Can someone explain to me some common usecases for building a PCF for power apps? and maybe include a tutorial on whats a good starter PCF to build to learn it?

[childishbambino]

from my understanding, you use .net/visual studio typically to write a custom component for power apps, but my question is what these are built for, like what use case, and whats a good basic one to learn / build to understand its usefulness better?

[GuidoPreite]

you can check the PCF controls hosted inside PCF Gallery, you can get an idea on how they are used.

[cchannon]

A PCF is not a .net control.

A PCF is a Single Page App (SPA) typically built using React (more specifically React Typescript) that allows you to inject a custom user interface component into a Power App, whether model driven or canvas.

The idea here is that sometimes you need a custom interface element that can't be met by out of the box components. For example, imagine you need a field for sensitive information that does custom validation and masking, or you wanted to present a grid of records as a Gantt chart, or you want an interactive custom visualization embedded on your form.... the use cases are quite literally endless here.

The best way to get a feel for what they do is to make a very simple one. There are some great tutorials on the MS Learn pages (here's a super-simple one that just puts a custom Slider control on a form for you), and in fact OOB when you just init a new virtual PCF it automatically makes a simple Hello World example for you, so you can instantly deploy and see results within a couple minutes of getting set up.

[skoofy5]

PCFs allows you to create custom components for Power Apps, enhancing the user experience and extending functionality with more complexity than canvas apps allow. Here are some common use cases for building PCFs:

1. Custom UI Controls:

   • Create custom controls that aren’t available out-of-the-box in Power Apps.
   • Examples: dials, sliders, charts, gauges, or custom input fields.

2. Data Visualization:

   • Build visualizations specific to your business needs.
   • Examples: custom charts, heatmaps, or interactive maps.

3. Integration with External Services:

   • Connect Power Apps to external APIs or services.
   • Examples: geolocation services, weather data, or currency conversion.

4. Enhanced User Experience:

   • Improve usability by creating intuitive components.
   • Examples: custom date pickers, autocomplete fields, or rich text editors.

5. Complex Calculations:

   • Implement calculations or business logic that can’t be achieved using standard controls.
   • Examples: custom pricing calculators, loan amortization tools, or complex form validations.

6. Data Transformation:

   • Manipulate data before it’s saved to the database.
   • Examples: data formatting, encryption, or data cleansing.

7. Integration with External Libraries:

   • Leverage third-party libraries or frameworks within your components.
   • Examples: integrating with charting libraries, QR code generators, or machine learning models.

• Get Started with Power Apps Component Framework (PCF) | Microsoft Learn
• Create your first component using Power Apps Component Framework in Microsoft Dataverse - Power Apps...
• Power Apps component framework overview in Microsoft Dataverse(contains video) - Power Apps | Micros...

The link above to create your first component is the simplest way to start. Before you begin your component you need to install the following components:

• Visual Studio Code (VSCode) (Ensure the “Add to PATH” option is selected during installation).
• node.js (LTS version is recommended).
• Microsoft Power Platform CLI (You can use either Power Platform Tools for VSCode or Power Platform CLI for Windows).
• .NET Build tools (Choose one of the following):
  • Visual Studio 2022 (for Windows & Mac).
  • Build Tools for Visual Studio 2022.
  • Alternatively, you can use the .NET 6.x SDK instead of Build Tools for Visual Studio.

If you have no background in JavaScript/TypeScript you are likely going to have a difficult time creating your own components.