3 steps to implementing a better date picker in Power Apps
One of the biggest annoyances of Canvas Apps in Power apps is the date picker. It just doesn’t feel right. Some improvements needed There are quite a few improvements that you might want to make to the date picker, that aren’t easily possible. Having to press the OK button after you selected a dateDisplay the last days from the previous month or the first days of the next monthBranding the date picker And so much more. In...
Power Automate Flow run failed: Connection not configured for this service
Today I was battling with the Connection not configured for this service error. Background Iv’e got an app in Power Apps that manages documents. And the different levels of access to the documents I’m controlling using AD groups. One of my flows is run while the app is starting, and this flow will get the groups that the logged in user is part of. Iv’e got 3 versions of the app. One app in a Development environment,...
Open Word documents in the desktop app from Power Apps
When you open Word documents from Power Apps you might have noticed that Word Online is used, but can we open documents in the Word Desktop app instead? Displaying Word documents In my app I have created a gallery that displays the icons and the name of the documents. Now there is a property available ThisItem.’Link to item’ to open a document. And Using the Launch function. We can open the document....
Introducing Portal Apps in Power Apps
Power Apps has three types of apps. One of them is the Portal app. In this post a how to get started with these websites that present data from Dataverse. First steps to building a Portal app The first steps to take are to decide what you want to present to which users. Or maybe we should even identify who these users are. There is quite a bit more to it all, but I will not focus on that in this post. Once we know what we want we can...
NEVER give your SharePoint fields the displayname of Value!
After an hour of banging my head against a brick wall when my Patch command failed I found the issue with a field named Value. Value It is not uncommon to call a field Value inn SharePoint. For example when you want to keep track of the Value of products you might think that Value is a good name. But it is not if you use Power Apps in combination with SharePoint. The word Value is a reserved word in Power Apps as you might have found...
Collect flow runs of your failed child flows
When you use child flows, you might need to collect the flow runs of your failed child flows to identify any issues. In this post some error handling tips. Introduction into error handling We all know (or should know) how to do basic error handling in flows. And then a while back I also wrote about error handling in child flows. And I’ve explained that the following expression can give you the url to your flow run:...
Cancel Flow Run instead of Terminate in the middle of an apply to each in Power Automate
Have you tried using terminate in the middle of an apply to each? Did you get The operation terminate cannot be used inside a for each? Terminate The terminate action is so often misused. As I mentioned a while back the terminate action should really not be used. But if you are inside an apply to each processing 1000s of records then cancelling out might be something that you want to do. Cancel flow runs There is now an option to...
Copy SharePoint files from one tenant to another using Power Automate
Have you ever tried copying files from one tenant to another using Power Automate? Create a file in another tenant Well, the copy file action isn’t going to work in this case. So we will need an alternative When you try to connect into another tenant using Power Automate you migth ghetting error message like the one below: We are unable to find the site address. Please try selecting a site address from the dropdown So if the...
Create vibrating icons in Power Apps
Last week I got a strange question about how to make vibrating icons. So this post is to show you how to make icons vibrate so that you can point them in the right direction. Icons in Power Apps Icons have X and Y locations to make my icon vibrate. In this post I will adjust the X only but of course if you wanted to vibrate your icons by adjusting the Y then that would be fairly similar. I’m creating an app that has the...
Create a custom connector in the Power Platform – The WordPress example
Have you tried to create a custom connector in the Power Platform? As I was getting annoyed with the limitations of the existing WordPress connector here a full example. Step 1 – Find an API for your connector In my case I found that the existing connector for WordPress was just not good enough. Just a few actions that would give me hardly anything, didn’t do the trick for me. I quite quickly ended up on the REST API...
Compare two arrays, tables or lists a lot faster in Power Automate
When you want to compare two arrays, lists or tables in Power Automate and you might end up with a very slow flow. In this post the speedy solution. Two arrays I’m going to create two arrays in compose actions. But most likely you would have a list in SharePoint or a table in Dataverse or maybe data coming from a completely different data source. One important thing to notice is that the two arrays have a different structure....
Handle unmanaged changes made to tables in the default solution in the Power Platform.
The default solution in the Power Platform is an unmanaged solution even in production. How do you handle unmanaged changes in the default solution that are edited manually? Unmanaged layers Deployment of apps, flows and tables should be done through solution packages. And you will find that as you deploy the solutions to production environments as managed solutions after you have developed them in a development environment as an...
Disable editing of your production apps and flows in the Power Platform
So often people edit apps and flows in production environments just to make them work. In this post I will look at why you shouldn’t and how to disable editing. Managed vs unmanaged solutions Within the Power Platform we have managed and unmanaged solutions. And you migth already know that managed solutions stop you from making modifications to some things in solutions, however deploying managed solutions doesn’t stop...
Comparing collections, table variables and data sources in Power Apps
In Power Apps you can use data sources directly or you could use collections or you could use variables. But what is the difference? Performance and behaviour In my example app I’m reading data from a SharePoint list and display this in three galleries. Within the app startup I’m setting a variable and a collection to the content presented by the connection to my SharePoint list. The variable and the collection are set...
Ambiguity in Power Apps
Recently I was asked about issues related to ambiguity in Power Apps code. In this post I will look at how to avoid any ambiguity issues in Power Apps. Ambiguity First of all what is ambiguity? According to the dictionary, it is all about things not being clear as multiple explanations can be given to the same thing. Ok, that’s all great! But what does that have to do with Power Apps. Power Apps and Ambiguity I’m going to...
Set the task priority in Microsoft Planner using Power Automate
For quite a while I’ve been looking to set the task priority in Microsoft Planner when using Power Automate. The preview version of the Create a task actions can do this. Create a task action The Create a task action now has two versions, and the preview version allows you to set the priority to […] Continue Reading Pieter Veenstra’s Article on their blog Set the task priority in Microsoft Planner using Power...
Co-Authoring in Power Apps
Recently Microsoft added the option to use Co-Authoring as an experimental feature to Power Apps. What is Co-Authoring? You might already be familiar with Co-Authoring in Microsoft Teams. Co-Authoring in teams lets you edit a document while another person is editing the same document. With Power apps it is just the same. You can edit […] Continue Reading Pieter Veenstra’s Article on their blog Co-Authoring in Power Apps...
Control access with RecordInfo and DataSourceInfo in Power Apps
When you create apps, you might find that different users get different things to do. With RecordInfo and DataSourceInfo you can control elements in your app by using Dataverse permissions DataSourceInfo When you use a table in Dataverse that a user doesn’t have access to you might get these error messsages: You don’t have access to view this data. Server Response <Tablename> failed. The message is clear, the user...
Enable the new Power Automate pane feature
You might want to Enable the new Power Automate pane feature when you add a flow to your app and you have to find the right flow in a long list of flows. Enable Power Automate pane preview feature It can be a real pain to get the right flow in that long list. But not when you enable the new Power automate pane feature. All you need to do is enable the Enable Power Automate pane and restart your app And now there is an additional...
Loaddata, Savedata and Cleardata in Power Apps
Today I’m having a look at some of the preview features arriving in Power Apps. This post is about the new LoadData, savedata and cleardata in web players feature. SaveData, LoadData and Cleardata LoadData, savedata and cleardata have been around for a while, but up to now they were only available within the app player. […] Continue Reading Pieter Veenstra’s Article on their blog Loaddata, Savedata and Cleardata in...
Synchronize two data sources with Power Automate
Over the last few weeks I’ve been asked a number of times how to setup a flow to synchronize two data sources. In this post a pattern that can be … Read More Continue Reading Pieter Veenstra’s Article on their blog Synchronize two data sources with Power Automate Over the last few weeks I’ve been asked a number of times how to setup a flow to synchronize two data sources. In this post a pattern that can be...
3 Ways to avoid duplicate records in Power Apps
When you create items or records or rows in your data sources using Power Apps, you will often want to avoid duplicate records. In this post 3 ways to avoid … Read More Continue Reading Pieter Veenstra’s Article on their blog https://sharepains.com/2021/12/15/avoid-duplicate-records-in-power-apps/ Blog Syndicated with Pieter Veenstra’s Permission
Handling SharePoint file locks with Power Automate child flows
In 2019 I wrote a post about SharePoint file locks and how to handle these with a retry pattern. But there is an easier way when you use child flows. … Read More Continue Reading Pieter Veenstra’s Article on their blog Handling SharePoint file locks with Power Automate child flows In 2019 I wrote a post about SharePoint file locks and how to handle these with a retry pattern. But there is an easier way when you use child...
The must have features of an app in Power Apps using community connectors (well, on a Friday afternoon that is)
Every week there are new connectors added to Power Apps and Power Automate. This week I’m looking at two community connectors that were added recently by on of the Power … Read More Continue Reading Pieter Veenstra’s Article on their blog The must have features of an app in Power Apps using community connectors (well, on a Friday afternoon that is) Every week there are new connectors added to Power Apps and Power...
Become part of your presentation with Presenter Modes in Microsoft Teams
When you present in Microsoft Teams and you share your screen you might not be visible. Presenter modes make it easier to interact with your audience. Presenter modes When you … Read More Continue Reading Pieter Veenstra’s Article on their blog Become part of your presentation with Presenter Modes in Microsoft Teams When you present in Microsoft Teams and you share your screen you might not be visible. Presenter modes make...
Get the current environment of an app in Power Apps
Today I tried to display the current environment in a canvas app in Power Apps. This was slightly harder than expected. Power Platform connectors there are quite a few Power … Read More Continue Reading Pieter Veenstra’s Article on their blog Get the current environment of an app in Power Apps Today I tried to display the current environment in a canvas app in Power Apps. This was slightly harder than expected. there are...
Containers in responsive apps in Power Apps
When you develop responsive apps in containers become very important. In this post I’m trying to help with the common challenges. Horizontal vs Vertical containers A while back I wrote … Read More Continue Reading Pieter Veenstra’s Article on their blog Containers in responsive apps in Power Apps When you develop responsive apps in containers become very important. In this post I’m trying to help with the...
Create recursive flows in Power Automate
With the introduction of child flow, have you tried creating recursive flows? Recursive flows Before looking into how to implement recursive flows, please review my child flow error handling post. … Read More Continue Reading Pieter Veenstra’s Article on their blog Create recursive flows in Power Automate With the introduction of child flow, have you tried creating recursive flows? Before looking into how to implement...
Error handling in child flows in Power Automate
In the past I’ve looked at error handling for flows and this resulted in the Try-Catch pattern. In this post I will focus on error handling in Child flows. Parent … Read More Continue Reading Pieter Veenstra’s Article on their blog https://sharepains.com/2021/11/10/error-handling-in-child-flows-power-automate/ Blog Syndicated with Pieter Veenstra’s Permission
The making of: A successful Microsoft Ignite table talk
A couple of months ago Anna Chu asked me to co-host a table talk at Microsoft Ignite about best practices within the Power Platform. The team Together with Karoliiona Kettukari … Read More Continue Reading Pieter Veenstra’s Article on their blog The making of: A successful Microsoft Ignite table talk A couple of months ago Anna Chu asked me to co-host a table talk at Microsoft Ignite about best practices within the Power...
Comments in Power Automate flows
As it is Microsoft Ignite week, new features are being added to all products. This post is all about comments in Power Automate Notes vs Comments We already had the … Read More Continue Reading Pieter Veenstra’s Article on their blog Comments in Power Automate flows As it is Microsoft Ignite week, new features are being added to all products. This post is all about comments in Power Automate We already had the option to...
SharePoint Site Scripts and Site Designs in Power Automate
When you look at SharePoint site provisioning solutions, you will quite quickly bump into Site Scripts and Site Designs. In this post some options on handling these in Power Automate … Read More Continue Reading Pieter Veenstra’s Article on their blog SharePoint Site Scripts and Site Designs in Power Automate When you look at SharePoint site provisioning solutions, you will quite quickly bump into Site Scripts and Site...
Using Dataverse views to simplify filter queries in Canvas Apps in Power Apps
Do you find that your queries in filters become complicated? In this post a way to simplify your queries using Dataverse views. Simplifying queries When you develop more complicated apps … Read More Continue Reading Pieter Veenstra’s Article on their blog Using Dataverse views to simplify filter queries in Canvas Apps in Power Apps Do you find that your queries in filters become complicated? In this post a way to simplify...
7 reasons to use child flows in Power Automate
When you develop your flows inside solutions you have the option to use child flows. But are they worth it? The 7 Reasons to use child flows I’m sure that … Read More Continue Reading Pieter Veenstra’s Article on their blog 7 reasons to use child flows in Power Automate When you develop your flows inside solutions you have the option to use child flows. But are they worth it? I’m sure that there are more...
Get into Space with Power Automate and the EONET by NASA connector
Have you tried the EONET by NASA or also known as Earth Observatory Natural Event Tracker connector in Power Automate yet? First steps into space Visit the NASA API site … Read More Continue Reading Pieter Veenstra’s Article on their blog Get into Space with Power Automate and the EONET by NASA connector Have you tried the EONET by NASA or also known as Earth Observatory Natural Event Tracker connector in Power Automate...
Calculate travel distance using Power Automate
When you have an app that has a current location and a destination postcode and you want to calculate travel distances, you could use Power Automate. Bing Maps To use … Read More Continue Reading Pieter Veenstra’s Article on their blog Calculate travel distance using Power Automate When you have an app that has a current location and a destination postcode and you want to calculate travel distances, you could use Power...
1 Top tip! Make your compose actions self documenting in Power Automate
Very often I hear flow people telling others that we should use Compose actions instead of variables. But when you reference a compose action it just shows “Outputs”. The Compose … Read More Continue Reading Pieter Veenstra’s Article on their blog 1 Top tip! Make your compose actions self documenting in Power Automate Very often I hear flow people telling others that we should use Compose actions instead of...
Error when you turn on solution based flows in Power Automate
Today I tried to import a solution with a few flows in a solution. The error After I imported the solution and then tried to turn on the flow, I … Read More Continue Reading Pieter Veenstra’s Article on their blog Error when you turn on solution based flows in Power Automate Today I tried to import a solution with a few flows in a solution. After I imported the solution and then tried to turn on the flow, I was presented...
The Weekday and Calendar functions in Power Apps
The weekday function in Power Apps gives us a numbers between 1 and 7 while the Calendar function can give you an array Sunday – Saturday. Calendar functions I will … Read More Continue Reading Pieter Veenstra’s Article on their blog The Weekday and Calendar functions in Power Apps The weekday function in Power Apps gives us a numbers between 1 and 7 while the Calendar function can give you an array Sunday –...
Responsive designs in Power Apps, the basics
When you want to leave it up to the user what device they use, responsive designs in Power Apps becomes important. Responsive design patterns I will start this post by … Read More Continue Reading Pieter Veenstra’s Article on their blog Responsive designs in Power Apps, the basics When you want to leave it up to the user what device they use, responsive designs in Power Apps becomes important. I will start this post by...
Format numbers locally to your user in Power Apps
A while back I wrote about formatting numbers in Power Automate. Today a quick post about how to format numbers in Power Apps. Format numbers Before you start to format … Read More Continue Reading Pieter Veenstra’s Article on their blog Format numbers locally to your user in Power Apps A while back I wrote about formatting numbers in Power Automate. Today a quick post about how to format numbers in Power Apps. Before you...
Request to XRM API failed with error,The flow is missing a connection for api ‘‘
Today when i tried to save my flow I got the following error message Request to XRM API failed with error. What to do when you get this error? Request … Read More Continue Reading Pieter Veenstra’s Article on their blog Request to XRM API failed with error,The flow is missing a connection for api ” Today when i tried to save my flow I got the following error message Request to XRM API failed with error. What to do...
Migrating file shares with SharePoint Migration manager
A while back I wrote about the SharePoint Migration Tool. Today I will share my experiences of the SharePoint Migration Manager. Why SharePoint Migration Manager? SharePoint Migration Manager is almost … Read More Continue Reading Pieter Veenstra’s Article on their blog Migrating file shares with SharePoint Migration manager A while back I wrote about the SharePoint Migration Tool. Today I will share my experiences of the...
Step 1 in Application Lifecycle Management and the Power Platform
As you take software development more seriously, Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) becomes more important. Application Lifecycle Management Application Lifecycle Management isn’t something that stands on its own. After years of … Read More Continue Reading Pieter Veenstra’s Article on their blog Step 1 in Application Lifecycle Management and the Power Platform As you take software development more seriously,...
Get the local trigger time in Power Automate
What’s the time a flow was triggered locally to the user who triggered a flow? How do we get the local trigger time? Standard Time When you create a flow … Read More Continue Reading Pieter Veenstra’s Article on their blog Get the local trigger time in Power Automate What’s the time a flow was triggered locally to the user who triggered a flow? How do we get the local trigger time? When you create a flow that...
Using PnP PowerShell with Azure Automation Accounts
In the past I often used Azure Functions to run PnP PowerShell from my flows in Power Automate, but there is a good alternative, Azure Automation Accounts. Azure Automation Accounts … Read More Continue Reading Pieter Veenstra’s Article on their blog Using PnP PowerShell with Azure Automation Accounts In the past I often used Azure Functions to run PnP PowerShell from my flows in Power Automate, but there is a good...
How to export and import solutions using flows in Power Automate
Have you ever wanted to export and import solutions using a flow? In this post all you need to know to get started. Perform an unbound action First I want … Read More Continue Reading Pieter Veenstra’s Article on their blog How to export and import solutions using flows in Power Automate Have you ever wanted to export and import solutions using a flow? In this post all you need to know to get started. First I want to have...
2 Ways to insert dates into Excel using Power Automate
Today I looked at how to insert dates into Excel after a while back I tried to read dates from Excel Changes since my previous post In my previous Excel … Read More Continue Reading Pieter Veenstra’s Article on their blog 2 Ways to insert dates into Excel using Power Automate Today I looked at how to insert dates into Excel after a while back I tried to read dates from Excel In my previous Excel date post, I looked at the...
Sharing flows in Power Automate
Recently I tried to share a flow and I got trial warning. it took a while before i started to understand how Sharing flows in Power Automate works. The start … Read More Continue Reading Pieter Veenstra’s Article on their blog Sharing flows in Power Automate Recently I tried to share a flow and I got trial warning. it took a while before i started to understand how Sharing flows in Power Automate works. I created a flow...
There’s a problem that needs to be fixed in Power Automate
Have you ever had your flows showing the following error: There’s a problem that needs to be fixed to trigger this flow. To see more details open flow checker. Flow … Read More Continue Reading Pieter Veenstra’s Article on their blog There’s a problem that needs to be fixed in Power Automate Have you ever had your flows showing the following error: There’s a problem that needs to be fixed to trigger this...