Power Apps Param Function: Get a Parameter From the URL and Open the Right Record

Our help desk lead asked for one small thing: when a new-request alert lands in Teams, the link inside it should open the app right on that request.

That’s a job for the Param function. It reads values from the end of the app’s web link, so a link that ends in &id=2 can open request 2 on the right screen.

In this tutorial, we’ll build that link step by step in a real canvas app, so you’ll see exactly how powerapps get parameter from url works, why every value comes back as text, and what changes when another app opens yours with Launch().

Here’s what we’re building. I opened the published app with &screen=param&id=2&dept=IT%20Help%20Desk at the end of its link, and it landed on the request screen with request 2 already loaded:

• Param labels that show what the URL passed in (and what it didn’t).
• A LookUp that turns the text "2" into a real SharePoint item.
• App.StartScreen that picks the screen from &screen=param.
• A Launch button in another screen that opens the app the same way.

Before You Start

You need a Power Apps license that lets you build and publish canvas apps, and edit rights to the app. If you’re new to connecting a list, my guide on how to display a SharePoint list in Power Apps covers the basics, and the Power Apps tutorials hub has the rest of this series.

The data is my Service Requests SharePoint list on the SPGuides site. It has 623 items with these columns:

Column	What it holds
Title	Request name, like Password reset #1005
Status	Choice: New, In Progress or Closed
Priority	Choice, like High
Requester	Who raised the request
DueDate	When it’s due

These are the first four items by ID. We’ll open IDs 2 and 3 from a URL later:

ID	Title	Status
1	Laptop replacement #1000	New
2	Password reset #1005	Closed
3	New hire setup #1002	Closed
4	VPN access #1001	In Progress

Build the Demo App Step by Step

If you already have an app connected to a SharePoint list, skip to Step 1. Otherwise, this takes about two minutes:

1. Go to make.powerapps.com, open Home and select Start with design.

1. Select Create from blank to start a canvas app, then pick the Tablet layout.

1. In Studio, select Add data, search for SharePoint and pick the SharePoint connector (a data source is just the list or table your app reads).

1. Paste your site URL, select Connect, check Service Requests and select Connect again.

Two Studio basics you’ll use in every step: the property dropdown sits left of the fx formula bar and picks which property you’re editing, and Ctrl+S saves. To run the app, select Play (top right) or hold Alt and click a button.

Step 1: Add Labels That Show Each Param Value

First, let’s see what the URL hands the app.

1. Select New screen > Blank.
2. Rename it scrParam: select the screen, then the pencil next to its name in the Properties pane.
3. Insert five Text label controls (Insert > Text label).
4. Select each label, pick Text in the property dropdown and type one formula from the block below.

Coalesce(Param("id"), "(blank)")
Coalesce(Param("screen"), "(blank)")
Coalesce(Param("ID"), "(blank)")
IsBlank(Param("id"))
Coalesce(Param("dept"), "(blank)")

Coalesce shows (blank) when a parameter is missing, so an empty label never fools you. The third label asks for ID in capitals on purpose (we’ll see why in the test). If IsBlank is new to you, these Power Apps If statement examples use it a lot.

Step 2: Look Up the Request From the id

Param always returns text, even for id=2. A SharePoint ID is a number, so convert the text first.

1. Insert one more Text label below the others and make it wide.
2. Set its Text property to this formula:

With(
    {r: LookUp('Service Requests', ID = Value(Param("id")))},
    If(
        IsBlank(r),
        "No id in the URL",
        r.Title & " | " & r.Status.Value & " | " & r.Priority.Value
    )
)

Value() turns "2" into 2 (the Power Apps Value function post has more cases), and LookUp returns the first matching item. The IsBlank(r) check is the guard: no id, or an id that matches nothing, shows a friendly message instead of an empty label.

I like this pattern because ID with = is delegable on SharePoint, so it still finds item 600 in a big list. If that word is new, here’s how delegation works in Power Apps. For more LookUp examples, see Power Apps LookUp on a SharePoint list.

Now select Play in Studio:

Checkpoint: in Studio every Param label shows (blank), IsBlank(Param("id")) is true, and the request label says No id in the URL. That’s correct: Studio has no app link with a query string, so Param has nothing to read.

Step 3: Pick the First Screen With App.StartScreen

A link that loads request 2 is useless if the app opens on the home screen. StartScreen decides which screen shows first, once, when the app loads.

1. In Tree view, select App at the top.
2. Pick StartScreen in the property dropdown.
3. Type the formula below (my app also routes two other demo screens).

If(
    Param("screen") = "param",
    scrParam,
    Param("screen") = "combo",
    scrComboDefault,
    Param("screen") = "launch",
    scrLaunch
)

There’s no else branch, so when screen is missing or unknown, StartScreen returns blank and the app opens on the first screen in Tree view. In my app that’s the delegation demo screen, and that’s exactly what the player did with no parameters.

Important: don’t move this into App.OnStart with Navigate. Navigate in OnStart is retired, and global variables set in OnStart aren’t available in StartScreen. Read Param directly here, as above. My post on global vs context variables in Power Apps explains why those variables behave differently.

Checkpoint: in Tree view, select the … next to App and choose Navigate to StartScreen. In Studio the canvas stays on the screen you had selected, because Param(“screen”) is blank there.

Step 4: Publish the App and Copy Its Web Link

Param only gets values in the published app opened from its link, so this step matters.

1. Press Ctrl+S, then select Publish > Publish this version.
2. Go to make.powerapps.com > Apps, select your app, then … > Details.
3. Copy the Web link. It looks like this:

https://apps.powerapps.com/play/e/<environment-id>/a/<app-id>?tenantId=<tenant-id>

The link already starts a query string with ?tenantId=. Every parameter you add goes after it as &name=value.

Test the App With a Real URL

I added three parameters to the web link and opened it in a new browser tab. The space in the department name is written as %20, because URLs can’t carry raw spaces:

https://apps.powerapps.com/play/e/<environment-id>/a/<app-id>?tenantId=<tenant-id>&screen=param&id=2&dept=IT%20Help%20Desk

The first time, the player asked Allow Service Desk Demo to access your data? for the SharePoint connection. When I picked Don’t allow, it stopped on a Consent needed message. After Allow, the app opened straight on scrParam, as in the screenshot at the top.

Label	Result	Why
Param(“id”)	2	Passed as id=2, read as text
Param(“screen”)	param	StartScreen used it to pick scrParam
Param(“ID”)	(blank)	Names are case-sensitive
IsBlank(Param(“id”))	false	id was passed
Param(“dept”)	IT Help Desk	%20 is decoded back to a space

And the LookUp label showed Password reset #1005 | Closed | High, which is item 2 in the list.

Make It Dynamic: Open the App From Another App With Launch()

Inside Power Apps, a button can build the link for you. My scrLaunch screen has a gallery of the first four requests:

FirstN(Sort('Service Requests', ID, SortOrder.Ascending), 4)

1. Insert a Button next to the gallery and select it (how the button OnSelect property works if you haven’t used it).
2. Pick OnSelect in the property dropdown.
3. Type the Launch formula with your own app ID:

Launch(
    "/providers/Microsoft.PowerApps/apps/<your-app-id>",
    {screen: "param", id: galLaunch.Selected.ID}
)

The address is the App URI, your app ID with /providers/Microsoft.PowerApps/apps/ in front. The record {screen: "param", id: ...} becomes the parameters, and Power Apps URL-encodes them for you.

In the published app I selected New hire setup #1002 (ID 3) and clicked the button. A new tab opened directly on scrParam:

Param(“id”) was 3, the request label said New hire setup #1002 | Closed | High, and dept was blank because the button didn’t send one.

Note: test this from the published app. When I clicked the same button in Studio Preview, it opened the Studio edit page in a new tab instead of the player.

Troubleshooting Param Problems

• Every value is blank in Studio. Expected. Publish and open the web link with your parameters added.
• The value is blank in the player too. Check the case: Param("ID") doesn’t read &id=2. Also check the parameter comes after ?tenantId=... with an &.
• The LookUp finds nothing. Param returns text. Wrap it in Value() before you compare it with a number column like ID.
• A parameter never arrives. Its name may be reserved. Microsoft reserves names like source, site, theme, locale and tenantId. Names like screen, id or dept are safe.
• The app opens on the first screen. StartScreen returned blank or an error. Check the spelling of the value in the URL against your If().
• Old values stay on a phone. Param values don’t refresh while the app is already running on mobile. The app has to reload.

Where to Take It Next

• Put the link in an email or alert. Build the URL in a flow with the item ID, or turn it into a clickable link using a hyperlink button in Power Apps.
• Move between screens after launch. Once the app opens on scrParam, a Back button and navigation between Power Apps screens take the user home.
• Make sure people can open it. A link only works for users who have the app. You can share the canvas app with a Microsoft 365 group in one go.

A few more posts that pair well with deep links like this one:

• How to Launch Email in Power Apps
• Make a Text input As Hyperlink in Power Apps [Launch Outlook in a New Tab]
• How to Set Default Selected Item in Power Apps Gallery?
• Show Hide Power Apps Form Based On Gallery Selected Item

Frequently Asked Questions