Quick Start With Microsoft PowerApps

PowerApps

PowerApps is an enterprise service offered by Microsoft to app developers worldwide. We can connect, create, and share business apps with our team on any device (Mobile, Laptop, Tab) , through this service. Microsoft PowerApps was introduced by Microsoft Windows Azure to build the applications on all platforms, like Windows, iOS, Android devices etc. It helps us to make a custom app also.

It’s a Software as a Service (SaaS) solution that allows companies to build business apps quickly and efficiently.

In PowerApps, you can generate an app automatically, customize it, create an app from templates, and share and run the apps. Here, others can create and share their apps with you, too.

Who can use PowerApps

PowerApps can be used by any sort of industry, like Educational Places, Government Sectors, Corporations, Small scale companies, Startup Companies etc..

PowerApps is very simple to create and use. It doesn't require deep technical knowledge or programming skills. So, the students or mobile App development beginners can very easily develop their apps through PowerApps.

When to use PowerApps

• If you want to instantly publish apps to the web or mobile, you can use PowerApps
  
  When done, get your app in people’s hands. Publish it to your organization—no App Store is required. The app will run perfectly on the web and mobile, laptops, tablets, and phones.
  
  
• If you have external data sources, you can turn your data into apps.
  
  Connect to the existing data sources and services, like Excel files, SharePoint lists, CRM records, your custom APIs, Office 365, Dropbox and OneDrive —to automatically generate a meaningful business app.
  
  
• If you are a beginner having very basic programming skills for app development, use PowerApps
  
  No code is required. You can start working in a Visual Designer to customize a fully-functional app. Build an app that uses device capabilities, including- cameras, GPS, and pen control — without code.

Why use PowerApps?

Power Apps can also work with the data available on Excel sheets, survey forms, SharePoint, O365, etc., It has many advantages.

For Employees -

• We can quickly create apps that work on any device, using templates and a visual designer to automate the workflows and to make it work on all the three major platforms, iOS, Android (preview), and Windows.
• We use built-in connections, or ones built by your company, to connect PowerApps to cloud services, such as Office 365, Dynamics CRM, Salesforce, Dropbox, and OneDrive and on-premises systems, including SharePoint, SQL Server, Oracle databases, SAP and more.
• We can share PowerApps like documents.

For developers and IT professionals -

• You don’t need to write a single line of code.
• PowerApps include Azure App Service for employee-facing apps, so native web and mobile apps get into employee hands faster than ever.
• We build additional data connections and APIs to any existing business systems, thus empowering any users in your organization to create the apps they need.
• Data security and privacy controls are respected by PowerApps, so you can manage data access and maintain corporate policies.

Limitations

PowerApps is still a Public Preview and might have certain limitations (cannot send Push notifications / Offline Sync etc won’t work for now).

How to build PowerApps

You can start building mobile apps without writing a single line of code.

Developer Requirement

1. Download the PowerApps from the Windows Store.
2. Choose one of the existing templates or start from your own.
3. Then, choose the existing DataSource (Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive etc.).
4. Edit the data in the templates and save it on Cloud or Local Machine.
5. Start using it.

How do I install the app using PowerApps?

We download the PowerApps from the Windows Store for Laptop. Download the app here.

Follow the below steps to build a PowerApp using template.

Step 1

Go the Windows Store and search the PowerApps through search box.



Choose the PowerApps from the Windows Store.



Download the Apps.



Step 2

Log into the PowerApps. Here, we need Microsoft related organization’s login ID, like Office 365 or MSDN, Microsoft, Skype, etc. 



Step 3

In the Dashboard, click on the New button.



Step 4

In the dashboard, we can see two different segments. The first one is for creating the app with the existing data, like Common Data Model, CRM, OneDrive, Salesforce, DropBox, Twitter etc. While the second one is to create the app with Template or Blank canvas.

Let's go with the Template.



Now, you can see the number of templates displayed in the screen. Click on anyone that you want.



Step 5

Now, let's start to designing the app. In the left side, we can see the individual screens for changing our data in templates. In the right side, we see the List of Layouts. At the top, we see the formula bar.



Step 6

Click on the File Menu. You will see the App Settings. Here, change the App Name, Icon, and color of the App.



Step 7

We have two options to save the app. We can save it on Cloud or on local machine.



Step 8

Run the App.



Output



Conclusion

I hope you understood how to quick start with Microsoft PowerApps and how to run it.