Power Apps Training Wheels
Power Apps Trainer at Neeseus
Is Power Apps too hard for you? Why don't you try training wheels to make it easier?
- Familiarize yourself with the concept of low-code development and the purpose of Power Apps.
- Learn about the Power Apps ecosystem, including Canvas Apps and Model-Driven Apps.
- Explore the Power Apps interface and navigation.
- Learn how to connect Power Apps to various data sources like SharePoint, Excel, Common Data Service (CDS), and external databases.
- Understand the available connectors and how to configure them.
- Learn how to create canvas apps using the Power Apps Studio.
- Explore the building blocks of a canvas app, including screens, controls, galleries, forms, and data tables.
- Understand how to customize the user interface and design app layouts.
- Learn about formulas and expressions used for app logic, data manipulation, and validation.
- Gain an understanding of the model-driven app framework and how it differs from canvas apps.
- Learn how to create and customize model-driven apps using the Power Apps portal.
- Explore entities, fields, forms, views, and other components specific to model-driven apps.
- Learn about pre-built components and controls available in Power Apps, such as charts, galleries, forms, and media controls.
- Understand how to configure these controls and customize their behavior.
- Gain knowledge of Power Automate (formerly known as Microsoft Flow) and its integration with Power Apps.
- Learn how to automate business processes and trigger flows from within Power Apps.
- Understand how to manage security and permissions within Power Apps.
- Learn about the Power Platform security model and how to configure roles and access levels.
- Gain knowledge of the different environments and environments management within Power Apps.
- Learn how to deploy apps to different environments and control the app lifecycle.
- Understand the basics of app governance, versioning, and app distribution.
Limit data connections: Try not to use more than 30 connections in a single app. Each additional connection increases the time it takes for the app to start and requires CPU resources, memory, and network bandwidth when the app requests data from that source.
Limit the number of controls: Don't use more than 500 controls in a single app. Instead, consider using a gallery instead of individual controls, and reduce the number of different control types on the same screen.
Optimize the OnStart property: You can use the ClearCollect function to cache data locally if it doesn't change during the user session. Also, use the Concurrent function to load data sources simultaneously; this can cut the app's data load time in half.
Cache lookup data: Use the Set function to cache data from lookup tables locally to avoid repeatedly retrieving data from the source. This is particularly useful for data that doesn't change frequently, such as contact information, default values, or user information.
Avoid control dependency between screens: To improve performance, avoid formula dependencies between screens. In some cases, you can use a global variable or collection to share information between screens.
Use delegation: Whenever possible, use functions that delegate data processing to the data source instead of retrieving data to the local device for processing. This is particularly important when dealing with large datasets.
Use Delayed Load: If your app has more than 10 screens, no rules, and many controls that are on multiple screens and are directly bound to the data source, turn on the experimental feature for delayed load.
Work with large datasets: Use data sources and formulas that can be delegated to avoid hitting the data row limit of 2,000 for non-delegable queries. Indexes on columns can be used for data-record columns on which users can search, filter, or sort data.
Republish apps regularly: The Power Apps platform is continuously optimized and deployed, so your app is regenerated within the latest platform optimizations when you republish it.
Avoid repeating the same formula in multiple places: If multiple properties run the same formula, consider setting it once and then referencing the output of the first property in subsequent ones.
Enable DelayOutput on all Text input controls: If you have multiple formulas or rules that reference the value of a Text input control, set the DelayedOutput property of that control to true.
Avoid using Form.Updates in rules and formulas: If you reference a user-input value in a rule or a formula by using a Form.Updates variable, it iterates over all the form's data cards and creates a record each time.
Please note that these are general performance improvements and best practices, and may not necessarily be new training tips. If you have specific topics or aspects of Power Apps you're interested in, I can help to find more detailed or updated information on those.