In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, Microsoft Copilot is revolutionizing how developers create Canvas Apps, making it easier than ever to harness the full potential of the Power Platform. With its advanced natural language processing capabilities, Copilot empowers users—regardless of their technical expertise—to swiftly build and customize Canvas Apps that meet specific business needs. This game-changing tool not only accelerates app development but also enhances productivity by streamlining the design process. Whether you’re a seasoned developer or a citizen developer, mastering how to use Microsoft Copilot will unlock new opportunities for app creation, enabling you to deliver innovative solutions in record time.
Let’s talk about how you can create a Canvas app in seconds. Copilot is changing the way functional developers operate and now you can create a full Canvas app using natural language. Copilot is game changing technology and if you are wanting to learn more, check out this post here.
These features I’m showing you were announced by Microsoft at the beginning of 2023. They are now releasing them as parts of the 2023 Release wave 2 to the Power Platform. Microsoft has already announced some mind blowing things that Copilot is going to be able to do in the Power Platform for end users and developers. Unfortunately, some of these things are just not all available today. With all of this being said, let’s talk about how powerful Copilot is.
How to Create a Canvas App with Copilot
Navigate to the Power Apps Maker Portal. The first thing you will notice is there is now a dedicated space on the Home Page for using Copilot in Power Apps.
You will see that there is a text box that allows you to converse directly with Copilot. You can type any prompt into this box to create custom apps for your business. Just above the text box, you will find that there are pre-made generated prompts, Copilot provides. Clicking one of these is going to automatically fill the prompt into the text box. As a creator, you can then update the premade prompt however you seem fit before submitting it to Copilot to create your app.
Once you have an effective prompt typed out, you can submit the prompt to Copilot by clicking the arrow in the bottom right hand corner of the text box.
Once Copilot understands your prompt, it is going to generate a Table for you. This table is used by your app and is Copilot’s best guess as to what you are needing based off your prompt. This table is completely configurable. You can change the fields in the view provided and more from this screen. However, if you feel that this table is too far from what you are needing, I would recommend going back and defining your prompt to be a little more clear. This way, Copilot can generate you a better table for your scenario.
Once you have your table configured, go ahead and in the bottom right hand corner of the screen hit Create App.
Immediately, you are directed to a loading webpage where Copilot initiates the creation of your app. This process may take a few minutes, so there is no need to refresh the page. Once the app is created, you are automatically redirected to the Canvas app maker. Therefore, if it takes a while, there is no need to worry as you are in the correct place. You have not missed any steps!
How to Make Updates to your Canvas App with Copilot
You find yourself in the Canvas App Maker and you are wanting to utilize Copilot to update features of your app. This is particularly handy if you feel that you do not have the time, or the technical expertise to do so.
Currently, Copilot allows you to add a gallery, a button, or a text label. You can have it update existing things like make the font in a certain label bold, change the background color, or change the font color in the text label. Also, Copilot can do more than just update a font size, or add a button. Copilot can add entire App screens or write Power Fx functions for a button’s OnSelect property.
The possibilities feel endless and Microsoft has only just begun to introduce these capabilities across their suite.
If you created your app with Copilot, then the Copilot Help Pane will open automatically in the app maker. If you do not see the Copilot Help Pane, you can actually still access this by going to this top right hand corner and selecting the Copilot pane.
Let’s see how Copilot can update our app.
Tips for Creating Apps with Copilot
- Have the component you want Copilot to be updating selected on screen
- Type out the exact name of the component (Instead of “The Button” say “Button1”)
- Be sure that you are giving Copilot a clear objective
- Ensure that there are no typo’s in your prompt
How to Make Updates to your Canvas App with Copilot
I need to share a quick disclaimer. I found that Copilot can be a little tricky at the moment, but I’ll be sure to share all the tips and tricks that I found through my experience. Sometimes it’ll just say, “I don’t understand what you’re asking”. I’m sure this is just because it’s new functionality and it is only going to get better and better.
Copilot is going to begin working once you submit your prompt. Note: you can always undo any change Copilot makes to your app with the click of a button. After your message, Copilot will always respond with message that will outline the success of it understanding your prompt, the component it created or updated, and an Undo button.
The last thing to note, I would recommend utilizing the generated prompts. Much like in the maker portal, Copilot generates popular prompts for app makers to use faster. Selecting a prompt will automatically submit the request and the component can be further configured manually, or with Copilot.
In Conclusion
Creating and updating Canvas Apps with Copilot can feel tricky at the moment but it truly is a tool that can and should be leveraged by citizen developers everywhere. It may feel like you are trying to dance with two left feet but as this technology continues to develop and we, as users, continue to learn how to use the tool, the success rates are only going to climb.
In conclusion, Copilot is a revolutionary tool that can help you create Canvas Apps in the Power Platform with ease and efficiency. Copilot can generate code, components, and logic for your app based on natural language prompts. You can also customize and refine your app with Copilot’s suggestions and tips. Copilot is still in preview mode, but it has shown great promise and potential for Power Platform developers.
If you are interested in checking out how I used Copilot to create several different Power Automate Cloud Flows, be sure to check out this post here. Happy Developing!