Migrating MS Access SQL and VBA functionality into Power App connected to data on Dataverse - ms-access

Question

After transferring a majority of my MS Access tables into Dataverse, I'm looking to transport this query as a DataSource for a Power Apps search box:
SELECT tblGCPC_ALL.ID, tblGCPC_ALL.DocumentNumber, tblGCPC_ALL.PONum AS [PO#], tblGCPC_ALL.Description, Nz([tbl_Vendors].[Vendor],"Pending") AS Vendor, tblGCPC_ALL.[J-Staff], tblGCPC_ALL.RemoteID, tblGCPC_ALL.Status, Nz([DateReceived],"Pending") AS Received, Nz([tblGCPC_ALL].[Receiver],"Pending") AS Receiver, tblGCPC_ALL.AssignedBuyer, IIf([Discrepancy]=0,"N","Y") AS Discr, Nz([tblGCPC_ALL].[REQ_ID],"N/A") AS REQ_ID, Mid([tblgcpc_all].[DocumentNumber],7,9) AS Expr1
FROM (tblGCPC_ALL LEFT JOIN q_VHUB_ALL ON tblGCPC_ALL.DocumentNumber = q_VHUB_ALL.VendorHolderID) LEFT JOIN tbl_Vendors ON q_VHUB_ALL.VendorID = tbl_Vendors.[Vendor ID]
WHERE (((tblGCPC_ALL.DocumentNumber) Is Not Null))
ORDER BY Mid([tblgcpc_all].[DocumentNumber],7,9) DESC;
The search box would only be about 1.5" long, but the dropdown datagrid that the query produces would produce a grid that is about 7" or more, wide.
Additionally, when the user searches in the box, the grid should grow or shrink depending on any qualified match of each column in the grid. Here is a sample of my KeyUp event in VBA for the search box:
Private Sub cboGCPC_Search_KeyUp(KeyCode As Integer, Shift As Integer)
Dim strSQL As String
strSQL = "SELECT * " _
& "FROM SRCH_GCPC " _
& "WHERE [DocumentNumber] Like '*" & Me.cboGCPC_Search.text & "*' OR [PO#] Like '*" & Me.cboGCPC_Search.text & "*' OR [Description] Like '*" & Me.cboGCPC_Search.text & "*' OR [Vendor] Like '*" & Me.cboGCPC_Search.text & "*' OR [Status] Like '*" & Me.cboGCPC_Search.text & "*' OR [Received] Like '*" & Me.cboGCPC_Search.text & "*' OR [Receiver] Like '*" & Me.cboGCPC_Search.text & "*' OR [J-Staff] Like '*" & Me.cboGCPC_Search.text & "*' OR [AssignedBuyer] Like '*" & Me.cboGCPC_Search.text & "*' OR [REQ_ID] Like '*" & Me.cboGCPC_Search.text & "*';"
Select Case KeyCode
Case 38, 40
KeyCode = 0
Case 1, 9, 13
Exit Sub
Case Else
Me.cboGCPC_Search.RowSource = strSQL
Me.cboGCPC_Search.Dropdown
End Select
End Sub
MS Access also allows either showing or hiding the column headers as well as AutoExpand. I'm sure this should also be available in PowerFX
Because this a typical convention of something complex in MS Access and VBA, I feel that mimicking this exact type of functionality into a Power App would serve as template that covers a lot of questions for my migration.

Answer 1

To replicate the functionality of your MS Access search box and dropdown datagrid in Power Apps, you can use a gallery control to display the search results and a text input control for the user to enter search terms.
Here are the general steps to achieve this:
1.Create a gallery control and set its Items property to a formula that retrieves data from Dataverse using the same SQL query as your MS Access search box. You can use the Filter function to filter the results based on the user's search terms. For example, if the user enters "ABC" in the search box, the formula would look like this:
Filter('GCPC ALL', StartsWith(DocumentNumber, "ABC") Or
StartsWith(PONum, "ABC") Or StartsWith(Description, "ABC") Or
StartsWith(Vendor, "ABC") Or StartsWith(Status, "ABC") Or
StartsWith(Received, "ABC") Or StartsWith(Receiver, "ABC") Or
StartsWith([J-Staff], "ABC") Or StartsWith(AssignedBuyer, "ABC") Or
StartsWith(REQ_ID, "ABC"))
Note that you should replace 'GCPC ALL' with the actual name of your Dataverse table.
2.Add text input control and set its OnChange property to a formula that updates the gallery's Items property based on the user's input. For example, if the text input control is named SearchBox, the formula would look like this:
ClearCollect(SearchResults, Filter('GCPC ALL',
StartsWith(DocumentNumber, SearchBox.Text) Or StartsWith(PONum,
SearchBox.Text) Or StartsWith(Description, SearchBox.Text) Or
StartsWith(Vendor, SearchBox.Text) Or StartsWith(Status,
SearchBox.Text) Or StartsWith(Received, SearchBox.Text) Or
StartsWith(Receiver, SearchBox.Text) Or StartsWith([J-Staff],
SearchBox.Text) Or StartsWith(AssignedBuyer, SearchBox.Text) Or
StartsWith(REQ_ID, SearchBox.Text)))
Note that you should replace SearchResults with the name of a collection that will store the search results.
3.Customize the gallery control's layout to match the appearance of your MS Access dropdown datagrid. You can use the same techniques as in MS Access to show or hide column headers and enable auto-expansion of columns.
4.Add any additional functionality you need, such as sorting the results by a specific column or adding pagination.
By following these steps, you should be able to replicate the functionality of your MS Access search box and dropdown datagrid in Power Apps, while leveraging the power of Dataverse as your data source.

Answer 2

The best approach to migrate this functionality into Power Apps is to utilize the Filter and Search functions. To do this, you will need to create a data source that combines the tables you have previously imported into Dataverse. You can then create a search box and use the Filter function to narrow down the results based on what the user is typing in the search box.
You can also add the ability to show or hide column headers and AutoExpand as you mentioned. To do this, you will use the Visible and Expand/Collapse properties in the Power Apps UI.
Finally, you can use the OnChange event of the search box to set the Filter for the data source of the search results. This way, when a user types something in the search box, the results will be updated accordingly.