Minimum Path to Awesomeness

Power Platform CLI is a simple, one-stop developer command-line interface that empowers developers and ISVs to perform various operations in Microsoft Power Platform related to environment lifecycle, authentication, dataverse environments, solution packages, portals, code components and more 1 . In this blog, I will show you how to install, update and use Power Platform CLI with different methods and commands. Installation You can install Power Platform CLI on Windows, MacOS and Linux devices. The easiest way to install Power Platform CLI, is to install the Power Platform Tools extension for VS Code. This will automatically install the CLI and make it available in the integrated terminal 2 . For Windows, it’s also possible to install the CLI via a MSI Installer 1 . Although Power Platform CLI is a cross-platform CLI, some commands only work on Windows. That’s simply because those commands work with tools that haven’t been available cross platform. In the docs on Microsoft Learn, you wi...

Power Platform is a low-code platform that enables you to create solutions that automate workflows, build apps, analyze data, and create bots. Power Platform consists of four main tools: Power Apps, Power Automate, Power BI, and Power Virtual Agents. Power Platform can help you improve your productivity, efficiency, and innovation by enabling you to build solutions that suit your specific needs and scenarios. However, to get the most out of Power Platform, you need to have a strategy for adopting and supporting it in your organization. This is where Power Platform COE comes in. Power Platform COE, or Center of Excellence, is a collection of tools and templates that are designed to help you develop a strategy for adopting and supporting Power Platform in your organization. Power Platform COE helps you plan, govern, and nurture Power Platform adoption and innovation, while maintaining standards, consistency, and governance. Power Platform COE can help you achieve the following benefits: ...

One of the common scenarios that you may encounter when using Power Automate is to retrieve data from a SharePoint list and perform some actions on it. However, if your SharePoint list has more than 5000 items, you may run into some challenges and limitations. In this blog, we will explain why this happens and how to overcome it using pagination. Why does Power Automate have a limit of 5000 items for SharePoint lists? The reason why Power Automate has a limit of 5000 items for SharePoint lists is because of the underlying SharePoint API that Power Automate uses to connect to SharePoint. SharePoint has a feature called list view threshold, which limits the number of items that can be returned in a single query to 5000 by default. This is to prevent performance issues and ensure optimal performance for all users. If you try to query more than 5000 items from a SharePoint list, you will get an error message like this: This error message will also appear in Power Automate if you use the Ge...

Power Apps, with its ability to seamlessly create custom business solutions, has revolutionized the way businesses operate. However, like all tools, there might be instances where an app doesn't function as expected. Enter Power Apps Monitor—a tool to save the day! Coupled with the Trace function, it becomes a formidable duo in troubleshooting issues in Power Apps. Here's how to wield this combination effectively. Power Apps Monitor: A Quick Overview Power Apps Monitor is your go-to tool for real-time insights into the workings of your app. It displays events such as network calls, variable tweaks, and control interactions, making it simpler to pinpoint where things might be going awry. Introducing Trace: Your Custom Logger The Trace function is essentially a custom messaging system that feeds into the Power Apps Monitor. By strategically placing this function in your app, you can monitor the app's flow and easily spot problematic areas. Step-by-Step Troubleshooting with Po...

Welcome back, fellow Power Apps enthusiasts and developers! Today we're diving deep into the fascinating world of Power Apps and exploring some of its key components: variables, named formulas, and collections. Each of these tools plays a crucial role in creating dynamic, intuitive apps - but the key to unlocking their potential lies in understanding when and how to use them.  A Crash Course on Variables, Named Formulas, and Collections Before we discuss when to use these tools, let's briefly define what each of them does. Variables are the simplest of the three. They're essentially containers that store a single value. These values could be anything - a number, a string of text, or a Boolean value (true/false). Variables are extremely useful for storing temporary data, like the number of times a user has interacted with a button or the result of a specific calculation.  Named formula s are the next level up. They're an advanced form of variables, with the capability ...

Good morning, afternoon, evening, or night, my fearless automation architects! Is your love for Power Automate as everlasting as that carton of almond milk you swore you'd finish? Well, buckle up, because today we're diving into the fascinating and frequently misunderstood world of the 'Compose' action! But first, let's pop open the hood and see what the Compose action actually is. Is it a finely crafted symphony, delicately harmonizing your every flow? Eh, not quite, but it's not too far off.  Essentially, Compose allows you to create and manipulate data on the fly within your flow, just like a maestro conducting a melody. Only instead of notes and rhythms, you're handling data inputs, variables, and outputs.  Let's break it down into some casual scenarios: The Middleman Maneuver Like a trusted broker in a Wall Street trade, Compose acts as an intermediary in your flow. Let's say you're doing a little bit of data gymnastics between SharePoint an...

Microsoft Power Automate, formerly known as Microsoft Flow, is a powerful tool for automating workflows across numerous applications and services. Despite its power and flexibility, like any system, there are times when performance can become an issue. But, by following a few simple steps and understanding key principles, you can get the most out of Power Automate, ensuring your flows run as smoothly and efficiently as possible. Optimize Triggers and Actions Every flow begins with a trigger, which could be an event like receiving an email or a file being uploaded. It's vital to make sure that triggers are as specific as possible to avoid unnecessary flow runs. For example, if you have a flow that triggers when a file is uploaded to a SharePoint folder, ensure the trigger is set to that specific folder, not the entire SharePoint site. Similar principles apply to actions, which are tasks that the flow carries out when it runs. Try to limit the number of actions within a single flow. ...