Hide a SharePoint Online Column on the New Item Form Only
Question details
Show only Request and Justification when creating a SharePoint list item, then show Approval as well when viewing or editing an existing item.
- Product
- SharePoint Online and Power Apps
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- A SharePoint Online list contains Request, Justification, and Approval columns. The Approval field should appear only after an item has been created.
- Observed behavior
- The SharePoint conditional-formatting approach described does not distinguish new-item creation from viewing existing items in the required way.
Confirm that you have permission to customize the SharePoint list form and access Power Apps. Open the list and verify that Request, Justification, and Approval are available as form fields.
Control the Approval field's visibility with a Power Apps custom form
Use the form's mode to hide Approval during item creation and show it when an existing item is viewed or edited.
Customize the SharePoint form rather than hiding the column in a list view. A Power Apps data card can use the form's New, Edit, or View mode to determine whether its field is visible.
In the SharePoint Online list, select Integrate > Power Apps > Customize forms to open the list form in Power Apps Studio.
In Tree view, expand the form, commonly named SharePointForm1, and select the data card containing Approval. If Approval is missing, select the form, open Edit fields, and add the Approval field.
With the Approval data card selected, choose Visible in the property selector and enter: SharePointForm1.Mode <> FormMode.New. Replace SharePointForm1 with your actual form name if it differs. If the property is locked, use the Advanced pane to unlock the card before editing it.
Select SharePointIntegration in Tree view. Verify that OnNew calls NewForm(SharePointForm1), OnEdit calls EditForm(SharePointForm1), and OnView calls ViewForm(SharePointForm1). If these properties contain other logic, preserve it while ensuring the appropriate form-mode function is called.
Select File > Save, then Publish to SharePoint. Return to the list and select New to confirm that Approval is hidden. Open an existing item's form and then edit it to confirm that Approval appears in both modes.
Prepare SharePoint Request Documents with WPS Office
WPS Office does not customize SharePoint forms or replace Power Apps. It is a free, lightweight, easy-to-use Office alternative for preparing request documents and supporting spreadsheets, with a familiar interface and Microsoft Office format compatibility to simplify migration.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will Column settings > Show/hide columns hide Approval only for new items?
No. That setting controls which columns appear in the selected list view; it does not implement new-versus-existing visibility in the item form. Use Integrate > Power Apps > Customize forms and set the Approval data card's Visible property based on the form mode.
How do I show Approval only when an existing item is being edited?
In Power Apps Studio, select the Approval data card and set its Visible property to SharePointForm1.Mode = FormMode.Edit, using your actual form name. This hides it in both New and View modes.
Can Created or Modified replace the form-mode check?
Created and Modified are item timestamps, not explicit indicators of the form's current mode. In a Power Apps custom form, use SharePointForm1.Mode <> FormMode.New to distinguish creation from viewing or editing an existing item.
Why is Approval still visible after I change the formula?
Confirm that you changed Visible on the entire Approval data card rather than just its input control. Then select File > Save and Publish to SharePoint, reopen the list form, and verify that SharePointIntegration.OnNew calls NewForm for the correct form.
Can hiding Approval stop users from changing it elsewhere?
No. The Visible property only controls display in that custom form. Users may still access the field through other interfaces if their permissions allow it; use appropriate permissions or a separately secured approval process when access must be restricted.
