The Power Platform 2024 Release Wave 2 updates are out! These release lists come out twice a year with features that will be coming to the platform. Wave 2 consists of features to be released from October 2024 to March 2025. I will be doing a series of blogs to cover the top features across the Power Platform!
Today we are talking about Power Apps!
Work Together in Real Time to Create Canvas Apps
In the Power Platform 2024 Wave 2 release, the new “Coauthoring” feature allows multiple makers to collaborate and edit canvas apps simultaneously. Unlike previous experiences, where only one maker could edit an app, coauthoring empowers fusion teams by enabling real-time collaboration in Power Apps Studio. Makers can see colleagues’ changes and presence as they work together. To use coauthoring, simply enable it in the app settings.
Select Columns Downloaded on Mobile Devices
This feature allows users to customize which columns of tables are downloaded for offline use on mobile devices. By selecting only the necessary columns, app data can be downloaded faster, even without connectivity. In the maker portal, you can configure the offline profile for your app, either using suggested columns computed by the system or manually selecting specific columns. The main page of the offline profile displays the number of selected columns for each table. This enhancement streamlines data loading and improves the offline experience for users.
Use the Power Platform Environment Settings App
The new “Power Platform Environment Settings” app offers a modern, performant, and secure settings management experience. Designed for application developers, this app provides a unified platform to create settings for their applications. It replaces the legacy web client experience, maintaining security, access control, and extensibility features. Incremental rollouts will replace the existing settings application, preserving any customer-created extensions. Existing links for advanced settings will redirect to the new app. Administrators can control redirection until the feature reaches general availability.
Act on Your Data Efficiently with New Grid Features
The Power Apps grid control introduces several enhancements to improve the user experience. First, users can now group data based on a single column, expanding or collapsing groups as needed. Additionally, numeric columns can be aggregated (sum, minimum, maximum, or average) within the grid. These features are enabled by default for read-only entities and the pipeline view. Second, users can reorder columns directly within the grid using drag-and-drop or context menu actions. Third, the list mode now aligns with Fluent styling, emphasizing field importance through font weight and size. Fourth, in list mode, a new header row with a sort icon allows users to choose the sort column and direction. Fifth, when working with nested grids, the correct command bar is displayed for selected rows. Finally, column widths can now be set to specific pixel values directly from column options, allowing keyboard-based adjustments. These improvements enhance data interaction and streamline tasks within model-driven apps.
Use Copilot to Filter and Search Data in Gallery
Copilot introduces a powerful feature that allows end users to filter, sort, and search data within a gallery using natural language. By typing or using pre-existing prompts (e.g., “Show me the top red cars in the US”), Copilot updates the gallery view to display relevant rows. Unlike the standard user interface, Copilot provides more flexibility in filtering expressions. Users can engage in successive conversations, building various filters on top of each other. Importantly, Copilot only has access to data returned to the app, ensuring security and privacy.
Manage Your Source Code for Canvas Apps
In the Power Platform 2024 Wave 2 release, developers gain the ability to manage source code for canvas apps more effectively. By exporting a canvas app as a binary file with the extension .msapp, developers can then convert it into human-readable YAML source code files using the Power Platform CLI. This new capability allows direct viewing of the source code within Power Apps Studio or external code editors. Each screen in the app corresponds to a separate file. With native Git integration, developers can store these files in a code repository, automate app generation, improve generative models, and refactor canvas apps — all while adhering to robust ALM practices.
Final Thoughts
That’s all for today’s quick review of some of the new features coming in the Power Platform 2024 Release Wave 2. Remember to test these items in a Sandbox before they are rolled out to your production environment! Also be sure to use the Release Planner to highlight the features you care about the most and monitor their release dates!
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