How to Use With() Function in Power Apps

In Power Apps, the With() function is used to create temporary variables (kind of like short-term placeholders) inside a formula. These variables only exist while the formula is being evaluated. This helps make formulas shorter and more readable because you don’t have to repeat calculations or expressions multiple times.

1. Calculations with Shared Logic

Perform complex calculations that share common intermediate logic.

Example: Width, Height, and Depth are named formulas.

Code

With(
    { Area: Width * Height },
    UpdateContext({ Perimeter: 2 * (Width + Height), Volume: Area * Depth })
)

Area is calculated once and reused.
Perimeter and Volume are updated in the screen context.
Makes formulas clean and reusable.

2. Simple Arithmetic

Perform basic calculations and reuse intermediate results.

Code

With(
    { Result: 50 * 10 },
    Result + 50
)

Result = 500
Final output = 550

3. Working with Collections

Handle filtered collections easily.

Code

With(
    { MyProducts: Filter(Products, Price > 100) },
    CountRows(MyProducts)
)

Filters Products table
Counts rows in the filtered set
Avoids repeating the Filter() logic multiple times

4. Nested `With()`

Sequential or multi-step calculations.

Code

With(
    { Sum: Value(TextInput1.Text) + Value(TextInput2.Text) },
    With(
        { Markup: Sum * 5 },
        Markup / 2
    )
)

First, calculate sum of two inputs
Multiply by 5
Divide by 2
Result is a markup percentage

5. Using `With()` in Galleries

Calculate totals or other aggregate values for a gallery.

Code

With(
    { TotalPrice: Sum(Filter(Gallery1.AllItems, Category = "Electronics"), Price) },
    Text(TotalPrice, "$0.00")
)

Sums prices for “Electronics”
Formats as currency
Temporary variable avoids recalculating Sum(...)

6. Date and Time Manipulation

Extract date components for filtering or calculations.

Code

With(
    { Today: Now() },
    UpdateContext({ YYYY: Year(Today), MM: Month(Today), DD: Day(Today) })
)

Captures current date/time
Updates screen context with Year, Month, Day

Code

With(
    { StartDate: DateValue("01-01-2022"), EndDate: DateValue("12-31-2022") },
    Filter(Orders, OrderDate >= StartDate && OrderDate <= EndDate)
)

Filters a table within a specific date range
Temporary variables keep formula clean

7. Conditional Formatting and Styling

Set visual styles dynamically.

Code

With(
    { Style: If(IsAdmin, Color.Blue, Color.Red) },
    UpdateContext({ HeaderColor: Style, ButtonColor: Style })
)

IsAdmin is a global variable
Updates header and button colors based on user role
Great for accessibility or role-based UI changes

8. Grouping Operations on a Single Record

Perform multiple operations on a specific record.

Code

With(
    { CurrentProduct: Lookup(Products, ProductID = selectedProductID) },
    Patch(Products, CurrentProduct, { Stock: CurrentProduct.Stock - 1 });
    Notify(CurrentProduct.Stock, NotificationType.Information)
)

Finds the product
Reduces stock by 1
Shows updated stock in a notification

9. Navigating Hierarchical Data

Filter related child records in a 1-N relationship.

Code

With(
    { SelectedCategory: Lookup(Categories, CategoryID = selectedCategoryID) },
    UpdateContext({ Subcategories: Filter(Subcategories, ParentID = SelectedCategory.CategoryID) })
)

Finds selected category
Updates Subcategories context variable
Useful for dynamic dropdowns or cascading menus

10. Displaying User Information

Simplify multi-field concatenation.

Code

With(
    { CurrentUser: Lookup(Users, ID = User().Email) },
    Concatenate(
        "Name: ", CurrentUser.FullName, Char(10),
        "Email: ", CurrentUser.Email, Char(10),
        "Phone: ", CurrentUser.Phone
    )
)

Lookup current user
Concatenate fields into multi-line text
Avoids repeating Lookup(...) multiple times

11. Converting Duration Strings to Time

Extract hours, minutes, seconds from ISO 8601 duration strings.

Code

With(
    Match("PT2H1M39S", "PT(?:(?<hours>\d+)H)?(?:(?<minutes>\d+)M)?(?:(?<seconds>\d+)S)?"),
    Time(Value(hours), Value(minutes), Value(seconds))
)

Uses named capture groups
Converts to Power Apps Time value
Can format as Text(..., "hh:mm:ss") for display

12. Creating a New Order with Details

Handle parent-child database operations elegantly.

Code

With(
    { NewOrder: Patch(Orders, Defaults(Orders), { OrderStatus: "New" }) },
    ForAll(
        NewOrderDetails,
        Patch(
            OrderDetails,
            Defaults(OrderDetails),
            { OrderNumber: NewOrder, Quantity: Quantity, ProductID: ProductID }
        )
    )
)

Creates a new order
Iterates over NewOrderDetails table
Adds details linked to NewOrder
Uses With() to store NewOrder reference

13. Comparing Two Records from Different Sources

Check if two records match.

Code

With(
    { SpecificOrder: Lookup(Orders, OrderID = "Order123") },
    If(
        SpecificOrder.CustomerID = Gallery1.Selected.CustomerID &&
        SpecificOrder.OrderDate = Gallery1.Selected.OrderDate &&
        SpecificOrder.TotalAmount = Gallery1.Selected.TotalAmount,
        true,
        false
    )
)

Temporary variable holds order
Compares fields cleanly
Returns true/false

14. Evaluating Process Status and Sending Emails

Conditional actions based on record status.

Code

With(
    { ProcessRecord: Lookup(Processes, ProcessID = "P123") },
    Switch(
        ProcessRecord.Status,
        "Completed", Office365.SendEmail(ProcessRecord.AssignedTo, "Process Completed", Concatenate("Process ", ProcessRecord.ProcessID, " has been completed"))
    )
)

Lookup process
Check status with Switch()
Send email via Office365Outlook connector

15. Adding Checked Gallery Items to a Collection

Handle interactive UI selections.

Code

With(
    { CheckedItems: Filter(Gallery1.AllItems, Checkbox1.Value = true) },
    ForAll(
        CheckedItems,
        Collect(CollectedProducts, { ProductID: ProductID, ProductName: ProductName, Price: Price })
    )
)

Filters gallery items where checkbox is checked
Iterates and adds to CollectedProducts collection
Clean, readable, avoids repeated Filter() calls

✅Conclusion

With() is ideal for temporary variables inside a formula.
Use it to:
- Avoid repeating calculations
- Group multiple operations
- Simplify nested or complex logic
Variables inside With() exist only in that formula scope.
Combine With() with Patch(), ForAll(), UpdateContext(), and galleries for powerful, readable formulas.

1. Calculations with Shared Logic

2. Simple Arithmetic

3. Working with Collections

4. Nested With()

5. Using With() in Galleries

6. Date and Time Manipulation

7. Conditional Formatting and Styling

8. Grouping Operations on a Single Record

9. Navigating Hierarchical Data

10. Displaying User Information

11. Converting Duration Strings to Time

12. Creating a New Order with Details

13. Comparing Two Records from Different Sources

14. Evaluating Process Status and Sending Emails

15. Adding Checked Gallery Items to a Collection

✅Conclusion

4. Nested `With()`

5. Using `With()` in Galleries