Power Apps Dropdown Control – How to use

In this Power Apps tutorial, We will discuss the Dropdown control in PowerApps, its properties, and how to add a Dropdown control in PowerApps.

As far as we know, Power Apps has various controls to work with canvas apps; apart from that, PowerApps Dropdown has a crucial control that can contain a list of options or choices.

Also, we will see working with powerapps dropdown items manual, power apps dropdown items from SharePoint list with various examples.

Moreover, I will let you know some more stuff like:

• Add items in Power Apps dropdown control
• Power Apps Dropdown Selected Value
• Set the default value in the Power Apps Dropdown control.

Power Apps Dropdown Control

Power Apps drop down is a specific control that allows users to select a value from a list of options. The control only occupies one line unless the user clicks the chevron to show more options.

There can be up to 500 items displayed in the PowerApps dropdown. Look at the image below:

Power Apps Dropdown Properties

Next, we will see the key properties of the dropdown control.

Property	Description
Items	The source of data contains the items that appear in the control. If the source has multiple columns, set the control’s Value property to the column of data that you want to show.
Default	It specifies the initial value of a control before the user specifies a different value.
DisplayMode	It defines whether the control allows user input (Edit), only displays data (View), or is disabled (Disabled).
Fill	The color of the background of the control
OnChange	When the user changes the value of a control, It specifies the actions to perform (for example, by adjusting a slider).
OnSelect	When the user taps or clicks a control, it specifies an action to perform.
Reset	Determining whether a control resets to its default value
SelectedText (Deprecated)	It represents a string value that represents the selected item.
Visible	Whether a control is visible or hidden

These are the key properties of the Power Apps Dropdown.

PowerApps Dropdown Items Manual

Let’s start with how to add values manually to a Power Apps dropdown control.

1. On the Power Apps Screen, insert a Dropdown control [+ Insert -> Input -> Drop down].

2. By default, the dropdown control Items property is DropdownSample, and the name of the dropdown control is Dropdown1, as shown below.

You can rename the drop down control as: drp_ProjectStatus.

3. To add the Power Apps dropdown items manually, set the Items property as:

Items = [
    "All",
    "Incomplete",
    "In Progress",
    "Completed"
]

NOTE:

Make sure the items or options should be enclosed with a inverted comma ” ” along with Parentheses []. Else, you may face an error.

Refer to the image below:

4. Save, Publish, and Preview the app. All of the manual items are visible once you expand the dropdown chevron.

This way, we can add the PowerApps dropdown values manually.

PowerApps Dropdown Items From SharePoint List

Next, we will see how to add Power Apps dropdown items from a SharePoint list.

Example:

I have a SharePoint Online List named “Vacation Budget” and this list contains the below fields.

Column Name	Data Type
Destination	It is a Title column with default single line of text
Expense Name	Single line of text
Category	Choice [Shopping, Entertainment, Transportation, Food]
Estimated Cost	Currency

Refer to the below image:

Now, I would like to add all the Category values [Shopping, Entertainment, Transportation, Food] to the Power Apps Dropdown control as in the screenshot below.

To work around this, follow the instructions below:

1. Go to Power Apps Canvas app -> Connect it to the SharePoint Online list [Vacation Budget] like below.

2. On the Power Apps Screen -> Insert a Dropdown control and set its Items property as:

Items = Choices([@'Vacation Budget'].Category)

Where,

• ‘Vacation Budget’ = SharePoint Online List
• Category = SharePoint Choice Field

3. Save, Publish, and Preview the app. The Power Apps dropdown control shows all of the category options after you expand the dropdown menu.

This is how to add Power Apps dropdown items from the SharePoint list.

PowerApps Dropdown Selected Value

In this section, I will show you how to work with the Power Apps dropdown selected value.

Example:

In Power Apps, there is a Dropdown control having the Department’s records/items like IT, Finance, Sales, HR, and Marketing. Now, I want to display the dropdown selected value on the Text label control as in the screenshot below.

To achieve it, follow the below steps.

1. On the Power Apps Screen, insert a Dropdown control and set its Items property as:

Items = [
    "IT",
    "Finance",
    "Sales",
    "HR",
    "Marketing"
]

2. Then, insert a Text label and set its Text property to the code below:

Text = drp_DepartmentRecords.Selected.Value

Where,

• drp_DepartmentRecords = Power Apps Dropdown Control Name

3. Save, Publish, and Preview the app. The Power Apps text label displays the dropdown selected value as shown below.

This is how to work with the Power Apps dropdown selected value. This way, you can display the selected value of a dropdown in Power Apps.

PowerApps Dropdown Default Value

I will show you how to set the Power Apps dropdown default value with a simple example.

Example:

The below Power Apps dropdown control has the same items as [IT, Finance, Sales, HR, and Marketing]. Now, I would like to set the dropdown default value to Finance.

So that whenever the user opens the Canvas app, every time the dropdown control default value will always be “Finance”.

1. To do so, Select the Dropdown control and set its Default property as:

Default = "Finance"

Where,

• “Finance” = Specify the option you want to make as the default.

2. Once your app is ready, save, publish, and close the app. When you reopen the application, the Finance value will be displayed in the dropdown menu.

This is all about the Power Apps Dropdown control selected value.

I trust this Power Apps tutorial taught in detail information about the Power Apps Dropdown control, its key properties, and many more like:

• How to add items manually in the Power Apps dropdown
• Display Power Apps dropdown items from a SharePoint list
• Working with Power Apps dropdown selected value
• Set Power Apps dropdown default value

Also, you may like some more Power Apps articles:

• Hide Fields Based on Condition in Power Apps Dropdown
• Add a Blank Value to a Dropdown List in Power Apps
• Sort Dropdown Choices Alphabetically in Power Apps
• How to Add All Option in Power Apps Dropdown?
• How to Display SharePoint Person or Group Column in Power Apps Dropdown?