Lab 1

In this lab, we are going to start building a Power App that will manage the groceries we have in our homes. The first thing we are going to do is create a blank canvas so that we can start populating it with components in Chapter 4, Publishing and Leveraging Power Apps. We will give our app a basic identity in terms of icon and color, and then save it to the cloud.

Creating a blank phone app

We are going to base our app on a mobile phone, so we will begin by creating our mobile app using the mobile canvas:

1. Log in to the Power Apps portal by navigating to https://make.powerapps.com. If you are prompted to log in, please do so using your username and password.

2. In the center of the screen, beneath Make your own app, click on Canvas app from blank:

   

   Figure 2.14: Selecting the Canvas app from blank option

3. In the Canvas app from blank dialog box, fill in the following details:
   • App name: Groceries Phone App
   • Format: Phone

Figure 2.15: The Canvas app from blank dialog box

Once you...

Summary

Within this chapter we have started to investigate the basics of creating a canvas app within Power Apps, which is the most common type of app created. We were able to create different apps for different types of devices, selecting either phone or tablet depending on which canvas is the most relevant for the devices we want to use.

We found that we can provide a unique identity for our apps, being able to define a name and a description to describe what our app is, and also giving the app a visual identity through the use of icons and colors. These are most visible in the Power Apps app, so it’s a good idea to make your apps as identifiable as possible to help your users find them.

Throughout the chapter we looked at the app settings, and investigated not only the dimensions of the app, but also some of the other app behaviors such as auto-scaling, aspect ratio, and app rotation so that we understand what these mean when we’re creating our apps.

We then continued...

Questions

1. What are the two types of canvas that can be created within Power Apps?
2. Which canvas allows you to define custom dimensions?
3. Which app setting would you go to in order to change the icon of your app?
4. Which set of features should you test on a regular basis to ensure that your app will continue to work?
5. Which option should you set so that your app rotates when the device rotates?

The app creation process

In order to create an app from SharePoint, we first of all need to create the data structure. The process we are about to follow applies to SharePoint lists, therefore we must begin by creating our basic data structure.

Preparing your list within SharePoint

This is the first time that we will look at creating an app based on data that we have already created and, for that, we will need to create a list within SharePoint. As previously mentioned, if the list can be viewed in the modern user interface, then you can access the Power Apps menu and customize the form.

We need to start building our lists to hold our data. These could either be single lists or lists that use lookup columns to reference from other lists on our SharePoint site. We can create columns using all of the SharePoint data types; however, there are some limitations that you should be aware of. The more complex fields such as calculated columns and the Managed Metadata columns...

Lab 2

In this lab, we are going to create a list within Microsoft SharePoint, and then generate an app to replace the list form. In this list form app, we are going to communicate to the user that we want them to use the canvas app that we are going to continue building throughout this book.

Activity 1: Creating the SharePoint list

In this first activity, we are going to create the SharePoint site, lists, and fields for us to start working with:

1. Navigate to https://portal.office.com and log in using your credentials.
2. From the app launcher in the top left of the screen, select SharePoint, which will load the SharePoint home screen:

Figure 3.18: The SharePoint home screen

3. Click on + Create site and, in the site creation blade that appears on the right of the screen, select Team site:

Figure 3.19: Choosing a new Team site

4. Create a new Team site named My Groceries:

Figure 3.20: Creating a new Team...

Summary

Within this chapter, we have explored the close relationship between SharePoint and Power Apps, and how Power Apps can greatly enhance the way that you work with data. First of all, we explored how we can create an app directly from SharePoint, which is different from how we created apps in previous chapters, either from scratch or from a template. This is especially useful if you are concentrating on getting your underlying data correct first before starting to develop the app itself. Just remember that not all of the data types within SharePoint will map automatically into your Power Apps form, so complex data types such as Managed Metadata or new data types such as Location will be created but will be read-only.

When generating apps from SharePoint, also keep in mind that it will generate an app based on the mobile canvas, so if you need a tablet canvas, then you’ll need to create it from blank and select SharePoint as the data source.

We also looked at how...

Questions

1. Which user experience does SharePoint need to use to allow auto-generation of an app?
2. Which canvas is the app generated on?
3. What do I need to do to allow users to use my new form?
4. What is the key addition to the screens picker on the left-hand side of the screen?
5. True or false: Managed Metadata fields are fully supported by Power Apps.
6. If I wanted to change which form was used by SharePoint for editing, where would I go?

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