Microsoft Power Apps is now used by more than 25 million users every month, with an increasing number of those apps delivered by dedicated teams of professionals.

There were some great announcements at Microsoft Build. Microsoft Power Apps will make it even easier to build and deploy modern enterprise apps at scale. Developers will be able to build comprehensive apps faster and more cost effectively than before.

New improvements, now in preview, include:

Use Copilot to create and understand Microsoft Power Fx

Just like GitHub Copilot, you can now use natural language instructions to generate Power Fx code directly in the formula bar. This feature is especially handy when you’re trying to understand an app that someone else created. Plus, with Copilot in Microsoft Power Apps, you can get explanations for any formula you select right in the formula bar

To use this feature, the Power Fx formula bar must be turned on in your canvas app:

1. On the command bar, select Settings > Upcoming features.
2. From the Preview tab, set the toggle for Power Fx formula bar to On.

Copilot must also be enabled for your environment and tenant & your browser and Power Apps language settings must be set to English (United States)

So how do we use Copilot to explain a formula? Select the control and its corresponding property. For this example we will look at the text component. On the formula bar, select the Copilot functionality menu > Explain This Formula.

When Copilot provides an explanation of the formula, you can copy and insert it as a code comment or share it with other makers who are working on the same app.

There are some limitations here which include a 1000 character limit & copilot is only aware of default properties.

How does Copilot generate formulas? This feature is still in preview and may not be available in your region yet. So to use it, add a comment in the formula bar and Copilot will suggest a formula. Like other AI models you can choose to accept the suggestion or type through it. Comments can always remain in the formula bar for documentation purposes.

Copilot in Power Apps uses familiar comment patterns like // and /* */, making it easy for developers. These comments can stay in the formula bar as documentation, just like in traditional code

After a few seconds Copilot will generate a formula recommendation

Use the Tab key to accept the recommended formula. You can also type through the recommendation. Again there are some limitations which include Copilot only recognises default properties, existing formulas for the selected property are not included in the recommendation & code comments only work with general Power Fx functions, and not Power Apps specific functions.

View objects YAML code

You can now see an objects code in YAML and make changes. Previously you would need to select the object and then select the property you wanted to view\edit

Now we can select the object, right-click > View code

This then gives us all the objects properties where we can now do edits or copy the code to another application to edit.

In the image above and in the previous image there is an option to copy the code, you can then directly paste into the same or different PowerApp.

Collaborate in real-time with live coauthoring

Coauthoring is now available in Power Apps Canvas Studio, allowing up to 10 developers to work together at the same time. You’ll be able to see your own changes and your team’s changes instantly compiled into a running app, making the development process much faster than the traditional method of merging and compiling local changes.

Power Apps is enhancing collaboration in canvas apps with live coauthoring, similar to how you work together in Microsoft 365 apps like PowerPoint, Word, or Excel. This feature, previously announced for the modern app designer, is now available in preview across experiences, enabling all makers to collaborate more effectively

When another user tries to access the app to edit, they will be prompted to authenticate to the Git repository. Multiple users can now edit the app in real time.

What next?

If you are interested in exploring what’s possible in Power Platform for your organisation, head to the Arinco website to see how we can help