Integrate eSignature with Power Pages
Oct09

Integrate eSignature with Power Pages

Use case: A user submits an application via the Power Pages website. We need the User’s electronic signature on the issued card. Our organisation uses DocuSign to digitally sign documents. Lucky us, Power Pages integrates with DocuSign out-of-the-box! Before you start, in the documentation, on the video and everywhere they tell you it’s only supported for the standard data model…. Continue Reading Olena Grischenko...

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Power Pages: Upload large files – work in progress
Sep08

Power Pages: Upload large files – work in progress

On the project, we need our portal users to be able to upload large video files. It’s required for incident investigations. As we all know, the large file upload was one of the top asked features. So now we could finally use it with Power Pages. Yay! No code The official documentation is here: Continue Reading Olena Grischenko (she/her)’s Article on their blog Power Pages: Upload large files – work in progress On the...

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Power Pages Bing Address Validation (Autosuggest)
Aug22

Power Pages Bing Address Validation (Autosuggest)

Two things before we start. First, I am genuinely surprised that I couldn’t find a Power Pages article on this topic. I feel almost embarrassed posting this, as it seems like everyone else knows how to do it. Yet, I have a rule: if I struggle with something, there must be someone somewhere trying to build something similar. For the person crying for help somewhere in the world…… Continue Reading Olena Grischenko...

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“Hidden” SharePoint Flows (and more) on Power Platform. Do we clean it?
Aug15

“Hidden” SharePoint Flows (and more) on Power Platform. Do we clean it?

Recently, we implemented the Inactivity process as part of the CoE Toolkit, which is a component of our general tenant hygiene strategy. If you’re unfamiliar with the concept, I suggest reading the article below: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/guidance/coe/after-setup-tenant-hygiene Also, I suggest learning about the inactivity process setup: Continue Reading Olena Grischenko (she/her)’s Article on their...

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Power Pages: Migrate standard data model sites to enhanced data model – Part 2
Aug07

Power Pages: Migrate standard data model sites to enhanced data model – Part 2

The previous article is here: https://msolenacrm.blog/2024/08/06/power-pages-migrate-standard-data-model-sites-to-enhanced-data-model-part-1/ Let’s complete the upgrade! We are up to Step 4 now: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-pages/admin/migrate-enhanced-data-model#step-4-update-site-data-model-version-after-successful-data-migration Use the following command update site… Continue Reading Olena Grischenko...

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Power Pages: Migrate standard data model sites to enhanced data model – Part 1
Aug06

Power Pages: Migrate standard data model sites to enhanced data model – Part 1

The standard data model was built by using custom tables, and it was optimized for the configuration of each website component that is stored as a record in a dedicated table in Microsoft Dataverse. The standard model requires more time to load the different solutions, tables, and metadata when a new site is provisioned. Updates to website tables in the standard model require manual and… Continue Reading Olena Grischenko...

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Revisiting Custom Connectors by Carina M. Claesson
May08

Revisiting Custom Connectors by Carina M. Claesson

In my Power Platform dev life I use custom connectors a lot. One of the latest use cases is limiting a standard Microsoft Entra ID connector to meet the least privilege principle. Custom connectors could be very useful. However, there are some tricks and catches in the implementation and the deployment. A new post from Carina M. Claesson is the first one in the series of articles about a… Continue Reading Olena Grischenko...

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Unlocking Snowflake Data Integration in Power Platform: Out of the box Snowflake connector – Part 3
Mar31

Unlocking Snowflake Data Integration in Power Platform: Out of the box Snowflake connector – Part 3

In both Part 1 and Part 2 of this blog series, we explored integration techniques using the Snowflake REST API through a custom connector. There is a Snowflake connector in Preview for an extended period, featuring actions for submitting, monitoring status, and cancelling SQL statements. In this post, we’ll delve into how you can leverage this connector within a Power Automate flow to execute… Continue Reading Mohamed...

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Unlocking Snowflake Data Integration in Power Platform: Manipulating Snowflake REST API response in Custom Connector – Part 2
Mar31

Unlocking Snowflake Data Integration in Power Platform: Manipulating Snowflake REST API response in Custom Connector – Part 2

In Part 1 of the blog series, we covered the setup and configuration necessary for Snowflake integration using the Snowflake REST API with a custom connector. The API response isn’t directly usable in Power Apps if the action is directly called within Power Apps instead of Power Automate flow leveraging Data operations (Select) connector. In this blog post, let’s explore how to manipulate the… Continue Reading...

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Unlocking Snowflake Data Integration in Power Platform: Using Custom Connector with Snowflake REST API – Part 1
Mar31

Unlocking Snowflake Data Integration in Power Platform: Using Custom Connector with Snowflake REST API – Part 1

In today’s data-driven world, businesses rely on integration between their data sources and analysis platforms to derive insights and make informed decisions. One such powerful combination is leveraging Snowflake, a leading cloud-based data warehousing platform, alongside Microsoft Power Platform. In this blog series, we’ll delve into the options of integrating Snowflake data sources into… Continue Reading Mohamed...

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Power Platform for Admins: create Dataverse with Dynamics 365 apps enabled
Mar21

Power Platform for Admins: create Dataverse with Dynamics 365 apps enabled

As a Power Platform admin, I would like to automate the environment creation at the same time, making sure the environment created could be used to install Dynamics 365 apps in the future. Power Platform Admin Create and manage environments in the Power Platform admin center article here:

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Text-to-Speech and Audio Playback in Power Apps using Azure and Power Automate
Feb29

Text-to-Speech and Audio Playback in Power Apps using Azure and Power Automate

Capabilities like text-to-speech (TTS) and audio playback can take your applications to new heights of user engagement and accessibility. In this blog post, we’ll look at integrating text-to-speech and audio playback functionalities into Power Apps using Power Automate and Azure Speech Services. Whether you’re looking to provide dynamic narration, streamline communication, or enhance… Continue Reading Mohamed Ashiq...

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Will It Break? Non-business Dataverse connector + AI Builder with a DLP policy for the Default environment
Feb09

Will It Break? Non-business Dataverse connector + AI Builder with a DLP policy for the Default environment

The case As a Power Platform admin I want to remediate the Default environment to deploy a DLP policy so I could get to the Power Platform maturity level 200 for the Admin and Governance. Olena We notified users with non-compliant assets to back up or move their apps and automation, as they are going to break during the remediation. Some of the users got back to me, and we had some… Continue Reading Olena Grischenko...

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Automate the assignment of Capacity Add-ons in Power Platform Environment using Power Automate Flow
Jan31

Automate the assignment of Capacity Add-ons in Power Platform Environment using Power Automate Flow

In Power Platform, capacity add-ons such as AI Builder Credits, Per-App plan, Power Pages Capacity, Power Automate Per Flow, Power Automate Process, Copilot Studio messages are allocated at an environment level and are not tied to individual users, unlike the Power Apps/Power Automate Premium plan. These add-ons are assigned to an environment through the Power Platform Admin Center. However,… Continue Reading Mohamed Ashiq...

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Power Automate: contains(), array, AI and bananas.
Jan25

Power Automate: contains(), array, AI and bananas.

Issue I was modifying my custom environment creation automation today. For the security group creation action, I needed to add a System Admin to the security group owners to simplify a user management. The action takes the array like below: [ … Continue Reading Olena Grischenko (she/her)’s Article on their blog Power Automate: contains(), array, AI and bananas. Issue I was modifying my custom environment creation...

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How to improve Stripe payments in Power Pages (CloudMinded)
Jan09

How to improve Stripe payments in Power Pages (CloudMinded)

How to improve Stripe payments in Power Pages Continue Reading Olena Grischenko (she/her)’s Article on their blog How to improve Stripe payments in Power Pages (CloudMinded) Visit the post for more. Blog Syndicated with Olena Grischenko (she/her)’s...

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For Dummies: creating an internal Microsoft Power Platform hub (from the template)
Jan04

For Dummies: creating an internal Microsoft Power Platform hub (from the template)

In my world being an expert in something and being a dummy in something else is pretty normal. No one knows everything. I am an expert in the Power Platform and Business Applications, but even that area is too big for me, so I continue learning every day. When I tried to deploy the Power Platform communication site template for my organisation, I encountered multiple issues. They look like… Continue Reading Olena Grischenko...

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Streamlining Integration: Using Azure Managed identities in Power Apps and Power Automate to access Microsoft Graph API – Part 3
Jan02

Streamlining Integration: Using Azure Managed identities in Power Apps and Power Automate to access Microsoft Graph API – Part 3

In both Part 1  and Part 2 of the blog series, I’ve covered the utilization of Managed Identities in Power Apps and Power Automate for secure access to Microsoft Graph API. This included a deep dive into setting up and configuring the Azure API Management service with the Microsoft Graph permissions for the managed identity. In Part 2, I’ve explored the process of exporting the API as a… Continue Reading Mohamed Ashiq...

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Streamlining Integration: Using Azure Managed identities in Power Apps and Power Automate to access Microsoft Graph API – Part 2
Jan01

Streamlining Integration: Using Azure Managed identities in Power Apps and Power Automate to access Microsoft Graph API – Part 2

In Part 1 of the blog series on using Managed identities in Power Apps and Power Automate to access Microsoft Graph API securely, I have delved into the setup and configuration of the Azure API management service with the necessary Microsoft Graph permissions for the managed identity. Building upon that foundation, Part 2 aims to take it further your integration journey in making the API’s… Continue Reading Mohamed Ashiq...

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Streamlining Integration: Using Azure Managed identities in Power Apps and Power Automate to access Microsoft Graph API – Part 1
Dec31

Streamlining Integration: Using Azure Managed identities in Power Apps and Power Automate to access Microsoft Graph API – Part 1

Using Microsoft Graph in Power Apps and Power Automate offers several advantages for streamlining integration with various Microsoft 365 services and applications. Additionally, securing these integrations with Azure Managed Identities significantly enhances the overall security of the solution. Azure Managed Identities enable applications and services to authenticate with Azure services… Continue Reading Mohamed Ashiq...

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Santa’s “Ho Ho Ho” message to welcome  good 😀 Makers (Managed Environments)
Dec18

Santa’s “Ho Ho Ho” message to welcome good 😀 Makers (Managed Environments)

Extending a warm welcome to the Makers starting on the environment is a wonderful idea, especially as Christmas is approaching. We won’t miss the opportunity to send them some heartfelt greetings. It’s very easy to do for Managed Environments. If you are not familiar with the concept, this is the idea: Managed Environments is a suite of premium capabilities that allows admins to manage… Continue Reading Olena...

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CoE Starter Kit: Efficient Testing Strategy for Inactivity Processes – Admin Simulations for Maker Clean-Up Approvals
Dec11

CoE Starter Kit: Efficient Testing Strategy for Inactivity Processes – Admin Simulations for Maker Clean-Up Approvals

As a Power Platform Admin, I would like to efficiently test the CoE Starter Kit Inactivity Processes, so I understand how it works and confirm it meets my requirements without spamming users and makers. Olena Introduction During our initial setup of the CoE Starter Kit, we encountered difficulties in finding a way to disable notifications and automatic emails. Despite configuring some… Continue Reading Olena Grischenko...

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Power Pages payments with Stripe (ft. CloudMinded)
Dec06

Power Pages payments with Stripe (ft. CloudMinded)

Anatomy of the Stripe payments in Power Pages Continue Reading Olena Grischenko (she/her)’s Article on their blog Power Pages payments with Stripe (ft. CloudMinded) Visit the post for more. Blog Syndicated with Olena Grischenko (she/her)’s...

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Modify Microsoft Entra ID Connector (Standard) to meet your security requirements
Nov21

Modify Microsoft Entra ID Connector (Standard) to meet your security requirements

Some time ago I wrote the post: https://wordpress.com/post/msolenacrm.blog/4767 In the post, I was talking about the standard Microsoft connector not meeting my client’s security requirements. Pretty much, I was blocked and searching for a solution. The only “security appropriate” solution was a custom connector but I didn’t know where to start. I asked my partner to investigate the… Continue Reading...

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Streamlining Integration: Leveraging Service Principal Authentication for SQL Connector in Power Apps and Power Automate
Nov05

Streamlining Integration: Leveraging Service Principal Authentication for SQL Connector in Power Apps and Power Automate

In the ever-evolving landscape of business processes and data management, efficient integration is the key to success. Securing and managing connections in Power Apps and Power Automate is a critical aspect of integration. This blog post delves into how to use Service Principal authentication to create a connection for Azure SQL Server database with the SQL Server connector in Power Apps and… Continue Reading Mohamed Ashiq...

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Streamlining Integration: Using Service Principal authentication on Custom connectors with Microsoft Graph Application Permissions
Oct28

Streamlining Integration: Using Service Principal authentication on Custom connectors with Microsoft Graph Application Permissions

Microsoft recently announced a long awaited feature: support for Service Principals in Custom connectors which is currently in Public Preview. This empowers you to authenticate as a service principal instead of relying on user accounts. It’s a game-changer that paves the way for a multitude of scenarios, especially those requiring seamless, uninterrupted access for automated processes, free… Continue Reading Mohamed Ashiq...

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As a System Administrator, I would like to create a DLP policy for my environment(s) so I can help protect data in my organization

If you are a Power Platform admin, you can find the relevant information in the following Microsoft article: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/admin/create-dlp-policy Unfortunately, it’s not clear from the article how to create a DLP policy as a System Administrator managing just one or multiple environments and not having a Power Platform admin role and superpowers. This… Continue Reading Olena Grischenko...

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Microsoft Entra ID connector – least privilege
Oct05

Microsoft Entra ID connector – least privilege

The solution described in the article is not fully working to the level it satisfies the author. It’s a continuous effort to come up with the best solution that meets both dev and ops requirements. Me The problem I am trying to create a security group using Power Automate using the Microsoft Entra ID connector. Microsoft Entra ID – Connectors Microsoft Entra ID is an Identity and Access Management cloud solution that...

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Cancelling Dataverse via DLP policy on the Default environment
Oct03

Cancelling Dataverse via DLP policy on the Default environment

Let’s chat about how we got there first. In my client’s organisation the decision was made to limit Power Platform usage to just Office 365 connectors due to the complexity of the service ownership, time-consuming licensing discussions – it’s complicated! So Power Platform is only allowed as a part of the Office 365 subscription, all users in the organisation are covered by their Office… Continue Reading...

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Canvas App: Office365Users.Search UserV2 not working, but V1 does
Aug10

Canvas App: Office365Users.Search UserV2 not working, but V1 does

Scenario: Currently, I am working on the New Environment Request app. As a part of the solution, we add the environment business Owner which as we know is different from the Owner field populated by default with the name of the user who physically spins the environment. Therefore, on the form, we allow a user to pick an Owner from the list of users. Solution: We will use Office… Continue Reading Olena Grischenko...

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Co-pilot with Power Pages: new features to generate UI
Aug07

Co-pilot with Power Pages: new features to generate UI

Co-pilot with Power Pages Learn to generate Power Pages page ideas with the pre-defined layout, described color scheme, and purpose. Continue Reading Olena Grischenko (she/her)’s Article on their blog Co-pilot with Power Pages: new features to generate UI https://youtu.be/M7HbJ8QNAcU Co-pilot with Power Pages Learn to generate Power Pages page ideas with the pre-defined layout, described color scheme, and purpose. Blog...

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Power Automate: Send approval email to external customer
Jul19

Power Automate: Send approval email to external customer

To remind myself for the future discussions. Thank you very much, Mira! MG #Power automate #Approvals #External Guests Approvals in power automate are very nice interactive feature to process requests and documents! They can be integrated with CDS, SharePoint online and Onedrive. Here is a link to creation of Approvals walk-though when an item is created in a sharepoint… Continue Reading Olena Grischenko (she/her)’s...

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Power Platform DLP Policy: blocking HTTP connectors won’t impact child Flows
Jul18

Power Platform DLP Policy: blocking HTTP connectors won’t impact child Flows

Previously known issue Call Child Flows – Power Automate Flows can now call other flows and pass parameters to them. “If you block the HTTP Request connector via data loss prevention (DLP), child flows are also blocked because child flows are implemented using the HTTP connector. Work is underway to separate DLP enforcement for child flows so that they are treated like other cloud flows.” <h2… Continue Reading Olena...

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Power Platform environment. Definition of inactivity.
Apr09

Power Platform environment. Definition of inactivity.

Our Power Platform Admin team recently discussed the possibility of the automatic cleanup of inactive environments. For the Sandbox and Production environments, we tried to come up with a definition of what we believe is an “inactive environment”. The definition we could think of would combine two main components: a user activity in the environment, at minimum, login, and/or automation… Continue Reading Olena...

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“Do DLP policies apply to Developer environments?”
Apr06

“Do DLP policies apply to Developer environments?”

< blockquote class=”wp-block-quote”> The simplest way to get access to a Power Platform environment is to sign up for the Power Apps Developer plan. You can explore Power Platform at full potential for learning at no cost. To fully use it as a developer, you’ll need an Azure account and a work account. This article will guide you through the process for creating a Power Platform environment and a test...

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Set up ALM accelerator for Microsoft Power Platform. Power Platform Admin requirements considerations.
Apr01

Set up ALM accelerator for Microsoft Power Platform. Power Platform Admin requirements considerations.

The issue My client’s ops team got a request from developers to support the ALM accelerator setup and configuration.They follow the steps from the article below:https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/guidance/coe/setup-almacceleratorpowerplatform-preview#give-power-app-management-permission-to-your-app App registration is a part of the setup. The Power App Management… Continue Reading Olena Grischenko (she/her)’s...

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Convert Speech to Text using OpenAI Whisper in Power Apps
Mar19

Convert Speech to Text using OpenAI Whisper in Power Apps

OpenAI has released a new neural network called Whisper, which is an open-source model that can convert speech to text with impressive accuracy. This model is specifically designed to transcribe spoken language into text with high precision and speed, making it an ideal tool for a variety of applications, such as virtual assistants and video captioning. Whisper relies on advanced machine… Continue Reading Mohamed Ashiq...

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How to copy an existing DLP Policy in Power Platform
Mar19

How to copy an existing DLP Policy in Power Platform

DLP policies are essential in ensuring that data is managed uniformly across an organization, thereby preventing critical business data from being accidentally published to social media or other connectors. These policies can be created at both the tenant and environment levels, with management handled through the Power Platform admin center. However, it is currently not possible to copy an… Continue Reading Mohamed Ashiq...

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Uploading Files Made Easy: A Guide to Using the Attachment Control in Power Apps
Mar19

Uploading Files Made Easy: A Guide to Using the Attachment Control in Power Apps

The Attachment control in Power Apps is a useful feature that allows users to upload and delete files, but it can only be used with data sources such as SharePoint List or Dataverse table. However, if you need to upload and delete files without using these data sources, you can create a custom component using the Attachment control or you can directly use this control in the app. I have… Continue Reading Mohamed Ashiq...

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Changing Connections in Connection References on a Managed Solution

A connection reference is a component in a solution that holds information about a connector. It can be used by both a Canvas app and Power Automate flows. When importing a managed solution to an environment, the user is asked to either select an existing connection or create a new one. However, once a managed solution is imported, it cannot be edited as shown below The solution to this… Continue Reading Mohamed Ashiq...

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How to send an Adaptive card to a Microsoft Teams Private channel using Power Automate flow
Dec31

How to send an Adaptive card to a Microsoft Teams Private channel using Power Automate flow

Within Microsoft Teams, private channels create focused spaces for collaboration where only the owners or members of the private channel can access the channel. The Microsoft Teams connector in Power Automate has an action to Post an Adaptive card in a chat or channel, which posts an adaptive card as a flow bot to a specific Teams channel. The following error will appear if this action is used… Continue Reading Mohamed Ashiq...

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Generating simple and complex documents with just Power Platform, no add-ons.
Nov20

Generating simple and complex documents with just Power Platform, no add-ons.

In the consulting world, we get the document generation requirements for most medium to large-size projects. Traditionally, for Dynamics 365 projects we used document generation add-ons, like Document Core Pack or Xpertdoc to generate documents. However, it’s unnecessary in the world of Power Platform where all requirements could be addressed with just Power Platform.

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Power Automate w Word Online: generate document updates
Sep28

Power Automate w Word Online: generate document updates

Scenario: My client generate a summary document for the application lodged online. The generated summary could be manually edited by an officer. At the final stage of the application processing, it’s required to include additional information to the generated summary document regarding the outcome of the application. This information must be dynamically generated. This is a process… Continue Reading Olena Grischenko...

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5 reasons why (you believe) you can’t be Microsoft MVP and why you should rethink it
Jul06

5 reasons why (you believe) you can’t be Microsoft MVP and why you should rethink it

Today is “that day of the year”, the MVP renewal day. You could see lots of posts on Twitter and LinkedIn about the event. MVPs are posting about being renewed for another year. It means more community work, opportunities, more tech knowledge shared, and more questions answered. It means more fun! I’ve been a part of the Microsoft MVP Award program for some time. People reach out to ask me… Continue Reading...

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Send Teams Activity Feed notification from Power Automate using custom Teams Bot
Jun11

Send Teams Activity Feed notification from Power Automate using custom Teams Bot

Activity feed notifications appears in the Teams activity feed panel with link to various locations thus enabling developers to build actionable content. These notifications are sent as push notifications in the Teams client. In this blogpost, let us see how to send Teams activity feed notification using < ol type=”1″>Custom Teams App with a BotPower Automate standard action: Post a feed… Continue Reading Mohamed...

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Call SharePoint REST API in a custom connector (Power Apps/Power Automate)
May29

Call SharePoint REST API in a custom connector (Power Apps/Power Automate)

The Power Automate action Send an HTTP request to SharePoint could come handy in many scenarios to execute SharePoint REST API queries but you will not able to use this action directly in Power Apps. In this blogpost, let us see how to call the SharePoint REST API in a custom connector which can be used either in Power Automate or Power Apps. There are many REST API endpoints available within… Continue Reading Mohamed Ashiq...

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Top 5 features of Power Pages from  Power Apps Portal UI/UX pro
May25

Top 5 features of Power Pages from Power Apps Portal UI/UX pro

I am very excited to share my initial thoughts about Power Pages and a new portal designer. It was a big announcement at MS Build today, if you missed it you can read the article here and then set up a trial to start playing with Power Pages. I’ve been working as a Dynamics 365 portal and Power Apps portal for many years. Recently, I made UI/UX for Power Apps portals one of my business… Continue Reading Olena Grischenko...

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Where’s my old app designer?!
May20

Where’s my old app designer?!

Changes to UI are always fun. From the user experience perspective, they are challenging and somehow scary. I love a new app designer! It’s easy to use, it’s smart, and very user-friendly. However, today I need a new designer to make sure I’ve got all forms required added to my app. In the old designer you can check it. And in a new one – I’m not sure it’s even possible. In my old… Continue...

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Send Teams channel message aka proactive message using custom Teams bot and Power Automate – Part 2
Mar06

Send Teams channel message aka proactive message using custom Teams bot and Power Automate – Part 2

In the last post, we have seen till the installation of the Teams App with the Bot on a Microsoft Team. Let us now continue to send a proactive message, be it an Adaptive card or a simple Text message on a Teams channel using Bot Framework REST API from a Power Automate Cloud Flow. A proactive message is any message sent by a bot that isn’t in response to a request from a user. Ex: Welcome… Continue Reading Mohamed Ashiq...

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Send Teams channel message aka proactive message using custom Teams bot and Power Automate – Part 1
Feb28

Send Teams channel message aka proactive message using custom Teams bot and Power Automate – Part 1

Microsoft Teams connector in Power Automate has actions which can send a simple text message or Adaptive card as a flow bot in a Teams channel. Messages or cards are posted as the user who’s signed into the connector in the flow or by using the flow bot. Post adaptive card in a chat or channelPost message in a chat or channel Messages can be posted on a Teams channel only if the signed… Continue Reading Mohamed Ashiq...

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