How to Clear a Text Input in Power Apps (Reset, Clear Button and Forms)

Say you’re logging 40 walk-up help desk requests a day, and after each one the name and city boxes still hold the last person’s details. To clear them, put Reset(txtClName) in a button’s OnSelect and set each box’s Default to "".

That one function covers most apps. But the X icon, a whole form or a shared reset need a different tool.

In this tutorial, we’ll do a power apps clear text input build in a small demo screen. You’ll see Reset(), the built-in Clear button, the Reset property with a variable, and ResetForm for forms.

We’ll also clear a variable, check for an empty box with IsBlank, and look at what’s different in the modern Text input.

Build the Demo Screen Step by Step

I tested everything below in my Service Desk Demo canvas app. A canvas app is one where you place every control yourself. If you’d rather start from data, see how to create a canvas app from a SharePoint list.

Step 1: Open the maker portal. Go to make.powerapps.com. On the Home page, select Start with design.

Step 2: Create a blank canvas app. Select Create from blank.

Step 3: Pick a layout. Choose Tablet in Start with a blank canvas. Power Apps Studio, the app editor, opens.

Step 4: Insert the controls. Open the Insert menu and add three Text input controls, two Buttons and one Text label. This screen doesn’t need a data source.

Step 5: Rename them. In the Tree view on the left, name the boxes txtClName, txtClCity and txtClNote, the buttons btnClClear and btnClNote, and the label lblClShow.

Step 6: Set Default and HintText. For each box, set Default to "". HintText is the light-gray text an empty box shows. I used “Requester name” and “Office city”.

Step 7: Show the live values. Set the label’s Text property to this, so you can watch each box clear:

"Typed: " & txtClName.Text & " | " & txtClCity.Text & " | " & txtClNote.Text

To set any property, select the control, pick the property in the dropdown left of the fx formula bar, then type the formula in the bar.

To test, select Play at the top right, or hold Alt and click a button in the editor. Press Ctrl+S to save.

Method 1: Clear Text Inputs on Button Click With Reset() (Recommended)

Use this for a Clear or Cancel button. Select btnClClear, pick OnSelect and type this. Our post on the Power Apps button OnSelect property covers more button actions.

Reset(txtClName); Reset(txtClCity)

In Preview, I typed Megan Bowen, Seattle and Needs a loaner laptop. After one click, the name and city boxes were empty and the note stayed.

How does this formula work?

Reset doesn’t blank a box. It puts the box back to its Default value and drops whatever the user typed.

Both Defaults are "", so both boxes come back empty and the hint text shows. The label now reads “Typed: | | Needs a loaner laptop”.

The semicolon runs one Reset after the other. That’s how you reset multiple fields: one Reset per control, in a single button.

So here’s the catch: if Default is “Text input” or a formula, Reset brings that value back, not an empty box.

Method 2: Turn On the Built-In Clear Button (X)

Use this when users should clear one box themselves, like a search box. No formula needed.

Select txtClName and, in the Properties pane on the right, switch Clear button to On. In the property dropdown it’s called Clear.

In Preview, an X shows inside the box while it has text and focus. Clicking it empties that one box.

How does this work?

Clear = true just tells the control to draw the X. Per Microsoft, it only works when the box’s Mode is SingleLine.

I first typed ClearButton in YAML and Studio rejected it with “Unknown property”. The real name is Clear.

Method 3: Reset Several Inputs With the Reset Property

Use this when many controls should reset together from more than one formula. It uses a context variable, a value that lives on one screen. Here’s how global vs context variables compare.

Select txtClNote, pick its Reset property and type locClear.

Then set btnClNote’s OnSelect to:

UpdateContext({locClear: true}); UpdateContext({locClear: false})

After the click, the note box cleared too, so all three were empty. It worked again when I typed “Second test”.

How does this formula work?

A control resets when its Reset property turns true. Setting locClear to true fires it, and setting it back to false gets it ready for the next click.

Without the false step, locClear stays true, so the next click has nothing to change. Point every box’s Reset at locClear and one click clears them all.

Pro Tip: Microsoft calls the Reset() function generally preferred. Use the Reset property only when several formulas need to reset the same group.

Method 4: Clear a Whole Form With ResetForm()

If your boxes sit inside an Edit form, use the form function instead. It pairs well with a submit form to a SharePoint list button:

SubmitForm(frmRequest); ResetForm(frmRequest)

ResetForm puts every card back to its initial values. If the form was in New mode, it switches to Edit mode, and the form’s OnReset runs.

You can’t reset a single control inside a form or a gallery from outside it. Run Reset from a control in that same form or gallery. The same rule shows up when you reset check boxes in a Power Apps gallery.

Clear a Variable and Check for an Empty Box

Some apps bind Default to a variable. To clear a variable, set it to Blank():

Set(varName, Blank())            // global variable
UpdateContext({locName: Blank()}) // context variable

A box resets when its Default changes. If varName is already blank, setting it again changes nothing and the typed text stays. Call Reset() too. Need several at once? Here’s how to set multiple variables at once.

To check whether a box is empty, test its Text, for example in a button’s DisplayMode:

If(IsBlank(txtClName.Text), DisplayMode.Disabled, DisplayMode.Edit)

That keeps Save grayed out until a name is typed. Our Power Apps form validations guide has more checks like this.

What About the Modern Text Input?

I tested the classic control. Per Microsoft Learn, the modern Text input control has Default and Text too, but uses Placeholder instead of HintText.

Its Type property includes a Search mode, and its property list has no Clear property. Test Reset() in your own app before you switch.

Which Method Should You Use?

Situation	Use
Clear one or a few boxes on a button click	Reset(txtName); Reset(txtCity)
Let users clear a box themselves	Clear button (Clear = true), SingleLine only
Many boxes reset from several formulas	Reset property = a variable you toggle true, false
Fields inside an Edit form	ResetForm(frmRequest)
Default bound to a variable	Set it to Blank(), then call Reset()

Things to Keep in Mind

• Reset returns the Default value. Fix: set Default to "" and put the guidance text in HintText.
• Reset can’t reach into a gallery or form from outside. Fix: use ResetForm, or a Reset from inside it.
• A Reset property that stays true won’t fire again. Fix: always set the variable back to false.
• Context variables live on one screen. Fix: use Set for a global variable if another screen must clear the box.

If you build forms like this at work, our Power Apps training course walks through them on real projects.

Want to keep going with Power Apps controls? Try these:

• How to Reset Power Apps Combo Box Control?
• How to Set Combo Box Value On Button Click in Power Apps [Step-by-Step]
• How to Use Power Apps Modern Form Control?
• How to Check If Power Apps Dropdown is Empty?

Frequently Asked Questions