This will be a crisp read but it covers all information to set up power pipelines as of January 2023.
We are going to explore ‘Power Pipelines’ today. It is a part of power platform ALM.
Both makers and developers can use it.
What is it?
My definition:Automate solution deployment in power platform including Dynamics 365 CE apps.
Microsoft’s Version: Pipelines in Power Platform aim to democratize application lifecycle management (ALM) for Power Platform and Dynamics 365 customers by bringing ALM automation and continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) capabilities into the service in a manner that’s more approachable for all makers, admins, and developers.
Current Status: Preview (do not use for production environments)
Expected General Availability: Unknown
Prerequisites
•Managed environments only
•Power Platform admin or DataVerse Admin
•Minimum environments 3 but recommended 4
•Must have a DataVerse database
Limitations
•Does not work on environments of type ‘Developer’
•Does not work on environments in different geo-locations
•D4T is not supported
•Preview
Steps
Step 1: Create a host environment for pipelines
Step 2: Go to resources
Step 3: Install Dynamics 365 Apps i.e., Power Platform Pipelines
Step 4: Create pipelines in host environment
Note: Two new security roles are created automatically
Wondering, 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐃𝐲𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐬 365 𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐩𝐩 is fit for your organisation? Here’s a quick comparison of Dynamics 365 𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐯𝐬 𝐄𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐯𝐬 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐮𝐦.
Power Pages are generally available now, enabling you to build low-code, scalable, and secure business-centric websites. Follow the steps below to build a site in minutes:
It’s been a while since I last wrote, I got super busy with my community events and the new work life.
I will try to be as regular as possible on my posts.
Today, I am sharing everything I know about using an embedded canvas app in Dynamics 365 and Model Driven Apps; this will be more of a guide.
How many apps can I embed on a form?
Three canvas apps at a time, per form on web and one for Phone or Tablet.
Is there a workaround to use more than three apps on the web for?
Yes, use a webresource with your app URL and adjust the height and width. You might need to pass a parameter in your app depending on what the app is for. (Not the best result but a workaround)
What do I need to consider if it’s the first canvas app of my organisation?
If this is your first app, you might want to cross check security roles of users who’re going to use this app within Dynamics 365 as you need to provide additional privileges, assuming you’ve been using Dynamics 365 already. The privilege is called ‘Canvas App’, minimum read privileges will be required.
Is there something specific I would need to communicate to the users on the launch day?
Users will see a sign in screen first time and must sign in.
Users will need allow access.
Session will timeout in case of inactivity and users will be required to sign in again.
How to share an embedded canvas app?
In the maker portal, click the ellipses to share the app. You can share the app to everyone or specific users. The easiest way to share with a group of users (if you don’t have a security group) is export users to excel and transpose to a row with comma separated aliases. This is not the fastest way if you want to share with a small number of users like 3-5 but 50-100.
Special control ModelDrivenFormIntegration and related actions
Name
Description
Example
Item
Access the record on which you embed the app
ModelDrivenFormIntegration.Item.InvoiceID
SaveForm
Saves the record on which you embed the app
ModelDrivenFormIntegration.SaveForm()
OpenQuickCreateForm
Opens a quick create form of the table specified (default form in case you have more than one quick create
ModelDrivenFormIntegration.RefreshForm(true) ModelDrivenFormIntegration.RefreshForm(false) **true or false is for the pop up message of unsaved changes on the model driven form
**Opening ‘Modal Dialog’ form via ModelDrivenFormIntegration is not possible at this stage.
Enable or Disable an embedded canvas app
On the field properties control tab👇
Why can’t I see my embedded canvas app?
Make sure you’ve the following things in place:
You’ve the right license.
You’ve the right privilege in your security role.
You’ve enabled third party cookies and local data.
I am a system administrator but cannot see my embedded canvas app
It will not appear until you first save the form meaning if the record is not created then you will only see a blank space.
How can I get related data in embedded canvas app?
On most forms in Dynamics 365 and Model Driven apps you will at least have one look up field. And to be able to get data out of it, you cannot use the special control directly i.e. ModelDrivenFormIntegration.Item.PriceLists.Name would not given you any result but error. Instead use, LookUp(Invoices, Invoice = ModelDrivenFormIntegration.Invoice).’PriceList’.’Name’
Quick Tip
Try and use a required field to link/embed the app to. If not, try auto-populating default data via a business rule or JS because if your field is blank then your app will not refresh in context of any data changes on the form where the canvas app is embedded.
That’s all I have to share. I will try and keep adding to the list. If I have missed on something, please comment and I will add it to the list.
This one is to save you a lot of time. I am unsure, how many people are still to upgrade but sharing anyway.
Issue: When you upgrade from web client to UCI, some columns in the views will show as blank.
Reason: I couldn’t find any reason and then Microsoft came to rescue. This might occur because the missing data column is not in the FetchXML of the view. UCI depends on the view metadata to retrieve data from server. In web client this was different.
Solution: Remove column and add it back, save and publish. And the data will start appearing again. Make sure to do this in dev/test/sandbox environment first and then move the solution to production.
In this video we are talking about how to make your bot smart enough so the bot is aware of Portal User’s name. And skip the question of asking name, email etc. completely because the user is already logged in to the portal.
In this blog we are talking about how to show/hide a bot of users preferred language on Power Apps Portals.
Power Apps Portals provides a field on user profile called ‘Preferred Language’. That’s the only way you know what is your users preferred language. Instead of using the default ‘Preferred Language’, I created a text field on user profile also called ‘Preferred Language’ (different schema name though)
Now in the video I am using Preferred Language as a filter to show either english or spanish bot based on what is the value in preferred language field of user’s profile. if the field is blank, we can show probably english or any other language which is mostly spoken in your region.
In this video, I am talking about three new features that were released between April-May 2020.
Bot Variables/Global Variables
Support for additional languages
Adding your chatbot to a Power Apps solution
Bot Variables– The new variables allows you to select one of the two options; local or bot. if use select local then you can use the variable only in that specific topic while if you select bot then you can use the variable across topics in your bot. Moreover, you can now use variables in external sources like websites.
Support for Additional Language– You can now make your bot in multiple languages, providing you a global reach. Along with English you now 15 more languages in preview and should be available generally soon. There are three more languages which are in experimental state, namely Hindi, Korean and Polish.
Working in a solution– You can now add your chatbots to a solution in Power Apps makers portal. All the components are added within a solution. The solution can then be exported or imported depending on your needs.
DIY D365 