Get Started with Dataverse

 

Introduction To Dataverse

              

                Dataverse is an option of the data sources that you can use within Power Apps. So App makers can then use Dataverse to build rich applications in Power Apps. Microsoft Dataverse “Common data service” is a cloud-based storage space that organizations can use to store business application data.

            Dataverse is a straightforward platform that you can use to begin designing your data structures, it is cloud-based storage space. The data within Dataverse is stored within a set of tables. A table is a set of records that used to store data, each table consists of some columns.

            Dataverse allows data to be integrated from multiple sources into a single store, which can then be used in Power Apps.

            If you are using Power Apps, then the license will cover Dataverse so you don’t have to pay extra.

            Dataverse databases can be provisioned by you, or licensed individuals in your organization.

Advantage to use Dataverse

1) Easy to manage

2) Secure store

3) Work with any type of data

4) Work with any type of apps

5) Metadata

6) Analytics and reporting

Import and Export Data into Dataverse

            There are many ways to import and export data into Common Data Service you can use these ways to import and export data:

* Dataflow

* Power Query,

* Azure Data Factory,

* Azure Logic Apps,

* And Power Automate.

Tables relationships in Microsoft Dataverse 

                There are three relationships in Data verse tables these types are (One-to-many, Many-to-one, and Many-to-many). The table records can be associated with records from other tables or the same table. Relationships define how rows can be related to each other in the database.

Steps to create a custom table

1.Sign in to Power Apps.

2.On the navigation pane, select or tap Data to expand it and then select or tap Tables.

3.Select New table in the command bar.

4.In the New table panel, in the Display name box, enter the name of your new custom table.

Plural display name - The plural display name is the name of the table in the Dataverse WebAPI and is used when you are interacting with this table from Power Apps or Power Automate.

Name - This column is also auto populated when you enter a display name. The prefix was set up when the environment was created and ensures that the tables you create can be exported and imported into other environments without conflicting with other table names. 

Under the Primary Name column section and in the Display name box, enter a name for Display Name. In the Name box, replace Name with a name of your choosing for the new primary column.

        By default, every table contains a Primary Name column that is used by lookup columns when establishing relationships with other tables. Typically, the Primary Name column stores the name description of the data that is stored in a table's row. You can update the name and display name of the Primary Name at any time.

When you are finished, select Create.

5.To add a column to the table, use the following procedure:

In the command bar, select or tap Add column to open the column properties panel.

In the Display name box, enter the name of the column that you want to add.

From the Data type drop-down list, select the type of data that you want to add.

Select and change the Required dropdown if desired.

Select or tap Done.

6.Select Save table to save your table and make it available for use in apps.

Environments in Dataverse

        Environments are used to store, manage, and share your organization's business data, apps, and flows in Microsoft Power Platform. Each environment allows you to provision one Microsoft Dataverse database for use within that environment. Microsoft Dataverse environments allow you to manage user access, security settings, and the storage that is associated with that database.

Business rules

         In Microsoft Dataverse you can define business rules. Business rules allow you to apply and maintain business logic at the data layer instead of the app layer. Put more simply, if you create business rules in Microsoft Dataverse, they are in effect regardless of where you interact with the data.

The following business rule actions can be used by canvas and model-driven apps:

*Set column values

*Clear column values

*Validate data and show error messages

Model-driven apps can also use business rules to:

*Show or hide columns (model-driven apps only)

*Enable or disable columns (model-driven apps only)

*Create business recommendations based on business intelligence (model-driven apps only)