The Power of Power Platform: 5 PowerApps Tips and Tricks to Save You Time

PowerApps is a fantastic tool for creating custom apps, but it’s even better when you know a few time-saving tricks. Here are five tips that will make your app-building process quicker and more efficient. Let’s get started!

1. Use Collections to Manage Data Easily

A collection is like a temporary table you can use within your app to store data locally.

Why it saves time:

Collections let you handle and display data without constantly connecting to your data source. This makes your app faster and less dependent on network connectivity.

Example:

Imagine you’re building an app to track event registrations. Use a collection to temporarily store registration details before submitting them all at once to your data source. This reduces back-and-forth calls to your database.

Pro Tip:

Use the Collect and ClearCollect functions to create and update collections. For example:

ClearCollect(MyCollection, DataSource)

This pulls fresh data from your source while clearing outdated entries.

2. Leverage Reusable Components

Components are reusable elements you can create and use across multiple screens or apps.

Benefits of Using Components:

  1. Time-saving: Instead of designing the same buttons, headers, or footers for every screen, build a component once and reuse it. This ensures consistency and cuts down on repetitive work.
  2. Consistency: Ensure a uniform look and feel across your app.
  3. Maintainability: Update the component once, and changes apply everywhere.
  4. Scalability: Easily add new features by reusing pre-built components.

Example:

Say your app has a navigation bar with links to different sections. Create it as a component, then drop it onto each screen. Need to update the design later? Just edit the component, and the changes automatically apply to all screens.

3. Take Advantage of PowerApps Form Controls

Forms allow you to quickly create data entry screens linked to your data source.

Why it saves time:

Instead of designing fields manually, forms can:

  • Automatically connect to your database.
  • Save and update data with minimal effort.

Example:

Use an Edit Form to let users update their profile information. Fields can be auto-populated from a SharePoint list or other data sources.

4. Mastering Form Control Styling

Styling forms can be tedious, especially with multiple fields. Here’s a clever trick to save time by styling all form controls at once:

  1. Select your form control in PowerApps Studio.
  2. In the properties pane, change the layout from Vertical to Horizontal.
  3. Immediately click the Undo button in the top-left corner.

This action selects all controls in the form at once.

Apply Bulk Styling Changes:

With all controls selected, you can adjust properties like:

  • Font and size
  • Text color
  • Background color
  • Border properties
  • Padding and margins

Why it saves time:

Making bulk changes ensures consistency across your form and saves you from repetitive edits.

5. Document Your Work

Adding comments or keeping notes about your app’s logic reduces confusion when revisiting the app later. It’s also a huge help for team members who might need to maintain or update the app.

Example:

Add comments in your formulas, like this:

// This formula filters the active tasks for the current user 
Filter(Tasks, Status = "Active" && AssignedTo = User().Email)

Or keep a separate document explaining complex parts of your app. Future you will thank you!

Bonus Tip: Use the Concurrent Function

The Concurrent function in PowerApps allows you to run multiple actions at the same time, rather than sequentially. This is particularly useful for tasks like loading data from multiple sources or performing multiple calculations simultaneously.

Why it saves time:

Without Concurrent, PowerApps processes tasks one after another, which can slow down your app’s performance. By running tasks in parallel, the Concurrent function reduces waiting time and speeds up the overall execution.

How it works:

Here’s a basic example:

Concurrent( ClearCollect(FirstDataSource, DataSource1),     ClearCollect(SecondDataSource, DataSource2) )

In this case, the app fetches data from DataSource1 and DataSource2 at the same time, cutting the loading time in half (depending on the size of the data sources).

About the Author

Segu Essandoh

Curious how much more your team could achieve with Microsoft 365? Transform your efficiency and security with our expert solutions! Microsoft Partner | Automation | Apps | Data Security | Compliance | Training | AI |

Super Early Bird
Reference:

Essandoh, S (2025). The Power of Power Platform: 5 PowerApps Tips and Tricks to Save You Time. Available at: The Power of Power Platform: 5 PowerApps Tips and Tricks to Save You Time | LinkedIn [Accessed: 15th January 2025].

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