For this example, you will be taking a simple approach and creating an app based on the single table that you have imported into the Dataverse.

1.     In the Power Apps screen, click on Create in the navigation bar on the left. Select Blank App and then in the create dialog, select Create under model-driven app. Leave the Classic app designer choice selected and click on create. Choose a name for the app and click on Done.

2.     In the app designer screen, you will notice that there is nothing listed in the Entity View. Similarly, the Site Map choice at the top of the Design screen will be showing an error. What you are seeing is the framework for the app, but it is still empty because the structure of the app has not been linked to any tables.

3.     You can link the framework to a table of data by using the Site Map choice. Click on the pencil symbol to edit the sitemap and you are brought to the Sitemap Designer screen.

4.     It is the Sub area choice that allows you to connect to an Entity. Remember that in this context, the entity is another term for the table you are connecting to.

Click on the pencil to edit the subarea. Type the name Orders for the Subarea.

In the Sub Area properties box, use the drops downs to choose Entity under the Type heading and the Order Table under the Entity heading.

Click on Save and close on the top right which will return you to the App designer screen.

You should now see that the Order_Table is listed as the entity, Also in this screen, you now have controls that will allow adding Forms, Views, Charts, Dashboards, and Business Processes to this app. Click on Save.

Creating a View

Views in Model Apps control which columns users will see. For example, the staff in the warehouse might not need to see the customers' contact details but the sales staff would. By creating different views of the same data, you can generate different user experiences within the app.

For this example, you are going to create a View called Warehouse which will only contain columns that are necessary for the warehouse staff to see the outstanding orders and check them against stock levels.

1.     Select Views in the Designer screen and then Create New in the properties box on the right-hand side.

2.     In the View Designer screen, click on the “Click to Add View Name” choice and call this view Warehouse. Click on the designer screen to confirm the name.

3.     In the components box on the right, you will see two column attributes choices: one for Primary Entity and one for Related Entity.

The Primary Entity choice will allow you to pick columns from the main table or entity linked to the app.

The Related Entity choice would come into play if you had other tables linked in relationships to the Primary Table.

4.     Click on the Primary Entity choice and drag the following column headings into the design screen: Product, Product ID, Customer Name, Number Ordered, Date Ordered. Experiment with dragging the headings in the table to reorganize the columns.

5.     Click on Save and Close.

6.     When you are returned to the App Designer screen, click on the ALL setting on the view button. On the properties pane on the right, you will see that the app is showing all views, including two systems created ones called Active Order Tables and Inactive Order Tables. Since your users don’t need to see those, click on the All tick box to deselect it and then click to select the Warehouse view you have just created.

7.     Create a second view called Sales which shows the Product, Customer Name, Contact, Contact Number, Date Ordered, Number Ordered, Price, and Discount available. Save and close the view. Make sure that both Sales and Warehouse are selected views for this app.

Forms

Forms in model-apps show data at the row level. You can click on items listed in a View to go to a Form that shows the full detailed information from that row.

1.     Select Forms in the Designer screen and then Create New in the properties box.

Choose Main Form from the drop-down and the Form Designer will open in a separate window.

2.     In the Properties box on the right-hand side, add the name Order Information to the Display Name. In the Form Designer window, you will see a section heading called General and your own name listed as the owner.

3.     Click on the Table Columns choice on the Navigation Bar on the right to see the full list of column headings that can be added to the form.

4.     Drag and drop the following headings underneath your own name.

5.     Click on Save and then click on Publish.

6.     Close the Form Designer Window.

Finish and Publish the App

Finally, in the App Designer screen, click on Save to save changes. Click on Validate to check for any errors and finally click on Publish. The App should now be ready to view by clicking on Play.

Experiment with switching your view. Click on the drop-down arrow to switch between the Sales view and the Warehouse view.

Pick any product order and click on the Order ID. You should now see the details of that order in the form that you created.