Tracked under Microsoft’s AI at Work roadmap ID 576840 and detailed in the Dynamics 365 2026 release wave 1 plan, the feature is now marked as Launched in Worldwide standard multi-tenant environments following a May 29, 2026 public preview and an August 31, 2026 general availability milestone. Rather than overhauling the underlying data architecture, Drawer Lookup gives administrators, makers, and analysts an opt-in, form-level component that replaces the standard lookup interface on mobile devices with a streamlined bottom sheet.
What Drawer Lookup Changes on Mobile Forms
In a typical Dynamics 365 Field Service workflow, technicians frequently interact with lookup fields to link customer assets, select parts, or associate related records on work order forms. On small screens, the traditional lookup interface can introduce visual clutter and require extra taps just to search and confirm a value.
According to Microsoft’s Dynamics 365 blog and Microsoft Learn guidance, Drawer Lookup replaces that behavior with a modern bottom sheet design tailored for phone and tablet screens. The stated goal is to reduce visible distractions, cut down on taps, and lower cognitive load for frontline workers. Because these efficiency gains are presented as user-experience design objectives rather than benchmarked metrics, IT teams should view the control primarily as an ergonomic cleanup for high-frequency mobile forms rather than an automated workflow overhaul.
Key operational traits of the control include:
- Per-Form, Per-Lookup Scope: It is not a global tenant switch. Makers must explicitly apply the control to individual lookup fields on specific table forms.
- No Platform Feature Flag Required: Because it operates strictly as a UI-level PCF control on the form definition, administrators do not need to enable a back-end environment flag before configuring it.
- Simple Rollback: If a field team prefers the legacy behavior on a particular form, a maker can remove the component from the field and republish the form.
Section Summary: Drawer Lookup is an opt-in Power Apps component that swaps the standard lookup field UI for a bottom sheet on mobile forms, requiring no environment-wide feature flags.
The Web Support Nuance and Multi-Table Limitation
Before makers start adding Drawer Lookup to every form in sight, two important technical boundaries in Microsoft Learn’s implementation guidance deserve attention.
First, there is a notable distinction between how the Microsoft 365 roadmap entry summarizes platform behavior and how Microsoft Learn’s technical documentation defines support:
| Aspect | Roadmap Entry Summary (ID 576840) | Microsoft Learn Implementation Guidance |
|---|---|---|
| Target Client | Mobile experiences (phone and tablet) | Mobile and tablet experiences |
| Web Client Behavior | States web experiences use the standard lookup unless the control is also added for the web | Explicitly warns that while the control might work on the web, it is only supported on mobile and tablet |
| Multi-Table Lookups | Not specified in summary | Not supported for multi-table (polymorphic) lookups |
| Rollout Mechanism | Form save and publish; applies on next mobile sync or refresh | Form save and publish; applies on next mobile sync |
Why does that web distinction matter? In the Power Apps form designer, component properties routinely display checkboxes for Web, Phone, and Tablet. While the roadmap blurb casually notes that web users will keep the standard lookup unless the control is added for web, the authoritative Microsoft Learn setup documentation states that Drawer Lookup is only supported on mobile and tablet. Administrators looking to maintain a predictable, supported production environment should leave the Web client unchecked so desktop dispatchers and back-office staff continue using the standard web lookup control.
Second, mobile lookup is not supported for multi-table lookups. In Dataverse and Dynamics 365, polymorphic lookups—such as the classic Customer field that can reference either an Account or a Contact table—bind to multiple target tables. Makers auditing their Field Service forms will need to keep multi-table lookups on the standard control and reserve Drawer Lookup for single-table lookup fields.
(A quick housekeeping note for admins reading the docs: while Microsoft’s archived 2026 release wave 1 plan page still carries an older link label referencing "(preview)"—and notes that stand-alone release plans were retired starting in September 2026 in favor of the unified AI at Work roadmap—the main Microsoft Learn setup page has been updated without the preview tag.)
Section Summary: Keep Drawer Lookup scoped strictly to phone and tablet clients to stay within Microsoft’s supported boundaries, and do not apply it to multi-table lookup fields.
Bonus Ergonomics: Disabling Lookup Clickthrough
When a technician taps an already-populated lookup field on a cramped screen, do they actually intend to abandon their current work order form and open the linked record? Usually not—yet by default, lookup values render as active hyperlinks. One stray thumb tap on a bumpy service truck ride can navigate the user away from the form they were trying to complete.
To solve this, Microsoft paired the Drawer Lookup configuration with a built-in option to disable lookup clickthrough. Setting the lookup clickthrough property to Disable lookup clickthrough strips the hyperlink behavior from the populated value, keeping the technician anchored on the active form.
What if you want to stop accidental navigation on a lookup field where you aren't using the new Drawer Lookup (for instance, on a web form or a standard lookup)? Microsoft Learn documents a parallel procedure using the standard Lookup Control (specifically noted in the documentation as Lookup Control, not Look-up Control), which exposes the same Disable lookup clickthrough property per form and per app without switching to the mobile drawer interface.
Step-by-Step: How to Configure Drawer Lookup in Power Apps
If you administer Dynamics 365 Field Service or customize model-driven forms in Power Apps, here is the complete procedure to enable Drawer Lookup and lock down accidental clickthroughs:
- Open the Target Form: Sign in to Power Apps and open the table form (such as the Work Order form) that contains the single-table lookup field you want to streamline.
- Select the Lookup Field: Click on the target lookup field on the form canvas, or configure a Power Apps lookup component on the form.
- Add a Component: In the right-hand properties pane, locate the Components section under the lookup field and select + Component.
- Choose Drawer Lookup: Search for and select Drawer Lookup Control from the component list.
- Configure Clickthrough Behavior (Recommended): If you want to prevent technicians from accidentally navigating away from the form when tapping a populated value, set the Lookup clickthrough value to Disable lookup clickthrough.
- Scope the Device Experiences: Enable the component for Mobile (Phone) and Tablet. Leave Web unselected to stay aligned with Microsoft Learn’s supported client guidance.
- Apply and Publish: Select Done, then Save and publish the form.
Once published, the update does not require an app store update on the technician’s device. The Field Service mobile app will pull down the new form metadata and display the bottom-sheet lookup interface after its next synchronization or refresh. If you ever need to revert the change, return to the field's Components list in Power Apps, remove the Drawer Lookup Control, and republish the form.
Section Summary: Adding the control takes less than two minutes in the Power Apps form designer per lookup field, requires a form publish, and takes effect on mobile devices after the next sync.