Wrap Feature of Canvas Apps for Android store deployment

Overview:  I am going to use the wrap feature for Canvas Apps to make a separate deployable package (apk) for Android devices.   Ensure you have setup the Wrap solution so the feature is available in each environment you deploy to.  

Tip: Wrap deployment has many nuances, I try take them away by have Admin on the Power Platform tenant and Azure.  Not ideal for enterprise client deployment.

Power Platform Setup:

There are a few ways to get to the wrap screens, here I click the vertical ellipses, and select "Wrap"

Walk thru the wizard as shown below, step 1, select the apps 

Step 2 - choose mobile platform

I need to disable signing to get Android/apk to build.  i.e. Under "Sign my app", turn it off.

Step 3 - Configure Branding

Step 4 Register a new app

Complete step 4 Register your app (ensure all boxes are ticked and green)

Step 5.  Manage Output - you need to get a Auth token by selecting the "Get App Center token" button and signing in (I'm a tenant admin and have AAD Admin rights)

Step 6. Build the App and wait to ensure it completes

Step 7. Verify Build

Step 8. Check you App Center

Note: On the Power Platform tenant, you may need to change configuration to allow third party apps.  I add this once per tenant i.e. not per mobile app on a tenant.  So i just need to to this once per DTAP env e.g. Production.

PS> Install-Module -Name Microsoft.PowerApps.Administration.PowerShell

PS> Install-Module -Name Microsoft.PowerApps.PowerShell -AllowClobber

PS> Add-AdminAllowedThirdPartyApps -ApplicationId 84xx-xxx-xxx-xxx

Update: 1 Aug 2023: I can't get the build to work for pkgfiles and the wizard is returning multiple js errors during the process.  I delete my organisation, create new organisations and Apps.

Image. Cannot build apk package in app centre

Other: 
Deep link into Wrapped Canvas Apps Use deep links with wrapped native mobile apps - Power Apps | Microsoft Learn

Logging and Monitoring Advanced Canvas Apps

Overview: Most Canvas apps reach back to 3rd parties or internal storage e.g. SQL, Dataverse, blobs to persist data.  In an ideal world we want to be able to identify error and performance concerns and be able to trace quickly.

Scenario: A canvas app performs a search against a custom connector, that goes to an external API, for example search's for Company Numbers from an Open API.

• The annotated diagram, in orange records the button pressed to run the search.  This only shows if the "Upcoming feature", "Enable Azure Application Insights correlation tracing" is enabled.
• A custom connector, in blue, makes  a call to an REST/Open API.
• The last call is to an external API, highlighted in purple, (in this case it was actually a mocked APIM endpoint, but the icon would change it it was totally external such as call API search to the IRS, HMRC, Inland Revenue.

Tip: Always create App Insight Instances using a workspace and not the classic-mode app insights as it is being deprecated by Microsoft in early 2024.

App Insights Understanding:

App Insights setup using the Workspace-based setup (Log Analytics) can be queried in two ways:

• Query thru App Insights
• Query thru the Log Analytics workspace (the Kusto/KQL is slightly different, but it's rather minor)

Tip: If you upgrade from classic to the workspace base app Insights, the log history is still "query-able" as App Insights combines the logs from AppInsights Classic (stored in app insights directly) and the logs stored in Log Analytics.

Tip: Power Automate has a connector to Log Analytics so it's good to use this for flows so you can trace canvas apps using flow journeys.  Most people tend to build a custom connector to a function that uses the AppInsights SDK.  I've used both and they are both valid approaches and shown in the annotated diagram below.

The two options for logging Flows into App Insights.

Note: If you create a new App Insights workspace-based instance remember to update the loggers in all you Azure Services to the new instance (app key).  For example functions, APIM and Service Bus are common components.

Note: You can log to multiple workspace/app insights in a tenant and the correlations will be retrieved so you see the full history, assuming you have permissions to all log sources.

Learning: the instrumentation key for app insights has 3 parts to it: 

1) instrumentation key (basically a unique identified to find and allow logs to be saved into AppInsights, 

2) ingestion endpoint (URL for the log), and 

3) monitoring metric endpoint (URL for metrics/performance counters/live metrics/failed requests/). 

Here is an example and you can see the 3 parts:

InstrumentationKey=2675bxxx-xxxb-xxxx-bf5558009ccf;IngestionEndpoint=https://uksouth-1.in.applicationinsights.azure.com/;LiveEndpoint=https://uksouth.livediagnostics.monitor.azure.com/

Uploading files to a Dataverse table using the "Add picture" control in a Canvas App

Overview: I need to be able to upload pictures or an file for that matter and persist the file in a Dataverse entity.  This took me a little longer than it should have.

Notes: I added a "Add picture" control to the screen, I also added a label and a icon ro Clear the uploaded image.

I also added a save button, here I persist to a Dataverse table named "Evidence", The Evidence table has a column called "File" of type "File". The part that took me awhile in the Patch statement was getting the file into the correct format (as it is a record not a picture).  This works for any file upload but has the drawback of needing to change the lookup to "All file types".  

Power Platform Logging, Monitoring, and Alerting

This post relates to a previous strategy blog post, read that first https://www.pbeck.co.uk/2023/02/setting-up-azure-application-insights.html

Overview:  Microsoft uses Azure Application Insights to natively monitor Power Apps using an instrumentation key at the app level.  To log for model driven apps and Dataverse this is a Power Platform config at the environment level e.g. UAT, Prod.

When setting up Application Insights, use the Log Analytics workspace approach and not the "Classic" option as this is being deprecated.

Power Apps (Canvas Apps): Always add the instrumentation key to all canvas apps, it is set in the "App" level within each canvas app.  Deploy solutions brings challenges with changing keys for app insights logging (unmanaged layers).

"Enable correlation tracing" feature imo. should always be turned on, it is still an experimental feature but with it off, the logging is based on a sessionid

"Pass errors to Azure Application Insights" is also an experimental feature.  Consider turning it on.

Canvas Apps have "Monitor", Model driven apps also have this ability to monitor, and Power automate has it's own monitoring

Log to App Insights (put app insights on Azure Log analytics), simple example with customDimensions/record.

Trace("My PB app ... TaxAPI.NinoSearch Error - Search - btnABC",
        TraceSeverity.Error, // use the appropriate tracing level
        {
            myappName: $"PB App: {gblTheme.AppName}",
            myappError: FirstError.Message,  // optional
            myappEnvironment: gblEnv,
            myappErrorCode: 10010,
            myappCorrelationId: GUID() // unique correlationId
        }
    );

Query the logs using kusto:

traces
| extend errCode = tostring(customDimensions["myappErrorCode"]), err = tostring(customDimensions["myappError"])
| where errCode == "100100"

Coming June 2023

Push cloud flow execution data into Application Insights | Microsoft Learn

Allows logging to tie Flows back to the calling Canvas app.  You can now do this manually but it has to be applied at all calls to or after the flow.

Below is a basic checklist of decisions to ensure you have suitable logging

Logging Checklist:

1. Setup Azure Log Analytics (1 per DTAP env e.g. uat, prd)
2. Get the workspace key needed for logging to Log analytics "Agents" > "Log Analytics agent instructions", copy the Workspace Id and the Secondary Key
3. Create an Azure Application Insights per DTAP
4. Each Canvas app needs an instrumentation key (check, have you aligned DTAP log instances with the Canvas App DTAP)
5. Power Automate has great monitoring, but it is a good idea to setup logging for Dataverse (which shall cover model apps), done thru Power Platform Admin Studio > Environment
6. Enable Logging Preview Feature for Canvas apps & check the power automate push cloud execution feature state.
7. Do you have logging patterns in you Canvas app for errors, do you add tracing, and is it applied consistently?
8. Do you have a Pattern for Power Automate runs from Canvas apps?  I like to log if the workflow errors after the call.
9. Do you have a Pattern for Custom Connectors?
10. Do you correlation trace Custom API (internal and 3rd party)? 
11. Do you have a Try, Catch, Finally scope/pattern for Workflows.  How do you write to the logs, most common is to use an Azure Function with the C# SDK.  I like to use the Azure Log Analytics Connector in my catch scope to push error info into the workspace log using a custom table.
12. Ensure all Azure Services have instrumentation keys. Common examples are Azure Functions, Azure Service Bus, API Manager, the list goes on...
13. Do you implement custom APIM monitoring configuration?
14. Do you use the SDK in your code (Functions etc.)?
15. Setup Availability tests - super useful for 3rd party API's.

Once you have the logs captured and traceable (Monitor & Alerting Checklist):

1. Create Queries to help find data
2. Create monitoring dashboard using the data
3. Use OOTB monitoring for Azure and the platform
4. Consider linking/embedding to other monitors i.e. Power Automate, DevOps, Postman Monitor
5. Setup alerting within the Azure Log Workspace using groups, don't over email.  For information alerts, send to Slack or Teams (very simple to setup a webhook or incoming email on a channel to monitor)
6. Power Automate has connectors for adaptive cards channel messaging, consider using directly in Flows or from alerts, push the data into a flow that will log the alert using an adaptive card right into the monitoring channel.

Setting up Azure Application Insights for Monitoring Power Platform Canvas Apps

Overview: We are building key applications in Power Apps.  It is essential that the appropriate level of monitoring, alerting, and ability to trace is setup.  The diagram below provides an overview of likely solutions.  

The top half of the diagram should call out the client components used in the application, you need to add instrumentation keys to ensure the logging is done to the correct DTAP environment instance, i.e., production components used in the solution must point to the production instance of Azure Application Insights.  The diagram only deals with Production.  I prefer to point the lower env to a non-pro instance.

The bottom half discuss decisions that are key to make the monitoring and alerting successful.  It should aim to:

1. Ensure errors are detected, 
2. Can be traced,
3. System is healthy, 
4. Are any components down,
5. Performance is stable or not,
6. Warn me before the system goes down,
7. Alerting is setup (don't over alert and ensure it is focused to the right people), and
8. Validate deployments.     

I turn on the experimental features:

A gotcha to App Insights in Canvas apps applies to Managed solutions, if you add an app insights instrumentation key, or leave it blank, there is no easy way to override the value.  You can add an unmanaged layer but the issue is when you next deploy the app only updates the the new version once the unmanaged layer is removed and you will need then then manually add the Unmanaged layer after each deployment with the appropriate app insights instrumentation key.  There are workarounds with extracting the solutions and amending the setting, then repackaging using the Power Apps CLI but it has issues.

Other thoughts:

It is a good idea to use the App Insight SDK's to trace key info within each service

Power Automate should use the try catch function pattern for logging.  I log to Azure Log Analytics using the built in Power Apps connector.

Testing Power Apps using Microsoft Playwright with C#

Overview: I am using a C# Console app to run my power Apps to verify that it is working correctly.

Approach:  I'm not using NodeJs but I'll use C# and add it into my devOps pipelines.  I assume you have VS Code installed (you need the C# extensions, I have kept my notes at the bottom of the post).  I'm using .NET 6 core SDK and the Microsoft.Playwright package.  I'm not using any of the .NET testing frameworks to keep it simple.

Tips: Playwright by default use headless browser testing, I want the test to use my local JWT that I have stored against my Chrome browser.  If I tell Playwright to use show the browser i.e., headless=false, it logs me in using my cached credentials.  You should parameterise the login and store the username/pswd somewhere secure like a key vault. 

Code Example: 

Replace the C# code in the console as I have done above, and hit F5 (Run>Debug).  The test logs me into the Canvas app and returns the Title of the page. 

Note:  I like the Canvas app testing feature but this is better as I can easily add testing to my CI/CD pipelines, tooling and recording is better and there are more ways I can use the Playwright approach.  

Notes for installing Playwright on VSCode to use C#

1. Install VS Code and add the following two extensions

2. Open the VS Code terminal, create a C# Console app using .NET6, add the reference to the Playwright package, install the headless browsers against you profile (only needed once per machine). 

3. Write and run the tests.  Tip: It's easier to record the code and then add it to the C# console.

Note: It's worthwhile using NUnit as it's much easier to test than doing it the way I've done it here.

Playwright using the NUnit framework:

Power Apps issue with OptionSets Syntax irregularity

Problems: OptionSets in Power Apps (Canvas apps can be a little nasty to work with, today I took a couple of hours  trying to use an OptionSet to filter results.  This should have taken 5 minutes but there is a weird behavior when using switch or if statements to dynamically filter using options sets.

Hypothesis:  using if/switch logic when using an OptionSet in Dataverse to filter results in the code being change/interpreted incorrectly at run time. 

Resolution:  Use a variable to hold the dynamic OptionSet choice as shown above.  I hope this post can help anyone having issues relating to Option sets for filtering and updating.

In the example below I show how to Insert a new Row using a Patch where the row contains an OptionSet.  It's ugly but, it works...

On the Save...

Set(orgType, Blank());

If(

    <ddlOrgType.Value> = "Personal", Set(orgType, 'Org Type'.'Sole Trader'),

    <ddlOrgType.Value> = "Incorporated", Set(orgType, 'Org Type'.'Limited Company'),

    <ddlOrgType.Value> = "Partnership", Set(orgType, 'Org Type'.'Partnership')

    );

Insert the new row for Subject

Deploying a Canvas App direct to mobile devices

Overview:  Canvas apps have a feature called "Wrap" that can take a canvas app via a solution and allow it to be access naively on iOS and Droid.  This allow users to open the canvas app without going thru the Power Apps client on their mobile device.  The apps can be shipped using the app stores/marketplace or Microsoft Intune for enterprise deployment.

Enable the feature in your dev/un-managed environment using the "Power Platform Admin centre":

There is a great wizard that takes care of a lot of the underlying work such as registering the app in Azure Portal AAD.

Use the Wrap wizard (you'll need a lot of access rights on the Power Platform and Azure Portal)

Pick your package types, this post outlines the full process for Android (apk). Below shows the iOs file needed for the Apple store but you can distribute using InTune.