How to Save a Toggle to a SharePoint Yes/No Column in Power Apps

A SharePoint Yes/No column is a true-or-false value in Power Apps, and a toggle is a true-or-false control. Show the saved value with the toggle's Default, and save it with Patch and the toggle's Checked.

Syntax

Syntax

// ToggleName → Default: the saved value, or a starting value for a new item
If(IsBlank(Item), NewItemValue, Item.YesNoColumn)

// In the Patch that saves the item
Patch(DataSource, BaseRecord, {YesNoColumn: ToggleName.Checked})

Part	What it is
Item	The item being edited, such as a variable that holds it. Blank for a new item.
NewItemValue	true or false: how the toggle starts for a new item.
YesNoColumn	The Yes/No column.
DataSource, BaseRecord	The list, and Defaults(DataSource) for a new item or the item to change (How to Create or Update a SharePoint List Item with Patch in Power Apps).
ToggleName.Checked	true while the toggle is on, false while it's off.

The example below is a Departments list whose IsActive column says whether a department is in use, with an Active switch on the form that adds and edits departments.

Prerequisites

• A SharePoint list with a Yes/No column, connected to the app.
• A toggle on the form (How to Add a Toggle in Power Apps).
• The item being edited in a variable, or blank for a new one. The example's screen loads it into locDepartment when it opens (How to Use One Screen to Add and Edit Items in Power Apps).

How Power Apps Sees a Yes/No Column

Microsoft's SharePoint connector page maps Yes/No (checkbox) to Power Apps' Boolean type: true for Yes and false for No. A toggle's Checked is a Boolean too, so the two fit together without converting anything.

Step 1: Show the Saved Value

Set the toggle's Default to the column of the item being edited, with a starting value for a new item:

tglActiveED → Default

If(IsBlank(locDepartment), true, locDepartment.IsActive)

A new department starts active. Editing Day Surgery, the preview strip showed its saved value, true:

A toggle keeps what the user set until it's reset, so reset it when the screen opens: then each item shows its own value (How to Reset a Control to Its Default Value in Power Apps with Reset).

Part of the screen's OnVisible

Reset(tglActiveED)

Step 2: Save It with Patch

Put the column in the Patch record with the toggle's Checked. The example's Save button adds or updates the department, with the toggle's value as IsActive:

btnSaveED → OnSelect

UpdateContext({locIsSaving: true});
IfError(
    Patch(
        Departments,
        If(IsBlank(locDepartment), Defaults(Departments), locDepartment),
        {
            Department: Trim(txtNameED.Text),
            Approvers: cmbApproversED.SelectedItems,
            IsActive: tglActiveED.Checked
        }
    ),
    UpdateContext({locIsSaving: false});
    Notify("The department wasn't saved. " & FirstError.Message, NotificationType.Error),
    UpdateContext({locIsSaving: false});
    Notify(If(IsBlank(locDepartment), "The department was added.", "Your changes were saved."), NotificationType.Success);
    Back()
)

Step 3: Check What Was Saved

I added Day Surgery with the toggle off. The app's list of departments showed it as Inactive:

Then I edited it and switched the toggle on. In SharePoint, the IsActive column shows a tick for Yes, and Day Surgery had one, like the others:

Common Mistakes

Mistake	What happens	Do this instead
Saving tglActiveED.Default	The starting value is saved, not what the user set	Save .Checked
Patching the text "Yes" or "No"	The column takes a Boolean	true, false or .Checked
Not resetting the toggle when the screen opens	The next item shows the last item's value	Reset(tglActiveED) in OnVisible
No starting value for new items	Default reads a column of a blank record	Give new items a value: If(IsBlank(record), true, record.Column)

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Likely cause	Fix
The toggle always starts off when editing	Default doesn't read the item	locDepartment.IsActive in Default
SharePoint shows the old value	The Patch failed	Read the message from FirstError.Message

FAQ

Why does SharePoint show a tick instead of Yes?

That's how the modern list view shows Yes in a Yes/No column. The value behind it is still Yes, and Power Apps reads it as true.

Can I filter on the column?

Yes. Filter(Departments, IsActive = true) runs in SharePoint (Fixed: Delegation Warning. The "Filter" Part of This Formula Might Not Work Correctly on Large Data Sets).

Conclusion

Set the toggle's Default to the item's Yes/No column (or true for a new item), reset it when the screen opens, and save .Checked in the Patch record.

Additional Resources

• Connect to SharePoint from a canvas app: data type mappings.
• Patch function: adding and changing items.

Related

• How to Add a Toggle in Power Apps
• How to Use One Screen to Add and Edit Items in Power Apps
• How to Remove an Item Without Deleting It in Power Apps