Filtering and searching data

Introduction to Power Apps

Luise Freese

Azure & Power Platform Architect

Filter()

Filter(source, condition) returns matching rows
Use it in a gallery's Items property
For example:
- Filter('Marketing Tasks', Status.Value = "In progress")

Illustration of a data funnel filtering many rows down to a few matching results

Wire it to a dropdown

Data flow diagram: StatusDropdown at top, arrow to Filter formula, arrow to gallery of task cards, showing the top-to-bottom data-flow chain

Set the Dropdown's Items to a list of status options
Reference Dropdown1.Selected.Value in the gallery filter
Pick a status → gallery narrows instantly

Why StartsWith beats Search

Search(), matches substrings, anywhere
…but doesn't delegate to most data sources
StartsWith() does delegate, use it

Comparison: Search() with red X and delegation warning squiggle vs StartsWith() with green check and no warning, arrow labeled "Prefer"

The delegation warning

Power Apps formula bar showing a formula with a blue squiggly delegation warning underline, and a yellow warning tooltip reading "Delegation warning: results may be incomplete"

A blue squiggle means Power Apps can't push your formula
It works for small datasets, silently truncates large ones
Always notice it; rewrite when you can

Combining Filter and StartsWith

One Filter() can take multiple conditions
Join them with And() or &&
For example:
- Filter(src, Status.Value = sel, StartsWith(Title, txt))

Illustration of a person browsing a filtered list of cards on a device

What you'll build

Finished Lumen app with a Status dropdown and search box above a filtered gallery of task cards, using warm coffee-brown accents

Filter by status with a Dropdown
Search by title with StartsWith
Combine both into a single filter

Let's practice!

Introduction to Power Apps