In this blog, we will combine three powerful platforms: Power Apps Cards, Power Automate, and Microsoft Teams. If you feel a bit lost, don´t worry I've got you covered: Power App Cards + Dataverse (anainesurrutia.com). In my previous article, you will find an overview of Power Apps Cards and how to create one with Dataverse.
Today I wanted to try new things and we are going to use Power App Cards in Power Automate and display it on Teams. As you already know, I prefer to set up a scenario to picture how you can actually use this solution in the real world. My user cases are always HR for obvious reasons.
Use case: When a new employee is hired, ask them to update their personal details.
Tech case: When a new row is created in Dataverse, send a Power App Card through Microsoft Teams.
We are going to use the following steps:
Create a new table in Dataverse
Create a Power App Card
Create a Power Automate
Trigger the Power Automate
Step 1: Create a new table in Dataverse
Log into make.powerapps and select Tables
Select + New table > + New table
Complete the information in the Properties and Primary column tab
A new table will be created, and you can add the columns you want. In this case, we will add simple columns. We don´t need a lot of information. To add a column select +New column and enter the details:
Below you can find a screenshot of the columns I added to my new table and a row I used to illustrate how it will look like when the information is completed (this is fake information):
Step 2: Create a Power App Card
Log into make.powerapps and select Cards
Once you select Cards, a new tab will open. Select Create a card
Add a name and description for this card. Select Create.
It will take just a second to load. A blank canvas will be ready for you to add the information. I added two screens, one for the submission and another one with a confirmation message. I wanted a cool background and it ended up looking something like this:
Step 3: Create a Power Automate
Log into make.powerautomate and select + Create.
We will create an Automated cloud flow, but you can try a different kind.
Name your flow and select the trigger. You can use the look-up to find the right trigger. Once you are happy with it select Create.
In the first box, we will complete as follows:
Select + New step and search for Cards for Power Apps, from the available options select Create card instance (preview)
Select the card from the dropdown and a body, if you want.
The third and last action we will choose is Post a card in a chat or channel. After finding the action, complete the correspondent setup and choose between channel or conversation. If you chose a conversation, it will load all the conversations you have in that tenant, while choosing a channel will load all the channels available within the environment. Lastly, you will need to fill in the Card. It will say Insert Json card here, the good news is that you will have available a dropdown with all your cards and you don´t have to copy and paste anything. Easy.
Step 4: Trigger the Power Automate
To trigger the Power Automate, we will need to add a new line into the table Employees. To do so, log into make.powerapps and go to Tables.
Search for Employees and click it. The table will load, and you should fill in a new line. This will trigger the Power Automate (When a row is added).
In the image below you can find how the card will look in the channel we selected.
The new joiners will add a brief intro and then submit it.
A Thank you message will appear when they submit their answers.
Watch out for the next article on how to store the data that the employee submitted.
If you want to find out more about Sending a card automatically with a flow, check this link: Send a card automatically with a flow (preview) - Power Apps | Microsoft Learn.