Welcome to the Power Virtual Agents Community recap for June 2020! Here are some highlights that have been happening within the community since our launch on April 30, 2020.
To stay up-to-date with the latest community happenings, be sure to subscribe to News & Announcements! For more information about subscribing to community content, see our support article, Subscriptions and Notifications.
Meet our 1st Super User for Power Virtual Agents
Renato Romão - As one of the founders of the Power Virtual Agents community he single-handedly answers a large percentage of the Power Virtual Agents community forum posts.
Some words directly from Renato:
Hi, my name is Renato Romão! I'm a Senior Full-stack Developer and you can see my biography in my LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/renatoromao
Do you have a ChatBot that you would like to share with the Community? Check out our Bot Sharing Gallery.
Microsoft Business Applications Summit (MBAS) 2020 Video Gallery
Missed the Microsoft Business Applications Summit (MBAS)? You can now watch Microsoft Business Applications Summit sessions on-demand right from the community:
https://powerusers.microsoft.com/t5/MBAS-Gallery-2020/bd-p/pva_mbasgallery-2020
Claim Your Microsoft Business Applications Summit Badge
Whether you were able to watch the sessions live, or find yourself watching the sessions in the community, you can claim your community badge to be shown in your profile by filling out this short form: https://aka.ms/MBASBadge
Thanks to the hundreds of users that have already claimed theirs!
June 19th Community Update
On June 19th, we released multiple upgrades to the Power Apps Community that included new features and changes to the UI. For instance, you can now drag and drop files instead of having to browse for their location to upload them:
Gallery Updates
When posting in galleries you will now see that you can add a Thumbnail image and attachments. If you are editing an older gallery post, you will need to add the thumbnail image before posting.
Power Virtual Agents Blog Updates
Check out what's new with Power Virtual Agents on our Blog!
Bot Variables - Reusing variables across topics and setting variable values from external sources.
Power Virtual Agents is Gaining Traction - Power Virtual Agents is now available in more languages
We have made some major updates to one of our support articles, 'Asking, Answering, and Accepting'. The article is now called 'Contributing to the Community' and has new information on what to do if your post is marked as spam and how to use the galleries. Here’s another neat feature: You can actually speed up the image insertion process by copying and pasting the image into the upload field. Curious how you can do this? Read our updated article:
https://powerusers.microsoft.com/t5/Using-the-Community/Contributing-to-the-Community/ta-p/544491
Did you know that you could subscribe to labels? Well, now you do. If you would like to be notified of posts related to posts on a certain topic, check out our updated article on Subscriptions and Notifications, which now has instructions for subscribing to labels:
https://powerusers.microsoft.com/t5/Using-the-Community/Subscriptions-and-Notifications/ta-p/544501
There are times when you might want to go back and edit a post or delete one because you have accidentally created a duplicate. If you want to learn how to edit or delete one of your own posts, read our updated support article on ‘How to Use the Toolbar’ (specifically, under ‘Inserting and editing media’ > ‘Images’):
https://powerusers.microsoft.com/t5/Using-the-Community/How-to-Use-the-Toolbar/ta-p/544479
Thank you for being a part of the Power Virtual Agents Community!
The Power Virtual Agents Team
Helpful resources
Dear Community Members, We'd like to let you know of an upcoming change to the community platform: starting July 16th, the platform will transition to a READ ONLY mode until July 22nd. During this period, members will not be able to Kudo, Comment, or Reply to any posts. On July 22nd, please be on the lookout for a message sent to the email address registered on your community profile. This email is crucial as it will contain your unique code and link to register for the new platform encompassing all of the communities. What to Expect in the New Community: A more unified experience where all products, including Power Apps, Power Automate, Copilot Studio, and Power Pages, will be accessible from one community.Community Blogs that you can syndicate and link to for automatic updates. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation during this transition. Stay tuned for the exciting new features and a seamless community experience ahead!
We are excited to announce the Summer of Solutions Challenge! This challenge is kicking off on Monday, June 17th and will run for (4) weeks. The challenge is open to all Power Platform (Power Apps, Power Automate, Copilot Studio & Power Pages) community members. We invite you to participate in a quest to provide solutions to as many questions as you can. Answers can be provided in all the communities. Entry Period: This Challenge will consist of four weekly Entry Periods as follows (each an “Entry Period”) - 12:00 a.m. PT on June 17, 2024 – 11:59 p.m. PT on June 23, 2024 - 12:00 a.m. PT on June 24, 2024 – 11:59 p.m. PT on June 30, 2024 - 12:00 a.m. PT on July 1, 2024 – 11:59 p.m. PT on July 7, 2024 - 12:00 a.m. PT on July 8, 2024 – 11:59 p.m. PT on July 14, 2024 Entries will be eligible for the Entry Period in which they are received and will not carryover to subsequent weekly entry periods. You must enter into each weekly Entry Period separately. How to Enter: We invite you to participate in a quest to provide "Accepted Solutions" to as many questions as you can. Answers can be provided in all the communities. Users must provide a solution which can be an “Accepted Solution” in the Forums in all of the communities and there are no limits to the number of “Accepted Solutions” that a member can provide for entries in this challenge, but each entry must be substantially unique and different. Winner Selection and Prizes: At the end of each week, we will list the top ten (10) Community users which will consist of: 5 Community Members & 5 Super Users and they will advance to the final drawing. We will post each week in the News & Announcements the top 10 Solution providers. At the end of the challenge, we will add all of the top 10 weekly names and enter them into a random drawing. Then we will randomly select ten (10) winners (5 Community Members & 5 Super Users) from among all eligible entrants received across all weekly Entry Periods to receive the prize listed below. If a winner declines, we will draw again at random for the next winner. A user will only be able to win once overall. If they are drawn multiple times, another user will be drawn at random. Individuals will be contacted before the announcement with the opportunity to claim or deny the prize. Once all of the winners have been notified, we will post in the News & Announcements of each community with the list of winners. Each winner will receive one (1) Pass to the Power Platform Conference in Las Vegas, Sep. 18-20, 2024 ($1800 value). NOTE: Prize is for conference attendance only and any other costs such as airfare, lodging, transportation, and food are the sole responsibility of the winner. Tickets are not transferable to any other party or to next year’s event. ** PLEASE SEE THE ATTACHED RULES for this CHALLENGE** Week 1 Results: Congratulations to the Week 1 qualifiers, you are being entered in the random drawing that will take place at the end of the challenge. Week 1: Community MembersSolutionsSuper UsersSolutionsCopilot StudioDuncanWebb1pstork12oyvind1 Week 2 Results: Congratulations to the Week 2 qualifiers, you are being entered in the random drawing that will take place at the end of the challenge. Week 2: Community MembersSolutionsSuper UsersSolutionsCopilot StudioSharon1 dopitz1 Zilver1 C. Johnson1 Week 3 Results: Congratulations to the Week 3 qualifiers, you are being entered in the random drawing that will take place at the end of the challenge. Week 3:Community MembersSolutionsSuper UsersSolutionsCopilot StudioJahawni Y. Khandelwal Expiscornovus C. Johnson SpongeYe Xiguadefeixang Week 4 Results: Congratulations to the Week 3 qualifiers, you are being entered in the random drawing that will take place at the end of the challenge. Week 4:Community MembersSolutionsSuper UsersSolutionsCopilot StudioS. Ghorai1 K. Lam1 M Chintha1
On July 16, 2024, we published the 2024 release wave 2 plans for Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform. These plans are a compilation of the new capabilities planned to be released between October 2024 to March 2025. This release introduces a wealth of new features designed to enhance customer understanding and improve overall user experience, showcasing our dedication to driving digital transformation for our customers and partners. The upcoming wave is centered around utilizing advanced AI and Microsoft Copilot technologies to enhance user productivity and streamline operations across diverse business applications. These enhancements include intelligent automation, AI-powered insights, and immersive user experiences that are designed to break down barriers between data, insights, and individuals. Watch a summary of the release highlights. Discover the latest features that empower organizations to operate more efficiently and adaptively. From AI-driven sales insights and customer service enhancements to predictive analytics in supply chain management and autonomous financial processes, the new capabilities enable businesses to proactively address challenges and capitalize on opportunities.
We're embarking on a journey to enhance your experience by transitioning to a new community platform. Our team has been diligently working to create a fresh community site, leveraging the very Dynamics 365 and Power Platform tools our community advocates for. We started this journey with transitioning Copilot Studio forums and blogs in June. The move marks the beginning of a new chapter, and we're eager for you to be a part of it. The rest of the Power Platform product sites will be moving over this summer. Stay tuned for more updates as we get closer to the launch. We can't wait to welcome you to our new community space, designed with you in mind. Let's connect, learn, and grow together. Here's to new beginnings and endless possibilities! If you have any questions, observations or concerns throughout this process please go to https://aka.ms/PPCommSupport. To stay up to date on the latest details of this migration and other important Community updates subscribe to our News and Announcements forums: Copilot Studio, Power Apps, Power Automate, Power Pages
