Power Platform guides
Power Apps, Power Automate, Power BI, Power Pages, Copilot Studio, and the ALM and governance that keep a maker community healthy on a Dynamics 365 tenant.
The Power Platform is the low-code, AI-first extensibility layer under and around Dynamics 365. The CRM apps are model-driven Power Apps; every serious implementation uses Power Automate for automation, Power BI for analytics, and increasingly Copilot Studio for agents and Power Pages for external portals. The line between a Dynamics customisation and a custom Power App is a licensing line, not a technical one.
The guides cover each product — canvas and model-driven apps, PCF controls, Power Fx, flow design and error handling, RPA, Power BI deployment and security, Power Pages security and Liquid — plus the governance layer that decides whether the platform becomes an asset or an audit finding: environments, DLP policies, Managed Environments, solutions and pipelines, the Center of Excellence kit, and ALM with Azure DevOps or GitHub Actions.
Start with the platform overview and environments, then solutions and ALM before the first production app. Pricing for Power Apps and Power Automate is in the pricing section.
Start here
- 1What is the Power Platform?Microsoft's low-code platform — Power Apps, Power Automate, Power BI, Power Pages, Copilot Studio, and Dataverse.
- 2Power Platform environmentsEnvironments in the Power Platform — types, capacity, regions, and how they relate to Dynamics 365 and Dataverse.
- 3Canvas apps vs model-driven appsWhen to build a canvas Power App versus a model-driven app — pixel-perfect UI, data-driven structure, and the trade-offs each one forces.
- 4Power Automate flow design patternsHow to design reliable, maintainable Power Automate flows — triggers, retries, error handling, child flows, and what not to do.
- 5Power Automate error handling patternsHow to handle errors robustly in Power Automate flows — try/catch scopes, configure run-after, retry policies, dead-letter handling.
- 6Power BI for Dynamics 365How Power BI integrates with Dynamics 365 — pre-built apps, Dataverse and F&O connectors, Microsoft Fabric, and where the data actually lives.
- 7Copilot Studio for Dynamics 365Building AI agents on top of Dynamics 365 with Copilot Studio — topics, knowledge sources, generative answers, and Dataverse integration.
- 8Data loss prevention (DLP) policies in Power PlatformHow DLP policies in Power Platform restrict connector combinations across business and non-business data — policy design, environment scope.
- 9Power Platform ALM with managed solutionsApplication lifecycle management on the Power Platform — solutions, managed vs unmanaged, environments, pipelines, and source control.
- 10Managed environments in Power PlatformWhat Managed Environments add to a Power Platform environment — admin features, sharing limits, weekly digest, solution checker enforcement, and pipelines.
All Power Platform guides
Power Apps →(11)
- Canvas app offline modeHow to build offline-capable canvas Power Apps — local data, sync patterns, conflict handling, and the limits of mobile-first scenarios.Updated 2026-05-01
- PCF controls in Power AppsWhat Power Apps Component Framework (PCF) controls are, when to use them, and the developer toolchain to build, package, and deploy.Updated 2026-05-01
- Power Apps Component Framework (PCF) control developmentHow to build custom controls with the Power Apps Component Framework — the dev environment, lifecycle, manifest, packaging.Updated 2026-05-01
- Power Apps modern controlsHow the modern control set in canvas apps differs from classic controls — Fluent UI styling, accessibility defaults, theming, and migration considerations.Updated 2026-05-01
- Power Apps monitoring and Application InsightsHow to monitor Power Apps in production — App Monitor, Application Insights integration, and the operational patterns for performance and error tracking.Updated 2026-05-01
- Power Apps performance tuningHow to make Power Apps canvas and model-driven apps fast — startup time, screen render, data fetching, formula optimisation, and the patterns that matter.Updated 2026-07-20
- Power Apps Portals history and rebranding to Power PagesFrom ADXStudio to Dynamics 365 Portals to Power Apps Portals to Power Pages — the product genealogy and what the rebranding means for customers.Updated 2026-05-01
- Power Apps Test EngineHow the Power Apps Test Engine enables automated UI testing for canvas apps — test definitions, the YAML format, integration with CI/CD.Updated 2026-05-01
- Power Apps vs Dynamics 365 CRMPower Apps vs Dynamics 365 CRM: both run on Dataverse — when to buy the packaged Sales or Service app and when to build a custom model-driven app instead.Updated 2026-08-27
- Power Fx explainedThe Power Fx formula language — Excel-like syntax, where it's used in the Power Platform, and what's different from JavaScript.Updated 2026-05-01
- Power Fx named formulasHow named formulas in Power Fx differ from variables — declarative, recomputed, no side effects — and how they reshape canvas app code organisation.Updated 2026-05-01
Power Automate →(8)
- Attended vs unattended RPA in Power Automate DesktopHow attended and unattended RPA differ in Power Automate — modes, licensing, machine management, and the use cases where each fits.Updated 2026-05-01
- Error monitoring patterns for Power AutomateHow to monitor Power Automate flows in production — Run History, alerts, Application Insights integration, and operational patterns for catching failures fast.Updated 2026-05-01
- Machine management for Power Automate DesktopHow to manage RPA machines at scale in Power Automate — machine groups, sizing, health monitoring.Updated 2026-05-01
- Power Automate approvals in depthHow the Approvals platform works under Power Automate — connector, approval types, delegation, the unified approval centre.Updated 2026-05-01
- Power Automate child flowsHow child flows decompose Power Automate workflows into reusable pieces — definition, invocation, parameters, and the operational impact on maintainability.Updated 2026-07-22
- Power Automate Desktop and RPAHow Power Automate Desktop automates legacy applications with RPA — attended vs unattended, machine groups, AI Builder integration, and where to use it.Updated 2026-05-01
- Power Automate error handling patternsHow to handle errors robustly in Power Automate flows — try/catch scopes, configure run-after, retry policies, dead-letter handling.Updated 2026-07-24
- Power Automate flow design patternsHow to design reliable, maintainable Power Automate flows — triggers, retries, error handling, child flows, and what not to do.Updated 2026-05-01
Power BI →(7)
- Power BI dataflows vs datamartsPower BI dataflows, datamarts, semantic models, and Fabric items — when to use each, how they relate.Updated 2026-05-01
- Power BI deployment pipelinesHow Power BI deployment pipelines automate Dev/Test/Prod promotion of reports, semantic models, and dataflows — configuration, rules, and the ALM patterns.Updated 2026-05-01
- Power BI for Dynamics 365How Power BI integrates with Dynamics 365 — pre-built apps, Dataverse and F&O connectors, Microsoft Fabric, and where the data actually lives.Updated 2026-05-01
- Power BI gateway for on-prem dataHow the on-premises data gateway bridges Power BI to on-prem data sources — installation, configuration, security.Updated 2026-07-26
- Power BI incremental refreshHow Power BI incremental refresh works — partitioning by date, range parameters, the refresh policy, and the patterns for large datasets.Updated 2026-05-01
- Power BI paginated reportsHow paginated reports differ from interactive Power BI reports — SSRS lineage, design tool, when pixel-perfect matters.Updated 2026-05-01
- Power BI row-level security — a deep diveHow row-level security (RLS) works in Power BI semantic models — DAX roles, dynamic security, object-level security.Updated 2026-05-01
Power Pages →(4)
- Power Pages for Dynamics 365 customer portalsBuilding customer-facing portals on top of Dataverse — Power Pages templates, authentication, security, and operational realities.Updated 2026-05-01
- Power Pages Liquid templatingHow Liquid templates work in Power Pages — variables, tags, filters, rendering Dataverse data, and the design patterns for customer-facing portals.Updated 2026-07-28
- Power Pages security, in depthHow Power Pages secures external-facing portals — identity providers, web roles, table permissions, page permissions, and the audit and DLP that wraps them.Updated 2026-05-01
- Power Pages with Dataverse searchHow to make Power Pages portals searchable — enabling Dataverse search, scoping by table and security, indexing, and the patterns for portal-friendly search UX.Updated 2026-05-01
Copilot & AI →(7)
- AI Builder document automation, in depthHow AI Builder's document automation works — pre-built models, custom training, output structure, and the right way to integrate it with Dynamics 365.Updated 2026-08-25
- AI Builder explainedMicrosoft's no-code AI model library inside the Power Platform — pre-built models, custom training, and what AI Builder is good at.Updated 2026-08-25
- AI prompts in Power PlatformHow AI Builder and Copilot Studio promote prompts as a first-class artefact — prompt design, parameters, grounding.Updated 2026-08-25
- Building agents with Copilot StudioHow to design Copilot Studio agents — topics vs generative answers, knowledge grounding, actions, multi-turn dialogs, and operational patterns.Updated 2026-08-25
- Copilot agents vs Copilot StudioHow Microsoft's agent strategy splits — Copilot Studio for building custom agents, declarative agents in Microsoft 365 Copilot, autonomous agents.Updated 2026-05-01
- Copilot Studio for Dynamics 365Building AI agents on top of Dynamics 365 with Copilot Studio — topics, knowledge sources, generative answers, and Dataverse integration.Updated 2026-05-01
- Microsoft 365 Copilot for Dynamics 365How Microsoft 365 Copilot reaches into Dynamics 365 — graph connectors, agents, and the licensing layers that determine what users actually get.Updated 2026-05-01
Custom development →(2)
- Custom connectors in the Power PlatformHow to build custom connectors for Power Apps, Power Automate, and Copilot Studio — OpenAPI definitions, authentication, certification.Updated 2026-05-01
- The Plug-in Registration Tool — a deep diveHow PRT registers Dataverse plug-ins — assemblies, steps, images, secure/unsecure configuration, and where the tool fits in modern ALM.Updated 2026-05-01
ALM & governance →(12)
- ALM with GitHub Actions for Power PlatformHow to run Power Platform CI/CD with GitHub Actions — Microsoft's official workflows, source structure, and the differences from Azure DevOps.Updated 2026-08-25
- Center of Excellence Starter KitHow Microsoft's CoE Starter Kit helps tenant-wide governance of the Power Platform — admin, monitor, nurture, theme, and the operational impact.Updated 2026-05-01
- Connection references and environment variablesHow to make Power Platform solutions portable across environments — connection references for credentials, environment variables for configuration values.Updated 2026-05-01
- Data loss prevention (DLP) policies in Power PlatformHow DLP policies in Power Platform restrict connector combinations across business and non-business data — policy design, environment scope.Updated 2026-05-01
- Managed environments in Power PlatformWhat Managed Environments add to a Power Platform environment — admin features, sharing limits, weekly digest, solution checker enforcement, and pipelines.Updated 2026-05-01
- Power Platform ALM with Azure DevOpsHow to set up CI/CD for Power Platform using Azure DevOps — Build tools, pipelines, source control, and automated deployment between environments.Updated 2026-05-01
- Power Platform ALM with managed solutionsApplication lifecycle management on the Power Platform — solutions, managed vs unmanaged, environments, pipelines, and source control.Updated 2026-05-01
- Solution Checker and App Checker in Power PlatformHow Solution Checker analyses Dataverse solutions for issues — categories of findings, integration with Managed Environments.Updated 2026-05-01
- Solution dependencies and managed layer conflictsHow solution dependencies work in the Power Platform — required components, layer stacking, conflict resolution, and the maintenance discipline.Updated 2026-05-01
- Solution history and rollback strategies in DataverseHow to track solution changes over time and roll back when promotions go wrong — solution history table, backup-first patterns.Updated 2026-05-01
- Solution import / export pipelines for DataverseHow to automate Dataverse solution promotion through dev / test / prod — Power Platform CLI, Build Tools, GitHub Actions, and Power Platform Pipelines.Updated 2026-05-01
- Solution patches vs solution upgradesHow patches and upgrades differ in Power Platform solution lifecycle — what each does, when to use which, and the trade-offs across layers.Updated 2026-05-01
Comparisons →(2)
- Power Automate vs MakePower Automate vs Make (formerly Integromat) — visual scenario building, data transformation, operations-based pricing, Dynamics 365 depth, governance, and which fits which team.Updated 2026-09-03
- Power Automate vs ZapierPower Automate vs Zapier — connector breadth, pricing models, Microsoft and Dynamics 365 depth, governance, RPA, and which automation tool belongs in which organisation.Updated 2026-09-03
Troubleshooting →(2)
- Power Apps canvas app errors explainedThe canvas app errors makers hit most — delegation warnings, 'The specified column does not exist', Patch type errors, network error when using Patch, data source not found, permission denied, connection consent, premium licence prompts — with fixes.Updated 2026-09-03
- Power Automate flow failures explainedThe Power Automate errors that stop flows — ActionFailed, BadGateway, InvalidTemplate, 429 throttling, 'Could not find a property named', null Apply to each, expired connections, DLP suspension, silent triggers — with fixes.Updated 2026-09-03
Other(4)
- Copilot across Dynamics 365How Copilot works across every Dynamics 365 app — Sales, Service, Field Service, Finance, Supply Chain, Business Central, Project Operations.Updated 2026-08-27
- Power Platform environmentsEnvironments in the Power Platform — types, capacity, regions, and how they relate to Dynamics 365 and Dataverse.Updated 2026-05-01
- The Power Platform admin centreThe Power Platform admin centre — what it does, who uses it, and how it relates to the Microsoft 365 and Dynamics 365 admin centres.Updated 2026-05-01
- What is the Power Platform?Microsoft's low-code platform — Power Apps, Power Automate, Power BI, Power Pages, Copilot Studio, and Dataverse.Updated 2026-08-27