New Power Apps Cards & Automate Connector Released

The Power Automate Connector for cards in Power Apps is now generally available, enabling the sharing of cards in Microsoft Teams. As of March 2023, these cards, which are micro-apps embedded with enterprise data and workflows, are ready for use. They offer interactive, user-friendly interfaces for use within Teams as content.

Utilize Power Automate to generate Power Apps cards via a flow. By configuring an event-triggered flow, the process of sending cards in Teams can be automated. For example, when a new record is added to Dataverse, you can establish a flow that requests the designated individual to either approve or reject an expense. An alternative approach is to establish a workflow that dispatches a daily status update within Teams each morning.

Sending cards in Teams via a Power Automate flow template is possible via the Send from a flow option in the Send menu on the card's Play page. In order to distribute your card to a designated Teams user or publish it in a Teams chat or channel, you may modify and save this template as a new flow.

What are Microsoft Adaptive Cards?

Microsoft Adaptive Cards are a versatile way to display content in a consistent and flexible format across various platforms. They allow developers to create user interfaces that can be easily shared and displayed in different Microsoft applications and services like Microsoft Teams, Outlook, Windows, and more. Adaptive Cards are defined in a simple JSON format, making them both lightweight and easy to work with.

The main features of Adaptive Cards include:

• Platform Agnostic: They work across different platforms and applications.
• Customizable: Developers can tailor the layout and appearance to fit their needs.
• Interactive: They can contain inputs and actions for user interaction.
• Open Source: The Adaptive Cards framework is open source, allowing for community contributions and enhancements.

This availability means developers can now easily integrate these cards into Teams chats, channels, or directly to a specific Teams user. A new feature allows the creation of a card flow directly from the card's Play page in the Studio. This streamlines the flow creation process by using a template, which can then be customized and saved.

The new flow creation feature for these cards is a significant enhancement for developers. By using the Power Automate Connector, they can create a card instance right in the flow to share in Teams. The process involves selecting a specific card and customizing input variables to create and return a dynamic card instance.

The ability to post these interactive cards to a Teams chat or channel is made possible by the 'Create card instance' action. This produces dynamic content that can be shared readily within Microsoft Teams, enhancing collaboration and information sharing.

For more focused communication, the capability also extends to sending these interactive cards to specific Teams users. This targeted approach can help streamline information flow and ensure the right individuals are engaged with relevant content.

For those interested in learning more about this feature, there are resources available. Detailed information on the capabilities of these cards can be found in the Power Apps documentation, providing overviews of the cards and the card designer. Additionally, users can join the Power Apps community for further discussion and feedback.

What are Power Apps?

Power Apps is revolutionizing how businesses tackle application development by providing a platform that simplifies the process. It empowers users to build custom apps tailored to their operational needs without the necessity for extensive coding knowledge. This democratization of app development enables a wider range of professionals to create practical solutions, enhancing productivity and streamlining workflows across various sectors.