Microsoft Power Apps FAQ

Welcome to Climber’s FAQ page for Microsoft Power Apps! Here we have collected the most common questions we receive about the BI tools Power Platform and Power Apps. We cover topics such as functionality, pricing, and integration between the tools. Whether you are new to the tools or an experienced user, we hope this FAQ can help you gain a better understanding of their roles and how they can help you analyse and visualise your data effectively, so that you can more easily make better decisions.

1. What is Microsoft Power Platform?

Microsoft Power Platform is a low-code platform for quickly and easily building business solutions. Power Platform consists of:

• Power Apps – for building business applications
• Power Automate – for automating actions such as sending an email when a specific event occurs.
• Power BI – for building business intelligence reports for data visualisation.
• Power Pages – for building business websites.
• Dataverse – a cloud-based data store for storing data required and produced by business applications.

These tools can be used together or individually. This FAQ focusses on Power Apps. Learn more about Power BI here.

2. What is Microsoft Power Apps and what can it be used for?

Microsoft Power Apps is a suite of tools for creating custom business applications with little to no coding. Examples of Power Apps applications include process automation, inventory management, leave management, customer feedback, ticketing systems, and client intake forms.

3. Do I need coding skills to create a Power App?

No, Power Apps is designed to be user-friendly for non-technical users. However, technical skills may be necessary to access some of the advanced features.

4. What types of Power Apps are there?

There are three types of Power Apps:

• Canvas apps – highly customisable with a drag-and-drop interface.
• Model-driven apps – based on your data model in Dataverse.’
• Portal apps – a sub-type of canvas apps which can be embedded into a model-driven form, usually embedded into a website.

5. What do I need to develop a Power App?

Power Apps is developed on the cloud. Simply log into make.powerapps.com with your credentials. From here, it is easy to start building apps.

6. Are there pre-built templates available in Power Apps?

Yes, Power Apps comes with a variety of templates and pre-built connectors to make the task of building an app quick and easy.

7. What licenses are needed for Power Apps?

The Power Apps developer license is free. However, if you wish to share your app with users, then a license is required.

• Power Apps Premium – Unlimited power apps and Power Pages for assigned users.
• Per App Price – The fee paid per user to access a specific app.
• Pay as you go – The fee paid per user for each unique app that the user accesses in a month. If a user doesn’t access any apps, no fee is incurred.

8. How does Power Apps integrate with other Microsoft products?

Power Apps integrates seamlessly with Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, Azure Services, and Microsoft Teams. Through the Dataverse, Power Apps can also integrate with Power BI.

9. Can Power Apps work offline?

Yes, Power Apps can work offline on mobile devices, with data cached and synced when reconnected.

10. How can I improve the performance of my Power Apps?

To improve the performance of your Power Apps, you can optimise page loads, keep data payloads small, use collections efficiently, minimise unnecessary calculations, use fast calculations using Power Fx, and use built-in performance analysis tools.

11. How can I debug and troubleshoot issues in my Power Apps?

Power Apps includes some useful debugging features. Firstly, whilst writing code, the code window shows red squiggles under code which is invalid.

Error messages often give a clue as to the issue, to enable bug correction. Power Apps also includes the monitor feature. This tool shows what occurred as a user interacts with the App.

It is also possible to monitor variables to ascertain their value at a point in time, which can give an indication as to the cause of an error.

Finally, it is possible to assign a value to a string using a collection and output this to an object such as a label to understand what is happening as the code executes.

12. What security measures are in place for apps created with Power Apps?

Power Apps provides robust security features, including data loss prevention policies, role-based access control, data encryption, and integration with Microsoft Entra ID.

13. How can I automate business processes using Power Apps?

Power Apps can be combined with Power Automate to create automated workflows, streamlining business processes, and improving efficiency. For example, imagine an expenses submission process. Using a Power App, the expense incurred can be logged and the relevant information captured. Then, using Power Automate, an email can be sent to the appropriate person(s) for approval. Once approval is given, Power Automate can notify HR to reimburse the appropriate person.

14. What data sources can Power Apps connect to?

Power Apps can connect to a wide range of data sources. These include SharePoint, SQL Server, Microsoft Dataverse, Excel, Dynamics 365, and a wide range of third-party services through standard and custom connectors.

15. What data stores can Power Apps connect to?

Power Apps typically generates data, and this data needs to be stored somewhere. Data store options include the Microsoft Dataverse, SQL Server or Azure SQL, SharePoint Lists, or even Excel.

16. How does Power Apps integrate with Power BI?

Power Apps integrates with Power BI by embedding apps directly into Power BI dashboards, enabling users to take action on data insights. Additionally, Power BI tiles can be embedded within Power Apps, allowing users to view interactive reports alongside app functionality for a seamless experience. Alternatively, Power BI can connect directly to data sources such as the Dataverse, or SQL to extract data generated using Power Apps.

17. Can I deploy Power Apps across different platforms?

Yes, Power Apps are designed to run on various platforms, including web browsers, iOS, and Android devices, ensuring accessibility across all environments.