Power Apps: Overcoming Delegation Warnings When Searching Title field in SharePoint Lists

Introduction

When building Power Apps with SharePoint lists, you may encounter delegation warnings especially when using the Search function on large datasets. This post explains why delegation matters, how it affects your app, and practical workarounds to enable effective searching.

The Delegation Problem

By default, if you create an app using the built-in template connected to a SharePoint list, the gallery’s Items property might be set to:

Search([@FolderMappingDetails], SearchInput1.Text, Title, Title)

Delegation warning

This triggers a delegation warning because the Search function is not fully delegable to SharePoint. Only the first 500 records (default limit) are searched, which can lead to missing results in large lists.

Workarounds

1. Use Filter with StartsWith

One workaround is to use the Filter function with StartsWith, which is delegable:

SortByColumns(
    Filter([@FolderMappingDetails], StartsWith(Title, TextSearchBox1.Text)),
    "Title",
    If(SortDescending1, SortOrder.Descending, SortOrder.Ascending)
)

However, this requires users to know the starting characters of the title, which may not be ideal for all scenarios.

2. Search In-Memory Collection

Another approach is to load the SharePoint list into a local collection and search in memory:

ClearCollect(CollFolderMapping, FolderMappingDetails)

Now, use the Search function on the collection:

Search(CollFolderMapping, TextSearchBox1.Text, "Title")

This avoids delegation issues but is only suitable for smaller lists due to device memory limits.

Set collection Search collection

Practical Tips

  • Always check for delegation warnings in Power Apps Studio; they can impact app reliability and data completeness.
  • Use delegable functions (Filter, StartsWith, etc.) whenever possible for large lists.
  • For small lists, collections provide flexibility but watch out for performance and memory constraints.
  • Consider user experience StartsWith may be limiting, so provide clear instructions or alternative search options.

Conclusion

Delegation warnings are a common challenge when searching SharePoint lists in Power Apps. By understanding the limitations and applying these workarounds, you can build apps that are both powerful and reliable.

References

delegation documentation