Nullable Numeric Fields in PowerApps Collection

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Posted on by trjackson77

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Hi PowerApps Community,

I'm struggling with a specific issue in PowerApps and need some advice.

Challenge: I need to create a collection with a numeric field that initially holds a null value, and later update it with numeric data. However, initializing the field with Blank() causes a type mismatch when updating it with a number.

Tried Solutions:

Initializing with an empty string "", resulting in a type mismatch on updating.
Using Blank(), but it makes the field NullType and causes a type mismatch.

Ask:

How can I have a numeric field in a collection that can be null initially and then accept numeric values without type mismatch errors?
Are there any best practices for handling nullable numeric fields in collections?

Appreciate any guidance or solutions you can share!

Thanks,

Tim Jackson

Categories:

Building Power Apps

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WiZey 3,023 Moderator on at

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Hello @trjackson77 ,

This question was already answered in this topic and is still relevant to this day:

https://powerusers.microsoft.com/t5/Building-Power-Apps/How-to-put-a-number-in-blank-with-a-button/td-p/1341144

tl;dr: It's not possible to insert a blank value in a numeric field. Power Apps does not allow it.

Would it be fine for you to work with a zero value instead?
OdinDelToro 407 on at

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Hello @trjackson77,

Have you tried using value to make it recognize it as integer? For example: Value(Blank())
Then when, you update the value, you can also use Value() to keep the numeric field in sync.

Hope this helps clarify the doubt, let me know in case you're still facing an issue within it.
Please click Accept as solution 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 giving it Thumbs Up.
trjackson77 254 on at

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@WiZey, thanks for the response and the link. Unfortunately, 0 is not an option for this scenario.
trjackson77 254 on at

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@OdinDelToro, thanks for the solution, I really thought that would work. Unfortunately (bizarrely), this inserts the value `0` into the collection.

ClearCollect(colAllCustomers,AddColumns(tjCustomersWithRowIndex,"Duration",Value(Blank()))); Collect(colAllCustomers,AddColumns(Filter(tjCustomersWithRowIndex,RowIndex > Max(colAllCustomers,RowIndex)),"Duration",Value(Blank()))); Collect(colAllCustomers,AddColumns(Filter(tjCustomersWithRowIndex,RowIndex > Max(colAllCustomers,RowIndex)),"Duration",Value(Blank())))
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trjackson77 254 on at

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Hi Everyone,
I wanted to share an update on the challenge I was facing with handling nullable numeric fields in PowerApps collections. After some trial and error, I've found a couple of solutions that work well.
Solutions:
Dummy Record Method: Initially, create a collection with a dummy record that includes a numeric value in the problematic field. Once the collection is set up and functional, delete this dummy record. This method ensures the field is recognized as numeric from the start, allowing later entries to be either numeric or blank without causing type mismatches.
Negative Value Placeholder: Another approach is to initialize the numeric field with a specific negative value (e.g., -1). When using the collection, filter out these placeholder values by only considering records where the numeric field is greater than or equal to 0. This effectively simulates a nullable numeric field.
Both methods effectively bypass the type mismatch issue while maintaining the integrity of the data type in the collection.

Acknowledgments: I want to thank everyone in the community for their suggestions and support. Your insights were invaluable and prompted me to explore these solutions. It's great to be part of such a knowledgeable and helpful community!

Best regards,

Tim Jackson