Working with dynamic values

When you use actions in Power Apps, you can encounter dynamic return values or input values for some actions. Previously, Power Apps ignored dynamic input fields, and they weren't visible in Power Fx expressions. Now, you work directly with these fields. Previously, when a return type was dynamic, Power Apps returned a Boolean value. Now, it returns a dynamic value instead.

Passing in dynamic values as parameters

Certain actions necessitate using a dynamic value as a parameter. If you have a Power Fx record, convert it to a dynamic value to pass it to the action.

In the following example, the merge action on a Dataverse Account table requires several dynamic arguments. To prepare, define three variables to hold the TargetObject, SubordinateObject, and UpdateContextObject. Start by assigning the text string Microsoft.Dynamics.CRM.account to a variable, which you reuse throughout the example.

Set (OdataType, “Microsoft.Dynamics.CRM.account”);

Then assign TargetObject a Power Fx record with the properties name, accountid, and @odata.type. Similarly, assign Power Fx records to the Subordinate and UpdateContext objects.

Set (TargetObject, {name: "Test 2", accountid: "145dc2ba-85a2-ed11-aado-0022482d76a5", '@odata.type': OdataType});
Set (SubordinateObject, {name: FirstRecord.’Account name’, accountid: FirstRecord.Account, ‘@odata.type’ : OdataType });
Set (UpdateContextObject, {telephone1: FirstRecord.’Main Phone’, address1_city: FirstRecord.’Address 1 : City’, ‘@odata.type’ : OdataType }); 

Next, create three more variables to store the dynamic records after the conversion: TargetDynamicValue, SubordinateDynamicValue, and UpdateContextDynamicValue. To convert, use the ParseJSON(JSON()) function on the original variables. This action transforms the Power Fx records into dynamic values.

Set (TargetDynamicValue, ParseJSON(JSON(TargetObject)));
Set (SubordinateDynamicValue, ParseJSON(JSON(SubordinateObject)));
Set (UpdateContextDynamicValue, ParseJSON(JSON(UpdateContextObject)));

Finally, call the merge action and pass in the necessary parameters for both dynamic and specific types:

Environment.Merge({Target: TargetDynamicValue, Subordinate: SubordinateDynamicValue, UpdateContent: UpdateContextDynamicValue, PerformParentingChecks: false  });

Using dynamic values returned via an action

If an Action based connector returns an object, you can access its properties directly, even if they don't have a type. But if you want to use a property for something specific in Power Apps, like labeling, cast it first.

In this example, the httpRequest function returns a dynamic value that's already cast as a Boolean.

Set (response, Office365Groups.HttpRequest("/v1.0/me", "GET", ""));

One of the properties in the response is displayName. It can be accessed, and cast, with a Power Fx expression like the following:

Text(response.displayName)

Cast to the object Text to use it in a Power Apps label control.

Working with Dynamic fields

Action responses now capture dynamic output, and you can use the method described above to access these properties. You can also work with dynamic input fields.

Consider the GetMessageDetails action in Microsoft Teams, which has a dynamic input body parameter. Previously, you couldn't view or specify this parameter. With the recent update, set a variable called body with the appropriate Power Fx record structure.

Set ( body, ParseJSON(JSON( {recipient: { groupID: “7f733b36-7c7f-4f4c-9699-0a7b7a2b3897”, channelID: “19: 085d522328fb4a439220641006f7f25@thread.tacv2”}})));

Then, we can call the GetMessageDetails action and assign the response to the teamsResponse variable.

Set (teamsResponse, MicrosoftTeams.GetMessageDetails ( 1661365068558, “channel”, body ));

Converting formulas that return dynamic values that previously returned Boolean

Power Fx takes a limited number of dynamic values so explicit conversion may be necessary for your formula. In particular, if your formula depends on a Boolean response then you need to convert. If you need to simply know if an error exists, you can use the IsError function:

If(
  IsError(Office365Outlook.CalendarDeleteItemV2("Calendar", 1)),
  Notify("An Outlook appointment could not be found or could not be deleted")
)

To access error information that is exclusively available through IfError, you must transform the dynamic value into a specific type using a conversion function such as Boolean, Text, or Value. These functions will produce an error if they are given one. The following example, illustrates this:

With({result: Office365Outlook.CalendarDeleteItemV2("Calendar", 1)},
If( IsError(result),
  IfError(
    Boolean(result),  // any conversion function would do, such as Text, Value, …
    Notify("An Outlook appointment could not be found or could not be deleted: " & FirstError.Message)
) ) )