Category: Sql

Dataverse - How to connect to SQL Server in Model Driven/Portal apps through virtual tables

If you want to build model-driven or portal apps and want to connect to data sources other than Dataverse, it's now much easier to do so with the 'Virtual Connector Provider'. This post walks through how to set up a virtual table based on a SQL Server table, and to use it in a model-driven/portal app.

Forms - How to add and edit records against SQL Server tables GUID primary keys

SQL Server tables can be set up with primary keys that are of data type GUID/uniqueidentifier. Power App forms do not work against these tables without some slight modification. This post describes how to add and edit records against tables with a GUID primary key column, using a form.

SQL - What to do when edit/add/delete options missing from an app, or edit controls unavailable in forms

If you're unable to add or edit data from a SQL Server table, the most likely cause is a missing primary key column. This post describes how to fix this issue.

SQL - How to configure case sensitive or case insensitve searches against SQL Server data sources

When we build search screens or filter data against a SQL Server data source, we may want to specify whether Power Apps carries out a case sensitive, or case insensitive search. This post describes the behaviour of case sensitivity when we search data from Power Apps.

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.

SQL - How to lookup/display related details with SQL Server Views

In cases where we need to join tables and to display details from related tables, the most efficient way to perform this task is to use a view. This post provides an introduction on how to display related data on a gallery control, and how to configure an app to update a record that a users selects through a gallery control that is connected to a view.

Data - How to apply customize sort sequences with SQL and Power Apps

In cases where we need to display non English data, there can be the requirement to sort data using langauge specific sort sequences. With SQL Server data sources, we apply custom sort sequences through collation settings, and this post describes how to apply this technique to a Power App.

SQL - How to show distinct values in the most efficient way

A very common requirement is to show distinct values from a SQL Server table. The most efficient way to accomplish this is to build a view. This post walks through how to carry out this task.

Dataverse - How to access data more easily through TDS

We can more easily access records in Dataverse by enabling the TDS protocol. This opens up read-only access to tables through SQL Management Studio and PowerBI. In this post, we'll look at why we might want to do this and the steps to set this up.

SQL - What you need to know about bulk updating records

Bulk updating SQL data from Power Apps can be very slow. Read this to find out why.