Power Apps/Dataverse Tables in Teams not accessible

[Tal22]

Once a Power App / Dataverse table is created in Teams, the App/table cannot be accessed for modification, editing or deletion.  Is there a work around to this, like a connector I don't know about? If not, I don't see how building power apps/tables in Teams is viable idea. 

[Pstork1]

If you build the table in Dataverse for Teams (Power Apps client in Teams) you can easily use it as the data source for the Power App client you build. It is also available for Power Automate flows built using the Power Apps client in Teams. No the tables aren't directly accessible without a client. But tables are of limited use without something in front of them. The app you build can easily be added as a Tab in a Teams Channel. And if you set the security for a colleagues security group you can also share the app with other Teams to install as a tab in their channels. So I'm not sure why its a half measure. I think you are missing the bigger picture.

[Tal22]

I tried all of that. And their is nothing easy in the convoluted, pretzel logic stated here. My staff are not IT/software engineers. Either am I. The Power Platform is the most ill conceived software platform I have ever encountered. It is not thought out and poorly designed. It is amazing that anyone is using it. 

I just finished a call with Microsoft sales. The company I work for has Office 365 Business Premium with Dataverse license, I can create dataverse tables but not share them. I was just told that my organization needs a separate license tier for Power Apps in order to share a Dataverse tables.  Dataverse tables created in Teams can only be can only be shared on Teams as a Power App, which to me is another step to go through. This is a half measure in my mind. 

[Pstork1]

I'm not sure what sales is telling you, but I've never heard of a license called Office 365 Business Premium with Dataverse. There is an Office 365 Business Premium license but it does not include Dataverse. Anyone using Power Apps can create Dataverse tables. You don't need a license for development. But to use them in production requires a license.

I'm sorry you don't like the product and find it confusing. I just don't agree with your analysis. I also don't think the licensing has been explained to you correctly. this is a link to the Power Platform licensing guide, which also covers Dataverse.  https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=f3bcad992ab93c55JmltdHM9MTY4MzI0NDgwMCZpZ3VpZD0zYjNhNTdjNy0yOTk5LTZmZ...

 See if you can find mention of a Business Premium with Dataverse license.  Its not there.

[Tal22]

I have read the license page before. So has my IT person. It is hard to digest and way too complicated. Typical of Microsoft. By the way, Dataverse is included in our license. At least that's how the subscription page reads.

I get that you have deep experience in IT and computer science, but you miss the concept of user experience. Microsoft boasts Power Platform as a low to no code platform. It is not. In fact, I don't think the people at MS truly understand what a low code/no code platform is. It is a platform primarily designed for IT & Computer Science experts - not citizen developers. There are dozens of low-no code platforms out there. One of them is Kintone. I built a relational database and collaborative solutions in Kintone in only a few days. Unlike Power Apps Kintone, as well as Monday.com, and others are true drag and drop solutions designed for citizen developers. These companies are light years ahead of MS. They know how to build sound UI/UX IN modern cloud applications. MS is pretty much clueless in this regard. But this is not surprising since MS's tech is built on decades-old technology. I am sure someday soon, some innovative company is going to launch an AI platform that will make Microsoft and many aspects of IT reliant apps like Power Platform obsolete. I think, for better or for worse, that day is coming soon. 

[Pstork1]

I disagree. But if the Kintone product is so good then why are you trying to use Power apps? And why are so many others using Power Apps?

[Tal22]

I am forced to use Power Apps by my organization that has the 365 Premium subscription. Microsoft is the "safe" product to subscribe to for companies (and their respective purchasing agents). which is why so many others supposedly use Power Apps. That said, I don't believe there is a large user base of Power Platform users. Yes, there is a large user base of Office 365 products, Word, Excel, Outlook and Power Point-  the staples of Microsoft - but this subscription base should not be conflated as actual Power Point users.

To be clear, it is not the platform I necessarily have a problem with, it is the licensing, and permissions complexity, and the unintuitive, crappy UI and pretzel logic that is the problem. No matter, I reiterate my charge that the premise Power Platform, touted by Microsoft, is a no-low code solution for "Citizen" developers is highly misleading. It is not. In fact, the majority of "Citizen" users don't use the platform because it is too complex and difficult to learn. Tech people forget that rank and file employees simply don't have the bandwidth to spend weeks and months learning the platform.

Back to Kintone, permissions levels are easy to understand and customize. It is a real drag and drop, no/low platform. (Power Apps is not). I was able to build apps and easily deploy those apps in a few hours. If I could, I would be using Kintone and we would not be having this conversation now. 

P.S. Microsoft still has not figured out a way to automatically up the table of contents on a Word document. I have my doubts that Power Platform is all that reliable. 

Innovation. It is not in the vocabulary of Microsoft!

[Tal22]

Hi, I think I finally resolved my issue and would like to share  what I found with you. I was attempting to build a relational database using multiple tables using a form relating Primary and Foreign keys - which do not exist in Power Apps controls - to the respective tables. So, the source of my confusion was thinking that Power Apps could build a relational database.  Microsoft sales told me that the only cloud solution to build responsive apps for desktop and mobile relational databases is Azure Database for MySQL. That said, regarding Power Apps, using lookup columns does not create true relational DB, so I am very confused as to why expert users claim that Power Apps can produce a relational database when, in fact, it cannot.  I suppose it is a matter of semantics. 

[Pstork1 · Accepted solution]

SQL, Dataverse, Oracle, and MySQL are all relational databases that can be used as back ends for Power Apps. SharePoint is not a relational database.  Its the database that is relational, not Power apps, which is just the front end.

[Tal22]

Thanks for the clarification. I get conflicting information from Microsoft agents and others. Nonetheless, I am sticking with Access using Dataverse tables. The UI and workflow for Power Apps is horrible. I don't see why anyone bothers using PA. It is not a very well thought out platform. 

[johngPP]

Hi @Pstork1 @TheRobRush 

I am not getting all the tables.  I only get the app.  

I logged a ticket with MS and he spoke about production environment versus development environment which made no sense as I am in a corporate teams production environment already. Unhelpfully the link he provided me was to make a table in the make.powerapps interface ... which is not the area I want to make, I want a teams app.

Any idea why I would no be seeing all the tables created? I am getting this in my developer tenant and my work tenant.

MS Email

Hello John,

Thank you for letting me know your confusion.

I am reaching out to you about the error you're encountering when creating a table from the Build > See All menu. To resolve this issue, I'd recommend choosing the default solution instead of the Common Data Services solution.

Here's how to proceed:

1. Navigate back to the Build > See All menu.
2. Locate the option to create a table.
3. When prompted to choose a solution, select the "Default Solution" (or any option that does not specifically mention Common Data Services – which is non-production solution).
4. Continue with the table creation process.

Using the default solution should allow you to create the table successfully.

For additional information, I highly recommend that you carefully follow the steps outlined in this official Microsoft documentation:

Article URL: Create a custom table (contains video) - Power Apps | Microsoft Learn

If you continue to encounter any issues, please don't hesitate to reach out for further assistance.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Warm regards,