Microsoft Power Platform Fundamentals — knowledge map
The 156 core concepts of Microsoft Power Platform Fundamentals and how they connect. Click a node in the map above to explore related terms and prerequisites; the list below indexes every concept with its definition and links to its prerequisites and related concepts.
Concepts (156)
Controls (Power Apps)
UI components placed on app screens—labels, text inputs, buttons, dropdowns, galleries, forms—configured via properties for look and behavior.
Related: Text input、Dropdown、Gallery
Microsoft Dataverse
Power Platform’s secure, structured data store (tables) with types, relationships, and fine-grained security—more business-grade than Excel/SharePoint lists; the basis of model-driven apps.
Prerequisites: Office apps (Word/Excel/PowerPoint/Outlook)
Power Automate
A tool to automate repetitive work (automate); a flow = trigger + actions; cloud flows (automated/instant/scheduled) and desktop flows (RPA, UI actions).
Prerequisites: Trigger
Related: Desktop flow、Cloud flow
Connectors (Power Platform)
Components linking to 1000+ external services (Microsoft 365, SQL, SaaS); standard and premium connectors (premium may need extra licensing).
Related: Premium connector
Microsoft Power Platform
Microsoft’s low-code/no-code platform for analytics, apps, automation, and conversation; even citizen developers can improve work. Integrates with M365/Dynamics 365/Azure.
Prerequisites: No-code
Related: Microsoft Dynamics 365、Citizen developer
Report (Power BI)
Multi-page interactive analysis on one dataset—arrange visuals and explore with filters and drill-down; authored in Power BI Desktop.
Canvas app
A Power Apps app type where you place components on a blank canvas to design the UI freely; connects to many data sources (Excel/SharePoint/connectors) with fine control over the look.
Related: Power Apps
Action
The steps run after the trigger (save file, notify, approve, update data); operate external services via connectors and run in sequence.
Prerequisites: Notify function (Power Fx)、Connectors (Power Platform)
Related: Trigger
Form
A screen element to view, enter, and edit a single record; in model-driven apps, forms are defined per table, configuring which fields show and their layout.
Prerequisites: View
Power Apps
A low-code tool to build business apps (act); canvas apps (UI-first, free design) and model-driven apps (Dataverse data-first, auto-generated layout).
Related: Model-driven app、Canvas app
Cloud flow
A Power Automate flow that automates cloud services via connector APIs; three kinds by trigger—automated, instant, scheduled.
Related: Power Automate
Microsoft Copilot Studio (formerly Power Virtual Agents)
A low-code tool to build chatbots/assistants (assist); conversations use topics (by intent), with generative-AI knowledge and Power Automate integration.
Prerequisites: Generative AI、Low-code、Microsoft Copilot
Related: Topic (Copilot Studio)
Low-code
A development approach that builds apps/automation mostly via configuration and drag-and-drop, with little hand-written code (some formulas allowed). Benefits: speed and frontline-led improvement.
Microsoft 365
A SaaS productivity suite delivering email, documents, and meetings in the cloud, used via per-user subscription.
Office apps (Word/Excel/PowerPoint/Outlook)
Core apps for documents/spreadsheets/presentations/email; in Microsoft 365 they stay up to date via subscription across web/desktop/mobile with co-authoring.
Prerequisites: Microsoft 365
Microsoft Teams
A collaboration hub for chat, meetings, calls, and teamwork; files are stored behind the scenes in SharePoint/OneDrive.
Related: SharePoint
Model-driven app
A Power Apps app type built on the Dataverse data model (tables), where layout (forms/views) is auto-generated; suited to data-centric, complex processes (CRM-like).
Related: Power Apps
Trigger
What starts a flow (e.g., email received, a time, a button press)—one per flow; actions follow the trigger.
Related: Action
Power Fx
Power Platform’s declarative, Excel-like formula language for low-code logic, used mainly to express canvas-app behavior; easy to learn and reusable.
Microsoft Power Pages (formerly Power Apps portals)
A Power Platform product to build low-code external-facing websites/portals; data is stored in Dataverse, and external users are controlled by anonymous/sign-in plus permissions. It is the external-facing counterpart to Power Apps (internal apps).
Topic (Copilot Studio)
A unit defining a conversation flow per user intent; started by trigger phrases and built from questions, messages, and branching.
Prerequisites: Trigger
Related: Trigger phrase、Microsoft Copilot Studio (formerly Power Virtual Agents)
Approvals (Power Automate)
A common cloud-flow use case: send an approval request and branch on approve/reject; responders can act from Teams or Outlook.
Prerequisites: Cloud flow、Office apps (Word/Excel/PowerPoint/Outlook)、Microsoft Teams、Power Automate
Data source
Where an app reads/writes data—Dataverse, SharePoint, Excel, SQL, SaaS—connected via connectors.
Prerequisites: Office apps (Word/Excel/PowerPoint/Outlook)、Connectors (Power Platform)
View
A definition of a record list for a table—which columns show, the sort order, and filter conditions; used in model-driven app list screens.
Prerequisites: Model-driven app
Microsoft Power BI
A BI tool to visualize/share data as reports (multi-page interactive analysis) and dashboards (single-screen summary).
Related: Dashboard (Power BI)、Report (Power BI)
AI Builder
A Power Platform capability to add AI (form/invoice reading, prediction, classification, object detection) to apps/flows with low code.
Prerequisites: Low-code、Form、Microsoft Power Platform
Citizen developer
A non-professional developer who uses business knowledge to build low-code/no-code apps and flows—the primary user Power Platform targets.
Prerequisites: Low-code、No-code
Related: Microsoft Power Platform
Generative AI
AI that creates new content (text, images, code) from learned data; distinct from classification/regression.
No-code
Building apps/automation with no code at all—only UI configuration. More limited than low-code but easy for non-developers.
Prerequisites: Low-code
Workspace (Power BI)
A place in the Power BI service where teams co-manage and distribute reports, dashboards, and datasets, sharing via assigned access.
Prerequisites: Microsoft Teams、Dashboard (Power BI)、Dataset、Report (Power BI)
Notifications connector
A connector that sends push notifications to the Power Automate mobile app; used to alert users of flow results. Its former email-notification action is now retired, so email is sent via a separate connector such as Office 365 Outlook.
Prerequisites: Office apps (Word/Excel/PowerPoint/Outlook)、Action、Power Automate、Power Automate Mobile
Desktop flow
A Power Automate flow that uses RPA to record/replay UI actions (clicks, typing), automating even legacy apps without APIs; built in Power Automate for Desktop.
Related: Power Automate for Desktop、Power Automate
Fusion team (with pro developers)
A team where citizen developers and professional developers collaborate, combining low-code with pro-code (Azure, custom connectors, PCF components).
Prerequisites: Citizen developer、Custom connector、Low-code、Connectors (Power Platform)
Microsoft Forms
A tool to create surveys/quizzes and collect responses; a response can trigger Power Automate to store in Dataverse or notify.
Prerequisites: Microsoft Dataverse、Collect / ClearCollect (collections)、Notify function (Power Fx)、Trigger
Gallery
A canvas-app control that lists multiple records from a data source, repeating a template for each item (row).
Prerequisites: Canvas app、Data source
Related: Controls (Power Apps)
Dashboard (Power BI)
A single-screen summary collecting key metrics (KPIs) from multiple reports; created/shared in the Power BI service (reports are multi-page, dashboards single-screen).
Prerequisites: Report (Power BI)
Related: Microsoft Power BI
Power Apps Studio
The browser-based editor for building and editing canvas apps—arrange screens, controls, data sources, and Power Fx formulas.
Prerequisites: Canvas app、Controls (Power Apps)、Data source、Power Apps
Agents (Copilot)
Customizable AIs specialized for specific tasks/knowledge that work semi-autonomously. Built-in Researcher (deep cross-source research) and Analyst (data analysis/visualization), plus custom agents built for org-specific needs.
Prerequisites: Analyst (built-in agent)、Custom agents、Researcher (built-in agent)、Visualization (visuals)
Data access governance (DAG) report
A report that surfaces widely shared SharePoint sites and sites with sensitivity labels to understand oversharing risk, serving as the starting point for remediation.
Prerequisites: Action、Report (Power BI)、SharePoint
Related: SharePoint oversharing controls
SharePoint oversharing controls
Because Copilot inherits existing permissions, oversharing can surface sensitive data via Copilot. Use the data access governance report to find widely shared / sensitivity-labeled sites and remediate with restricted site access in SharePoint Advanced Management.
Prerequisites: Controls (Power Apps)、Report (Power BI)、SharePoint
Related: Data access governance (DAG) report
Microsoft Entra ID
Cloud identity/access management (formerly Azure AD) providing MFA/SSO/Conditional Access; distinct from on-prem AD DS.
Salesforce connector
A connector to Salesforce CRM data; a typical example of integrating an external SaaS. A premium connector.
Prerequisites: Connectors (Power Platform)、Premium connector
Trigger phrase
Example user utterances that start a topic; registering several lets similar phrasings match the right topic.
Prerequisites: Trigger
Related: Topic (Copilot Studio)
Custom connector
A connector you define for a proprietary/internal REST API not covered by built-ins, so it can be called from Power Apps and Power Automate.
Prerequisites: Power Apps、Power Automate、Connectors (Power Platform)
Relationship (Dataverse)
Associations between tables—one-to-many (one parent, many children) and many-to-many (both sides many)—used to reference and filter related data.
Prerequisites: Microsoft Dataverse
Microsoft Dynamics 365
A suite of business apps (sales, customer service, finance) built on Dataverse, so it shares data and extensibility directly with Power Platform.
Prerequisites: Microsoft Dataverse
Related: Microsoft Power Platform
Scheduled cloud flow
A cloud flow that runs on a schedule (daily, weekly); used for recurring reports or periodic checks.
Prerequisites: Cloud flow、Report (Power BI)
Flow types (automated/instant/scheduled)
Cloud flows classified by trigger: automated (event, e.g., email), instant (manual/button), scheduled (timed).
Prerequisites: Cloud flow、Trigger
Notify function (Power Fx)
Shows a banner message (success/error/info) at the top of the screen; used to notify of saves or input errors.
Prerequisites: Power Fx
Microsoft Copilot
A ready-to-use generative AI assistant built into Microsoft 365, Windows, GitHub, and more.
Prerequisites: Generative AI、Microsoft 365
Container
A canvas-app element that groups controls and auto-arranges them by screen size; used to build responsive layouts.
Prerequisites: Canvas app、Controls (Power Apps)
Dataset
The ingested, shaped data and model (tables, relationships, measures) a report references; one can back multiple reports. In Power BI this content type was renamed to "semantic model" in November 2023.
Prerequisites: Microsoft Power BI
Related: Report (Power BI)
Power Apps component framework (PCF)
Lets pro developers build custom controls (code components) in code and add them to canvas/model-driven apps; a hallmark of fusion development.
Prerequisites: Fusion team (with pro developers)、Model-driven app、Controls (Power Apps)、Power Apps
Power Platform admin center
The admin portal to centrally manage environments, capacity, DLP policies, analytics, and settings, including per-product (Power Apps/Automate) administration.
Prerequisites: Power Apps、Microsoft Power Platform、Capacity、Data loss prevention policy (Power Platform)
Component (Power Pages)
Building blocks placed on pages—text, image, form, list (a view of Dataverse data), iFrame—arranged by drag-and-drop.
Prerequisites: Microsoft Dataverse、Form、View、Microsoft Power Pages (formerly Power Apps portals)
Table permissions (Power Pages)
Controls which Dataverse table rows external visitors can read/write, combined with web roles; public does not mean fully open.
Prerequisites: Microsoft Dataverse、Controls (Power Apps)、Microsoft Power Pages (formerly Power Apps portals)
Related: Web role
Analyst (built-in agent)
One of Microsoft 365 Copilot’s built-in agents. It analyzes and visualizes raw data, using a code interpreter to help with calculations and report building.
Prerequisites: Microsoft 365、Report (Power BI)
Copilot licensing and billing
Copilot offers a fixed monthly license and pay-as-you-go (PAYG, applied to uses like SharePoint agents) billed by usage; PAYG cost is managed via billing policies. Licenses are assigned to users/groups in the Microsoft 365 admin center.
Prerequisites: Microsoft 365、SharePoint
Related: Copilot pay-as-you-go (PAYG)
AI Builder model types
The AI types in AI Builder—form processing (extract from documents), object detection, prediction, category classification, text recognition—trained/used low-code.
Prerequisites: AI Builder、Low-code、Form
Agent (Copilot Studio)
A conversational assistant built in Copilot Studio (formerly bot/chatbot); handles questions and real actions via topics, knowledge, and Power Automate.
Prerequisites: Microsoft Copilot Studio (formerly Power Virtual Agents)、Topic (Copilot Studio)、Power Automate
Attachments (control)
A control to attach and view files; placed on a form to attach documents or images to a record.
Prerequisites: Controls (Power Apps)、Form、View
Camera (control)
A control that captures photos with the device camera; used in inspection apps to save images to Dataverse or SharePoint.
Prerequisites: Microsoft Dataverse、Controls (Power Apps)、SharePoint
Data table (control)
A read-only control that shows records in a table (rows/columns); used for lists where a grid view fits better than a gallery.
Prerequisites: Controls (Power Apps)、Gallery、View
Dropdown
A control to pick one item from a list; bind it to a choice column or table values to prevent input variation.
Prerequisites: Choice column
Related: Controls (Power Apps)
Dataflows
Uses Power Query to get/shape data from external sources and load it into Dataverse, etc., on a recurring basis; automates repeatable data prep.
Prerequisites: Microsoft Dataverse、Power Query
Dataverse for Teams
A lightweight Dataverse inside Microsoft Teams; build team apps/flows/bots without extra licensing (with capacity/feature limits).
Prerequisites: Microsoft Dataverse、Microsoft Teams、Capacity
Dataverse search
Full-text search across multiple tables returning relevance-ranked results, helping users quickly find records in model-driven apps and Power Pages.
Prerequisites: Microsoft Dataverse、Model-driven app、Microsoft Power Pages (formerly Power Apps portals)
Business rule
A no-code way in Dataverse to apply logic—require fields, set defaults, validate values, show/hide fields—at the table level, independent of any form.
Prerequisites: Microsoft Dataverse、No-code、Form
Column (Dataverse)
A field on a table with a type (text, number, date, choice, lookup) and rules like required; formerly called a field.
Prerequisites: Microsoft Dataverse、LookUp function (Power Fx)
Import/export data (Dataverse)
Loading from Excel/CSV into tables or exporting from them, with column mapping and duplicate detection; Dataflows enable recurring ingestion.
Prerequisites: Dataflows、Microsoft Dataverse、Office apps (Word/Excel/PowerPoint/Outlook)
Table (Dataverse)
The unit that stores data in Dataverse (a set of rows); standard tables (e.g., Account) and custom tables (your own); formerly called entities.
Prerequisites: Microsoft Dataverse
Automated cloud flow
A cloud flow triggered automatically by an event (email received, item created); the most common automation pattern.
Prerequisites: Cloud flow
Instant cloud flow
A cloud flow started manually (e.g., a button press); run on demand from an app or mobile button.
Prerequisites: Cloud flow
LookUp function (Power Fx)
Returns the first record (or a column value) matching a condition; used to fetch a single record.
Prerequisites: Power Fx
Patch function (Power Fx)
Creates or updates a record; used to write to a data source without a form.
Prerequisites: Data source、Form、Power Fx
Screen
One page of a canvas app where controls are placed; apps are composed by navigating between screens.
Prerequisites: Canvas app、Controls (Power Apps)
Power Automate for Desktop
The Windows app to build and run desktop flows (RPA), automating UI actions via recording and action steps.
Prerequisites: Action、Power Automate
Related: Desktop flow
Power Automate Mobile
A mobile app to run flows, respond to approvals, and check notifications from a phone; also triggers button flows.
Prerequisites: Approvals (Power Automate)、Power Automate
Capacity
License-tied resource amounts—Dataverse database/file/log storage and API request limits—monitored and allocated in the admin center.
Prerequisites: Microsoft Dataverse
Design studio (Power Pages)
Power Pages’ site-building editor with Pages, Styling, Data, and Set up workspaces to compose a site low-code.
Prerequisites: Low-code、Workspace (Power BI)、Microsoft Power Pages (formerly Power Apps portals)
Data loss prevention policy (Power Platform)
Classifies connectors as business/non-business/blocked to prevent sensitive data from mixing or leaking through disallowed paths; applied per environment or tenant-wide.
Prerequisites: Microsoft Power Platform、Connectors (Power Platform)
Environment (Power Platform)
An isolated container for apps, flows, and Dataverse data—used to separate by department or Dev/Test/Prod; each has its own security boundary.
Prerequisites: Microsoft Dataverse、Container、Microsoft Power Platform
Security role (Dataverse)
A role bundling create/read/update/delete privileges per table/column/row in Dataverse, assigned to users or teams to enforce least privilege.
Prerequisites: Microsoft Dataverse、Row (record)、Microsoft Teams
Rollup column (Dataverse)
A Dataverse column that automatically aggregates related child rows (sum, count, min/max, etc.). It recalculates on an asynchronous, periodic job rather than instantly, unlike a calculated column (same-row formula, evaluated immediately)—a common exam distinction.
Prerequisites: Calculated column (DAX)、Microsoft Dataverse、Column (Dataverse)
RPA (robotic process automation)
Technology where a software robot mimics human UI actions (click, type, copy) to automate work; in Power Automate this is desktop flows—useful when there is no API.
Prerequisites: Desktop flow、Power Automate
Copilot administration (usage and prompts)
Monitor usage and adoption via Copilot Analytics and Microsoft 365 admin center reports to drive enablement and license optimization. Prompt management saves, shares, schedules, and deletes frequently used prompts to reuse/standardize them across the org.
Prerequisites: Microsoft 365、Report (Power BI)
Custom agents
Agents built for an organization’s specific tasks and knowledge. Created in tools like Copilot Studio and published/managed through an approval process.
Prerequisites: Microsoft Copilot Studio (formerly Power Virtual Agents)
Copilot pay-as-you-go (PAYG)
A Copilot model billed by usage, separate from the fixed monthly license. Applied to uses like SharePoint agents, with cost managed via billing policies.
Prerequisites: SharePoint
Related: Copilot licensing and billing
Researcher (built-in agent)
One of Microsoft 365 Copilot’s built-in agents. It performs deep research across internal data and the web, working through complex investigation tasks step by step.
Prerequisites: Microsoft 365
AI governance
A framework for governing generative AI across an organization: model cards (documenting use/limits), data/model lineage (provenance), CloudTrail audit trails, plus approval flows and access control—ensuring accountability, compliance, and reproducibility.
Prerequisites: Generative AI、Controls (Power Apps)
Role-based access control (RBAC)
Authorization that grants permissions by assigning roles to identities at a scope; least privilege, inherited downward.
Prerequisites: Authorization (AuthZ)、Controls (Power Apps)
Lookup column
A column referencing a record in another table; creates a one-to-many relationship to link related data (e.g., order→account).
Prerequisites: Relationship (Dataverse)、LookUp function (Power Fx)
Knowledge and generative answers
Providing internal docs or websites as knowledge so generative AI answers naturally without hand-built topics (generative answers).
Prerequisites: Topic (Copilot Studio)、Generative AI
Combo box
A searchable control that also supports multi-select; used instead of a dropdown for long lists or multiple choices.
Prerequisites: Dropdown、Controls (Power Apps)
Date picker
A control to pick a date from a calendar; used for date columns to avoid format issues and invalid dates.
Prerequisites: Date and time column、Controls (Power Apps)
Icon (control)
A control showing symbol icons (arrow, trash, edit) that can run actions when pressed; used as small action buttons.
Prerequisites: Action、Controls (Power Apps)
Image (control)
A control that displays images—static, captured from the camera, or sourced from data.
Prerequisites: Controls (Power Apps)、Data source
Business process flow
In model-driven apps, guides users through stage-by-stage steps (e.g., sales-stage management); distinct from Power Automate flow automation.
Prerequisites: Model-driven app、Power Automate
Filter function (Power Fx)
Extracts only records matching a condition; used to narrow galleries/lists—writing it to be delegable matters.
Form functions (SubmitForm/NewForm/EditForm)
Functions to operate a form control: SubmitForm saves input, NewForm starts a new record, EditForm switches to edit mode.
Prerequisites: Controls (Power Apps)、Form
Managed services (management boundary)
A categorization by how much AWS operates for you. The more fully managed (AWS handles patching/scaling/availability), the lower your operational burden but less control; unmanaged (e.g., EC2) is flexible but self-operated. It frames “where your responsibility ends” in the shared responsibility model.
Prerequisites: Controls (Power Apps)
Copilot control
A canvas-app control embedding a chat-style AI assistant so users can ask about and act on app data in natural language.
Prerequisites: Canvas app、Controls (Power Apps)
Expressions
Function expressions inside a flow that transform/compute data (format dates, concatenate strings, conditions), combined with dynamic content to build action inputs.
Prerequisites: Concatenate (string join)、Action
Responsive design
Designing layouts that auto-adjust to screen size (PC/tablet/phone); in canvas apps, achieved with containers and formulas.
Prerequisites: Canvas app、Container
Cloud flow templates
Prebuilt patterns for common automations (save attachments, notify, approve) so you can start a flow quickly instead of from scratch.
Prerequisites: Cloud flow、Notify function (Power Fx)
Visualization (visuals)
Showing data with chart elements (bar, line, pie, map, table, KPI) placed on a report to convey trends and comparisons at a glance.
Related: Report (Power BI)
Sensitive data protection (PII / masking)
Protecting sensitive data such as PII (personally identifiable information) and PHI: discover/classify with Macie, then protect via encryption, access control, and minimization. Masking/tokenization hides values, and handling varies by data classification; also prevent sensitive data leaking into logs.
Prerequisites: Data classification (SITs / trainable classifiers)、Controls (Power Apps)
Power Apps Mobile
A mobile app (iOS/Android) to run published canvas/model-driven apps; can use device features like camera and location.
Prerequisites: Model-driven app、Power Apps
Power Query
Power BI’s data-prep engine to get data from sources and clean/shape it (remove columns, change types, merge); steps are repeatable.
Prerequisites: Microsoft Power BI
Accessibility
Designing so people with disabilities can use apps (contrast, alt text, keyboard, screen readers); Power Apps includes an accessibility checker.
Prerequisites: Screen、Power Apps
Solution (Power Platform)
A package bundling apps, flows, tables, etc., to move artifacts across environments (dev→test→prod); managed/unmanaged, the basis of ALM.
Prerequisites: Managed services (management boundary)、Microsoft Power Platform
Web role
A role assigned to Power Pages visitors (anonymous/authenticated), tied to table permissions to decide who can see or submit what.
Prerequisites: Microsoft Power Pages (formerly Power Apps portals)
Related: Table permissions (Power Pages)
Process advisor
A Power Automate capability that records your actions (task mining) to analyze time and steps and find what to automate; the counterpart to process mining.
Prerequisites: Power Automate、Process Mining
Process Mining
A Power Automate capability that ingests event logs from real systems to visualize and analyze how processes actually run, finding bottlenecks and automation opportunities.
Prerequisites: Power Automate
App registrations and enterprise apps
An app registration is the blueprint (template) for registering an app in Entra ID. An enterprise application is the service principal—the instance of that registration in each tenant—representing sign-in and permissions.
Prerequisites: Microsoft Entra ID
Data classification (SITs / trainable classifiers)
Data classification identifies content using sensitive information types (patterns like credit cards or national IDs) and trainable classifiers. It informs where to apply sensitivity labels and DLP.
Identity Secure Score
A numeric measure of identity posture in Microsoft Entra ID. It shows the current score and recommended improvements, guiding actions like enforcing MFA or Conditional Access.
Prerequisites: Microsoft Entra ID
License assignment (direct / group-based)
Access to Microsoft 365 and Copilot features depends on license type, assigned directly to users or in bulk via group-based licensing. Copilot needs a separate license on top of existing M365 licenses.
Prerequisites: Microsoft 365
Calculated column (DAX)
A column precomputed per row and stored in the model; unlike a measure it is stored, so it can bloat the model—prefer source-side or measures.
Power Platform CoE Starter Kit
A Microsoft-provided set of templates to monitor and govern tenant-wide Power Platform use (CoE = Center of Excellence); inventories apps/flows and automates governance.
Prerequisites: Microsoft Power Platform
Date and time column
A column storing dates or date-times; configure date-only vs date-time and time-zone behavior.
Azure Blob Storage connector
A connector to read/write files in Azure object storage (Blob); used to store large files. Premium.
Prerequisites: Connectors (Power Platform)
HTTP connector
A general connector that calls any web API directly; integrates over REST with services lacking a dedicated connector. Premium.
Prerequisites: Connectors (Power Platform)
Office 365 Users connector
A connector to fetch org user profiles (manager, department, contacts); used to determine approvers or show profiles.
Prerequisites: Connectors (Power Platform)
OneDrive for Business connector
A connector to save/get files in personal cloud storage (OneDrive for Business); used to save attachments in flows.
Prerequisites: Connectors (Power Platform)
SQL Server connector
A connector to read/write existing SQL Server (on-prem/Azure) tables; on-prem may need a data gateway. Premium.
Prerequisites: Connectors (Power Platform)
Connection reference
An abstraction that makes a flow’s connector connection portable in a solution; rebind to the actual connection per environment.
Prerequisites: Connectors (Power Platform)
Channel (publishing target)
Where a built agent is published—Microsoft Teams, your website, other messaging targets.
Prerequisites: Microsoft Teams
Entity (Copilot Studio)
A type of information to extract from conversation (date, number, city, email); pulls values from utterances to pass to flows or answers.
Prerequisites: Microsoft Copilot Studio (formerly Power Virtual Agents)
Barcode scanner
A control that reads barcodes/QR codes with the device camera; quickly enters identifiers for inventory/asset apps.
Prerequisites: Controls (Power Apps)
Label (control)
A basic control that displays text or numbers (values or descriptions); it does not accept input.
Prerequisites: Controls (Power Apps)
Text input
A control where users type text or numbers; configure format (text/number/password), default, and multiline.
Related: Controls (Power Apps)
Toggle
A switch-style control toggling on/off; used to input boolean (yes/no) values—similar to a checkbox.
Prerequisites: Controls (Power Apps)
Choice column
A column type that limits input to predefined options (formerly option set), preventing variations and keeping data consistent; single or multi-select.
Row (record)
One item of data in a table, holding values across its columns; formerly called a record.
Microsoft Entra ID Protection
Computes user/sign-in risk from leaked credentials, impossible travel, etc., integrating with Conditional Access.
Prerequisites: Microsoft Entra ID
Production environment
An environment for production apps/flows; backed by Dataverse and typically created per purpose or team.
Prerequisites: Microsoft Dataverse
Environment variables (Power Platform)
Settings whose values differ per environment; shipped in a solution so endpoints/URLs change dev→prod without editing apps.
Prerequisites: Microsoft Power Platform
Collect / ClearCollect (collections)
Add to or reset an in-app temporary table (collection); used to hold temporary data or work offline.
Concatenate (string join)
Joins multiple strings into one (the & operator also works); used to build full names or display text.
If function (Power Fx)
Returns different values depending on whether a condition is true; used for show/hide, coloring, and validation.
Prerequisites: Power Fx
IsBlank function (Power Fx)
Tests whether a value is blank; used for required-field checks and default handling (distinct from an empty string).
Prerequisites: Power Fx
Search function (Power Fx)
Extracts records whose text contains the entered string (partial match); used for search-box filtering.
Prerequisites: Power Fx
Sort / SortByColumns functions
Sort records by a column ascending/descending; controls list display order.
Prerequisites: Controls (Power Apps)
Microsoft Azure (with Power Platform)
Microsoft’s cloud platform; Power Platform connects to Azure for advanced development and AI/data (Azure Functions, API Management, Azure OpenAI).
Prerequisites: Microsoft Power Platform
Delegation
Pushing filtering/sorting to the data source instead of the app, so large datasets work correctly and fast; using non-delegable functions may process only part of the data.
Prerequisites: Data source
ALM (application lifecycle management)
The practice of managing and promoting apps dev→test→prod; in Power Platform, done with solutions, environments, and pipelines.
Prerequisites: Microsoft Power Platform
Page (Power Pages)
A single web page composing a Power Pages site—place sections and components to build content, linked via navigation.
Prerequisites: Microsoft Power Pages (formerly Power Apps portals)
Security group (environment)
Uses a Microsoft Entra ID group to restrict which users can access an environment, scoping membership per environment.
Prerequisites: Microsoft Entra ID
Power Pages templates
Prebuilt site templates for common uses (event registration, contact, FAQ); publish quickly instead of starting from scratch.
Prerequisites: Microsoft Power Pages (formerly Power Apps portals)
Theme (Power Pages)
Settings that define a site’s overall colors, fonts, and styles, letting you change the look to match a brand at once.
Prerequisites: Microsoft Power Pages (formerly Power Apps portals)