Power Apps Tips, Tricks, and Best Practices

Power Apps Tips, Tricks, and Best Practices

by Andrea Pinillos, Tim Weinzapfel
Released November 2024
Publisher(s): Packt Publishing
ISBN: 9781835080078

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Book description

Create custom solutions with the help of real-world examples using data connections, advanced canvas app formulas, data filtering techniques, and integrations, including Copilot

Key Features

  • Understand overall project planning and manage your apps across different environments and solutions
  • Learn how Power Apps can be integrated with other applications to extend the functionality
  • Incorporate Copilot with Power Apps to create a customized solution
  • Purchase of the print or Kindle book includes a free PDF eBook

Book Description

Microsoft Power Apps is ideal for businesses seeking to digitally transform their operations by developing custom applications quickly and efficiently, without the heavy investment required for software development. This book leverages the authors’ combined experience in Power Platform, among others, to lay down the foundation for successful app development, focusing on defining project scope and understanding requirements.

In this book, you’ll go through several key development areas, including solution creation and Power Platform environments, both critical areas for effective app development and deployment. You'll also discover best practices for choosing when to build a canvas app or a model-driven app based on project requirements and data connections. The chapters will take you through advanced development techniques and show you how to integrate Power Apps with other applications. You'll get a clear understanding of the key aspects of governance, security, app maintenance, and error handling, ensuring that your Power Apps solutions are not only effective but also secure and sustainable.

By the end of this book, you'll have gained practical insights, technical depth, and a clear roadmap for successful Power Apps development.

What you will learn

  • Understand different data connections to define overall project planning
  • Explore advanced development techniques such as filtering data, using variables and collections, formulas, and conditional formatting
  • Uncover how Power Apps can be integrated with other apps such as Power Automate, Power BI, SharePoint, Teams, and Outlook
  • Find out how to apply governance and security
  • Discover best practices for app maintenance and handling errors
  • Learn how to register an app in Microsoft Azure
  • Set up Copilot for your project using Copilot Studio

Who this book is for

This book is for business analysts, IT professionals, and both developers and non-developers. If you’re interested in improving your app development skills, this book is for you. A basic understanding of Microsoft 365 and Power Apps is recommended. Familiarity with other Power Platform applications, such as Power Automate and Power BI, is helpful but not necessary.

Table of contents

  1. Power Apps Tips, Tricks, and Best Practices
  2. Contributors
  3. About the authors
  4. About the reviewer
  5. Preface
    1. Who this book is for
    2. What this book covers
    3. To get the most out of this book
    4. Download the example code files
    5. Conventions used
    6. Get in touch
    7. Share Your Thoughts
    8. Download a free PDF copy of this book
  6. Part 1: Overall Project Planning
  7. Chapter 1: Understanding Requirements and Project Planning
    1. Technical requirements
    2. Obtaining a Developer Plan
    3. Power Apps overview
    4. Understanding client requirements
      1. Engaging with the client
      2. Defining project scope
    5. Importance of project planning
      1. Project management roles
      2. Project management methodologies
      3. Project management tools
      4. Other project management tools
    6. Establishing a Power Apps Foundation
      1. Data sources
      2. Overall Power App layout
      3. Security requirements
      4. Integration with other applications
      5. Where will the Power App reside?
    7. Summary
  8. Chapter 2: Working with Solutions
    1. Technical requirements
    2. Strategic decision-making for solutions and environments
      1. Environments
      2. Security and governance
    3. The crucial role of solutions in Power Apps
      1. Creating publishers
      2. Defining and creating solutions
      3. Dataverse and ALM
      4. Setting relationships in Dataverse
      5. Defining views and forms in Dataverse
      6. Implementing business rules in Dataverse
      7. Versions and deployment pipelines
    4. Summary
  9. Chapter 3: Power Platform Environments
    1. Technical requirements
    2. What is an environment?
    3. When to create a new environment
      1. Considerations for creating a new environment
      2. Licensing considerations
      3. Deployment pipelines
      4. Co-development and code review
      5. Governance for Power BI and Power Platform
    4. Creating a new environment
    5. Unmanaged versus managed solutions
      1. Managed and unmanaged solutions
      2. Solution components
      3. Solution lifecycle
    6. Exporting and importing a solution
    7. Summary
  10. Chapter 4: Choosing the Right Tool – Navigating Canvas Apps, Power Pages, and Model-Driven Apps
    1. Technical requirements
    2. Understanding when to use a canvas app
      1. Creating a canvas app – understanding the why and how
      2. Hands-on exercise – building your first canvas app
    3. When to use Power Pages
    4. When to use a model-driven app
      1. Summary and comparison
      2. Exploring the model-driven app
    5. Summary
  11. Chapter 5: Data Connections
    1. Technical requirements
    2. Using Excel as a data source
      1. Creating a new Power App by uploading an Excel file
      2. Creating a blank canvas app with Excel
      3. Advantages of Excel
      4. Disadvantages of Excel
    3. Using SharePoint Lists as a data source
      1. Creating a Power App from SharePoint
      2. Creating a new Power App from a SharePoint list
      3. Advantages of SharePoint Lists
      4. Disadvantages of SharePoint Lists
    4. Using Dataverse as a data source
      1. Overview of Dataverse
      2. Key features and benefits
      3. Considerations for using Dataverse
      4. A step-by-step guide on how to add data via Dataverse
    5. Comparing Excel, SharePoint Lists, and Dataverse
    6. Other data connections
    7. Using dataflows as a data source
      1. Overview of dataflows in Power Apps
      2. Key features and benefits
      3. Considerations for using dataflows
      4. A step-by-step guide – utilizing dataflows as data sources
    8. Summary
  12. Part 2: Advanced Power App Techniques
  13. Chapter 6: Variables, Collections, and Data Filtering
    1. Technical requirements
    2. Variables and variable scope
      1. Importance of variables
      2. Types of variables
    3. Global variables
      1. Creating global variables
      2. Accessing global variables
      3. Examples of global variables
    4. Context variables
      1. Creating context variables
      2. Accessing context variables
      3. Examples of context variables
    5. With() function and Named Formulas
      1. Using the With() function
      2. Using Named Formulas
      3. Comparing global variables and Named Formulas
    6. Collections
      1. Importance of using collections
      2. Creating collections
      3. Removing records with Clear(), Remove(), and RemoveIf()
      4. Advantages of using collections
      5. Delegation in collections
    7. Variable comparisons and inventory
      1. Summary of descriptions and best uses
      2. Variable Inventory
    8. Filtering data
      1. Using the Filter() function
      2. Using the Search() Function
      3. What is the difference between Filter() and Search()?
      4. Using the LookUp() function
    9. Summary
  14. Chapter 7: Canvas App Formulas
    1. Technical requirements
    2. Exploring formulas in canvas apps
      1. Creating a submit button formula for canvas apps
      2. Adding a success screen after a Submit button click
      3. Adding a back button to the success screen
      4. Adding a new form after the back button is clicked
      5. Displaying all events in a gallery view
      6. Adding a refresh button to the event gallery
      7. Adding sorting to the event gallery
      8. Adding search to the event gallery
      9. Filtering active events
    3. Summary
  15. Chapter 8: Conditional Formatting and URL Deep Linking
    1. Technical requirements
    2. Applying conditional formatting
      1. Importance of conditional formatting
      2. Core benefits
      3. Concepts within conditional formatting
      4. Example of basic conditional formatting
      5. Examples of conditional formatting
      6. Best practices
    3. Implementing URL deep linking
      1. What is URL deep linking?
      2. Understanding URL structures in Power Apps
      3. Using parameters in URLs
      4. Retrieving incoming URL parameters in your Power Apps app
      5. Using parameters in app logic
    4. Enhancing the overall UI/UX
      1. Creating an Admin button
      2. Using conditional formatting to validate email address formats
      3. URL deep linking for editing a record
    5. Summary
  16. Part 3: Power Platform and Other Integrations
  17. Chapter 9: Integration with Power Automate/Teams/Outlook
    1. Technical requirements
    2. Sending an Outlook email using Power Automate
    3. Automating Outlook calendar invitations with Power Automate
    4. Using adaptive cards in Teams notifications
      1. Building an adaptive card
      2. Building a Power Automate flow with an adaptive card
    5. Summary
  18. Chapter 10: Integration with Power BI
    1. Technical requirements
    2. An overview of Power BI and its capabilities
    3. Embedding Power BI visuals in a canvas app
      1. Benefits of embedding Power BI visuals
      2. Embedding a Power BI dashboard tile in a canvas app
      3. Embedding a Power BI report in a canvas app
    4. Embedding Power BI visuals in a model-driven app
    5. Embedding a Power App in a Power BI report
      1. Embedding a Power App – scenario 1
      2. Embedding a Power App improved – scenario 2
    6. Important considerations and best practices
    7. Summary
  19. Chapter 11: Integrating Power Apps with SharePoint
    1. Technical requirements
    2. Embedding Power Apps in a SharePoint site
      1. Overview of SharePoint
      2. Benefits of integrating Power Apps with SharePoint
      3. Example of an embedded Power App on a SharePoint page
      4. Adding a Power App to a SharePoint site
    3. Creating a custom SharePoint list form with Power Apps
      1. Overview of SharePoint list forms
      2. Creating a custom SharePoint list form
      3. Overview of the SharePointIntegration Item
      4. How to edit or delete a custom SharePoint form
    4. Summary
  20. Chapter 12: Integration with Power Virtual Agents/Copilot
    1. Technical requirements
    2. Exploring Copilot Studio
      1. Understanding the value of Copilot
      2. Understanding the Copilot Studio interface
    3. Connecting to a data source
      1. Setting up data connections
    4. Creating custom topics
      1. Examples of custom topics
      2. Designing custom topics
      3. Managing and testing custom topics
    5. Building a Power App with Copilot
      1. Developing the Power App with Copilot
      2. Testing and deploying the Power App
    6. Summary
  21. Part 4: Governance, Security, and Deployment
  22. Chapter 13: Governance, Security, and Application Life Cycle Management
    1. Technical requirements
    2. Establishing a Power Platform environment strategy
      1. Avoid using the default environment
      2. Create multiple environments for specific purposes
      3. Environment best practices
      4. Establish a naming convention strategy
    3. Understanding service accounts versus individual accounts
      1. What is a service account?
      2. Key differences from individual accounts
      3. Use cases for service accounts
    4. DLP – implementing data policies in Power Platform environments
      1. Key concepts of Power Platform data policies
      2. Establishing Power Platform data policies
    5. Understanding ALM concepts
      1. Applying ALM in Power Platform
    6. Summary
  23. Chapter 14: Error Handling
    1. Technical requirements
    2. Overview of error handling
      1. Types of errors in Power Apps
    3. Using built-in error functions in Power Apps
      1. IfError() function
      2. IsError() function
      3. Notify() function
      4. IsBlankOrError() function
      5. Errors() function
    4. Using the OnError property
      1. Examples of use cases for OnError
      2. Creating a custom error notification
    5. Creating custom error messages
      1. Designing user-friendly error messages
      2. Implementing custom error messages with variables
      3. Using the Notify() function for dynamic error messaging
      4. Displaying error messages on the screen
      5. Final note on error handling
    6. Summary
  24. Chapter 15: Registering a Power App in Azure
    1. Technical requirements
    2. The importance of registering an app in Azure
      1. Enhanced security
      2. Seamless integration with Azure services
      3. Improved application management
      4. Compliance and governance
      5. Custom branding and user experience
      6. Support for multi-tenant scenarios
    3. Integrating a Power App in Azure
    4. When to add the Azure app ID, client ID, and secret ID within Power Apps?
      1. Understanding the role of Power Apps credentials
      2. Scenarios requiring app ID, client ID, and client secret in the event planning application
    5. Summary
    6. Final thoughts
  25. Index
    1. Why subscribe?
  26. Other Books You May Enjoy
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    2. Share Your Thoughts
    3. Download a free PDF copy of this book

Product information

  • Title: Power Apps Tips, Tricks, and Best Practices
  • Author(s): Andrea Pinillos, Tim Weinzapfel
  • Release date: November 2024
  • Publisher(s): Packt Publishing
  • ISBN: 9781835080078