How to Filtering a SharePoint Choice Column at the App Level

Introduction

In Power Apps connected to SharePoint, different users may need to see different options in a Choice column. Instead of modifying the SharePoint list, you can filter the Choices() function directly within the app. This approach maintains the data structure while providing flexible, role-based control over dropdown selections.

When this is useful

This is especially helpful when:

Your app supports multiple departments or roles
Certain choices should not be visible for specific users
You want to control available options at the app level without modifying the SharePoint list itself

If you'd like, I can also show you how to make this dynamic (e.g., filter choices based on the current user’s role or department).

“Filter a SharePoint Choices Column at the App Level!”

Below it is a Power Apps formula displayed prominently:

Filter(
    Choices([@YourListName].YourChoiceField),
    !(Value in ["Option1", "Option2", "Option3"])
)

Explanation of the Formula

The formula demonstrates how to filter out specific options from a SharePoint Choice column directly inside Power Apps rather than modifying the SharePoint list itself.

Breakdown:

Choices([@YourListName].YourChoiceField)
- Retrieves all available values from a SharePoint Choice column.
Filter(...)
- Applies filtering logic to that list of choices.
!(Value in ["Option1", "Option2", "Option3"])
- Excludes the specified options from appearing in the app.
- The ! means “NOT”, so it removes those listed values.

Scenario: IT Helpdesk Ticket App

You have a SharePoint list called:

HelpdeskTickets

It contains a Choice column called:

Status

Available choices in SharePoint:

New
In Progress
Waiting on Customer
Resolved
Closed
Cancelled

Business Requirement

Regular employees should NOT see:
- Closed
- Cancelled
IT Admins should see all statuses

You do NOT want to modify the SharePoint column because other processes rely on it.

Step 1: Basic Role Check (Simple Version)

Let’s assume:

IT admins are stored in a SharePoint list called ITAdmins
That list has an Email column

Step 2: Set Admin Variable (App OnStart)

In App → OnStart:

Set(
    varIsAdmin,
    !IsBlank(
        LookUp(ITAdmins, Email = User().Email)
    )
)

Then click Run OnStart.

Step 3: Filter the Status Dropdown

Set the Items property of your Status dropdown to:

If(
    varIsAdmin,
    Choices([@HelpdeskTickets].Status),
    Filter(
        Choices([@HelpdeskTickets].Status),
        !(Value in ["Closed", "Cancelled"])
    )
)

What Happens Now

Regular Employee

Sees:

New
In Progress
Waiting on Customer
Resolved

IT Admin

Sees:

New
In Progress
Waiting on Customer
Resolved
Closed
Cancelled

Why This Is Powerful

You didn’t change SharePoint.
You didn’t duplicate columns.
You didn’t create separate forms.
The logic lives entirely in Power Apps.

Even Cleaner Version (Role-Based Table)

Instead of excluding values, you could define allowed values per role:

Filter(
    Choices([@HelpdeskTickets].Status),
    Value in If(
        varIsAdmin,
        ["New","In Progress","Waiting on Customer","Resolved","Closed","Cancelled"],
        ["New","In Progress","Waiting on Customer","Resolved"]
    )
)

Conclusion

Filtering SharePoint Choice columns in Power Apps lets you control what users see without changing the list itself. It’s a simple, flexible way to create role-based or scenario-specific dropdowns while keeping your data intact.