properties of your form fields to pull values from varClientData:

Example:

If(chkStartFromExisting.Value, varClientData.Title,"")

I hope that's enough to get you headed in the right direction.

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comms_mel 4 on at

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Thanks @jrletner-

Does this formula need to be added to each field? Or will putting the client name in handle pulling that information over?

Also - I've learned (the hard way) that PowerApps forms that sit atop SharePoint lists don't always hang onto "default" text entered...for whatever reason. Do you know if that's a concern here?

As an alternative, is there another way to accomplish a "Start from existing" function - whether through a lookup or locating the item in the SharePoint list and making a copy, then editing....

Definitely looking for the simplest approach here.

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