PowerApps is primarily a mobile and web app development platform. It enables "citizen developers" to access capabilities that were previously only available to high-end development tools. Furthermore, PowerApps is generally simple to learn. You can use it to quickly take control of your destiny as long as you make the right structuring decisions. Follow this guide to avoid unpleasant surprises.
What does the Power Platform for PowerApps stand for?
Power BI, PowerApps, and Flow are components of the Power Platform. Microsoft has been promoting this as a whole more and more. These three services provide tools for managing our digital world, where data reigns supreme and serves as the foundation of all enterprise processes. The following are their applications:
- Power BI can be used to display and analyze data.
- PowerApps allows you to act on and modify data.
- Flow allows you to automate data.
How to Create an App Using Microsoft PowerApps?
Starting with the data source is the simplest way to build a PowerApps app.
In this example, we'll begin with a SharePoint list containing consulting interventions:
Next, in the PowerApps menu, select the "Create an app" option:
This will take us to the PowerApps Studio, where we will find a fully functional canvas app created by the system:
Remember that these are only the default options. They conceal a much broader set of available options, configurations, and architectural options provided by PowerApps.
Step 1: Choose a PowerApps Environment
Within PowerApps, you can work with four different tools or environments, each with its own set of capabilities and roles.
- Website for PowerApps
You'll start your PowerApps service journey on the website. This is where you can create new apps and manage existing ones.
- PowerApps Studio
Here you will be able to design and adapt apps to your specific business needs!
- PowerApps Mobile App
This useful mobile app is available for both smartphones (iOS and Android) and tablets (Windows 10). Regardless of the platform, the app provides a runtime environment in which you can execute all of your PowerApps apps. This includes both those that were shared with you and those that you designed and coded yourself.
- PowerApps Admin Center
You can create and manage environments, DLP (Data Loss Prevention) strategies, and user roles using Admin.powerapps.com. A list of user licences is available in the tenant.
Step 2: Choose a PowerApps Application Type
PowerApps allows you to create two types of apps:
- Apps for Canvas
- Model-driven applications
Canvas apps allow you to organize your interface freely and easily by positioning controls and fields in a "pixel-perfect" user experience. The main goal here is to apply your business knowledge and creativity to the design of the app. Canvas apps are designed to be lightweight or even disposable apps that can be designed and used in a matter of minutes.
Model-driven apps are built on top of the Common Data Services, which are used to help developers quickly create forms, processes, and business rules. They concentrate on heavier apps that are intended to be used frequently (multiple hours at a time).
There is also a "third" type of app that is technically a version of Canvas: SharePoint lists customized forms. PowerApps can be used to customize the standard SharePoint form from a SharePoint list. After selecting the "customize forms" menu, you will gain access to a PowerApps component called "SharePointIntegration."
This control is in charge of transferring user actions between PowerApps and SharePoint. It adds properties such as "new," "OnSave," and "OnEdit" that allow the app to respond when a user clicks or taps the "New" button, taps an item, or taps the "Edit All" button.
Step 3: Determine Your Storage Needs
Power Platforms, and more particularly PowerApps, are desired in a world in which information is king and the basis of any business process. Thus, when it comes to creating an app, selecting the right data sources is critical.
SharePoint lists and Excel spreadsheets are two of the most commonly used data sources, but there are over 200 data connectors available. PowerApps and Flow and Logic apps share connectors (the Azure service on top of which Flow is built). One of the platform's greatest strengths is the availability of connectors to the Microsoft world: Office 365, SQL Server, Azure, and so on, as well as connectors to external data sources such as Salesforce, Dropbox, and Google Drive.
A connector in PowerApps can provide data tables, actions, or both. Here's an example of how to use a data source to a "Lessons" table in PowerApps: Be aware that the data sources you choose will have an impact on the licences required to create and run your app. If you select or require a Premium source (such as Salesforce or Common Data Service), you will require a PowerApps P1 or P2 licence.
Step 4:Secure Your App to an Online or On-Premises Data Citation
PowerApps was built in the cloud and can connect to cloud data sources natively. However, it can also connect to on-premises data sources. In order for this to happen, you must set up an on-premises data gateway. This gateway is shared by several cloud apps, including the entire Power Platform (Power BI, Flow, and PowerApps), Azure Analysis Services, and Azure Logic Apps.
At the time of writing, the gateway supported the following data sources:
- SharePoint
- Oracle
- SQL Server
- Filesystem
- Informix
Be aware that using on-premises data sources will affect the licences required to create and run your app. If you select or require a local data source, you will require a PowerApps P1 or P2 licence. Let's hope that these elements will help you create better PowerApps to meet your business needs. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Airo Global Software through the email given below.
E-mail id: [email protected]