Can a power app be create to navigate excel files

[Jparker]

Ok so here is the deal.  Boss is wanting me to create a app for his phone where he can basically navigate through a directory and open excel files on his phone.  Thought it would be easy but so far it is not.  Structure pretty simple Main folder> 3 folders with years 2015-2017> then 12 excel files in each folder total of 36 files can this be done or ?

[audrieg]

Hello jparker,

Does your Boss have OneDrive for Business or SharePoint? There is an app than can enable that goal OOB. Perhaps I am over simplying goals?

[Jparker]

Yes we have one drive business and sharepoint.  Was just hoping to give him a power app that he can just open and go to files rather than a share folder.

[audrieg]

Sounds like you had a good idea too! Unfortunately, PowerApps does not have connections to Libraries on SharePoint 'yet' (but it is planned), and the access to Excel files in OneDrive for Business is not quite where he would need it to be so that he could browse files directly from the PowerApp. PowerApps uses Excel Files in OneDrive as a data source (read/write) though.

Check out this video below. I think this might be closer to what he's looking for, as it relates to easy access from a mobile phone to files (in OneDrive or SharePoint).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygP9TY96Tig

If you feel this would be a great use case for PowerApps, please do submit your idea here:

https://powerusers.microsoft.com/t5/PowerApps-Ideas/idb-p/PowerAppsIdeas

Thank you for your input and ideas!

Audrie

[v-yamao-msft]

Hi Jparker,

Thanks for your feedback. Does you boss want to check the Excel file directly on PowerApps? It seems that currently it is not supported on PowerApps, please submit an idea as @audrieg has suggested. I will also report this from my side.

As a workaround, you could add these Excel files as a data source, then show the data on the app, your boss can navigate to each screen to check the data for each file.

Best regards,
Mabel Mao

[Meneghino]

hi @Jparker

you can actually achieve this quite easily if the links to the files are static.  If you have the links to the 12 files, and they are static (i.e. they don't change in time) then I would do this:

1) Upload the years and links as static data to your app

2) On the single screen of the app have 3 controls:

a) A dropdown to select the year (2015, 2016 or 2017)

b) A second dropdown to select the file within the year

c) A button to open the selected Excel file via the Launch function OR an HTML control with the link to the selected Excel file

The solution that you choose for c) will depend on what works best on you bosses device.

Please let me know how you get on

[Sola]

I am getting this issue when I am trying to import my file from the database “ Please edit the table or your import file to fix the missing fields.”

[Jparker]

---

@Meneghino wrote:

hi @Jparker

you can actually achieve this quite easily if the links to the files are static.  If you have the links to the 12 files, and they are static (i.e. they don't change in time) then I would do this:

1) Upload the years and links as static data to your app

2) On the single screen of the app have 3 controls:

a) A dropdown to select the year (2015, 2016 or 2017)

b) A second dropdown to select the file within the year

c) A button to open the selected Excel file via the Launch function OR an HTML control with the link to the selected Excel file

The solution that you choose for c) will depend on what works best on you bosses device.

Please let me know how you get on

---

Thats exactly how I was wanting it to work.  a little insight the excel files are basically import numbers from other excel files on my local network.  They are just a report to view production for the day so only the current month changes but we update on daily basis.  The files I was hoping to just put in my on drive share with him and few other ppl within the company .  Any help on achieving that would be awesome!!!!!  Heck who knows might get a raise out of it lol. 

[Meneghino]

Ok, please let me know which steps you need help with.

[Jparker]

Well to be completely honest all of this is new to me.  I created an app that has the intro page and 3 files 2015, 2016, 2017.  I made sub pages that had months listed then i'm stuck on how to link to the files to the month button.  Have Office Business so i can put on sharepoint i have a drop box a google drive, even a gateway in the power apps connections.