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Creating a responsive Power Apps

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Creating a responsive Power Apps for product management involves multiple steps, including designing a scalable layout, integrating data sources, and using controls that adapt to different screen sizes.

Step 1: Plan the Application

Define the Requirements:

  • Product Catalog: Store product details like Name, Price, Category, Stock, and Description.
  • Inventory Management: Track stock levels.
  • Supplier Information: Maintain supplier contact details.
  • Order Management: Handle customer orders and order status.
  • Responsive Design: Ensure the app works on desktops, tablets, and mobile devices.

Step 2: Create a Responsive Power Apps Canvas App

1️⃣ Open Power Apps

  • Go to Power Apps.
  • Click Create an app → Canvas app.
  • Choose Tablet Layout (more flexibility for responsiveness).

Step 3: Connect to Data Sources

  • Click on Data (left panel) → Add Data.
  • Connect to Dataverse, SharePoint, SQL Server, or Excel.
  • Ensure your Product Management Table has:
    • Product Name (Text)
    • Category (Choice)
    • Price (Currency)
    • Stock Level (Number)
    • Image (Attachment)
    • Supplier (Lookup)

Step 4: Configure Responsive Layout

Enable App Responsiveness

  • In the App’s Settings → Go to Display → Enable “Scale to fit” and “Lock aspect ratio”.

Set Screen Sizes Dynamically

  • Use App.Width and App.Height to adjust elements.

Formula for Full-Screen Containers

Height = Parent.Height
Width = Parent.Width

Define Breakpoints for Responsive Layout

  • Define breakpoints for different screen sizes: If(App.Width < 600, "Mobile", If(App.Width < 1200, "Tablet", "Desktop"))

Step 5: Design the UI Using All Controls

Home Screen

  • Label: App title "Product Management"
  • Button: Navigation buttons (Products, Orders, Suppliers)
  • Gallery: Show featured products.

Product List Screen

  • Gallery Control:
    • Select Flexible Height Gallery to auto-adjust product descriptions.
    • Data source: Products
    • Template:
      • Image Control: Show product image.
      • Label Controls: Display Product Name, Price, and Stock.
      • Icon (Edit, Delete): Allow modifications.

Product Detail Screen

  • Form Control (Edit Mode)
  • Fields:
    • Text Input for Product Name.
    • Dropdown for Category.
    • Slider for Price.
    • Toggle for Stock availability.
    • Image Upload Control.
    • Button (Save) to update the product.

Formula for Saving Data

SubmitForm(EditProductForm)

Add Product Screen

  • Form Control (New Mode)
  • Same fields as Product Detail Screen.
  • Button (Submit) to create a new product.

Formula for Adding a Product

Patch(Products, Defaults(Products), EditProductForm.Updates)

Order Management Screen

  • Gallery: Shows pending orders.
  • Dropdown: Filter by Order Status (Pending, Shipped).
  • Button: Update Order Status.

Step 6: Implement Search & Filters

  • Search Box (Text Input)
    • Formula:
    Filter(Products, StartsWith(ProductName, txtSearch.Text))
  • Dropdown for Category Filter Filter(Products, Category = drpCategory.Selected.Value)

Step 7: Configure Navigation

  • Button OnSelect Properties Navigate(ProductListScreen, ScreenTransition.Fade)

Step 8: Publish and Test

  • Click File → Save.
  • Click Publish to Organization.
  • Test on mobile, tablet, and desktop.

Bonus: Make the App Adaptive to All Devices

1️⃣ Use Containers Instead of Manual Placement

  • Use Vertical Containers for mobile layouts.
  • Use Horizontal Containers for desktop layouts.
  • Inside containers, set Width = Parent.Width.

2️⃣ Dynamic Font Sizes

If(App.Width < 600, 14, If(App.Width < 1200, 18, 22))

3️⃣ Hide Controls on Smaller Screens

If(App.Width < 600, false, true)

Managing Galleries, Data Tables & Handling Large Text in Power Apps

To make your Product Management App responsive and user-friendly, it’s essential to handle galleries, data tables, and large text dynamically.

📌 Step 1: Managing Galleries

Galleries are used to display a list of records dynamically. Power Apps provides multiple gallery types:

  • Vertical Gallery (Default) – Best for mobile screens.
  • Horizontal Gallery – Suitable for scrolling product lists.
  • Flexible Height Gallery – Ideal for handling large text.

🎯 Optimizing Gallery Performance

1️⃣ Limit the number of items displayed

  • Load only required data by using the FirstN() function. FirstN(Products, 50)
  • Use delegation-friendly functions like Filter() and Search() instead of ForAll().

2️⃣ Lazy Loading to Improve Performance

  • Enable “Loading Spinner” (Gallery Property) to improve UI experience for large data sets.
  • Use pagination techniques if your gallery contains a large number of records.

📌 Step 2: Handling Large Text in Galleries

When dealing with long product names, descriptions, or supplier details, text may overflow. Here’s how to manage it:

1️⃣ Use Flexible Height Gallery

A Flexible Height Gallery automatically resizes rows based on text length.

  • Select the Gallery → Properties → Set “TemplateSize” dynamically: If(Len(ThisItem.Description) > 100, 80, 50)
  • Set the Label’s AutoHeight property to true.

2️⃣ Use “Wrap Text” Property for Labels

  • Select the Label inside the gallery.
  • Set AutoHeight = true to allow multi-line text.
  • Ensure the Height property is dynamic: If(Len(ThisItem.Description) > 50, 100, 50)

3️⃣ Expand on Hover (Tooltip Approach)

For long descriptions, you can show tooltips on hover.

  • Select the Label inside the gallery.
  • Set the Tooltip property: ThisItem.Description
  • When a user hovers, the full text will be visible.

4️⃣ Show “Read More” Option for Long Text

Instead of displaying the full text, show a “Read More” button.

  • Add a button inside the gallery with text “Read More”.
  • On its OnSelect property: UpdateContext({selectedProduct: ThisItem}); Navigate(ProductDetailsScreen, ScreenTransition.Fade);
  • This takes the user to a detailed product page.

📌 Step 3: Managing Data Tables Efficiently

Data Tables are useful when you need structured tabular data (e.g., supplier details, inventory status).

1️⃣ Use Delegation-Friendly Queries

  • Use Filter() and Sort() instead of looping through records manually. Filter(Products, Stock > 10)
  • Avoid LookUp() inside galleries as it slows performance.

2️⃣ Enable Column Resizing

  • Unlock the Data Table → Set column widths dynamically: If(App.Width < 600, 100, 200)
  • Enable the “Auto-width” property for each column.

3️⃣ Implement Horizontal Scroll for Large Data Sets

If the data table has too many columns, enable horizontal scrolling:

  • Select Data Table → Set Scrollable = true.

4️⃣ Show Limited Columns on Mobile Screens

  • Hide unnecessary columns when the screen width is small: If(App.Width < 600, false, true)

📌 Step 4: Dynamic Font Size for Large Text

To make text adaptive across devices, use dynamic font sizes:

  • Formula for Auto-Resizing Text: If(App.Width < 600, 12, If(App.Width < 1200, 16, 20))
  • For Labels, Use Auto-Size: If(Len(ThisItem.Description) > 100, 12, 14)
  • For Titles, Use Weight Variation: If(App.Width < 600, FontWeight.Normal, FontWeight.Bold)

📌 Step 5: Implementing Search & Filters in Galleries

To make large data sets more manageable, implement search and filters:

1️⃣ Search by Product Name

  • Add a TextInput (txtSearch) above the gallery.
  • Set the gallery’s Items property: Filter(Products, StartsWith(ProductName, txtSearch.Text))

2️⃣ Filter by Category

  • Add a Dropdown (drpCategory) with category options.
  • Update the gallery’s Items property: Filter(Products, Category = drpCategory.Selected.Value)

3️⃣ Sort Products by Price

  • Add a Sort Button (btnSortPrice).
  • Update the gallery’s Items: Sort(Products, Price, Ascending)

📌 Step 6: Using Containers for Full Responsiveness

Use containers instead of manually placing controls:
1️⃣ Vertical Container – Adjusts height dynamically.
2️⃣ Horizontal Container – Keeps buttons aligned.
3️⃣ Grid Layout – Helps align galleries and data tables properly.

Example: Using a Container for Product Cards

  • Set Width dynamically: If(App.Width < 600, Parent.Width, Parent.Width / 2)
  • Inside the container, place:
    • Image
    • Title (Label)
    • Price (Label)
    • Button (“View Details”)

📌 Final Thoughts

✅ Galleries: Use Flexible Height Gallery & Lazy Loading.
✅ Data Tables: Implement Horizontal Scroll & Delegation.
✅ Large Text: Use AutoHeight, Tooltips, or “Read More”.
✅ Filters & Search: Improve navigation for large datasets.
✅ Containers: Ensure true responsiveness on all devices.

Would you like a demo app template for this setup? 🚀

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