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Power Apps issue: Required field error on submit (ComboBox / Choice field)

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Posted on by JB-11021612-0

I’m experiencing an issue with a Power Apps form where a required field is throwing an error on submit, even though the user has selected a value.

Error message:

Field ‘EscalationCategory’ required

Context:

The field EscalationCategory is a Choice column in the data source.
It is displayed in the form using a ComboBox inside a DataCard.
The DataCard has Required = true.
The ComboBox shows the selected value correctly in the UI.
This worked earlier in the week with no intentional code changes, but now fails validation on submit.

Relevant configuration:

ComboBox Items: Choices([@PTPMO_Escalations].EscalationCategory)
ComboBox DefaultSelectedItems: [Parent.Default]
DataCard Update: DataCardValue8.Selected
Form is submitted using SubmitForm()

Observed behavior:

User selects a value
UI shows the selection
On submit, the form still thinks the field is blank and blocks submission

What I’m trying to understand:

Why the form validation no longer recognizes the ComboBox selection
Whether this could be related to:
- ComboBox single vs multi‑select behavior
- Update property mismatch
- A recent Power Apps control or platform change
- A subtle schema change in the data source

Any insight into what commonly causes this “required field but value selected” issue would be appreciated.

Categories:

Building Power Apps

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WarrenBelz 155,838 Most Valuable Professional on at

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Hi @JB-11021612-0,

Firstly, I assume you are using SharePoint here - on the surface, those settings look correct. I assume from your last comment that this may be a multi-select control, so my first question is whether both the field and the Combo Box are the same format (single or multi-select) and what the Default of the Data Card is.

Next, you might try deleting and re-creating the Data Card - you may have something corrupt in there. Also for debugging, try removing the required field condition.

Once I confirm all of that, we can look at next steps.

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Inogic 1,291 Moderator on at

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Hi,

One useful troubleshooting pattern for this issue is to track the ComboBox selection in a variable and then compare that to what the DataCard is sending to the form on submit.
1. Capture the ComboBox selection in a variable
On the ComboBox inside the EscalationCategory DataCard (for example, DataCardValue8), set the OnChange property to:
UpdateContext({locSelectedEscalation: Self.Selected.Value})

This ensures that whenever the user interacts with the control, the selected value is stored in a local variable locSelectedEscalation.
2. (Optional) Add a debug label to see what’s going on
Add a temporary label to the screen and set its Text property to:

"Variable: " & locSelectedEscalation &
" | DataCard Update: " & Text(EscalationCategory_DataCard.Update)

Replace EscalationCategory_DataCard with the actual name of your DataCard.
This lets you see, at runtime, whether:

The variable has a value but the DataCard’s Update property is blank, or

Both have values but they differ, etc.

3. Validate on submit using the variable
On your submit button, instead of calling SubmitForm(FormName) directly, wrap it with a check:

If(
   Text(DataCardValue8.Selected.Value) = locSelectedEscalation
       && !IsBlank(locSelectedEscalation),
   SubmitForm(YourFormName),
   Notify(
       "Mismatch detected: ComboBox selection does not match the value being submitted.",
       NotificationType.Error
   )
)

This does two things:

If the ComboBox selection (DataCardValue8.Selected.Value) matches the variable and is not blank, it proceeds with SubmitForm.

If they don’t match (or the value is blank), it shows an error instead of submitting, which confirms there is a mismatch between what the user sees and what the form is actually sending.

4. Use the variable as a fallback in the DataCard Update
Once you confirm that the variable is populated but the DataCard Update is blank or wrong, you can use the variable directly in the DataCard’s Update property as a more permanent workaround, for example:

If(
   IsBlank(DataCardValue8.Selected.Value),
   {Value: locSelectedEscalation},
   DataCardValue8.Selected
)

For a single-select Choice column, this passes a proper record to the data source:

If .Selected.Value is blank (the case where DefaultSelectedItems shows a value but doesn’t populate .Selected), it uses the variable.

Otherwise, it uses the normal DataCardValue8.Selected.

This variable-and-compare approach both helps diagnose where the value is lost and provides a practical workaround for the “required but treated as blank” behavior with Choice ComboBoxes in forms.

Hope this helps.

Thanks!

Inogic

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WarrenBelz 155,838 Most Valuable Professional on at

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Hi @JB-11021612-0,

A quick follow-up to see if you received the answer you were looking for. Happy to assist further if not.

Please ✅ Does this answer your question if my post helped you solve your issue. This will help others find it more readily. It also closes the item. If the content was useful in other ways, please consider answering Yes to Was this reply helpful? or give it a Like ♥
Visit my blog Practical Power Apps LinkedIn

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