Power Platform Community Forum Thread Details

🚨 Summary of Issue

I'm building a PowerApps application for teachers to assess student performance. The goal is to:
✅ Allow teachers to select a rating for each question using a dropdown menu
✅ Dynamically update the correct "MyRatingX" field inside colStudentScores
✅ Ensure the update is mapped to the correct question
✅ Submit all ratings to a SharePoint list

⚠️ Main Problem: PowerApps does not support dynamic field names inside Patch() when trying to update { "MyRating" & Number: Value }. I’ve tried multiple workarounds, but none seem to work.

🛠️ What I’ve Already Tried

I've collaborated extensively with GPT-4 and Claude AI to troubleshoot this issue. While they've provided valuable insights, PowerApps' limitations on dynamic field names in Patch() have made it challenging to find a scalable solution.

📌 Need Help With:

Dynamically updating a specific "MyRatingX" column based on a question number
Handling PowerApps' limitation of { FieldName: Value } in Patch()
Ensuring correct type handling when using Switch() or If() to update MyRatingX
Best way to submit the final scores to a SharePoint list

🛠️ App Overview & Workflow

The app involves two main screens:

📌 Screen 1 - Selecting Assessment Content

Teachers pick question categories and descriptors
This filters available questions for Screen 2
Selected questions are stored in colAssessmentQuestions

📌 Screen 2 - Answering Questions & Storing Scores

Teachers assign ratings using Dropdown8 (values: -1, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
The app needs to store the selected answer inside colStudentScores
Each question maps to a "MyRatingX" field, where X is the question number
Once all ratings are completed, the data is submitted to a SharePoint list

📋 Collections & Controls

🔹 `colAssessmentQuestions` (Holds Questions & Ratings)

Field Name	Description
`Code`	Question identifier
`Descriptor`	Question description
`QuestionNumbersList`	Comma-separated list of question numbers (e.g., `"1,2,3"`)
`MyRatingsList`	Stores selected ratings

🔹 `colStudentScores` (Holds Student Scores Before Submission)

Field Name	Description
`StudentID`	Unique student identifier
`StudentName`	Name of the student
`Class`	Student's class
`Code`	Question code
`Descriptor`	Question description
`MyRating1 - MyRating20`	Holds student’s rating for each question

🔹 `Dropdown8` (Rating Selector - OnChange Event Triggers `Patch()`**)

Values: -1, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Stores the selected rating for a question

🔹 `gal_StudentScores` (Displays Student Scores)

Shows scores from colStudentScores
OnChange of Dropdown8 should update the respective MyRatingX column dynamically

❌ What I’ve Tried (Failed Fixes)

1️⃣ Using `{ FieldName: "MyRating" & Number }`

PowerApps does not resolve FieldName dynamically inside { FieldName: Value }

2️⃣ Wrapping `{ FieldName, Value }` inside `Table()`

PowerApps still does NOT interpret FieldName as a column

3️⃣ Using `PatchRecord()`

PowerApps does NOT recognize PatchRecord() as a valid function

🚨 Current Code Attempt (With Errors)

// ✅ Correctly Update the correct MyRatingX field inside colStudentScores
Patch(
colStudentScores,
LookUp(colStudentScores, StudentID = gal_StudentScores.Selected.StudentID),
{
"MyRating" & Text(First(Split(ThisItem.QuestionNumbersList, ",")).Result, "00"):
If(Dropdown8.Selected.Value = -1, Blank(), Dropdown8.Selected.Value)
}
);

🔻 Current Errors:

"MyRating" & Text(...) → Unexpected characters in Patch()
PowerApps does NOT allow dynamic field names inside {}
Split(ThisItem.QuestionNumbersList, ",") → "Result" isn't recognized
Incorrect format specifier for "0" in Text() function

🔧 Alternative Approaches (Partial Fixes)

✅ Option 1 - Using `Switch()` Instead of Dynamic Fields

Patch(
colStudentScores,
LookUp(colStudentScores, StudentID = gal_StudentScores.Selected.StudentID),
Switch(
Value(First(Split(ThisItem.QuestionNumbersList, ","))),
1, {MyRating1: If(Dropdown8.Selected.Value = -1, Blank(), Dropdown8.Selected.Value)},
2, {MyRating2: If(Dropdown8.Selected.Value = -1, Blank(), Dropdown8.Selected.Value)},
3, {MyRating3: If(Dropdown8.Selected.Value = -1, Blank(), Dropdown8.Selected.Value)},
// Continue for all 20 rating fields...
20, {MyRating20: If(Dropdown8.Selected.Value = -1, Blank(), Dropdown8.Selected.Value)}
)
);

✅ Pros:

Works within PowerApps' limitations
Avoids trying to use dynamic column names

❌ Cons:

Inefficient (Requires explicitly writing all 20 cases)

✅ Option 2 - Using `With()` & `If()` Instead of `Switch()`

With(
{ questionNumText: First(Split(ThisItem.QuestionNumbersList, ",")) },
Patch(
colStudentScores,
LookUp(colStudentScores, StudentID = gal_StudentScores.Selected.StudentID),
If(questionNumText = "1", {MyRating1: Dropdown8.Selected.Value},
If(questionNumText = "2", {MyRating2: Dropdown8.Selected.Value},
If(questionNumText = "3", {MyRating3: Dropdown8.Selected.Value},
// Continue for all 20 MyRating fields...
If(questionNumText = "20", {MyRating20: Dropdown8.Selected.Value}, {})))))))))))))))))))
)
);

✅ Pros:

More readable than Switch()
Handles missing values correctly

❌ Cons:

Still requires explicitly writing all 20 cases

🔹 Key Issues & Request for Help

Is there a better way to update the correct MyRatingX column dynamically?
What is the best PowerApps-friendly approach to work around { FieldName: Value }?
How do I ensure correct type handling (Text vs. Number vs. Record) when using Switch() or If()?
What’s the best way to submit this data to a SharePoint list while keeping it structured?

I’ve hit a roadblock and would appreciate any insights from the PowerApps experts in this community. If needed, I can provide screenshots and more details! 🚀

Working Codes - A...

Categories:

Error handling

I will clarify the core issue - quite simply you cannot refer to fields dynamically in Power Apps - one possible reason I believe is that every formula needs to be validated to ensure that every possible output is valid - this is not possible when Power Apps does not know what the input is going to be. You also cannot set a field as a Variable - the text string "FieldName" is not the field FieldName. Also this may save you a bit of code on the Switch statement

With(
   {
      _Question:
      Value(
         First(
            Split(
               ThisItem.QuestionNumbersList, 
               ","
            )
         )
      ),
      _Rating: 
      If(
         Dropdown8.Selected.Value = -1,
         Blank(),
         Dropdown8.Selected.Value
      )
   },
   Patch(
      colStudentScores,
      LookUp(
         colStudentScores, 
         StudentID = gal_StudentScores.Selected.StudentID
      ),
      Switch(
         _Question,
         1, 
         {MyRating1: _Rating},
         2, 
         {MyRating2: _Rating},
         3,
         {MyRating3: _Rating},
         . . . . .
         20,
         {MyRating20: _Rating}
      )
   )
);

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[HELP NEEDED] Dynamic Field Updates in PowerApps - Patch() Not Accepting Dynamic Column Names

🚨 Summary of Issue

🛠️ What I’ve Already Tried

🛠️ App Overview & Workflow

📌 Screen 1 - Selecting Assessment Content

📌 Screen 2 - Answering Questions & Storing Scores

📋 Collections & Controls

🔹 `colAssessmentQuestions` (Holds Questions & Ratings)

🔹 `colStudentScores` (Holds Student Scores Before Submission)

🔹 `Dropdown8` (Rating Selector - OnChange Event Triggers `Patch()`**)

🔹 `gal_StudentScores` (Displays Student Scores)

❌ What I’ve Tried (Failed Fixes)

1️⃣ Using `{ FieldName: "MyRating" & Number }`

2️⃣ Wrapping `{ FieldName, Value }` inside `Table()`

3️⃣ Using `PatchRecord()`

🚨 Current Code Attempt (With Errors)

🔧 Alternative Approaches (Partial Fixes)

✅ Option 1 - Using `Switch()` Instead of Dynamic Fields

✅ Option 2 - Using `With()` & `If()` Instead of `Switch()`

🔹 Key Issues & Request for Help

Helpful resources

News and Announcements

Quick Links

Introducing the 2026 Season 1 community Super Users

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Congratulations to the March Top 10 Community Leaders!

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Featured topics

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Community site session details

[HELP NEEDED] Dynamic Field Updates in PowerApps - Patch() Not Accepting Dynamic Column Names

🚨 Summary of Issue

🛠️ What I’ve Already Tried

🛠️ App Overview & Workflow

📌 Screen 1 - Selecting Assessment Content

📌 Screen 2 - Answering Questions & Storing Scores

📋 Collections & Controls

🔹 colAssessmentQuestions (Holds Questions & Ratings)

🔹 colStudentScores (Holds Student Scores Before Submission)

**🔹 Dropdown8 (Rating Selector - OnChange Event Triggers Patch())

🔹 gal_StudentScores (Displays Student Scores)

❌ What I’ve Tried (Failed Fixes)

1️⃣ Using { FieldName: "MyRating" & Number }

2️⃣ Wrapping { FieldName, Value } inside Table()

3️⃣ Using PatchRecord()

🚨 Current Code Attempt (With Errors)

🔧 Alternative Approaches (Partial Fixes)

✅ Option 1 - Using Switch() Instead of Dynamic Fields

✅ Option 2 - Using With() & If() Instead of Switch()

🔹 Key Issues & Request for Help

Helpful resources

News and Announcements

Quick Links

Introducing the 2026 Season 1 community Super Users

Kudos to our 2025 Community Spotlight Honorees

Congratulations to the March Top 10 Community Leaders!

Subscribe to this forum!

Select categories

Leaderboard > Power Apps

Featured topics

Product updates

🔹 `colAssessmentQuestions` (Holds Questions & Ratings)

🔹 `colStudentScores` (Holds Student Scores Before Submission)

🔹 `Dropdown8` (Rating Selector - OnChange Event Triggers `Patch()`**)

🔹 `gal_StudentScores` (Displays Student Scores)

1️⃣ Using `{ FieldName: "MyRating" & Number }`

2️⃣ Wrapping `{ FieldName, Value }` inside `Table()`

3️⃣ Using `PatchRecord()`

✅ Option 1 - Using `Switch()` Instead of Dynamic Fields

✅ Option 2 - Using `With()` & `If()` Instead of `Switch()`