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- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Wissenschaft und neue Technologien
- Sprache: Englisch
Build business intelligence with insight from a professional
Microsoft Power Platform For Dummies covers the essentials you need to know to get started with Microsoft Power Platform, the suite of business intelligence applications designed to make your enterprise work smarter and more efficiently. You'll get a handle on managing and reporting data with Power BI, building no-code apps with Power Apps, creating simple web properties with Power Pages, and simplifying your day-to-day work with Power Automate. Written by a business consultant who's helped some of the world's largest organizations adopt, manage, and get work done with Power Platform, this book gets you through your work without working too hard to figure things out.
- Discover the tools that come with Power Platform and how they can help you build business intelligence
- Manage data, create apps, automate routine tasks, create web pages, and beyond
- Learn the current best practices for launching Power Platform in an organization
- Get step-by-step instructions for navigating the interface and setting up your tools
This is a great quick-start guide for anyone who wants to leverage Power Platform's BI tools.
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Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024
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Microsoft® Power Platform™ For Dummies®
To view this book's Cheat Sheet, simply go to www.dummies.com and search for “Microsoft Power Platform For Dummies Cheat Sheet” in the Search box.
Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Introduction
About This Book
Foolish Assumptions
Icons Used in This Book
Beyond the Book
Where to Go From Here
Part 1: Grasping Power Platform Foundations
Chapter 1: Touring the Power Platform
Grasping the Power of Power Platform
Zooming into the Platform Features
Chapter 2: Framing the Power Platform Solution
Taking Control in the Power Platform Admin Center
Exploring Core Power Platform Admin Center Capabilities
Previewing the Maker Portal
Addressing Security and Governance
Chapter 3: Discovering the Dataverse
Defining the Dataverse
Tackling Tables in Dataverse
Customizing a Dataverse Table
Venturing into Views
Working with Model-Driven App Forms
Security Foundations and Dataverse
Going with the Business Process Flows
Part 2: Getting Your Power Apps Hat On
Chapter 4: Getting the Big Picture on Power Apps Development
Developing Applications by Using Power Apps
Designing a Canvas App
Putting Together a Model-Driven App
Managing and Deploying Solutions
Chapter 5: Personalizing and Creating Canvas Apps in Power Apps
Building the Canvas App Foundation
Controlling Basics within a Canvas App
Managing Screens and Controls
Building Custom Navigation
Creating a Three-Screen To Do Lists App
Chapter 6: Building Data Solutions with Model-Driven Apps
Exploring Model-Driven Apps from a High-Level
Using Core Components to Build a Model-Driven App
Having Fun With Forms
Veering into Views
Chapter 7: Extending a Model-Driven App
Charting and Dashboarding
Building Out Business Process Flows
Controlling Security in Model-Driven Apps
Chapter 8: Building Sites with Power Pages
Knowing What Power Pages Can Do
Exploring the Power Pages Toolset
Navigating the Pages, Styling, Data, Setup, and Security Tabs
Integrating Functionality into Power Pages
Extending the Power Pages Toolset
Part 3: Telling the Data Story with Power BI
Chapter 9: Power BI Foundations
Looking Under the Power BI Hood
Knowing Your Power BI Terminology
Looking at Desktop versus Services Options
Chapter 10: Working with Data
Getting Data from the Source
Managing Data Source Settings
Working with Shared versus Local Datasets
Selecting the Right Storage and Connection Mode
Data Sources Oh My!
Cleansing, Transforming, and Loading Your Data
Chapter 11: Mastering Data Modeling for Visualization
Creating a Data Model Masterpiece
Managing Relationships
Arranging Data
Publishing Data Models
Chapter 12: Visualizing Data in Power BI
Looking at Report Fundamentals and Visualizations
Choosing the Best Visualization for the Job
Formatting and Configuring Report Visualizations
Publishing Your Report from the Desktop to the Web
Diving into Dashboards
Chapter 13: Sharing and Collaborating with Power BI Services
Working Together in a Workspace
Slicing and Dicing Data
Troubleshooting the Use of Data Lineage
Datasets, Dataflows, and Lineage
Step to Managing Workspace and Report Security in Power BI
Part 4: Simplifying Workflows with Automation
Chapter 14: Understanding Automation Basics
Getting to Know Power Automate
Working with Cloud Flows
Discovering Desktop Flows
Chapter 15: Diving into Advanced Automation
Delving into the New Cloud Flow Designer
Tackling Triggers and Approvals
Understanding Automation Licensing Limitations
Part 5: The Part of Tens
Chapter 16: Ten Best Practices When Developing Power Platform Solutions
Focusing on the Essential Business Needs
Don’t Over-Engineer Processes and Data Models
Keep Data Squeaky Clean
Automate Processes Intelligently
Develop a Center of Excellence
Optimize for All Platforms
Implement Version Control and Application Lifecycle Management
Constantly Monitor and Optimize Power Platform Functionality
Focus on Least Privileged Security
Leverage Modular Design Approaches
Chapter 17: Ten Useful Power Platform Resources
Microsoft Learn
Microsoft Documentation
The Power Platform Community
Power CAT Live
Redmond Channel Partners
Podcasts
Online Videos
Training Platforms
Code Samples and Snippets
Technical Conferences
Index
About the Author
Connect with Dummies
End User License Agreement
List of Tables
Chapter 1
TABLE 1-1 Microsoft Power Platform Tool Capabilities
TABLE 1-2 Flow Types Available in Power Automate
Chapter 2
TABLE 2-1 Power Platform Admin Center Capabilities
TABLE 2-2 Policy Types in the Power Platform Admin Center
TABLE 2-3 Power Apps Maker Portal Features
Chapter 3
TABLE 3-1 Dataverse Terminology
TABLE 3-2 Model-Driven App View Types
TABLE 3-3 Dataverse Security Levels
Chapter 4
TABLE 4-1 Power Apps Connector Types
TABLE 4-2 Key Model-Driven App Concepts
Chapter 5
TABLE 5-1 Key Microsoft Power Apps Web Pages
TABLE 5-2 Canvas Apps Toolbar Menus
TABLE 5-3 Navigation Functions, Purposes, and Examples
Chapter 6
TABLE 6-1 Differences between Model-Driven and Canvas Apps
TABLE 6-2 Public View Types
Chapter 7
TABLE 7-1 Security Roles in Power Platform
Chapter 8
TABLE 8-1 Key Reasons to Use Power Pages
TABLE 8-2 Security Tab Options
Chapter 9
TABLE 9-1 Key Pros and Cons of Power BI Desktop and Power BI Services
TABLE 9-2 Power BI Desktop and Power BI Services Features
Chapter 11
TABLE 11-1 Buttons on the Power BI Model View Home Ribbon
Chapter 14
TABLE 14-1 Power Platform Terminology
TABLE 14-2 Types of Cloud Flows
Chapter 15
TABLE 15-1 Control and Connector Settings Managed in the Action Configuration Pa...
TABLE 15-2 Key Expressions that Optimize Conditions
TABLE 15-3 Key Conditionals and Loops
TABLE 15-4 Approval Types
List of Illustrations
Chapter 1
FIGURE 1-1: Microsoft Power Platform components and capabilities.
FIGURE 1-2: The Compensation Calculator application created with the canvas app...
FIGURE 1-3: A model-driven app form created by using Power Apps.
FIGURE 1-4: The view created by a model-driven app in Power Apps.
FIGURE 1-5: An example of a Dataverse table.
Chapter 2
FIGURE 2-1: The nuts and bolts of Power Platform architecture.
FIGURE 2-2: The Power Platform admin center’s navigation pane.
FIGURE 2-3: An Environments interface in the Power Platform admin center.
FIGURE 2-4: The New Environment pane for Corporate Applications.
FIGURE 2-5: The Add Dataverse options pane.
FIGURE 2-6: A Dataverse Analytics report.
FIGURE 2-7: The Power Platform admin center allows access to Tenant Settings.
FIGURE 2-8: Managing resource capacity in the Power Platform admin center.
FIGURE 2-9: Getting help and support.
FIGURE 2-10: A couple of on-premises enterprise gateway connections.
FIGURE 2-11: The Maker Portal interface.
FIGURE 2-12: Navigating the features of the Power Apps Maker Portal.
FIGURE 2-13: In the Microsoft 365 admin center, you can configure security cont...
FIGURE 2-14: The Data Policies window allows you to create, modify, or delete d...
FIGURE 2-15: Accessing privacy and security settings.
Chapter 3
FIGURE 3-1: Power Apps Maker Portal Dataverse Table Settings pane.
FIGURE 3-2: Creating a new table in the Power Apps Maker Portal.
FIGURE 3-3: Configuring common table properties.
FIGURE 3-4: Advanced table configuration options.
FIGURE 3-5: Adding a column to a table in Dataverse’s table designer.
FIGURE 3-6: The Import menu in the Tables window.
FIGURE 3-7: The Connection Settings window allows you to upload an Excel workbo...
FIGURE 3-8: The Power Query Map Tables window.
FIGURE 3-9: Asking Microsoft Copilot to create a new table.
FIGURE 3-10: A Dataverse table created by using Microsoft Copilot.
FIGURE 3-11: A SharePoint list virtual table Configuration in Dataverse.
FIGURE 3-12: Creating a new column in your Dataverse table.
FIGURE 3-13: The New Column window’s advanced options.
FIGURE 3-14: Choosing whether to create or edit views for a table.
FIGURE 3-15: Adding new a column to a view.
FIGURE 3-16: A customized view filtered by the Region value of South.
FIGURE 3-17: Creating a model-driven app form.
FIGURE 3-18: A Quick Create form for account information.
FIGURE 3-19: A Quick View form presenting billing information.
FIGURE 3-20: A Card displaying information on a child account.
FIGURE 3-21: An example hierarchy-based security model in Dataverse.
FIGURE 3-22: Data added to the 50 States table by using business process flows.
Chapter 4
FIGURE 4-1: Some connector options in a canvas app.
FIGURE 4-2: Select a Microsoft data source or use Copilot to create a new data ...
FIGURE 4-3: Configuring a canvas app’s gallery properties.
FIGURE 4-4: Configuring Advanced properties to support an action associated wit...
FIGURE 4-5: An application’s save history in the Versions tab.
FIGURE 4-6: The menu to share an application.
FIGURE 4-7: Selecting which users gain access to a canvas app.
FIGURE 4-8: A table of unmanaged apps.
Chapter 5
FIGURE 5-1: All the parts of the Power Studio interface.
FIGURE 5-2: Start to create a canvas app on the Power Apps Studio home page.
FIGURE 5-3: Options to create a canvas app when you start with data.
FIGURE 5-4: Selecting a page design to start an app.
FIGURE 5-5: Start with an app template.
FIGURE 5-6: The canvas apps toolbar, displaying the Insert drop-down list.
FIGURE 5-7: Adding data from the Add Data drop-down list.
FIGURE 5-8: Select a connector from the Connectors menu.
FIGURE 5-9: Changing a data source in the Properties pane.
FIGURE 5-10: Desktop, tablet, and mobile screen layout options.
FIGURE 5-11: Mobile-specific layout options.
FIGURE 5-12: The canvas app authoring menu’s Insert tab options.
FIGURE 5-13: Deleting a control that you no longer want.
FIGURE 5-14: Formatting a label in the Properties pane.
FIGURE 5-15: Configuring a gallery in the Advanced pane.
FIGURE 5-16: Adding a blank canvas to your app.
FIGURE 5-17: Changing your app’s name in the Properties pane.
FIGURE 5-18: Drag a gallery onto your canvas.
FIGURE 5-19: Select the data source that you want to connect to your gallery.
FIGURE 5-20: My customized To Do Lists gallery’s Browse screen.
FIGURE 5-21: Adding a label and updating the text and format in the label.
FIGURE 5-22: Customizing navigation icons at the top of the label.
FIGURE 5-23: The Fields button pop-up menu.
FIGURE 5-24: A Detail screen from my To Do Lists app.
FIGURE 5-25: The final Create/Edit screen.
FIGURE 5-26: The finished three pages of the To Do Lists canvas app.
Chapter 6
FIGURE 6-1: Adding new page types to an app.
FIGURE 6-2: A business process flow for a new opportunity.
FIGURE 6-3: My To Do List table in Dataverse.
FIGURE 6-4: Dataverse’s New Column pop-up window.
FIGURE 6-5: Adding a table column directly from your model-driven app.
FIGURE 6-6: The Companies view navigation and listings.
FIGURE 6-7: The Companies form available to users.
FIGURE 6-8: Hiding (and unhiding) used table columns.
FIGURE 6-9: Adding a new table column to a form.
FIGURE 6-10: The parts of the model-driven app Form Designer window.
FIGURE 6-11: Looking at a model-driven app in Tree view.
FIGURE 6-12: The Company Table window with the Data Experiences column highligh...
FIGURE 6-13: Opening the Edit window for a form.
FIGURE 6-14: A form that has added tabs.
FIGURE 6-15: Creating an editable grid.
FIGURE 6-16: The available view types for a Dataverse table.
FIGURE 6-17: Creating a Sort By and Filter By condition for a view.
FIGURE 6-18: A customized active view in a model-driven app.
Chapter 7
FIGURE 7-1: The New Chart button and Charts drop-down list.
FIGURE 7-2: The New Chart window, where you can select the type of chart to cre...
FIGURE 7-3: The Chart Configuration window.
FIGURE 7-4: A preview of a chart created from a Dataverse table.
FIGURE 7-5: Selecting the Dashboard layout.
FIGURE 7-6: Creating a 3-Column Overview (Variable Width) dashboard.
FIGURE 7-7: Creating a new Dataverse dashboard.
FIGURE 7-8: The New Power BI embedded dashboard pop-up window.
FIGURE 7-9: Selecting a dashboard.
FIGURE 7-10: Example Embedded Power BI Dashboard.
FIGURE 7-11: Example Dashboard created using Charts from Dataverse.
FIGURE 7-12: The menu path to create a new business process flow.
FIGURE 7-13: The New Business Process Flow pop-up window.
FIGURE 7-14: Adding a stage to the Business Process Flow Designer by pressing t...
FIGURE 7-15: Available steps that can be incorporated into a stage.
FIGURE 7-16: The Data Step Properties pane.
FIGURE 7-17: A business process flow that has branching conditions.
FIGURE 7-18: Examples of security roles.
FIGURE 7-19: Security Role options.
FIGURE 7-20: Editing a security role to include additional permissions.
FIGURE 7-21: Sharing an app in the Maker Portal.
FIGURE 7-22: Configuring a security role for a model-driven app.
Chapter 8
FIGURE 8-1: The Power Pages start page.
FIGURE 8-2: The basic Site Setup screen.
FIGURE 8-3: The Template Gallery.
FIGURE 8-4: Telling Copilot what you want in your Power Pages site template.
FIGURE 8-5: You can choose from many site design templates.
FIGURE 8-6: Specifying your website name, web address, and language.
FIGURE 8-7: The Power Pages Active Sites gallery.
FIGURE 8-8: Getting a preview of a Power Pages site layout.
FIGURE 8-9: A Dynamics 365 sales Power Pages template.
FIGURE 8-10: The Design Studio tabs.
FIGURE 8-11: Click the ellipsis to access additional page options.
FIGURE 8-12: Adding navigation and pages to a Power Pages site.
FIGURE 8-13: The Page Settings pop-up window’s Permissions pane.
FIGURE 8-14: Selecting options in the Styling tab and seeing the changes in the...
FIGURE 8-15: Adding a table in the Data tab.
FIGURE 8-16: The Site Details statistics, focusing on general site performance.
FIGURE 8-17: The Go-Live Checklist window.
FIGURE 8-18: Integrating search-oriented Microsoft Copilot capabilities in your...
FIGURE 8-19: Adding custom Copilot components to Power Pages.
FIGURE 8-20: The Security tab menu.
FIGURE 8-21: The Power Pages Management app.
FIGURE 8-22: Integrating Components to a Power Pages web page.
FIGURE 8-23: The Add a List pop-up window.
FIGURE 8-24: An example Dataverse list presented on a Power Pages site.
FIGURE 8-25: The Describe a Form to Create It in text box form generator.
FIGURE 8-26: Preview and tweak the form that you create by using Copilot.
FIGURE 8-27: The Add a Form interface for Dataverse in Power Pages.
FIGURE 8-28: The Services pane of Power Pages Management.
FIGURE 8-29: Configuring a Power BI visualization.
Chapter 9
FIGURE 9-1: Example of Power BI output.
FIGURE 9-2: My Workspace in Power BI Services.
FIGURE 9-3: A sample Power BI report.
FIGURE 9-4: Locating your dashboards.
FIGURE 9-5: View options in Power BI Desktop.
FIGURE 9-6: A blank canvas area in Power BI Desktop.
FIGURE 9-7: The Power BI main navigation panes.
FIGURE 9-8: Power BI Services navigation panes.
Chapter 10
FIGURE 10-1: Finding the CSV Connector in Power BI Desktop.
FIGURE 10-2: The Power BI Navigator Page.
FIGURE 10-3: The Power Query Editor.
FIGURE 10-4: Selecting Folder from Get Data.
FIGURE 10-5: Files from a folder load into Power BI.
FIGURE 10-6: Using the Applied Steps area to update the data source settings.
FIGURE 10-7: The Data Source Settings button.
FIGURE 10-8: Choosing a dataset from Power BI Desktop.
FIGURE 10-9: Connecting to a shared dataset in Power BI Services.
FIGURE 10-10: Azure SQL database location.
FIGURE 10-11: Entry of credentials for relational database.
FIGURE 10-12: Selecting the authentication method to connect.
FIGURE 10-13: Selecting the tables from the Navigator for import.
FIGURE 10-14: Selecting the Cosmos DB data source.
FIGURE 10-15: Connecting to the Cosmos DB, a Microsoft NoSQL database.
FIGURE 10-16: Representative query data from Azure SQL Server.
FIGURE 10-17: JSON file, transformed by the Power Query Editor.
FIGURE 10-18: Modifying a JSON file using the Power Query Editor.
FIGURE 10-19: Connecting to an online service in Power BI Desktop.
FIGURE 10-20: Data displayed in the Navigator pane within the Power Query Edito...
FIGURE 10-21: Addressing column quality issues.
FIGURE 10-22: A look at column distribution.
FIGURE 10-23: Modifying the properties of a column.
Chapter 11
FIGURE 11-1: The Table View tab.
FIGURE 11-2: The Model View tab.
FIGURE 11-3: The Home Ribbon in Model view.
FIGURE 11-4: The Power Query Editor Ribbon.
FIGURE 11-5: The Navigator window in Table view.
FIGURE 11-6: Using the Column Tools tab to change the data type.
FIGURE 11-7: Numeric formatting options.
FIGURE 11-8: The Summarization options on the Column Tools tab.
FIGURE 11-9: The Data Category options.
FIGURE 11-10: The Enter Data button.
FIGURE 11-11: Creating a table.
FIGURE 11-12: Updating the table name in Model view.
FIGURE 11-13: Removing a table.
FIGURE 11-14: Confirming whether the table should be deleted.
FIGURE 11-15: Changing a column name to form a relationship.
FIGURE 11-16: Changing table data.
FIGURE 11-17: The New Relationship window.
FIGURE 11-18: Using Data Grouping to better organize a large dataset.
FIGURE 11-19: Hiding data.
FIGURE 11-20: Clicking the Publish button deploys the data model and reports to...
Chapter 12
FIGURE 12-1: The Report View button.
FIGURE 12-2: Power BI Desktop Report view.
FIGURE 12-3: The Visualizations pane.
FIGURE 12-4: The Data pane.
FIGURE 12-5: Filtering pane with several fields from the Data pane.
FIGURE 12-6: Setting up filtering conditions with quantitative data.
FIGURE 12-7: The Filter On This Page and Filter On All Page options.
FIGURE 12-8: A stacked bar chart.
FIGURE 12-9: Using multiple dimensions in a stacked bar chart.
FIGURE 12-10: A stacked column chart.
FIGURE 12-11: Using multiple dimensions in a stacked column chart.
FIGURE 12-12: A clustered bar chart.
FIGURE 12-13: A clustered column chart.
FIGURE 12-14: A line chart.
FIGURE 12-15: An area chart.
FIGURE 12-16: A line chart and a stacked column chart.
FIGURE 12-17: A ribbon chart.
FIGURE 12-18: A waterfall chart.
FIGURE 12-19: A funnel chart.
FIGURE 12-20: Scatterplot.
FIGURE 12-21: A pie chart.
FIGURE 12-22: A donut chart.
FIGURE 12-23: A treemap.
FIGURE 12-24: Using a gauge.
FIGURE 12-25: A card example.
FIGURE 12-26: A multi-card example.
FIGURE 12-27: A slicer and table example.
FIGURE 12-28: Formatting features found in the Visualizations pane.
FIGURE 12-29: Configuring report properties on the General tab.
FIGURE 12-30: Page layout properties.
FIGURE 12-31: Example of branding for a report.
FIGURE 12-32: Object-level design for a report.
FIGURE 12-33: Alt Text editor.
FIGURE 12-34: Managing the icons on a Power BI report.
FIGURE 12-35: Publish a report from Power BI Desktop to Power BI Services.
FIGURE 12-36: Creating a dashboard.
FIGURE 12-37: The Pin to a Dashboard option.
FIGURE 12-38: Opting for a new or existing dashboard.
FIGURE 12-39: A finished dashboard with a text tile.
Chapter 13
FIGURE 13-1: A list of workspace apps.
FIGURE 13-2: The My Workspace interface.
FIGURE 13-3: The content of a workspace in Power BI.
FIGURE 13-4: The navigation menu in Power BI Services.
FIGURE 13-5: The New Workspace button.
FIGURE 13-6: Configuring the standard features of a workspace.
FIGURE 13-7: Configuring the advanced features of a workspace.
FIGURE 13-8: Assigning workspace access.
FIGURE 13-9: Workspace Settings pane.
FIGURE 13-10: Creating a data-driven output.
FIGURE 13-11: Various ways to create reports and analyze data.
FIGURE 13-12: The Get Quick Insights menu option.
FIGURE 13-13: Example of Quick Insights output.
FIGURE 13-14: A usage metrics report.
FIGURE 13-15: Building a paginated report.
FIGURE 13-16: Gaining access to data lineage.
FIGURE 13-17: An example of workspace lineage.
FIGURE 13-18: Example data lineage.
FIGURE 13-19: Drilling down into a Semantic Model card.
FIGURE 13-20: The Workspace Access option.
FIGURE 13-21: The Manage Access panel.
FIGURE 13-22: Assigning users and groups to a Power BI workspace.
FIGURE 13-23: Sharing a Power BI report.
Chapter 14
FIGURE 14-1: Power Automate home page.
FIGURE 14-2: Using Copilot to generate a Power Automate flow recommendation.
FIGURE 14-3: Prototype flow created by using Copilot.
FIGURE 14-4: Example configuration of email requirements.
FIGURE 14-5: Example email output produced from the Copilot-generated flow.
FIGURE 14-6: The Start From Blank options.
FIGURE 14-7: Template Gallery Automate options.
FIGURE 14-8: Connectors Option in Power Automate.
FIGURE 14-9: Creating an Automated Flow.
FIGURE 14-10: Entering an email communication for an Automated Flow.
FIGURE 14-11: Email parameters for an Instant Cloud Flow.
FIGURE 14-12: Configuring SharePoint to accept attachments from Outlook 365.
FIGURE 14-13: Confirmation of SharePoint attachment extraction from Outlook usi...
FIGURE 14-14: Build a Scheduled Cloud Flow window.
FIGURE 14-15: A sample Scheduled Cloud Flow.
FIGURE 14-16: Establishing authentication parameters for your connectors.
FIGURE 14-17: Example of an Attended Flow with a Run button.
FIGURE 14-18: Configuring an Unattended Flow.
FIGURE 14-19: Recorded script of sorting and sifting through Excel data.
Chapter 15
FIGURE 15-1: The New Cloud Flow Designer.
FIGURE 15-2: Control-based parameters.
FIGURE 15-3: Connector-based parameters.
FIGURE 15-4: Settings tab illustrating a connector configuration in the Action ...
FIGURE 15-5: Code view.
FIGURE 15-6: Selecting the appropriate approval type.
FIGURE 15-7: An example of an approval workflow.
Guide
Cover
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Begin Reading
Index
About the Author
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Microsoft® Power Platform™ For Dummies®
Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, www.wiley.com
Copyright © 2025 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved, including rights for text and data mining and training of artificial technologies or similar technologies.
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Introduction
Microsoft Power Platform enables organizations to reimagine the way they develop and deliver business solutions. Microsoft designed the Power Platform suite of tools so that any user, from the business analyst to the senior developer, can create data-driven solutions rapidly. This way, users of all skill levels throughout an organization can build solutions to analyze data, automate processes, create autonomous agents, and more. Meanwhile, seasoned developers can shift their attention to more robust efforts that require more analytical focus. This is all made possible by the powerful, low-code applications and services provided in the Power Platform suite.
This book explains the capabilities of each component of Power Platform, and shows how to set up the environment to get the most from the available applications. Here is a quick rundown of the Power Platform applications covered in this book, and a brief description of what each application does:
Power Apps (canvas and model-driven):
Enables users to build custom applications that are highly graphical or data-driven.
Power BI:
Business intelligence and data analysis functionality.
Power Automate:
Workflow automation.
Dataverse:
Web-based data transformation.
Power Pages:
Data-driven, low-code website development.
CoPilot for Power Platform:
Virtual agent creation.
This book is designed to be your compass in navigating the expansive world of Microsoft Power Platform, providing you with the knowledge and skills needed to leverage its full potential. While by no means will you learn everything you need to get your black belt, Microsoft Power Platform For Dummies gives you the essentials you need to produce applications, data products, and workflow automation at speed and scale.
About This Book
Microsoft Power Platform is a suite of low-code solutions that provide a secure and trusted framework, powered by Microsoft Cloud services, to work with other Microsoft products, such as Azure, Dynamics 365, and Microsoft 365. Most users leveraging the Power Platform do not require extensive technical skills, although some features do require a bit more hands-on-the-key knowledge. Microsoft Power Platform For Dummies is intended for the following users:
Business analysts:
These users leverage Power BI for analyzing data, creating reports, and deriving insights to make informed decisions. They also use Power Apps to build custom business applications without needing to write code.
IT professionals:
IT users are those who aren’t developers but fill roles such as business, data, and security engineers. Each of these roles uses the Power Platform for automating business processes, managing data and app environments, applying authentication and authorization to applications, enforcing data governance, and integrating with existing systems using Power Automate and Power Apps.
Developers:
There are two types of developers in the Power Platform community,
citizen developers
(beginning-to-intermediate developers) and
professional developers
(probably have a computer science degree).
Citizen developers
are apt to design applications requiring little to no-code, using Power App Canvas features. These users are also more inclined to build less sophisticated reports and apply the workflows in their quest to rapidly deploy a solution.
Professional developers
extend the capabilities of the Power Platform by creating custom connectors, integrating with external data sources, and using Azure functions for more complex workflows or processes. Professional developers traditionally have skills as .NET or web developers, so their experience in deploying web applications extends the power of the platform.
Data scientists and analysts:
Users whose job it is to transform data into actionable insights use Power BI along with AI-based solutions such as Fabric and Copilot to create comprehensive data models, perform analytics, and share insights across the organization. The result of the data professionals’ work are power reports, dashboards, and KPIs for dissemination within a solution. Their work can be standalone as well.
End users:
When the application is complete, end users benefit from the applications and automation orchestrated across each Power Platform application. End users gain access to custom-built apps for daily tasks, access reports, and dashboards leveraging Power BI for insights independently or embedded in an app. Also, end users are beneficiaries of automated workflows that simplify processes whether the automation is desktop-based or in the cloud.
Administrators:
Unlike developers who create and manage the applications, the administrator must ensure that the applications in the cloud apply the appropriate compliance, security, and data resources. Administrators oversee deployments of applications across one or more tenants, work to ensure authentication and authorization rights propagate from Microsoft 365 and Dynamics 365, and monitor the health of the application environment.
This book provides something for everyone, but the focus is on the true “power user” who has beginning-to-intermediate technical skills and wants to learn to develop solutions, analyze data, or administer the application.
Throughout the book, certain conventions have been used as a way to help power you through your journey.
Bold text
means that you’re meant to type the text just as it appears in the book. The exception is when you’re working through a steps list: Because each step is bold, the text to type is not bold.
Web addresses and code snippets appear in
monofont
. If you are reading the digital edition of
Power Platform for Dummies,
you can click on these links, and they will take you to the intended URL in a jiffy.
There are a few times when command sequences are presented using Power Platform’s low-code language, Power Fx. In those cases, you’ll sequence these steps similar to Tables ⇒ New Table ⇒ Create A New Table to create a new table in Dataverse from the Power Apps Maker Portal.
Several images include black arrows, incorporate rectangles around a screen segment, or have a letter pointing to one or more application functions. This is done to help guide you to specific references made in the text.
To make the content more accessible, this book is divided into five parts:
Part 1
, “Grasping Power Platform Foundations,”
is your entry point into learning the Power Platform. In
Chapter 1
, you explore terminology, and
Chapters 2
and
3
cover administration and data concepts that are essential to building solutions.
Part 2
, “Getting Your Power Apps Hat On,”
is your crash course into building canvas apps, model-driven apps, and portals, all built using a common construct, Power Apps.
Part 3
, “Telling the Data Story with Power BI,”
takes you on a journey from data exploration and cleansing to visualization and sharing using Microsoft enterprise data analytics solution, Power BI.
Part 4
, “Simplifying Workflows with Automation,”
introduces cloud and desktop workflow automation leveraging Power Automate. You’ll get hands-on practice with basic exercises utilizing triggers, actions, flows (automated, instant, and scheduled), connectors, conditions, loops, and expressions, all of which are used to automate workflows between apps and services.
Part 5
, “The Part of Tens,”
describes best practices and third-party resources many of the industry pros use when seeking help.
Foolish Assumptions
Diving into Microsoft Power Platform can be a bit intimidating at first because of its sprawling capabilities. Microsoft has designed the Power Platform to be a comprehensive suite for business analytics, app development, and process automation, with the goal that all users can engage with the platform. Reality check: There are many nuances that a newbie will not be able to handle out of the gate. Because the aim is to go beyond creating simple apps, workflows, and data insights, the breadth of Power Platform’s offerings requires a bit of technical prowess and will sometimes feel daunting.
This book is crafted to guide end users through the critical features of the Power Platform, without assuming prior expertise or deep technical knowledge. This book is not a guide aimed at certification seekers or those looking to delve into the depths of platform administration or advanced development techniques. This is a true foundational concept book. For those areas, there are other resources more specifically suited to those purposes on the market. In Microsoft Power Platform For Dummies, I’ll point you toward the official Microsoft documentation and other resources, when appropriate, where you can expand your understanding of specific technical details as needed. Remember, this book should serve as a roadmap for the beginning-to-intermediate developer wanting to get a taste of each major feature across the Power Platform. Also, the platform is ever-evolving; what is presented in the first edition of Power Platform for Dummies may vary slightly from your current user experience using each of the tools. Why is that? Microsoft is making updates to the user experience and functionality almost weekly (although sometimes it can even be more frequent), especially as they infuse Microsoft Copilot throughout the product. So, please don’t be alarmed by the slight variations.
To ensure that you can follow along and make the most out of this book, I’ve based our journey on a few key assumptions about your starting point:
Access to Power Platform tools:
I assume that you’ve purchased a copy of Microsoft 365, which comes with many of the Power Platform suite applications, including Power Apps, Power Automate, and Power BI. To get more of the advanced features, I recommend procuring the Per User Premium licenses. While certain aspects of these tools are available for free, such as Power BI Desktop, comprehensive use of the platform often requires a paid subscription.
Internet connectivity:
This might seem straightforward, but it’s crucial. All components of the Power Platform require an internet connection, as Power Platform is 100 percent cloud-based.
Engagement with a meaningful project:
The assumption here is that you have a project or a dataset that is significant and relevant to your work or interests. Throughout the book, I provide a thematic example and cite sample datasets. However, applying what you learn to your own real-world experiences greatly enhances your understanding and skills. A meaningful project should involve a dataset that is complex enough to challenge you but not so vast as to be unmanageable for learning purposes.
Basic understanding of your business processes:
I assume you have a basic understanding of the business processes you want to improve or automate. Power Platform is most powerful when applied to real-world scenarios, and having a grasp of the processes you want to enhance will greatly aid in learning to use the platform effectively.
If you are equipped with these foundational tools and knowledge, you will be better positioned to explore the more complex functionalities of Power Platform, turning the seemingly daunting into powerful solutions.
Icons Used in This Book
Throughout Microsoft Power Platform For Dummies, you see some icons along the way. Here’s what they mean:
Tips help you identify shortcuts or ways to expedite the development and delivery of Power Platform solutions.
Remember icons help you identify the big concepts that you need to understand to be proficient in the use of Microsoft Power Platform. Consider these the equivalent of a foundation in the house.
The Technical Stuff icon calls attention to technical configurations, settings, or features that go beyond the low-code advertising Microsoft promotes with Power Platform.
Don’t panic when you see the Warning icon. These warnings point out technical issues that may require closer attention on your part.
When a resource is available on the Web, particularly an indispensable one from Microsoft, you’ll find a link recommending you check it out. Many of these links provide access to resources and code snippets that simply cannot be put in a For Dummies book.
Beyond the Book
In addition to the content you’re reading in this book, you have access to a free Microsoft Power Platform Cheat Sheet. Similar to the structure of the book, the Cheat Sheet contains sections for Dataverse, Power Apps, Power Pages, Power BI, Power Automate, and Copilot for the Power Platform. To find the Cheat Sheet, go to www.dummies.com and enter Microsoft Power Platform For Dummies in the Search box.
Throughout this book, you are also directed to publicly available datasets and free utilities that can help accelerate your delivery of Power Platform solutions.
Where to Go From Here
Power Platform is meant to work as a complete solution, meaning all the applications support one another, but as you can guess, most users don’t use it that way. That’s why you can start at any chapter in this book, and you will be just fine. If you want to focus on data analytics only, head over to Part 3. If your mission is to learn about data-driven website development, see Chapter 8. The book has been written using a building blocks mentality, but if you need to jump around, go ahead and have fun. You won’t be missing anything!
Part 1
Grasping Power Platform Foundations
IN THIS PART …
Assess what you and your business can achieve with Power Platform.
Explore the Power Platform admin center and Power Apps Maker Portal.
Use Microsoft Dataverse to organize and secure large datasets, and create business process flows for model-driven apps.
Chapter 1
Touring the Power Platform
IN THIS CHAPTER
Recognizing the business value of Microsoft Power Platform
Identifying the key components of Power Platform
Until recently, only skilled technicians could develop software, provide data analytics, automate workflows, and work with artificial intelligence. Now, business technology tools, such as the tools that make up the Microsoft Power Platform suite, can help users of just about any skill level perform application development and data analysis. With these tools, you can develop enterprise solutions by using simple drag-and-drop interfaces — the tools do all the coding magic behind the scenes.
This chapter provides an overview of the capabilities included in Microsoft Power Platform. I discuss the benefits that Microsoft Power Platform’s highly adaptable and open platform offers. The platform greatly simplifies business operations and allows for significant integration opportunities, not just across Microsoft applications, but for a broad range of enterprise vendors outside the Microsoft ecosystem.
Grasping the Power of Power Platform
Microsoft Power Platform is a suite of Microsoft tools that enables users of all skill levels to rapidly develop applications. You don’t need to be a programmer to use these tools. You simply need to know how all the tools work together and have a strong sense of logical reasoning that you can apply.
Now, you might be wondering what I mean by a suite. Well, Power Platform includes a collection of tools within a single application: tools for application development, enterprise data analytics, workflow automation, virtual agent design, data connection deployment, and data platform design. The Microsoft 365 suite also bundles a collection of tools together: Word for document management, Excel for data analysis, PowerPoint for presentations, and Access for consumer-oriented database management.
Table 1-1 lists each tool included in Microsoft Power Platform and briefly describes its purpose. The section “Zooming into the Platform Features,” later in this chapter, discusses each of Power Platform’s tools, or components, in more detail.
TABLE 1-1 Microsoft Power Platform Tool Capabilities
Tool
Purpose
Power Apps
Low-code development tool to create custom business applications. Makes app creation more accessible and less time-consuming.
Power BI
A sophisticated tool for data visualization and business analytics. Users can create comprehensive reports and dashboards with a variety of charts and visuals.
Power Automate
Robust business process automation tool for the desktop and cloud, with a focus on operational efficiency.
Power Pages
A web design tool that you can use to create professional websites or public-facing portals without having to use code. Integrates with Power Apps, Power Automate, and Power BI.
Dataverse
A cloud-based data repository that enables users to store and manage data used by business applications such as Power Platform and Dynamics 365.
Benefiting from a low-code, no-code solution
Low-code, no-code development means that a developer, either professional or amateur, can design and develop a product for the Web by using a set of intuitive drag-and-drop tools that reduce or even eliminate the need for code. Sure, you need to bring your objects together on the application or report canvas, the area in which you design the low-code capability, by referencing specific parameters (using short references or code snippets). But by no means do you have to write a novella’s worth of code just so a user can click a button or activate a drop-down menu. Those days are long gone.
Unlike your traditional coders, Power Platform developers fall into two types — citizen developers and professional developers:
Citizen developer:
Knows enough to be dangerous when it comes to web development and their business, but has no professional training in developing complete software applications.
Professional developer:
Has many years of experience with programming languages that are available in Microsoft Visual Studio and understands more than just drag-and-drop capabilities. Professional developers are familiar with more than one programming language (such as C# and PowerShell) and frameworks (such as .NET Framework and ASP.NET).
Low-code platforms
Low-code platforms, such as Power Platform, provide pre-built components, templates, and drag-and-drop tools so that developers can reduce the amount of hand-coding they need to input to develop applications. Notice that I say reduce — you still likely need to do some hand-coding, even when you work in a highly visual environment for creating your end product, not just a glorified code editor.
If you work in the visual development environment of a low-code platform, you can drag and drop application components, such as check boxes, drop-down menus, labels, or galleries; connect them by using predefined workflows, data connections, or custom formulas; and configure each component’s properties via logical units. Most developers do find, however, that they have to do some hand-coding to incorporate complex functionality or logic. More complicated coding practices might include using multistep logic, such as if-else or do-while logic.
Low-code platforms can help you with rapid development when you need to scale over time. Whether you’re a professional developer who has decades of experience or an industry professional who needs to quickly create functional solutions, these platforms can assist. For example, industry professionals commonly want to convert a legacy .NET application into a model-driven Power Apps app. The datastore for the .NET app often takes the form of an Access or SQL Server database, which is then migrated to Dataverse. Although this process may seem straightforward, it often requires careful execution to ensure flawless conversion.
No-code platforms
No-code platforms eliminate the need for you, as the developer, to do any hand-coding, period. You don’t need programming skills to use these platforms. You simply drag, drop, and click, using a visual interface. No-code platforms offer pre-built templates that offer a wide array of out-of-the-box interfaces to help users configure applications. If you’ve ever used Microsoft Word (who hasn’t?), created a table, and then saved your document as an HTML, you’ve effectively created a no-code document — ta-da!
Unlike low-code platforms (see the preceding section), where you might need to have some development skills to use them — hence users may shy away from those tools — no-code platforms enable just about anyone to get involved in the application development, data analytics, and workflow automation lifecycle. You just need to have an idea, generally know where to place the content, and then click a Save button. Essentially, most users who leverage a canvas app (which you can read about in the section “Power Apps,” later in this chapter) follow that process in conjunction with the help of Microsoft 365 applications such as Excel (Microsoft’s spreadsheet program), PowerPoint (its presentation program), and SharePoint (an online collaboration and content management offering).
Connecting with the Microsoft ecosystem and beyond
Microsoft made sure that every application in its enterprise lineup works with Microsoft Power Platform, and you can use them all without having the skills of a lifelong coder.
And believe me, Microsoft isn’t alone in its quest to move away from requiring users to have deep technical know-how. The industry is leaning overall toward a focus on allowing business users to be more efficient in their ability to develop applications, analyze data, and automate their business operations. In its marketing, Microsoft showcases hundreds of ways that businesses can effectively use Microsoft products, but here are three takeaways I think are worth pointing out:
Business application productivity: With Power Platform, you can easily integrate with Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365) applications such as Word (Microsoft’s word processor), Excel (its spreadsheet software), PowerPoint (presentation software), Outlook (its e-mail service), and SharePoint (Microsoft’s spot for online content storage) to create business workflows, analyze data created from defined lists, or create small applications from structured datasets.
For example, you can go to the Automate menu in Excel to trigger Workflows or the Integrate menu in SharePoint to execute Power Platform functionality with one click. It’s that easy.
Enterprise applications:
Dynamics 365 is Microsoft’s suite of enterprise resource planning (ERP) and customer relationship management (CRM) applications. A developer can create customer forms for either the ERP or CRM application suite, establish business workflows when a user enters specific data into the system, or curate highly graphical reporting to augment data stored in the applications without much programmatic effort.
Cloud computing connectivity: Power Platform utilizes Microsoft’s cloud platform, Azure, for advanced features. For example, Azure Logic Apps supports the creation of advanced workflow automation, and Azure AI services enhance intelligent application capabilities, including integration with Microsoft Copilot (Microsoft’s AI-powered digital assistant).
Microsoft offers one of the most comprehensive security, compliance, and governance solution sets. Applications built by using Power Platform benefit from Azure’s robust security features, including those that are low-code and no-code (which I talk about in the section “Benefiting from a low-code, no-code solution,” earlier in this chapter). Additionally, administrators of Power Platform applications can govern and monitor their applications by using a wide range of compliance and governance tools built right into the Microsoft 365 console.
Zooming into the Platform Features
Microsoft Power Platform, as illustrated in Figure 1-1, provides a unified application platform designed to streamline business processes, improve data visualization, and simplify application development within the Microsoft ecosystem. The top row displays each of the Power Platform applications. These applications can connect to other data sources in one of three ways:
Connecting to Microsoft and third-party data connectors to push and pull data
Using Microsoft’s own Dataverse data repository
Integrating with one or more Microsoft AI services, such as Copilot, to assist users in automating workflows, generating insights, and building applications more efficiently through natural language interactions
All of these Power Platform applications require access to data for them to work successfully.
FIGURE 1-1: Microsoft Power Platform components and capabilities.
Microsoft has integrated some low-code programming languages (see the section “Low-code platforms,” earlier in this chapter) into Power Platform:
Power Fx (Power Platform’s low-code programming language):
Allows users to define logic and automate functionality across the platform by using simple, Excel-like formulas to manipulate data, trigger actions, and call parameters.
DAX (Data Analysis Expressions):
Used specifically in Power BI (discussed in
Part 3
of this book), DAX is a collection of functions and operators that you can combine to create formulas and expressions for performing advanced data analysis and reporting. It allows users to manipulate and analyze data within Power BI, enhancing reporting capabilities.
Microsoft Power Platform applications allow access to almost every enterprise relational database player in the market; not just Power BI, but also SQL Server, Oracle, DB2, MySQL, PostgreSQL, Sybase, and Amazon Redshift, to name a few.
Power Apps
The cornerstone of Power Platform is the Power Apps tool, which enables users to build custom apps without requiring traditional coding. By using the Power Apps tool, you can speed up the delivery of customized applications at a fraction of the cost of traditional development because you don’t need a team of data and design experts. I talk about Power Pages, the external portal functionality that you can derive from Power Apps, in the section “Power Pages,” later in this chapter, and in Part 2 of this book.
You can use Microsoft Power Apps to design forms in applications such as SharePoint (Microsoft’s online collaboration and content management platform) and Microsoft Dynamics 365 (the suite of enterprise resource planning [ERP] and customer relationship management [CRM] applications). It’s also a standalone application in the Microsoft Power Platform, where you can design forms to capture and manage data, automate processes, or integrate with other systems. Power Apps allows you to rapidly develop custom applications or, to a lesser degree, forms in other Microsoft enterprise applications, without requiring much code.
You can use Power Apps to create two types of apps:
Canvas apps: Allow a designer to start with a blank canvas and craft a highly graphical interface by bringing icons, blocks, text fields, labels, and interactive components onto the screen. You drag and drop the components onto the page to create the layout that you want for the application, whether you make it highly sophisticated or as simple as the Compensation Calculator shown in Figure 1-2.
FIGURE 1-2: The Compensation Calculator application created with the canvas app.
When creating a canvas app, you need to be familiar with how to configure the parameters for the elements so that they display the output you want. The calculator illustrated in Figure 1-2 has three data entry elements: OTE (meaning on-target earnings), Incentive %, and Multiple (by how many times what the rep brings in exceeds the rep’s salary; for example, 10 times their base salary). Based on the data entered, the three calculated fields or columns (Salary, Sales Target, Sales Target Goal) display the output for a sales rep’s compensation.
Model-driven apps:
Uses a structured data source, such as Dataverse, exclusively to create a form-based experience. You can’t change the design unless you use custom controls or JavaScript (which requires some coding experience). That rigidity allows for a consistent look and feel, but also better data quality because the inflexible data structure allows for any user — whether end-user, power user, or developer — to manipulate the data in complex scenarios. If you want to streamline data for business operations, enhance productivity, and focus on data quality by using a consistent form and view-based approach, use model-driven applications.
The form in Figure 1-3 is a highly structured form requiring a user to enter very specific data for an Active Job Opportunity. You could format some fields as drop-downs and allow others to require text entry. The very nature of the data entry allows for repeatable analysis if someone wants to conduct data analysis later on by using a data analytics application, such as Power BI. Figure 1-4 displays a synopsis of two form inputs, presenting the view of the model-driven application for the two job opportunities that a user entered in the system (which an HR professional might do).
FIGURE 1-3: A model-driven app form created by using Power Apps.
FIGURE 1-4: The view created by a model-driven app in Power Apps.
Dataverse
Microsoft has built all the Power Platform applications around one or more data platforms, with Microsoft’s Dataverse being the most commonly used. Dataverse, formerly known as Common Data Services, combines the best of many database platforms that you’re probably familiar with, such as Microsoft Access, SQL Server, and even non-relational databases such as NoSQL.
Microsoft Dataverse isn’t a relational database; rather, it’s a cloud-based storage platform that allows users to store their data and digital assets from two major Microsoft enterprise platforms: Microsoft Power Platform and Dynamics 365 (which I talk about in Chapter 3). Dataverse provides a unified and scalable service-and-app platform where users can securely store and manage their data across business applications. You can create a variety of data solutions, such as tables, views, and form types, without being an expert database administrator or having the infrastructure setup know-how. Microsoft provides Power Apps users with a handful of pre-built example Dataverse tables, such as the Account Table shown in Figure 1-5.
FIGURE 1-5: An example of a Dataverse table.
The knowledge that you need to set up a Microsoft Access database is about the same as what you need to work with Dataverse, except that Dataverse requires far more structure.
Dataverse is a conglomerate of Microsoft’s best database technologies. It stores data types in
Azure SQL Server:
A cloud database service for storing and managing relational data in tables
Azure Storage:
A cloud service for storing different types of data, such as files,
blobs
(Binary Large Objects), and tables
Cosmos DB:
A non-relational (NoSQL) database that scales globally and provides fast access to data
Azure Data Lake:
A cloud storage service designed for storing large amounts of structured and unstructured data for analysis
Cognitive Search:
An AI-powered service that processes and analyzes large datasets (including those from Azure Data Lake and Dataverse) by using machine learning models to improve data indexing, retrieval, and insights
