divide by zero error in monitor although handled in code

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Posted on by HansHeintz

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Hi,

Why does monitor throw a divide by zero error on

                 If(
                     ThisItem.pl_NumVar01=0 Or IsBlank(ThisItem.pl_NumVar01)
                     ,1
                     ,ThisItem.pl_NumVar01>0
                     ,ThisItem.pl_NumVar01
                     ,ThisItem.pl_NumVar01<0
                     ,Abs(1/ThisItem.pl_NumVar01)
                     ,0
                    ) 

altough handled and how prevent elegantly

also:

I was going to ask this question but after composing a text an pressing send I forget to choose a category. The result is a new blank form and not any way to get back tot my question.

What am I doing wrong? The forum cannot be this harsh or amateuristic by design. Is there a forum feedback opportunity

Categories:

Building Power Apps

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Kalathiya 2,456 Super User 2026 Season 1 on at

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Hello @HansHeintz,

Could you please try below approach and check?

With( { _val: ThisItem.pl_NumVar01 }, If( IsBlank(_val) Or _val = 0, 1, _val > 0, _val, Abs(1 / If(_val = 0, 1, _val)) ) )

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Haque 3,653 on at

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Hi @HansHeintz,

The If function in Power Apps expects pairs of conditions and results, but your formula has an extra condition without a matching result, causing unexpected evaluation order.

Please try this:

If( IsBlank(ThisItem.pl_NumVar01) || ThisItem.pl_NumVar01 = 0, 1, ThisItem.pl_NumVar01 > 0, ThisItem.pl_NumVar01, ThisItem.pl_NumVar01 < 0, Abs(1 / ThisItem.pl_NumVar01), 0 )

or better nested if

If( IsBlank(ThisItem.pl_NumVar01) || ThisItem.pl_NumVar01 = 0, 1, If( ThisItem.pl_NumVar01 > 0, ThisItem.pl_NumVar01, If( ThisItem.pl_NumVar01 < 0, Abs(1 / ThisItem.pl_NumVar01), 0 ) ) )

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11manish 3,333 on at

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my view is that :

The divide-by-zero warning is likely caused by Monitor evaluating the division expression during analysis, even though your logic protects against it.

Refactoring the formula using With(), nested If(), or IfError() can reduce or eliminate the warning.

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Valantis 6,735 on at

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Hi @HansHeintz,

The issue is that Power Apps Monitor evaluates all branches of an If expression eagerly during analysis, not lazily. So even though your zero check fires first at runtime, the Monitor sees the division expression and flags it regardless.

The cleanest fix is IfError wrapping the division:

If(
IsBlank(ThisItem.pl_NumVar01) || ThisItem.pl_NumVar01 = 0,
1,
ThisItem.pl_NumVar01 > 0,
ThisItem.pl_NumVar01,
IfError(Abs(1 / ThisItem.pl_NumVar01), 0)
)

IfError catches the division at runtime if zero somehow slips through, and it also satisfies Monitor's static analysis because the error handling is explicit. This is the most defensive pattern and eliminates the warning.

Best regards,

Valantis

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Ram Prakash Duraisamy 5,877 Super User 2026 Season 1 on at

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Hi @HansHeintz

The divide-by-zero error is triggered by Abs(1 / ThisItem.pl_NumVar01). Although your If() statement checks for zero first, Power Fx Monitor may still evaluate or analyze all branches and detect the potential error. To avoid this, guard the division directly with an additional zero check or use IfError() to handle the exception gracefully.

Please mark as answer if my suggestion helps.
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