How to Use Data Table Control in Power Apps?

Recently, I worked on a Power Apps application to manage product details stored in a SharePoint list. I used a Power Apps Data table control to display product information, such as product names, categories, prices, etc.

This makes it convenient for users to view all the products in a structured table format. They can scroll through the list, search for specific products, or filter the products based on criteria.

In this article, I will explain the Power Apps data table, how to use it, and many more like:

• How to add items manually in the Power Apps data table
• Display SharePoint list in Power Apps data table
• Difference between gallery and data table in Power Apps
• Power Apps data table conditional formatting
• Display selected records from the data table on a Power Apps form
• How to refresh a data table in Power Apps
• Power Apps data table limitations and capabilities

Power Apps Data Table Control

Power Apps Data table is a control that displays the records in a structured format that includes column headers for each field. We can show or hide the fields as necessary.

This control has the following advantages:

• It seamlessly connects with various data sources, including SharePoint lists, Dataverse, and SQL databases.
• The data table control provides a horizontal scroll bar if the data does not fit within the screen’s width.
• We can also export the data displayed in the data table to formats like Excel.
• It automatically adjusts its layout and size for different screen sizes.

Look at some of the key properties of Power Apps data table control.

Add Items Manually in Power Apps Data Table

In Power Apps, we can manually add items to a Data table control. This allows you to input and display data directly within the table instead of connecting with data sources like SharePoint and Dataverse, etc.

NOTE: The Table() function in Power Apps helps to add manual data to the data table control.

Look at the example below; I created this data table manually without connecting to any data source.

Follow the steps below to add the data manually into the data table in Power Apps.

1. In Power Apps, click +Insert tab -> Select Data table control.

2. In the Items property of the data table, provide the formula below. Here, I used the Table() function.

Syntax: Table( RecordOrTable1 [, RecordOrTable2, ... ] )

Table({Item: "Violin",Location:"France",Owner:"Sahiba",ItemAvailable:4},
{Item: "Flute", Location:"Germany", Owner:"Saiyyad",ItemAvailable:3},
{Item: "Saxophone", Location:"Norway", Owner:"Sanem",ItemAvailable:2},
{Item: "Trumpet", Location:"Korea",Owner:"KimTaehyung",ItemAvailable:9},
{Item: "Guitar", Location:"Uganda", Owner:"Balaram",ItemAvailable:10},
{Item: "Cello", Location:"Italy", Owner:"Gnanadev",ItemAvailable:6},
{Item: "Clarinet", Location:"Netherlands",Owner:"Jimin",ItemAvailable:14}
)

In the formula, use {} to add items and use “:” to separate the column name and item name. The left side value of the colon (:) is considered as the column name, and the right side value is considered as data.

3. To add the columns and data to the table, go to the Properties pane -> Click Edit fields -> +Add field -> Select the column names -> Click on Add as shown below.

4. To customize the data table, go to the Properties pane and utilize the properties shown in the image below.

Change the font size, font style, background color, text color, etc., for column headers and data.

5. Now, save the changes and preview the app once. Look, I’m able to adjust the column width also.

Display SharePoint List in Power Apps Data Table

The Power Apps data table control allows you to display SharePoint list data in a tabular format within your app. It provides an easy way to view, sort, filter, and interact with the data stored in a SharePoint list.

Here, I have taken a SharePoint list [Product Details].

Look at the data table of product details in Power Apps.

Follow the steps below to add the SharePoint list items to a Power Apps data table.

1. In Power Apps, from +Insert tab -> Select Data table control.

NOTE: Make sure to connect with the SharePoint list

2. Set the Items property of the data table to control your SharePoint list.

'Product Details'

In the example above, you’ll see the data table had an error cross symbol. This is because the table won’t support SharePoint list attachments. To avoid this, remove the “Attachment” column from the data table.

3. To change the column name in the data table, click the column -> Change the Header Text property.

4. Then, customize the column headers and data from the data table properties pane. Like changing the font size and font style, background color, etc.

In this way, we can display the SharePoint list in the Power Apps data table.

Display Selected Records from the Data Table on a Form

Forms can be used in Power Apps to display or edit the selected record from a data table or to add a new record to the data table.

Look at the example below. The selected record details are displayed in the form, and you can also edit the selected record in the data table and add a new record to it.

To achieve this, follow the steps below.

1. Add Edit form next to the data table in Power Apps.

2. Set the DataSource property of the edit form to the data source name.

DataSource: 'Product Details'

3. In the Item property of the edit form, put the formula below.

tbl_product_details.Selected

This formula is used to display the selected item of a data table in the form.

4. To add new records to the data table, from the +Insert tab, select the +Add icon.

5. In the OnSelect property of the icon provide the below formula.

NewForm(frm_ProductTable)

In the formula above, change frm_ProductTable to your form name.

6. To save the modifications or to save the new records, add the Save icon from the +Insert tab.

7. In the OnSelect property of the save icon. Provide the formula below.

SubmitForm(frm_ProductTable)

The SubmitForm function will submit the updated things to the data source.

8. Now, save the changes and preview the app, as in the example above. You can display the selected item of the data table in the form, and add a new item to the data table, modify the selected item.

How to Refresh a Data Table in Power Apps

When working with a data table in Power Apps, you might need to refresh it to display the latest data. Here are three different approaches to refreshing a data table.

• Refresh the Power Apps data table from the data source
• Power Apps refresh a data table on button click
• Automatically refresh a data table in Power Apps

Let’s look at each and every approach for refreshing the data table.

Refresh the Power Apps Data Table from the Data Source

In Power Apps, we can refresh the data table with the help of the Refresh option available for data sources.

Here, I added one new record to the product details data source. Let’s see whether this new record will appear after refreshing the data source.

Follow the steps below to refresh the data table.

1. In Power Apps, Click on the Data icon in the left navigation ->Click on ellipses(…) next to date source->Select Refresh option.

2. It will be refreshed, as shown below. We’ll immediately get the updated data table.

3. Look at the image below; the newly entered record is displayed in the data table.

This is one type of approach for refreshing the data table.

Power Apps Refresh Data Table on Button Click

The Refresh () function in Power Apps retrieves a fresh copy of a data source. You’ll see the changes that are made to the data source.

Syntax: Refresh(DataSource)

Here is an example of refreshing the Power Apps data table after making changes in the data source.

Follow the steps below to refresh the Power Apps data table on the button click.

1. In Power Apps, from +Insert tab -> Select Button control.

2. Put the formula below in the OnSelect property of the button.

Refresh('Product Details')

In the formula, change the ‘Product Details‘ to your data source name.

3. Customize the button control like,

• Changing the Text property to “Refresh”.
• Background color changing
• Border radius, etc,

4. Now, save the changes and preview the app once. When clicking the refresh button, the data table will refreshed and display the changed data.

Power Apps Refresh Data Source Automatically

In Power Apps, we can use the Timer control to refresh the data source automatically. It will refresh the data source based on the duration time.

Look at the example below; for every 3 seconds, the data sorce is getting updated.

Follow the steps below to refresh the data table automatically.

1. In Power Apps, from the +Insert tab -> select Timer control.

2. In the timer Properties pane, set

• Duration – 3000 [Change the duration according to your needs].
• Repeat -On [It continuously repeats the task].
• Auto start- On[ While screen loading, it will auto start the timer].
• Auto pause -Off [ To continue the loop, stop this property].

3. Provide the formula below in the OnTimerEnd property of the timer control.

Refresh('Product Details')

After every duration time ends, the data source in the data table gets refreshed.

4. Now, save the app. In the data source, do some modifications like adding new records or deleting some records. Then, preview the app once; It will display the updated data.

In this way, we can refresh the data source automatically in Power Apps.

Power Apps Data Table Conditional Formatting

In Power Apps, implementing conditional formatting for data table control is not as flexible as gallery control.

Only limited things are possible; look at the example below. I have made the selected record color red if the release date is within 7 days.

Follow the steps below to achieve this.

1. In Power Apps data table control, provide the formula below in the SelectedColor property.

If(DateDiff(Today(), tbl_productDetails_refresh.Selected.'Release Date') <= 7, Color.Red,Color.Black)

This formula will change the selected record value color to “Red” if the release date is within 7 days; otherwise, it will be black.

Change tbl_productDetails_refresh to your data table name and ‘Release Date’ to the column name in the data source.

2. Now, save the app and preview it. You’ll see the changes when you select the records in the Power Apps data table.

Difference between Gallery and Data Table in Power Apps

In Power Apps, we have two options to display the data from different sources. One is gallery control, and the other is data table control.

Both have advantages and disadvantages in usage; let’s see some of the differences between them in the table below.

Power Apps Data Table Limitations and Capabilities

The limitations of the Data table control in PowerApps are as follows:

• Read Only: The data in a data table is read-only; users can not edit or modify the data directly within the table.
• Not Support for Images: The data table does not support displaying images within the table.
• Not Support for Attachments: The data table does not support the attachment column in the SharePoint list.
• Limited number of rows: The data table control has a limit on displaying the records in a table. By default, it retrieves the first 500 records from the data source, and if there are more than 500, it may show a delegation warning.
• Customizations: For individual columns, you can’t apply stylings.
• FirstN function: We can’t use the “FirstN” function in the items property of the data table.
• Performance considerations: The data table may experience performance issues when working with large data sets and complex calculations.

The capabilities of the Data table control in Power Apps are as follows:

• The data table control auto-populates the data source with column headings.
• A single row is always selected in the data table control.
• Customize column width and text.
• Show hyperlinks in data table control.
• Copy and paste the data table control.
• We can connect the data table control to a local source.
• We can show or hide the necessary columns.
• It is possible to create a manual data table without a data source.

Moreover, you may like some more Power Apps articles:

• PDF Viewer Control in Power Apps
• Power Apps Gallery Conditional Formatting
• PowerApps Play Video From SharePoint
• Power Apps Delegation Warnings

I hope you found this article helpful. In it, I have explained the data table control from the beginner’s level, the various differences between the gallery control and data table control, and how to refresh a data table in Power Apps.

Additionally, we learned how to add items manually in the Power Apps data table and display SharePoint list items in the Power Apps data table with various scenarios.

Bijay Kumar

After working for more than 18 years in Microsoft technologies like SharePoint, Microsoft 365, and Power Platform (Power Apps, Power Automate, and Power BI), I thought will share my SharePoint expertise knowledge with the world. Our audiences are from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, etc. For my expertise knowledge and SharePoint tutorials, Microsoft has been awarded a Microsoft SharePoint MVP (12 times). I have also worked in companies like HP, TCS, KPIT, etc.