Combo Box Errors with SearchItems property

(1) Share

Report

Posted on by _sigmaNot_

Hi everyone,

I've spent the majority of the day trying to figure this one out, unfortunately haven't found a solution...

I have a combo box (Students) with a Collection as data source.

The collection is dependent on the selection from another combo box (Sites) and I rebuild the collection in the OnChange property of the Sites combo box.

The collection works fine but the Students combo box doesn't show any entries when I click on it, and it is showing 2 errors with the SearchItems property, but when I click on the error it takes me to the DisplayFields property and I see nothing wrong...

If I change the IsSearchable property of the Students combo box to false the errors go away and the collection populates as expected, but the list can go up to almost ~1,700 entries for some sites and the search feature is an absolute necessity in this case.

Here are some screenshots:

formula to build collection on Sites combo box OnChange property

2 Formula Errors in the Sites combo box

Unexpected characters error detail

invalid number of arguments error details

Display Fields and Search Fields on Students combo box. All are text fields

Any help is appreciated 🙂

Categories:

Building Power Apps

I have the same question (0)

All responses (15)

Answers (1)

lvb884 4 on at

Like (0)

Report
Copy link

Link copied!

In my case, the error referred to additional characters and not enough arguments, so it seemed like something was going on with the syntax behind the scenes. Note, I have only been using combo boxes in forms and not standalone. Source data is Sharepoint. Between two searchable combo boxes on the same form, one got the error and the other didn't. I realized that the difference was in how I edited the code in the Items property. As a new user, I have been in the habit of commenting out the default code so I could revert back to it in case my new code didn't work. If I typed the new code before the default code, I got the error. If I typed it after, there was no error. Commenting out the default code helped to make sure I typed the new code after whatever hidden code was already there. Sure enough, in the combo box that had the error, I was able to remove the error by deleting (or commenting out) all of the code before the (commented out) default code, and I entered my new code after it. Voila, error was gone and it worked as intended.

Was this reply helpful? Yes No
BjarneDE 2 on at

Like (0)

Report
Copy link

Link copied!

In case you are still having problems with the .searchItems property, I was just told by a colleague that I should disable "Allow Searching" for the combo box and then re-enable it. worked for me 🙂

Was this reply helpful? Yes No
Rekokoko 51 on at

Like (0)

Report
Copy link

Link copied!

It does, I didn't have any problems with SP. It all begun once we moved to Dataverse.

Was this reply helpful? Yes No
WarrenBelz 153,477 Most Valuable Professional on at

Like (0)

Report
Copy link

Link copied!

@Rekokoko ,

No - I probably have used hundreds of them in my apps over the years. I am not sure if it makes a difference but my data source is SharePoint.

Was this reply helpful? Yes No
Rekokoko 51 on at

Like (0)

Report
Copy link

Link copied!

You're wise enough to avoid using combo boxes in your apps.

Was this reply helpful? Yes No
WarrenBelz 153,477 Most Valuable Professional on at

Like (0)

Report
Copy link

Link copied!

@Rekokoko ,

Sorry to see you are experiencing this - maybe I have been lucky over the last 6 -7 years, but apart from replacing a few corrupt controls, it has been fairly smooth sailing.

Was this reply helpful? Yes No
Rekokoko 51 on at

Like (0)

Report
Copy link

Link copied!

It's not silly - it's the way how you work with Power Apps - create, test, release, it stops working, start randomly deleting and adding back controls.
Oh, you have a complex logic to get and transform data and dependent formulas? Too bad!
Man, thanks for trying, but just let it go - I tried everything.
I have literally items set to a Dataverse table and gazillion times checked search and display fields names, but it still complains about that they're wrong and refuse to work.
Yes, I refreshed editor and yes I restarted computer and YES, I'm going to rewrite whole thing to the **bleep** .net app and close this whimsical chapter of "low code" in my life.

Was this reply helpful? Yes No
WarrenBelz 153,477 Most Valuable Professional on at

Like (0)

Report
Copy link

Link copied!

@Rekokoko ,

Maybe silly question, but did you try deleting and re-adding it ? If in a Form, also do the Data Card.

Was this reply helpful? Yes No
Rekokoko 51 on at

Like (0)

Report
Copy link

Link copied!

No, it's classic control - it just stopped working and here you go: bang your head against the wall. Did I mention that app is on production and dozens of users working with it?...
I've been using Microsoft products for over two decades and I'm shocked with the state of Power Apps.

Was this reply helpful? Yes No
WarrenBelz 153,477 Most Valuable Professional on at

Like (0)

Report
Copy link

Link copied!

@Rekokoko ,

Is this a Modern or Classic control ? If Modern, yes they are currently lacking some facility that I am sure will come in the future and (like myself) you might consider staying with Classic for the moment.

Was this reply helpful? Yes No