April 2023 Power Apps: Guide to New Features & Updates

Welcome to the monthly feature update rundown that presents an overview of product, community, and learning updates recently implemented by Microsoft in Power Apps. The new features aim to simplify the platform, improve productivity and consequently, optimize adoption of the app. Key areas of improvement include Trust, Maker, and End User Productivity.

The Trust Update presents the ability for users to request a premium license directly from their organization's admins, with admins being able to manage these requests or configure settings to carry on with their custom processes. This can be facilitated using the Microsoft 365 Admin Center. The Maker Productivity Update incorporates advanced features into the Canvas Studio, such as comments. By adding comments to their apps, makers can enhance team collaboration, leading to finely tuned applications. New improvements have also been presented in the Modern App Designer.

Other major advancements are the ability to design and interact with variables and collections in real-time while designing the application itself, improved app navigation and the inclusion of a restructured hierarchy to mirror the makers’ mindset. Read more about Power Apps.

New Features in Power Apps

Within Power Apps, Code-first developers can now create APIs and connectors directly within Microsoft Visual Studio, significantly reducing diversion when developing custom connectors for Microsoft Power Platform. In addition, a new variable and collections experience has been launched and recent improvements to the Modern App Designer noted.

Furthermore, makers can add columns to their forms and views, hence editing forms and views becomes more convenient with the new table designer. Notably, updates simplifying the use of JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) have been introduced and Incidentally, the Power Platform is now a connected service within the Visual Studio 2022 Preview.

In the End User Productivity department, the general availability of Offline sync has been announced. This feature places offline at the center of the experience so that you always know whether your device and data are ready to go. Additionally, a public preview of checking who has access to a record has also been unveiled. Owners of records can now easily share their records with other colleagues for collaboration in Microsoft Dataverse.

Lastly, Managed Environments now boast twice as many features, providing improved environment management for Power Platform at scale. New topic explorations regarding Azure OpenAI Service functionality integration via AI Builder, generative AI incorporation into Power Platform tools, and discussion about responsible AI are also available.

Embracing feedback from users, Microsoft hopes that these new updates enhance the Power Apps experience for all users.

Read the full article Power Apps April 2023: New Features and Updates Guide

Learn about Power Apps April 2023: New Features and Updates Guide

Microsoft's Power Apps in April 2023 came packed with new features and updates aimed at improving user productivity and making workflows more efficient. The updates expanded the capabilities of the platform, added new features, and made it easier to deploy and manage apps.

Trust
One of the highlighted features allows users to request premium licenses directly from their organizational administrators. Asking for such permissions aids the organization in implementing a more seamless process, with all approvals and permissions being managed under the M365 Admin Center.

Maker Productivity
Maker productivity, a significant aspect of the platform, has seen improvements, providing a more efficient experience to makers. The Canvas Studio now supports commenting, enhancing collaborations within teams. An improved variable and collection experience in Canvas Designer makes it easier for app makers to define and interact with variables in real-time. Additionally, updates to the Modern App Designer have provided a more comprehensive and straightforward design interface.

Updates have also been made to the JSON handling, in response to feedback, to make work easier with less coding. Custom Connectors can also now be created directly from Visual Studio, a feature that lessens the need for context-switching when creating them for the Platform.

End User Productivity
On the End User productivity side, the introduction of the general availability of Offline sync and the ability to check who has access to a record are two particularly notable features. Video, learning, and documentation updates provide users with resources to better understand these updates. Even the Managed Environments now come with twice as many features, further enhancing user experiences.

• New videos released by the Power CAT and Cloud Advocacy teams cover Express Design and Custom Connectors.
• Managed Environments features include custom maker welcome experiences, a solution checker environment, and new features for pipelines like extensibility for custom logic pre and post-deployment.
• A series on Platform Pipelines by Daniel Laskewitz and Prabhat Pandey is available to provide a comprehensive understanding of this feature.
• An integration with Azure OpenAI Service through AI Builder is also discussed, highlighting the beneficial possibilities of using this powerful service.

New and updated documentations are included to help users navigate the updates and features on the platform. Collectively, these enhancements represent a significant step forward for the platform in terms of usability, productivity, and efficiency.

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