Canvas Apps Overview & Key Considerations

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Canvas Apps use a drag and drop style interface along with Power Fx expressions to provide developers full freedom in regard to data source connections, navigation, controls, and overall UI/UX. With Canvas apps you are able to access data from any source using connectors for cloud-based sources, and gateways for on-premises data that you would like to integrate. For any source that does not have a prebuilt connector you are able to build one and integrate that data into your app. Canvas apps are best suited for situations where you need complete control of the functionality, and your data is stored in an external source not in Dataverse. A huge benefit of canvas apps is that the license comes free with a range of other Microsoft services, less licensing needs directly translates to less administrative tasks and lower costs. Best practices to keep in mind when building your canvas app include:

  • ·       Limiting Data Connections and Controls: No more than 30 connectors or 500 controls should be present in a single app. Each connection requires sign-ins from new users which will substantially increase start up time. Additionally, each connector requires some combination of compute overhead increasing costs and decreasing performance. If you begin to approach these limits, consider if the app could be broken into separate apps more focused on a specific function.
  • ·       Avoiding Dependencies Across Screens: Apps typically have multiple screens, and screens are only loaded as they are needed. If the formulas used contain dependencies across several screens the load time will increase as well as the bandwidth needed to host the app. To avoid dependencies consider using global variables or collections, this will allow referencing of nearly any data from anywhere in the app without requiring additional resources.
  • ·       Make Use of AppSource: When creating an app, chances are high that a similar app has been created by Microsoft or a partner and added to AppSource. To be added to AppSource the apps must be approved by Microsoft to meet specific requirements including security compliance. Apps can be found through the app gallery, and you can filter on a range of fields to find only apps that relate to your needs. Preferred solutions will be highlighted and have been explicitly selected by experts for apps that go above and beyond. Though these apps come at a cost you are able to test them out or start a free trial to make sure that they are the right fit for your needs.

Though building an app in Power Apps can vastly reduce development time and complexity, there are several areas of consideration that are essential to ensuring functionality and performance. For assistance with developing or optimizing your Power App application, please submit a service request here.

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