⚡ Step-by-Step Guide: Bulk Requests in Power Apps with SharePoint

Master bulk data submission in Power Apps! This comprehensive guide shows you how to create a WordPress-friendly app for entering multiple records efficiently, using galleries and best practices.

Introduction

This guide will walk you through creating a Power App that allows users to efficiently submit multiple records in one go. We’ll use a practical bakery order entry example to illustrate the process, making it easy for you to adapt to your own business needs.

Streamlining Order Entry for a Small Bakery

Imagine “Sweet Treats,” a local bakery that relies on efficient order management. Currently, they log each custom cake order into a spreadsheet. When multiple orders come in at once, this manual process becomes a bottleneck, prone to typos and time wastage.

Our goal is to build a Power App that lets bakery staff enter multiple cake orders from a single, user-friendly interface. This app can be easily integrated their site, making the ordering process smoother for staff and potentially for customer-facing portals in the future.

Step-by-Step Guide: Creating Your Power App for Bulk Submission

Step 1: Set Up Your Data Source (e.g., SharePoint)

Before we build the app, we need a reliable place to store our data. For this example, we’ll use a SharePoint list.

Create a SharePoint List:
- Navigate to your SharePoint site.
- Click “+ New” > “List”.
- Choose “Blank list” and name it something descriptive like Cake Orders.
- Click “Create“.
Define Essential Columns:
- Within your Cake Orders list, click “+ Add column” and create the following fields:

Title: (Default, good for Customer Name) – Type: Single line of text
Cake Flavor: Type: Single line of text
Cake Size: Type: Choice (Options: Small, Medium, Large)
Decoration Details: Type: Multiple lines of text
Order Date: Type: Date and time
Quantity: Type: Number
Customer Contact: Type: Single line of text
Status: Type: Choice (Options: Pending, In Progress, Completed)

Step 2: Build Your Power App

Now, let’s create the Power App interface.

Create a New Canvas App:
- Go to make.powerapps.com.
- Click “+ Create” > “Canvas app from blank“.
- Name your app (e.g., Bakery Order Manager) and select a layout (Tablet or Phone). Click “Create”.
Connect to Your Data:
- In the left-hand navigation, click the “Data” icon (cylinder).
- Click “+ Add data“.
- Search for “SharePoint” and select it.
- Choose your SharePoint connection. If you don’t have one, follow the prompts to create it.
- Select your SharePoint site and then the Cake Orders list. Click “Connect“.

Design the User Interface (UI)

Add a heading label: “Add New Cake Order”.
Insert Text input controls for:
- txtCustomerName (for Title)
- txtCakeFlavor
- txtQuantity
- txtCustomerContact
Insert a Dropdown control for “Cake Size”: ddCakeSize. Set its Items property to ["Small", "Medium", "Large"].
Insert a Date picker control: dpOrderDate.
Insert a Text input control with Mode set to Multiline for txtDecorationDetails.
Insert a Dropdown control for “Status”: ddStatus. Set its Items property to ["Pending", "In Progress", "Completed"].
“Add to Batch” Button:
- Insert a Button control: btnAddtoBatch.
- Set its Text property to “Add to Batch”.
- Set its OnSelect property to this code:

// Basic Data Validation
If(
    !IsBlank(txtCustomerName.Text) &&
    !IsBlank(txtCakeFlavor.Text) &&
    !IsBlank(txtQuantity.Text) &&
    IsNumeric(txtQuantity.Text) &&
    !IsBlank(ddCakeSize.Selected.Value) &&
    !IsBlank(txtCustomerContact.Text) &&
    !IsBlank(ddStatus.Selected.Value),

    // Collect data into a temporary collection 'colNewOrders'

    Collect(
        colNewOrders,
        {
            CustomerName: txtCustomerName.Text,
            CakeFlavor: txtCakeFlavor.Text,
            CakeSize: ddCakeSize.Selected.Value,
            DecorationDetails: txtDecorationDetails.Text,
            OrderDate: dpOrderDate.SelectedDate,
            Quantity: Value(txtQuantity.Text),
            CustomerContact: txtCustomerContact.Text,
            Status: ddStatus.Selected.Value
        }
    );

    // Clear input fields after adding to batch
    Reset(txtCustomerName);
    Reset(txtCakeFlavor);
    Reset(txtQuantity);
    Reset(txtCustomerContact);
    Reset(ddCakeSize);
    Reset(dpOrderDate);
    Reset(txtDecorationDetails);
    Reset(ddStatus);

    // User feedback
    Notify(
        "Item added to batch.", 
        NotificationType.Success
    ),
    // Error message for validation failure
    Notify(
        "Please fill in all required fields correctly.", 
        NotificationType.Warning
    )
)

Gallery to `Display` the Batch

Add a heading label: “Current Order Batch”.
Insert a Gallery control (e.g., Blank flexible height).
Set its Items property to colNewOrders.
Inside the Gallery Template: Add labels to display item details:
- Customer Name: ThisItem.CustomerName
- Cake Flavor: ThisItem.CakeFlavor
- Quantity: ThisItem.Quantity
(Optional) Remove Item Button: Inside the gallery template, add an “X” icon. Set its OnSelect property to:

Remove(colNewOrders, ThisItem);
Notify(
"Item removed from batch.",
NotificationType.Information
);

Step 3: Implement the `Submit` Button

This is where we send the collected data to our SharePoint list.

Add the Submit Button

Insert a Button control: btnSubmitAllOrders.
Set its Text property to “Submit All Orders”.
Control Button Visibility/Enablement: Set its DisplayMode property to:

If( IsEmpty(colNewOrders), DisplayMode.Disabled,   DisplayMode.Edit)

This prevents users from clicking submit if no items are in the batch.

Write the Submit Logic

Select the btnSubmitAllOrders button.
Set its OnSelect property to this code:

// Use IfError for robust error handling during the submission process
IfError(
    // ForAll iterates through each record in the 'colNewOrders' collection
    ForAll(colNewOrders,
        Patch(
            'Cake Orders', // Your target SharePoint List
            Defaults('Cake Orders'), // Creates a new record
            {
                Title: CustomerName, // Maps collection field to SharePoint column
                CakeFlavor: CakeFlavor,
                CakeSize: { Value: CakeSize }, // Note: Choice columns require {Value: ...}
                DecorationDetails: DecorationDetails,
                OrderDate: OrderDate,
                Quantity: Quantity,
                CustomerContact: CustomerContact,
                Status: { Value: Status } // Note: Choice columns require {Value: ...}
            }
        )
    );

    // Actions to perform on successful submission:
    Clear(colNewOrders); // Empties the temporary collection
    Notify("All orders submitted successfully!", NotificationType.Success), // Success feedback

    // Action to perform if an error occurs during submission:
    Notify("An error occurred during submission. Please check your input and try again.", NotificationType.Error) // Error feedback
);

Step 4: Test Your Power App

Thorough testing is crucial for any application.

Preview the App: Click the “Play” button (triangle icon) in the top-right corner of the Power Apps Studio.

Add Multiple Records

Enter details for the first cake order in the input fields.
Click “Add to Batch”. The item should appear in the “Current Order Batch” gallery, and the input fields should reset.
Repeat this for 3-5 more orders.
Test the “remove” functionality if you added it.

Submit the Batch

With several items in the “Current Order Batch” gallery, click the “Submit All Orders” button.

Verify Data

Navigate to your SharePoint Cake Orders list. All the submitted records should be present and correctly populated.
Check that the “Current Order Batch” gallery in your app is now empty.