Power Apps Quick Reference

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This is a condensed reference for the Power Fx functions and patterns that come up in nearly every canvas app: navigation, data functions, string/table manipulation, and variable/state management. It's meant to be scanned, not read start to finish — use it the way you'd use a syntax cheat sheet while actually building a screen, jumping straight to the function you half-remember instead of relearning the whole language from scratch.

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Cricket analogy: It is like a fielding captain glancing at a laminated match-situation card taped to the stumps for D/L par-score calculations instead of doing the math from memory under pressure.

Navigate() moves between screens and optionally applies a transition (Fade, CoverRight, None) plus an optional context-variable record passed as the third argument, which is the standard way to send data to the destination screen without relying on a global variable. Back() returns to the previous screen in the navigation stack, and App.ActiveScreen lets a formula reference the currently displayed screen by name, useful for conditional logic that needs to know where the user currently is.

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Cricket analogy: It is like a third umpire's review process moving through defined stages, ball-tracking, snicko, replay, each stage receiving exactly the context it needs from the previous one rather than starting from scratch.

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// Navigation
Navigate(scr_OrderDetail, ScreenTransition.Fade, {OrderID: gal_Orders.Selected.OrderID});
Back();
App.ActiveScreen.Name

// Data functions
LookUp(Orders, OrderID = 1001)
Filter(Orders, Status = "Open")
SortByColumns(Orders, "OrderDate", SortOrder.Descending)
Patch(Orders, LookUp(Orders, OrderID = 1001), {Status: "Shipped"})
Remove(Orders, LookUp(Orders, OrderID = 1001))
Collect(colOrders, {OrderID: 1002, Status: "New"})

// String / table functions
Concatenate("Order #", Text(1001))
Split("a,b,c", ",")
Text(Now(), "mm/dd/yyyy")
With({Total: Sum(colOrders, Amount)}, Text(Total, "$#,##0.00"))

// Variables
Set(varUserRole, "Manager");                 // global
UpdateContext({locIsEditing: true});           // screen-scoped

Data Functions and Delegation Notes

LookUp() returns the first matching record for a condition and is delegable when the condition uses supported comparisons, while Filter() returns every matching record and is the workhorse for building gallery data sources; both delegate only as far as the connector allows, so a Filter() combining a delegable and a non-delegable condition still triggers the warning for the whole expression. Patch() updates or creates a record and accepts a table of changes for bulk operations, Collect()/ClearCollect() build local collections in client memory, and Remove()/RemoveIf() delete records — RemoveIf() in particular is convenient but non-delegable on many sources, so it's best used only on already-filtered, small result sets.

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Cricket analogy: It is like the difference between an umpire checking just one specific delivery (LookUp) versus reviewing an entire over's worth of deliveries for no-balls (Filter), each request scoped very differently.

Quick delegation rule of thumb: comparison operators (=, <>, <, >), StartsWith, and basic AND/OR generally delegate across most connectors; Len(), Left()/Right()/Mid() outside of StartsWith/EndsWith, and RemoveIf() are common non-delegable culprits worth double-checking against your specific data source.

String, Table, and Common Utility Functions

Concatenate() and the & operator join strings, Text() formats numbers/dates/booleans into display strings using format codes, and With() lets you compute an intermediate value once (like a Sum() total) and reuse it within a single formula without a separate Set() call polluting global state. For working with tables, ForAll() iterates and can build a new table by transforming each row, AddColumns() appends a computed column to an existing table without mutating the source, and Coalesce() returns the first non-blank value from a list of candidates, which is a clean way to supply a default when a lookup might return blank.

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Cricket analogy: It is like a scorer combining runs, extras, and wickets into a single running total line (Concatenate) versus building an entirely new derived stats column for strike rate per over (AddColumns) without touching the original ball-by-ball log.

ForAll() building large derived tables and RemoveIf() on non-delegable conditions are two of the most common causes of a formula silently only processing a partial dataset or running far slower than expected. When either appears in a formula touching a large data source, double check delegation before assuming the logic itself is correct.

Navigate() moves screens with an optional transition and context-variable payload; Back() returns to the prior screen.
LookUp() returns one matching record; Filter() returns all matches; both only delegate as far as the connector supports.
Patch() creates/updates records; Collect()/ClearCollect() build client-side collections; Remove()/RemoveIf() delete records.
RemoveIf() is convenient but frequently non-delegable — best reserved for small, already-filtered result sets.
Text() formats values for display; With() computes a reusable intermediate value without polluting global state.
ForAll() iterates and can build a transformed table; AddColumns() appends a computed column without mutating the source.
Coalesce() returns the first non-blank value from a candidate list, a clean pattern for supplying defaults.