What’s new: Power Apps October 2023 Feature Update

Welcome to the Power Apps monthly feature update! We will use this blog to share a summary of product, community, and learning updates from throughout the month so you can access it in one easy place. We’ve got a great set of updates across for our makers, security and monitor improvements, and updates to model driven apps for end users.

Last month we had the pleasure of sharing updates live at the Microsoft Power Platform Conference, you can read more about the announcements in Ryan’s blog. We also shared this month that Microsoft was again named as a leader in the Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Enterprise Low-Code Application Platforms, you can read more about it here.

Trust

• Power Platform – Customer-Managed Key (CMK) service updates new feature announcements 
• Default Environment Routing 

Maker Productivity

• Copilot in Power Apps is now generally available
• Low Code plugins is now in Public Preview 
• ParseJSON and Untyped objects are now GA 
• See canvas app changes in real-time together
• Learn Hub updates for pro-developers getting started on Power Apps 
• Canvas built-in offline is now just one click away! 
• Copilot-generated Deployment Notes for Pipelines in Power Platform gets and update 

End User Productivity

• Announcing general availability of the modern, refreshed look for model-driven apps 

Trust

Power Platform – Customer-Managed Key (CMK) service updates new feature announcements 

Microsoft Power Platform comes with advanced risk and compliance features that give you an easy cost-effective way to cover your risks and compliance needs. Customer-managed key (CMK) allows you to meet your compliance needs by providing the ability for your organization to manage your encryption keys in your Azure key vault and allows you to use separate encryption keys for different Dataverse environments to encrypt your customer data at-rest. 

As part of these commitments, we are pleased to announce the following CMK service updates.  

Generally available: 

• Encrypt your environment with key from Azure Key vault with private link. 

You can secure your Azure Key Vault network by establishing a private link connection. This allows you to connect your virtual network using private endpoints to secure your Azure key vault access with our CMK services.  

• Migrate your bring-your-own-key (BYOK) environments to customer-managed key (CMK) with no system downtime.  

The environment remains enable when you migrate it from BYOK to CMK. 

Preview: 

• Encrypt your environment data with key from Azure Key Vault managed HSM (Hardware Security module) 

You can use an encryption key created from the Azure Key Vault Managed HSM to encrypt your environment data. This gives you FIPS 140-2 Level 3 support. 

• Auto rotate your encryption key using Azure Key Vault key version 

You can rotate your encryption key using new key version. The new key version is automatically rotated in the background and there is no action required by the Power Platform admin. 

Learn more at Manage your customer-managed encryption key in Power Platform 

Default Environment Routing 

Default Environment routing is a new Managed Environments feature that allows Power Platform admins to automatically direct new makers into their own personal developer environment when they visit make.powerapps.com for the first time.    This feature helps Power Platform admins to optimize their environment strategy, making it more efficient and secure for both makers and the organization.  

By placing makers in an ALM healthy state from day one. And allowing admins to customize the governance rules and policies for each environment according to their organization requirements.   

Learn more at Streamline your governance and environment strategy using Default Environment Routing (preview) | Microsoft Power Apps

Maker Productivity

Copilot in Power Apps is now generally available

We are excited to announce that Copilot for Power Apps is now Generally Available for app makers. Copilot in Power Apps is an AI companion that guides you through the app creation process, from the backing data to the app design. Makers who started building apps with Copilot are 64% more likely to be successful, and 65% more satisfied with their overall experience. 

Copilot is available for all makers regardless of license. You can access Copilot from the Power Apps home page, or from the app creation page. You can learn about any necessary pre-requisites for all AI features in Power Apps, and find the latest region availability for Copilot here. 

Learn more at Build better apps, faster: Copilot in Power Apps is now generally available | Microsoft Power Apps

Low Code plugins is now in Public Preview 

Low Code plugins allow makers to customize their experience in a modular way using the familiar Power Fx expression language that tailors the experience to meet their specific needs. In this preview we have the following new updates: 

1. Starting October 2023 Low code plug-ins and the Dataverse Accelerator first-party app will be available in all new environments. 

2. Starting November 2023, low code plug-ins support the robust Power Platform connectors infrastructure, making it easier to integrate with services outside of Dataverse 

3.Support for Bound actions, will allow you to define complex custom code in the context of a record input. This helps optimize development architecture and reduce maintenance costs. 

Learn more at Use Dataverse low-code plug-ins – Power Apps | Microsoft Learn

ParseJSON and Untyped objects are now GA 

The JSON text format has become ubiquitous. It is used for storing and transferring all sorts of structured data. The ParseJSON function and untyped objects in Power Fx allow makers to work with this format dynamically in their Power Apps, parsing JSON text into Power Fx objects. 

Learn more at Working with JSON in Power Fx – Power Platform | Microsoft Learn

See canvas app changes in real-time together

We’re thrilled to announce the preview launch of Live Updates in the Power Apps Studio, a game-changing feature for collaboration in canvas apps. Back in July 2023, we said no more “blocked access” when we released Canvas Copresence, enabling canvas makers to join an app during the same session together. Now, we say no more manual refreshes for readers to see changes to an app! 

Multiple makers can join an app at the same time, with one maker as an editor, and others as readers in read-only viewing app edits in real-time! Whether you’re thinking through new ideas, troubleshooting, or simply fine-tuning app elements, now you can do it with others and see results of editing actions immediately! This experience enhances collaboration in reviewing and debugging, boosts the ability to training colleagues, and enables key infrastructure for our upcoming multi-editor preview. 

To enable this exciting experience, it must be turned on for each individual app. Open your app for editing in Power Apps Studio. Go to Settings and then Upcoming features. Look for Experimental. Find & set the toggle for Enable live updates to On. Check out our official documentation to learn more about this exciting feature and limitations. We would love for you to become an early adopter for this experience and future releases on our journey towards Canvas Coauthoring. Sign up today at aka.ms/coauthearlyadopter and we can’t wait to see how you take maker collaboration to next level 

Learn more at Discover who’s working on a canvas app in Power Apps Studio – Power Apps | Microsoft Learn

Learn Hub updates for pro-developers getting started on Power Apps 

The Learn Hub in Power Apps is a convenient resource for users new to Power Apps, and our latest updates focus on tailored content for pro-developers onboarding and learning to build complex scenarios with low code. With the new Advanced level filter in the Learn Hub, pro-developers can easily access relevant training modules, real-world examples of scaled solutions, developer tools, and more. 

You can now self-select the learning content that best suits your developer experience level. The Advanced level page features learning resources catered to pro-developers who are new to Power Apps. Learn how to create custom connectors, UI components, and setup a CI/CD process that can support complex scenarios, which enable your organization to build apps faster and better together. Check it out at aka.ms/devlearnhub! 

Learn more at Use the Learn hub – Power Apps | Microsoft Learn

Canvas built-in offline is now just one click away! 

We’re excited to make canvas built-in offline available by default for Power Apps makers in Public Preview.  

Creating an app with data available offline is easy. Just enable the app for offline in the General Settings in the Power Apps Studio and you’re on your way. You can build complex offline apps using custom offline profiles that help you to optimize your app’s performance by reducing the amount of data downloaded to the device. But don’t worry! We introduced an auto-generated mode for simple apps that will work great for small to medium-sized data sets. 

Learn more at Canvas built-in offline is now just one click away! | Microsoft Power Apps

Copilot-generated Deployment Notes for Pipelines in Power Platform gets and update 

Copilot-generated deployment notes in pipelines are now 10x faster. 

Thanks to the significant reduction of generation wait time, the experience has been updated to auto-fill the deployment notes field with the solution description, so makers only have to review what Copilot’s written for them to deploy. 

  

With a sharper look and smoother experience, Copilot is ready to help make ALM easier for both pipeline admins and makers who deploy. More power, less time, better production.  

Learn more about Copilot-generated deployment notes, a feature of Managed Environments. 

Learn more at Use Copilot to generate deployment notes in pipelines – Power Platform | Microsoft Learn

End User Productivity

Announcing general availability of the modern, refreshed look for model-driven apps 

First previewed in February, the modern, refreshed look is now generally available.  Along with ux improvements, we’ve added a new opt-in toggle for end users.  UX Updates include an updated read only style. All new Option-set control, Date-time control and Duration control. We’ve updated dialogs to use modern design.  View page grids now use the Power Apps grid control. Dashboards have been updated to use modern design and Power Apps grid for sub-grids.  End users can now control their rollout with a “Try the new look” feature toggle in the header.  This allows them to opt-in for any given app a their convenience, letting them work at their own pace.  They can switch back at any time. 

Learn more at Modern, refreshed look for model-driven apps is generally available (GA) | Microsoft Power Apps

We’ve also released new, and made updates to some of our documentation – see a summary before of some of the key updates: 

For Admins	Enable copilots and generative AI features outside United States and Switzerland (new)  Default environment routing (preview) (new)  View known issues (preview) (new)  Unified admin experience for finance and operations apps (preview) (new)  Unified admin trials (preview) (new)  Tutorial: Provision a new environment with an ERP-based template (preview) (new)  Tutorial: Copy a Lifecycle Services environment to a unified environment (preview) (new)  Set up Application Insights with Power Automate (preview) (updates)  Export data to Application Insights (updates)  New Microsoft Dataverse storage capacity (updates)  Power Platform licensing FAQs (updates)  Microsoft Dataverse and model-driven apps activity logging (updates)  Solution checker enforcement in Managed Environments (preview) (updates)  Support for Microsoft Power Platform and Dynamics 365 apps (updates)  Export data to Application Insights (updates)  Set up Application Insights with Power Automate (preview) (updates)  Conversation diagnostics in Azure Application Insights (preview) (updates)  Set up Microsoft Power Platform self-service analytics to export Power Platform inventory and usage data (preview) (updates)  Hierarchy security to control access (updates)  Microsoft Power Platform Build Tools for Azure DevOps (updates)  Types of Power Automate licenses (updates)  Create and manage environments in the Power Platform admin center (updates)  Frequently asked questions about Power Automate licensing (updates)  Overview of integration with Application Insights (updates)  Microsoft Dataverse and model-driven apps activity logging (updates)  Microsoft Power Platform self-service analytics schema definition (preview) (updates)  Frequently asked questions about Power Automate licensing (updates)  Licensing (updates)  Managed Environments overview (updates)  CoE starter kit – September release (updates)  Establishing an environment strategy (updates)  Configure ALM Accelerator pipelines (updates)  Available GitHub Actions for Microsoft Power Platform development (updates)  Overview of pipelines in Power Platform (updates)  Set up pipelines in Power Platform (updates)  Special system users and application users (updated)  Reset an environment to delete and reprovision (updated)  Tenant settings (updated)  Restrict cross-tenant inbound and outbound access (updated)  Back up and restore environments (updated)  Tutorial: Create cross tenant isolation reports (preview) (updated)  Enable copilots and generative AI features outside United States and Switzerland (updated)  Connect to Exchange Server (on-premises) (updated)  Solution checker enforcement in Managed Environments (preview) (updated)  Content security policy (updated)  New Microsoft Dataverse storage capacity (updated)  Manage your customer-managed encryption key in Power Platform (updated)  Security in Microsoft Dataverse (updated)  Manage collaboration settings (updated)  Create or edit business units (updated)
For Makers	View Dataverse data in Microsoft Fabric (preview) (new)  Use Copilot in rich text editor for email (preview) (new)  Add the Copilot option to a rich text editor (preview) (new)  FAQ for Copilot in rich text editor (new)  Manage cards with DLP policies (new)  Delete a card (new)  Manage access (new)  Table modern control in Power Apps (preview) (new)  Find out who’s working on the same app (updates)  Get started with Power Apps (updates)  Manage an on-premises data gateway in Power Apps (updates)  Modern controls and properties in canvas apps (preview) (updates)  Discover who’s working on an app (updates)  View long term retained data (preview) (updates)  Use solution checker to validate your solutions (updates)  Edit a canvas app (updates)  Add canvas apps and cloud flows to a solution by default (preview) (updates)  Set up the timeline control (updates)  Create and use dataflows in Power Apps (updates)  Use the wrap wizard to build your mobile app (updates)  Create and edit tables using Power Apps (updates)  Add the rich text editor control to a model-driven app (updates)  Controls and properties in canvas apps (updates)  System requirements, limits, and configuration values for Power Apps (updates)  Create many-to-many table relationships overview (updates)  Launch and Param functions in Power Apps (updates)  Notify function in Power Apps (updates)  Back and Navigate functions in Power Apps (updates)  User function in Power Apps (updates)  Solution templates for Power Platform (multiple solution updates)  Host object in Power Apps (updates)  Update localized labels for forms (new)  Set the preferred solution (preview) (new)  Use modern themes (new)  New BasePaletteColor property for modern controls (starter topic with updates) (new)  Create and use dataflows in Power Apps (updated)  Example Dataverse low-code plug-ins (preview) (updated)  Add Copilot to model-driven apps (preview) (updated)  FAQs for the timeline control (updated)  Describe the new table (updated)  Share a model-driven app (updated)  Dataverse long term data retention overview (updated)  Create a model-driven app using the classic app designer (updated)  Classic form editor overview (updated)  Build your first model-driven app using the classic designer (updated)  Add or edit model-driven app components in the Power Apps app designer (updated)  Model-driven app form properties (updated)  Header modern control in Power Apps (new)  Modern controls and properties in canvas apps (preview) (updates)  Build apps through conversation (updates)  AI Copilot overview (updates)  FAQ for building apps a nd tables through conversation (updated)  FAQ about using AI responsibly in Power Apps (updated)  Create and edit tables using Power Apps (updated)  Calendar-screen template in canvas apps (updates)  Add data connections to canvas apps (updates)
For Users	Set up mobile offline for canvas apps (preview) (updates)  Check your user access to a row (updates)  Find it with unified search (updates)  Mobile offline for canvas apps (preview) (updates)  Modern, refreshed look for model-driven apps (updates)  Mobile offline capabilities and limitations (updates)  Use @mention for collaborating with your team using Notes (new)  Modern, refreshed look for model-driven apps (updated)  Collaborate with others in model-driven apps (updated)  Set up mobile offline for canvas apps (preview) (updated)  Work with canvas apps offline (preview) (updated)  Mobile offline for canvas apps (preview) (updated)  Visualize your data in a view quickly with Power BI service (updated)  Troubleshoot issues in the Power Apps mobile app (updated)  Use Power Apps for Windows (updated)
For Developers	Unified developer experience for finance and operations apps (preview) (new)  Install and configure development tools (preview) (new)  Write, deploy, and debug X++ code (preview) (new)  Unit testing (preview) (new)  Continuous integration and deployment (preview) (new)  Frequently asked questions (preview) (new)  Troubleshooting: How to clean up inherited access (new)  Microsoft Power Platform Build Tools for Azure DevOps (updates)  About the Power Apps Developer Plan (updates)  Available GitHub Actions for Microsoft Power Platform development (updates)  Unified developer experience for finance and operations apps (preview) (new)  Install and configure development tools (preview) (new)  Write, deploy, and debug X++ code (preview) (new)  Unit testing (preview) (new)  Continuous integration and deployment (preview) (new)  Frequently asked questions (preview) (new)  Troubleshooting: How to clean up inherited access (new)  Microsoft Power Platform Build Tools for Azure DevOps (updates)  About the Power Apps Developer Plan (updates)  Available GitHub Actions for Microsoft Power Platform development (updates)  Generate early-bound classes for the SDK for .NET (updates)  Deploy pipelines as a service principal or pipeline owner (updates)  Extend pipelines in Power Platform (updates)  Register a plug-in (updates)  Dependent Assembly plug-ins (updates)  Package plug-ins and custom workflow activities in a solution (updates)  Use OAuth authentication with Microsoft Dataverse (updates)  Data export service (updates)  Quick Start: Web API sample (C#) (updates)  Transition client applications to Dataverse ServiceClient (updates)  Overview of pipelines in Power Platform (updates)  Email activity tables (updates)

Please continue sending us your feedback on features you would like to see in Power Apps. We hope that you enjoy the update!