Blog - Recent Posts

Data - How to sort by partial numbers in a text field

A challenge that we may encounter is, how can we sort a table/list of records by a number that partially appears in a field? An example of where this could occur is where we want to sort manufacturing product descriptions that contain the numeric part number, and we want to sort by the numeric portion of this text. This post describes the formula we can use to carry out this task.

Why does my model driven app not appear in the mobile app?

The iOS and Android players support both canvas and model driven apps. By default, the mobile app shows only production apps, and this post describes how to configure the mobile app to show model driven apps from all environments.

Designer - New updates to the Power Apps fixes SQL Server naming problem and adds the ability to rename connections

The Power Apps designer now fixes a problem that relates to the new SQL Server naming convention, and it also includes the ability to rename custom connectors and 'action connectors' from an app. This post describes these two new features.

Why doesn't the BeginWith, EndsWith, and Contains operators work as expected?

The code completion suggestions in the formula bar can be confusing. In particular, the usage of the BeginsWith, EndsWith, and Contains keywords are not entirely clear, and some app builders struggle to understand how to carry out the required string comparisons. This post describes this behaviour, including the correct syntax to carry out these operations.

Data - How to return the last record from a table

A common question from app builders is, how do we return the last record from a table? The reason for this question is because the Last function may not return the expected record. This post examines this behaviour and describes the most efficient way to return the last record from a table.

Data - How to create bulk test/dummy records with random values

When building apps, it's useful to be able to populate tables with dummy or test records so that we can test and see how our app behaves. This post demonstrates formula to generate multiple records with random values, and how to add those records to a table.

Bug - Excel Online (Business) connector fails to search or to filter against columns with a space in the name

When we attempt to Filter, Search, or to LookUp records based on criteria that references column names with spaces, Power Apps returns an error. This post describes this behaviour in more detail.

Charting - If you want to add Gantt chart capabilities to a canvas app, you should check this out

At today's community call (16 June 21), Terho Antila gave a great demonstration of his gantt chart app. If you want to add gnatt chart capabilities to a canvas app, I highly recommend that you take a look at this.

Data - Why is Dataverse so fast?

One reason why Datavese performs so quickly, compared to other data sources (such as SQL Server, SharePoint, and Excel), is because Power Apps can connect to Dataverse in a more direct way. This post describes this behaviour in more detail.

What languages does Power Apps support, and how to start Power Apps in a different langauge?

This post summarises the languages that Power Apps supports and describes an easy way to run Power Apps Studio in the language of our choice.

Controls - How to submit a form (or to run formula) when a user presses enter/return on the keyboard

There is often the requirement to submit a form or to carry out an action when a user clicks the enter or return key on the keyboard. This post describes a technqiue we can use to carry out this task.

Teams - A summary of the demonstration/sample Power Apps that are available in Teams

A great feature of Power Apps for Microsoft Teams is that it offers 5 built in apps - inspections, milestones, bulletins, issue reporting, and employee ideas. We can use these apps straight away, or we can adapt them to better suit our needs. This post summarises what these apps are capable of.

SQL - Caution - the Distinct function may not return the records that you expect!

One thing that can catch out app builders is that the Distinct function is not delegable. This post illustrates this problem through an example that shows how the distinct function may not return all records that we expect.

Dataverse - How to create and use Dataverse views in Canvas Apps

Dataverse views enable us to define queries and filters in a way that is re-usable across multiple canvas apps and model driven apps. This post describes how to display data from Dataverse views in canvas apps, and how to refer to those views in formula.

New model driven app designer - a first look

A new, much improved model driven app designer is now available in preview! This post takes a first look at this designer, including how to access the designer, and a high level overview of the new features.