Power Apps Guide

Welcome!

This site is dedicated to Power Apps -
the no code/low code app building platform.

What is Power Apps and why should I use it?

Power Apps is a no code/low code platform for building apps. The number one feature is simplicity and ease-of-use. It belongs to the Microsoft Power Platform – a suite of products that is designed for non-developers. You don’t need any pre-existing IT knowledge to be able to use Power Apps.

The purpose of Power Apps is to build business apps. These are apps that are designed to solve a business problem, and are likely to retrieve, modify, or update records from a data source. These apps often need to comply with corporate rules that govern security and other company policies.

By removing the need for expensive developers, businesses can create up-to-date, online systems in a more cost-effective way. The business can then benefit from the efficiency gains that this brings.

Some of the key features of Power Apps include:

  • Cloud based - Power Apps is based on a resilient cloud-based platform.
  • Security - it offers tight security, including multifactor authentication, and other features to help protect sensitive business data.
  • Data connectivity - it works natively with Dataverse - an easy to use cloud based database.
  • Integration - we can integrate with other Power Platform products to provide reporting, AI, chatbot, and automation capabilities.

What types of app can we build?

We can build the following three types of app: Canvas, Model Driven, and Portal apps.

Canvas Apps

An example of a Canvas app

Canvas apps can run in a web browser, or through a 'player' app on iOS, Android, and Windows mobile devices.

They can connect to hundreds of data sources, including Excel, SharePoint, SQL Server, web services, and internal on-premise databases.

On a mobile device, the apps can run offline.

Model Driven Apps

An example of a Model Driven app

Model driven apps are perfect for 'back office' type scenarios.

These apps are based on data tables that we define in Dataverse. Power Apps automatically builds data entry screens based on the data definition.

They provide charting, dashboard, and workflow capabilites.

Portal Apps

An example of a Portal app

With Portal apps, we can build public facing websites in a graphical way. It includes security and content management features, and we can easily build forms to connect to data in a Dataverse database.

Microsoft Resources

Power Apps Web Studio

Click here to view the official documentataion for PowerApps
This is what we use to build our apps.

Microsoft Power Apps Website

Click here to view the official documentataion for Power Apps
The official website provides links on the latest news, pricing, and subscripting.

Documentation

Click here to view the official documentataion for Power Apps
The official documentation provides a definitive resource for everything in Power Apps.

Power Apps Forum

Click here to visit the official PowerApps forum
The best place to find answers is through the Official Power Apps forum.

Learn more

If you want to learn more, 'Beginning Power Apps' is a great resource. It's an easy to read book that covers all the important features of Power Apps. It covers the common problems that beginners often face, including how to use drop down controls, how to work with dates and times, and how to search data. It also includes examples of how to work with charts, cameras and GPS locations.  Other important topics include chapters on app security, data import and export, and how to use formulas. 

More experienced app builders can also find helpful content, including help on how to use Flow, custom data connectors, and how to work with data offline.

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