How to best deploy multiple PowerApp with SharePoint Online List

[FP17]

Just looking for some guidance/advice on how to best manage mutliple deployments for a single PowerApp with SharePoint list as the datasource (i.e. the app and datasource needs to be seperate for each deployment).

The app is a very simple front-end to a SharePoint Online list data source. For business reasons, each deployment needs to be separated - it cannot be a single version of the app/list used by all areas.

For the prototype and MVP development, I have simply copied the app and manually updated the datasource for all of the relevant elemets in the app (e.g. gallery datasource, forms datasource etc.). As you can imagine, this is super time consuming and fraught with human-error!

Any advice on how to better manage this would be very greatly appreciated!

[WarrenBelz]

Hi @FP17 ,

Can you please explain what you mean by "multiple versions" - are they separate apps with different features?

Also, if they are using the same data sources, what do you need to update? 

[FP17]

When I say multiple verions, I mean same app and same sharepoint list deployed multiple times. Sames features etc.

At present, I need to make a copy f the PowerApp then change the datasource connection (e.g. DATSOURCELIST_1) and then reconnect to a different SharePoint list connection (e.g. DATASOURCELIST_2). I then need to update the datasources all through the powerapp so data source is DATASOURCELIST_2 not list1

[WarrenBelz]

Hi @FP17 ,

Sorry I am a little confused - if it is simply a copy of the app with the same SharePoint list, you can just use "save as" and give it a different name - all the data connections should remain as per the original. Are you saying the same SharePoint List is deployed multiple times on different sites and you are using a copy of the app on each?

[FP17]

Sorry @WarrenBelz , it's a hard one to explain. You've got it correct with the last point - multiple sharepoint lists deployed. Each location has a copy of the app and a copy of the SharePoint list. One to one arrangement for each location.

[WarrenBelz · Accepted solution]

Thanks @FP17 ,

I wanted to make sure that was the case before responding.

Unfortunately, they are actually different lists as they have different URL paths (the connector is pointing somewhere else), so you have to delete the old one (ensure you do this first) - you will see errors appear, which should vanish when the second list with the same name is connected.

To answer your fundamental question, there is not easier way as data connection addition and removal cannot be automated.

Please click Accept as solution if my post helped you solve your issue. This will help others find it more readily. It also closes the item. If the content was useful in other ways, please consider giving it Thumbs Up.

[FP17]

Thanks @WarrenBelz , figured that might have been the case - just wanted to confirm with people much smarter than I 🙂

I did pickup one good though, to keep the name of the SharePoint list the same across deployments. I had been making this site specific but will cut out a lot of the work required if I keep generic. Thanks!

[Pstork1 · Accepted solution]

Sorry I didn't see this earlier, but you should be able to accomplish this using Power Platform Dev Ops and some PowerShell.  If the app is built as a solution with environment variables you should be able to replicate it multiple times and point it at a new SharePoint list during import of the solution.  Provisioning of the list will probably need to be done through scripting, but it is possible.  Look at some of the ALM scenarios on this site.  Application lifecycle management (ALM) with Microsoft Power Platform - Power Platform | Microsoft Do...

[FP17]

That's really good advice @Pstork1 ......time to have a chat with our Azure DevOps team 🙂