Canvas Apps – Tips & Tricks part 2

You Can Extract JSON Data Without Power Automate

• Power Apps natively supports JSON parsing without needing Power Automate!
• Example: If you have a JSON string like:
  
   

  {"name": "John", "age": 30}


  You can extract data using:

  JSONData.name

• This is great for working with API responses without extra calls.

You Can Open External Apps Like WhatsApp, SMS, and Email

• Power Apps lets you open mobile apps directly with Launch().
• Examples:
  
  • WhatsApp:
    
    Launch("https://wa.me/1234567890")

  • SMS:
    
    Launch("sms:1234567890")

  • Email:
    
    Launch("mailto:someone@example.com")

• Great for integrating communication features without extra connectors!

Use the “With” Function for Cleaner, Faster Code

• Instead of writing long nested formulas, use With().
• Example: Instead of:
  
   

  Label1.Text = LookUp(Orders, ID = SelectedID).Customer.Name

• Use:
  
   

  With(LookUp(Orders, ID = SelectedID), Name)

• This improves readability and makes debugging easier!

You Can Use Power Automate to Generate PDFs (Without Premium Connectors!)

• Most devs think you need Power Automate’s premium “OneDrive Create PDF” action, but there’s a free hack!
• Use Word Templates in Dataverse to generate a document, then export it as a PDF—all using the standard Dataverse connector.
• Steps:
  
  1. Create a Word template with placeholders.
  2. Populate it with Power Automate.
  3. Convert it to PDF using the free Word Online connector!

You Can Create a Search Box That Filters ANY Gallery (Without Delegation Issues!)

• Instead of using Filter() (which has delegation limits), use StartsWith() for text search—it’s fully delegable in SharePoint, Dataverse, and SQL.
• Example:
  
   

  Filter(MyGallery, StartsWith(Title, txtSearch.Text))

• This ensures your search works on large datasets without hitting delegation limits!