Filter, Search and Lookup functions in Power Fx | Canvas Apps

November 20, 2022 priyeshwagh777 Microsoft PowerApps canvas apps formula, filter, filter in power fx, lookup, lookup in power fx, search, search in power fx

Here’s how you can use and understand the difference between Filter, Search and Lookup functions if you are new to making Canvas Apps. I’ve tried to explain the usage of these in simple examples!

These functions are part of the Power Fx and are used in Canvas Apps.

Lookup Function – Lookup function in Canvas Power Apps | Power Fx Formula Example
Search Function – Search function in Canvas Power Apps | Power Fx Formula Example
Filter Function – Filter function in Canvas Power Apps | Power Fx Formula Example

Differences between Filter, Search and Lookup

	Filter	Lookup	Search
Results in	Multiple Records	Single Record	Multiple Records
Search Type	Criteria Based	Criteria Based	Text Based

Here’s Microsoft Learn link for detailed criteria & documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/power-fx/reference/function-filter-lookup#syntax?WT.mc_id=DX-MVP-5003911

Hope this helps!

Here are some Power Automate posts you want to check out –

Thank you!

Filter function in Canvas Power Apps | Power Fx Formula Example

November 20, 2022 priyeshwagh777 Microsoft PowerApps canvas apps, filter function, filter in canvas apps, power fx

In case you are looking for how you use Search function as opposed to using Lookup() function in Power Fx in Canvas App, check this post!

Lookup Function – Lookup function in Canvas Power Apps | Power Fx Formula Example

Search Function – Search function in Canvas Power Apps | Power Fx Formula Example

Scenario

I have a Gallery control which is populated with Accounts data from Dataverse.

Then, I have another Gallery control to demonstrate how we can filter and pick records that satisfy one or more criteria in the Filter formula.

Filter() in Canvas Apps

Let’s see how we can use Filter in Canvas App based on the above scenario –

Start by typing Filter while the target Gallery is selected under Items property and you’ll see that it’s a valid function in the list. And the first thing in the parameter after opening the bracket is the source.
Now, Accounts is the table which I’m looking to filter on. I selected this from the Auto-complete when I types Accounts and then press comma (,) for the next parameter.
Next, I’ll be asked the criteria to check for in order to Filter from the source data.
Here, I want to select all the Account whose Annual Revenue is under 750,000.

So, when I start typing the field name, the list will show the correct name which I can select.
Then, I complete the formula.
Optionally, I can have multiple criteria to be Filtered for.
In this example, I’ll still keep only 1.
Now, based on the completed formula, you can see below that the matching records have been filtered in the new Gallery control we added.

.And that’s how you can use Filter() function in Canvas App to select the records which match the provided criteria.

Here’s Microsoft Learn link for detailed criteria & documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/power-fx/reference/function-filter-lookup#syntax?WT.mc_id=DX-MVP-5003911

Hope this helps!

Here are some Power Automate posts you want to check out –

Thank you!

Search function in Canvas Power Apps | Power Fx Formula Example

November 20, 2022November 20, 2022 priyeshwagh777 Microsoft PowerApps canvas apps, search, search function in power apps

In case you are looking for how you use Search function as opposed to using Lookup() function in Power Fx in Canvas App, check this post!

Lookup function – Lookup function in Canvas Power Apps | Power Fx Formula Example

Filter function – Filter function in Canvas Power Apps | Power Fx Formula Example

Scenario

I have a Gallery control which is populated with Accounts data from Dataverse.

Then, I have another Gallery control to demonstrate how we can search and pick records that satisfy the criteria in the Seach formula.

Search() in Canvas App

Let’s see how we can use Search in a Canvas App based on the above scenario –

Start by typing Seach while the Gallery is selected and you’ll see that it’s a valid function in the list. And the first thing in the parameter after opening the backet is the source.
Now, Accounts is the table which I’m searching into. I selected this from the Auto-complete when I typed in Accounts and then, press comma (,) for the next parameter
Next, I’ll be asked the text value of what I have to search for. It works like a “contains”. Anything that matches the pattern will be returned instead of the exact match.
Finally, the last parameter is the Column on which the Search should be performed on. Since, I’m looking for Name of the Account in which I expect to find XYZ, I’ll select “Name” from the list.
Now, the Formula is completed. I’ll get the below Formula on the new Gallery control’s Items property which has multiple records.
And below is the result. All the rows that have XYZ in the Name of the Accounts will be populated in the new Gallery control I selected.

And that’s how Search() function can be used to select records that have the phrase entered in the forumula.

Here’s Microsoft Learn link for detailed criteria & documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/power-fx/reference/function-filter-lookup#syntax?WT.mc_id=DX-MVP-5003911

Hope this helps!

Here are some Power Automate posts you want to check out –

Thank you!

Lookup function in Canvas Power Apps | Power Fx Formula Example

November 15, 2022 priyeshwagh777 Microsoft PowerApps canvas apps, lookup, lookup function in power apps

Here’s how to think about and use the Lookup function in Canvas Power Apps!

Lookup is used to fetch a single record that matches a criteria from the source (usually a table)

Scenario

I have a Gallery control which is populated with Accounts data from Dataverse.

Then, I have a Textbox (Text Input) in which I’m going to pull up a field from a record from Dataverse table which matches a certain criteria.

Lookup() in Canvas App

Let’s see how we can use Lookup in a Canvas App based on the above scenario –

Start by typing Lookup and you’ll see that it’s a valid function in the list. And the first thing in the parameter after opening the bracket is the source.
As you can see, suggestions are also seen in the list below. Here, you have the select the Table / Entity from which you want to fetch the record.
Now, Accounts is the table which I’m looking into. Hence, I’ll select that and press comma (,). Next, I’ll be asked the condition.
Here, you need to mention what record you want to retrieve based on what criteria.
So, I want to retrieve an Account whose “Account Name” is equal to <value>. So, below is how I write it.
In this example, I’m trying to fetch an Account record whose ‘Account Name‘ field has value “Coffee House”
Further, once I have this condition satisfied, what field I want to retrieve so that it can be shown in the Text Input box I have inserted (for which I’m writing this Lookup)

So in this case, I want to retrieve the ‘Main Phone’ field.
And once my formula is complete, I can end it with a closing bracket.
And as you see the result below, the Main Phone from the matching criteria Account has shown up.

And that’s how Lookup() function can be used to pick a record’s value based on a certain criteria.