The ask this time, pitch Power Apps as a low-code consideration for a few pro-code initiatives stuck in the perpetual, project backlog. Although sentiments are changing, there are still pro-dev teams skeptical of the Power Platform. A common concern, driven by much of the community skepticism, is the idea that low-code is limiting and restrictive, … Continue reading Power Apps: Canvas Apps | Model-View-ViewModel (MVVM)
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Power Platform: Canvas App + Cloud Flow | SPO List Config.
The ask, propose an alternative configuration option for a Power Platform solution. The maker created a Power Apps canvas app and a Power Automate cloud flow. When items are submitted, others are prompted via email, sent by the cloud flow, to open the canvas app and complete an action. Following best practice, the maker created … Continue reading Power Platform: Canvas App + Cloud Flow | SPO List Config.
Power Platform: SPO Data Sources + Error Emails
The ask, rethink error email recipients of a Power Platform solution. The original maker needs to transfer ongoing support to the help desk and presently, if there's an issue, the cloud flows are designed to email the maker directly. Fortunately, the solution's data source is a series of SharePoint Online (SPO) lists, so there's at … Continue reading Power Platform: SPO Data Sources + Error Emails
Power Apps: User Defined Functions (UDF) | Calculate Days in Month
The ask, evaluate user-defined functions (UDFs), an experimental feature of canvas apps. Can the client's existing solutions benefit from UDFs whenever they become generally available (GA)? The short answer is yes. UDFs would allow app makers to create their own Formulas to be used throughout their respective canvas apps. This becomes helpful because as solutions … Continue reading Power Apps: User Defined Functions (UDF) | Calculate Days in Month
SharePoint Online: JSON Column Formatting | Link to Power Apps
The ask, create a dynamic link from a SharePoint Online (SPO) document library, navigating end-users to a Power Apps canvas app. This app expects "deal_id" as a parameter, Param(), which would be the id of the library item. Is it possible? Yes. Is it complicated? No. SPO libraries, which inherit from lists, are relatively easy … Continue reading SharePoint Online: JSON Column Formatting | Link to Power Apps
Microsoft Dataverse: Table Designs w/ Copilot
The ask, create new Dataverse tables for an upcoming initiative. There are several existing tables that could be used for this initiative, but the project requirements necessitated new tables be created. Because this is an upcoming initiative, business stakeholders aren't ready to build the solution UI, even though Microsoft Copilot could create everything for them: … Continue reading Microsoft Dataverse: Table Designs w/ Copilot
Power Apps: Canvas App | Ranked Choice Voting (RCV)
This is likely to be a lengthy post because there was no ask today. I just wanted to stress test nested Power Fx With() functions a bit. My question, "Are there any performance concerns nesting With() functions?" To test this and maybe get an answer, I created a Power Apps canvas app to determine the … Continue reading Power Apps: Canvas App | Ranked Choice Voting (RCV)
Power Apps: Application Lifecycle Management | Housekeeping
Power Apps canvas apps are easy enough for citizen devs to build without a traditional developer's background. And they can build some pretty complex solutions. Unfortunately, as apps grow in complexity, devs rarely remember to clean up their solutions and remove unnecessary elements, especially as solutions are promoted from one environment to another. Likely the … Continue reading Power Apps: Application Lifecycle Management | Housekeeping
Power Apps: Canvas App | Merging Data Sources w/ AddColumn()
Scenario: There is a canvas app with a text box, two radio choices, a vertical gallery, and two data sources. Toggling the radio button changes which data source is filtered and used to populate the gallery. Problem: The data sources don't have any data columns in common and Power Apps doesn't like that. Solution: Create … Continue reading Power Apps: Canvas App | Merging Data Sources w/ AddColumn()
Power Apps: Canvas Apps | Office365Users – Profile Errors
The Office365Users connector gets tricky when makers are working with incomplete user profiles. Especially when trying to display user profile photos. Does everyone have a picture? Even the contractors? Unfortunately, everyone isn't guaranteed to have an uploaded profile photo. Making the assumption that they do only invites future problems. To be proactive, default to the … Continue reading Power Apps: Canvas Apps | Office365Users – Profile Errors
Power Platform: Data Sources | SQL Tables or Dataverse Tables
The Power Platform is Microsoft's collective of no-code/ low-code solutions. To supplement this platform, Dataverse is Microsoft's secure, no-code/ low-code data storage solution. SQL Server is still a strong contender for data storage, but leveraging it requires some mastery of SQL. Dataverse, however, stores data in tables just like SQL, but doesn't require any proficiency … Continue reading Power Platform: Data Sources | SQL Tables or Dataverse Tables
Power Apps: SharePoint | Delegation + AddColumn()
So yeah, this won't work for everyone, but it was a creative delegation workaround for me. In my scenario, I used several SharePoint Online (SPO) lists as data sources and needed to filter on a multi-line column of employee Names, separated by a semi-colon: Figure 1 - SharePoint Online new item form. This example SPO … Continue reading Power Apps: SharePoint | Delegation + AddColumn()
Power Apps: Canvas Apps | Data Refresh – Manual v Timed
Canvas apps are Microsoft's low-code business apps of the Power Platform, capable of interacting with data from a variety of data sources. Keeping that in mind, app makers should design their apps with data refreshes in mind because after the initial app start, users are working with copies of the loaded data, not live data. … Continue reading Power Apps: Canvas Apps | Data Refresh – Manual v Timed
Power Platform: Data Sources | SQL Tables or SPO Lists
The Power Platform is Microsoft's collection of low-code, citizen developer solutions. Being low-code, makers don't need coding experience to build their apps, bots, automations, and/ or dashboards. Even so, makers still need to decide where their data should ultimately live. For most people, SQL is typically the go-to data storage consideration. And honestly, SQL isn't … Continue reading Power Platform: Data Sources | SQL Tables or SPO Lists
Power Fx: Calculate | Calculate Days in a Month
Power Fx is the Excel-like, formula language of the Power Platform. Akin to Microsoft Excel, most of the functions are only reasonably powerful on their own. When they're combined though, they become much more awe-inspiring. For example, calculating the number of days in a month. Calculating this, makers only need a handful of functions and … Continue reading Power Fx: Calculate | Calculate Days in a Month
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