Power Platform Community Forum Thread Details

Hi,

When you add a dropdown to a Power App that writes data to an Excel sheet, the OnChange property of the dropdown is typically used to update the corresponding field or variable in your data source. If the app stopped working after adding the dropdown, it could be due to a missing or incorrect connection between the dropdown's selection and the Excel update logic.

Here’s how you can resolve this:

Steps to Fix the Issue

1. Verify the Items Property

Ensure the dropdown's Items property points to the correct data source or list of options. For example:

["Option1", "Option2", "Option3"]

Or, if pulling data dynamically:

TableName.ColumnName

2. Update the Excel Field on Dropdown Change

In the OnChange property of the dropdown, update the variable or field that is mapped to the Excel table. For example:

Set(selectedValue, Dropdown1.Selected.Value)
If you're directly patching or submitting to a form, it might look like:

Patch( ExcelTableName, Lookup(ExcelTableName, ID = Gallery1.Selected.ID), { ColumnName: Dropdown1.Selected.Value } )

3. Check the Form’s Update Property

If the dropdown is inside an edit form, ensure that the form's Update property for the associated card is configured to:

Dropdown1.Selected.Value

4. Trigger Data Write on Submit

If you're using a SubmitForm or similar function, ensure the dropdown’s selected value is being written to the correct field in Excel. For instance:

SubmitForm(EditForm1)

5. Test the App

Run the app and select a value from the dropdown. Check if the dropdown's value is being captured in the variable or written to Excel. Use a Label control temporarily to display:

Dropdown1.Selected.Value

Debugging Tips

Use Monitor: Open the app in Monitor (via the Power Apps Studio) to see if any errors occur when interacting with the dropdown.
Check Excel Permissions: Ensure the connection to the Excel file is still valid, and there are no permission issues.
Test Other Inputs: Verify if other inputs are still updating Excel. If not, the issue might be with the connection rather than the dropdown.

Example: Full Code Integration

Assume you have a dropdown (Dropdown1) and a button to save the selection to an Excel sheet:

Dropdown Items:

["Pending", "Approved", "Rejected"]
Dropdown OnChange:

Set(selectedStatus, Dropdown1.Selected.Value)
Button OnSelect:

Patch( ExcelTable, Lookup(ExcelTable, ID = Gallery1.Selected.ID), { Status: selectedStatus } )

This setup ensures the dropdown updates a variable (selectedStatus), and the button writes it to Excel.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If this Post helped you, please click "Does this answer your question" and give it a like to help others in the community find the answer too!