It’s been a while since I last posted an update here, but there’s so much to catch up on!
Let’s start with the big news:
I built my second Power Apps app!
After publishing my first app on Power Apps, I started receiving a couple of emails. Some were expected, like terms of use, acknowledgments, and authorization requests. But one mail stood out…
A congratulatory email with a link to join my organization’s Power Platform community!
Of course, I joined immediately. And guess what? Just as I joined, I saw they were planning a live teaching session, more like a live coding session. The way I accepted that invite and blocked off my calendar, you’d think I was getting paid for it. I was just so excited!
During the session, a simple manual was shared for us to follow and code along. Here's the highlight: I found the author’s YouTube channel, Reza Dorrani. Let me tell you, his resources are the simplest I’ve seen so far, even easier to follow than Microsoft’s official learning packs!
PS: Shout out to everyone that reached out after reading my last letter, i got some pretty good recommendations. Thanks guys
I wish I could upload the guide here, but I’m trying to be respectful of copyright. That said, if you’re interested in Power Apps and want help getting started, I’m more than happy to work something out and point you in the right direction.
Cool Things I Learned This Time
One amazing feature I discovered is how easy it is to retrieve user information in Power Apps using the User() function. With just that, you can automatically get the current user’s email, full name, and profile picture when they log in with their Microsoft account. That’s some smooth backend magic right there!
Here are other new things I learned in this second app:
How to add a custom header and retrieve employee names and images
Upload media files from my local computer
Create a Gallery view of employees using data from a pre-defined SharePoint Online List
About the App
This second app is a simple Travel Request Dashboard for employees.
The first screen is a dashboard that lists travel requests.
You can edit a request using the edit button or click “New” to add a request.
Clicking “New” takes you to a second screen, where you fill in some details of your flights and when you click Submit, it populates right back into the dashboard.
Simple, smart, and satisfying to build.
Meanwhile…
The app that got me started on Power Apps has now gone through its final review, and we’re heading into external testing. That means it’ll soon go live for a much larger audience. I can’t wait!
I’ve learned so much from working on that project, and I’m incredibly grateful to my senior business developer who’s been so open to teaching me and letting me handle real tasks.
Some wins from that project:
I retrieved live data from SharePoint
I started using Power Automate for backend tasks
I pair-coded with my boss (Jonny, he’s a great instructor!), and he even gave me solo take-home tasks to grow further
For privacy reasons, I won’t be sharing pictures of the apps, but just know, it’s coming together beautifully.
Power Apps is such a cool tool. I’m still working around the license limitations, but I’m determined to perfect my learning and keep building — one app at a time.
I can genuinely see the future of corporate apps being powered by Microsoft’s low-code/no-code solutions.
Cheers to more authentic builds with Power Apps.
With love
Deborah
proud of you , b