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Windows - New version of Power Apps for Windows is now available

If you're currently using the Power Apps Player in Windows, it's worth taking a look at the new preview version.

There has always been a Windows Player for Power Apps. In recent times however, the biggest problem is that it hasn't been kept up-to-date and is generally less reliable compared to its Android and iOS counterparts. When updates to Power Apps are rolled out, problem scenarios where functions or formulas that used to work are now broken, are more likely to occur with the Windows Player.

The great news is that last week, Microsoft published a new preview version of Power Apps for Windows. We can easily install this from the Microsoft Store by searching for "Power Apps".



One of the best features of this new preview version is that it supports both canvas and model-driven apps, whereas the original version supported canvas apps only. As with the original Windows Player, the biggest benefit (compared to running Power Apps in a web browser) is that it offers a fast way to access and open apps and provides great support for offline use.

Unfortunately, the new preview version is still a work in progress and most notably, it lacks the ability to organise apps. For instance, the ability to pin apps (that is, to create shortcuts in the Windows start menu to open a specific app) is missing and the ability to display favourite apps at the top of the app list is missing. However, Microsoft is planning to add these features, along with support for push notifications.



Despite these limitations however, it's very promising that Microsoft is taking the Windows version more seriously, and I look forward to seeing the enhancements as the preview process progresses.

For additional details, here's the documentation for the preview version:
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-apps/mobile/windows-app-install

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