Powerapps Tutorial

Introduction to Powerapps

Powerapps is the most popular and widely used tool to customize or create your own apps in your business applications. This tool is developed by one of the top companies that are Microsoft Corporation to its office Microsoft 365. Powerapps allow users at all levels of computer expertise to create powerful business apps that connect data from different sources and present them in a meaningful way. These apps then can be viewed across platforms like mobile development and web application developments. This tool is built using windows 10 apps or browsers. Powerapps provides connectivity for multiple services like Salesforce, dynamic CRM, Goggle drive, Excel, one cloud, Twitter, Microsoft 365 office, and Microsoft Azure.

Start learning  HKR's Powerapps Training to make a bright career in the world of powerapps!

Why we need Powerapps?

Powerapps provides many built-in advanced features and tools in building your business data app. There are a lot of advantages to using Powerapps in your business applications. Let me add a few important points on this topic;

• This tool is used for creating forms, which was an info path's core usage and allows rapid app development tools for citizen developers.
• Provides mobile app story for information workers.
• The powerapps kickoffs a workflow designed in Microsoft Flow and allow users with low code development.
• Almost every business can benefit from Mobile but not every business process justifies from development.
• Powerapps and Microsoft flow can be a way of implementing some of the projects that do not forward today – by either the same teams or by the end-users themselves.
• Publish apps to people in your organization so they can access anywhere.
• Supports building apps that interact with your data sources and respect their permissions.

 These above points describe the important need for Powerapps in your business use case applications.

Check out our Latest Tutorial video. Register Now PowerApps Online Course to Become an expert in PowerApps.

 Microsoft Powerapps

Powerapps make it easier for users to work on data transmission from manual devices to automated devices. Low code learning technique helps developers to adopt this tool in many Microsoft platforms such as Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Cloud, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word, and many more. Let me explain the architecture of this Microsoft Powerapps tool,

Steps:

1) Powerapp cloud:

This Powerapp cloud tool helps the users to publish the apps to people in your organization so they can access anywhere.

 2) Connections:

In this tool, you can build apps that interact with your data sources and respect your permissions.

 3) Use on Web and Mobile:

Here you find and use apps instantly on the web and in powerapps mobile for IOS and Android.

 4) Powerapps studio:

This studio helps developers to build apps on the base of visual experience and you will get knowledge on data connections.

 5) Building data models:

Powerapps connectors help the user to connect their data to a range of data sources and systems including Custom APIs.

Overall you can create the data you need, connects to data and systems you are already using. Without writing code, you can create apps, forms, and workflows. Use these powerapps on web development applications and mobile devices.

Microsoft flow

Microsoft flow now they called Power Automate, this supports capturing, tracking, and acting on data and any requests easier with build-in apps and tools mainly designed to simplify and manage the process. I would like to explain in the workflow in-depth

Let me explain how this flow helps the users,

·     Easily collects customer or employee feedback and insights:

Microsoft flow allows users to quickly gather or collect data with easy-to-create any type of surveys, polls, and queries that can be distributed online and accessed from any web browser apps.  Real-time Track responses or export results into several Microsoft and third-party tools to share and act on findings.

 ·     Intake streamline and management of your team's task:

Supports users to create, assign, and track tasks and work items to complete with Microsoft. A visual layout makes it easy to know who's working on what and quickly understand the status of items to ensure everyone is on the same page.

 ·     Establish and help maintain consistent processes:

This flow focuses on tracking the available user data record and also make sure the consistency of data because the user collects the data from different multiple sources.  

 Example -> Creating flows to have everyone handle requests the same way or require any approval before submitting items.

    Top 12 frequently asked Powerapps Interview Questions !

Key features of Microsoft flow

Microsoft flow not only integrates with other Microsoft available products. It can be used with a wide variety of apps and devices such as SQL Server, Twitter, Box, Docu sign, Slack, Skype, and Goggle drive. In the cloud, you can use Microsoft Azure logic apps. 

PowerApps Training

• Master Your Craft
• Lifetime LMS & Faculty Access
• 24/7 online expert support
• Real-world & Project Based Learning

Explore Curriculum

Advantages of Microsoft Flow

Powerapps Microsoft Flow mainly developed to provide data analysis and integration with business data applications. These Powerapps run on multi-platforms such as Mobile devices and web development applications. So by using Microsoft Flow to track and automate manual digital data. The following are the main advantages of Microsoft flow,

• Process automation for the entire automation with the flow
• Model the end-to-end business process across stages
• Leveraged via an app built with powerapps
• Provide first classed approval processes
• Powerful mobile application for notifications and triggers
• Flows run completely in the cloud and are fully managed and secured by Microsoft
• Automate your apps and automate response to matrices
• Analyze the data to find places to automate

Powerapps functions

Powerapps provides many predefined inbuilt functions where users can perform many tasks or operations. The following are the fundamental functions used in Powerapps namely,

• Sum -> in this function, we can pass the value. The syntax is as follows,

Sum (num1, num2)

• Remove () and Removeif () functions-> Remove () function is used to remove or delete any wanted data values. Removeif () function is used to remove any data in conditional statements.

Remove () function as shown in the diagram,

Remove if () function as shown in the below diagram.

• Forall () functions -> this function will evaluate a formula for all records of a table. As shown in the diagram

• Reset () and Reset Form () functions -> these functions are used to reset the control to the default value. The Reset () function as shown in the diagram,

Reset Form () function as shown in the diagram,

• Navigate (), Back () and Exit () functions->

Exit () is used to close the currently running loop.

Navigate () is used to navigate or direct users to different screens.

Back () function takes us to the previously displayed screen.

• Blank () is used to navigate the users for a blank value or zero value.
• IsBlank () -> this function allows user to eliminate the whole conditional value as shown in the figure,
• Power Apps Switch () -> this function is used to evaluate formula and match with value.
• Select () -> this function is used to perform an action on a control.
• Distinct () -> this function removes any duplicate value from a record.

Powerapps Applications

Powerapps is consists of applications, connectors, and a data platform that helps users to build custom apps for your business needs. One of the important things is that users can quickly create customized business apps that transform or connect the data from multi-source platforms.

• App created by Low code development:

In this case, the creation of custom data apps without having any programming or coding knowledge. This enables any user to faster look at the data value, modify it or even you can insert extra data. This change can be done by using low code skills. Users can build any application through conjuring the user interface (UI) attributes or any excel formula.

Power apps use the Visual editor that uses the same interface that already available in Microsoft PowerPoint, which makes it easier to work with any Microsoft powerapps.

• Microsoft dynamic 365 and Powerapps :

Microsoft dynamics 365 allows users to access their utilized related data such as business contracts, data meters, invoices, billing, or many more. And they help the user to make faster and better decisions making.

Advantages of Workflow

• The following are the advantages of using Powerapps workflow in business enterprises.
• Data input-> in this user can insert or add data from multiple data sources.
• It allows the user to integrate and communicate with different business applications.
• You can request data as many times for any business needs.
• Data storage-> Microsoft workflow has large memory storage to store a large amount of data.
• Properly delivering all kinds of data at the right time without any errors or issues.

Related Article: PowerApps Components !

When to use Powerapps?

Till now I have explained what are the advantages, benefits, functions, and applications. Now it's time to know when we should use these Powerapps in the business application enterprises. As we know that Powerapps support multiple operations like workflow process, data automation, visualization of data, reporting, and collaboration with other business applications. Let me explain a few scenarios:

• When the field executives enter the data in a spreadsheet when they are out in the field, in this case, users needed logging details or the overall result of the site inspection.
• When you start working with a new client there will be diligence occurs, by that time organizations should match several criteria and examining various databases.
• When there will be a time to create model standard documents like contracts those can be automated based on many different metadata and criteria.
• Business enterprises eager in creating a customized Microsoft 360 system, that consists of users, reporting, Microsoft flow, and workflow.
• When an IT department's support team needs to track data assets such as hardware components, software licenses, and mobile devices.
• A large number of marketing automation tools used when tracking details like customer interactions and their responses.

These are the primary scenarios when the user can build and implement Powerapps in their business applications.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel to get new updates..!

Subscribe

How to build Powerapps?

The following are the steps involved in Building your Powerapps.

Steps:

• Click on the Connect button -> that is located in the bottom right corner of the screen.
• Let’s start with Powerapps studio-> open the Powerapps -> Signup as shown in the diagram,
• Click on the new menu-> select the layout template, if you are unable to find the suitable data template -> choose the blank app template -> try to build it from the scratch -> Select the Share point as shown in the diagram,
• Here there will be two options available -> select connectivity directly or cloud services options -> click on create button to process further
• Provide the Share Point URL -> to get the data -> from the respective list -> click on Go.
• To build powerApp Builder-> you can see the window as shown in the data source -> Quick tour window -> to get started,

            The screen will be divided into three parts -> Screen will be available on the left -> in the designer area -> modify the forms -> Click on the right templates -> then get started with building your first ever Powerapp as shown in the figure,

• Now you can view details, share; update setting -> Run -> Edit the app.
• To save your app -> click on the ‘Save as’ button -> ‘Save the location’ -> Then click the ‘Save’ button.
• Select the file menus from the app builder-> go to App settings-> configure the elements that are available on the screen to the liking.
• Now it's time to test and save your app-> by pressing the play button -> on the right of the screen -> check it properly -> if you are happy with the app -> save it anywhere on your local computers or the cloud.
• You can add search box -> by default you can update ->select it from ‘item’ -> from the ‘Browse Gallery Container’.
• You can use a variety of Icons in your app like this,
• You can add any kind of image/ video/ audio files-> you even add a camera, barcode reader, Audio, etc. as shown in the figure,
• In the left-hand panel -> you can see three dots-> to create new, delete or duplicate already existing -> you can move the screen up or down
• To customize app-> use the controls on the toolbar -> then select the advanced properties on the right-side panel -> there you can see the fields and other bits.
• To change the Title -> select it -> go to the advanced setting that is in the right side of the screen -> that you will see that on your Edit Screen,
• To orders for your fields-> change the order by organizing the data source field -> that is available in the right-hand section,
• To add a Custom Card-> just click the '+' button -> you can able to see screen fields  -> then  add a ' created by' field as shown in the below diagram
• Data sources-> you can connect that is from multiple data sources -> you can select on any visual layout-> this makes it easier to check the authorized user’s work status -> now you can quickly understand the type of work and users at the same time.SharePoint, Excel and common data services as shown in the figure,
• Now you can access your app by sharing your names, email and user group details as shown in the figure,
• Now you need to change the Version tab-> you can check your previous app-> the restore from the version in the Apps settings as shown below,
• The setting tab allows you to make any changes by describing your app as shown below,

          That’s it about building your first ever Powerapps.

Insights

My only intension to write this blog is to explain the Powerapps simply and understandably. PowerApps are widely used in all kinds of business enterprise applications to build their customized business app not depend on any other technologies. This powerapp has comes with the latest advanced features and tools that provide data flow, Workflow, data integration, and visualization of business data. So it time to know the easiest business app builder and its concept with the help of this article. Those who have a desire to learn about Microsoft Powerapps, I hope I am helping a few of you and also a few community forums.

Related Articles:

1. PowerApps Variables
2. PowerApps lookup
3. PowerApps Patch