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Build your first app

PowerTable is a native workload on Microsoft Fabric. This section will help you create your first app in a few simple steps.

There are several ways to create an app with PowerTable:

  1. Import your spreadsheet data and build an app

  2. Connect to an existing database table and build an app

  3. Directly type in data in the app and create a table in the database

  4. Connect to an existing semantic model and build a writeback-enabled app

Note that in the above methods #1 to #3, the source and destination for the app will be the same - i.e., underlying database table.

When you connect to a semantic model (method #4), the semantic model would be the source, and the destination will be the database table. You can use this method to build writeback-enabled applications. You also have the option of scheduling a refresh from the semantic model.

For now, we will explore method #1, where we import data from a CSV file and build an app.

  1. Go to your Microsoft Fabric workspace folder. Click on New item to create a new item.

Create a new item

  1. Select PowerTable from the list of items. You may want to add it to your favorites by clicking on the star icon.

Select 'PowerTable'

  1. Enter a name for your PowerTable app and select the workspace. Click on Create.

Create PowerTable item

  1. Click on Create a New App to create your app. You may also select 'Explore PowerTable' to experience a sample PowerTable app.

Create a New App

  1. Creating a new database connection: The next step is to create a new database connection in your preferred data source. Your app synchronizes its data with this data store. Follow the steps below to create a new connection:

  • Click on New Connection.

  • Choose your preferred data platform. We'll connect to the Fabric SQL database.

  • Click Next.

Creating a new connection

If you already have a shared database connection or a private connection to the required data store, skip step 5. Instead, click on the 'Existing Connection' tab, select the one you want to use, and then click Next.

Choosing an existing connection

  1. Setup Connection: Enter the connection type and a unique connection name. Select the workspace and the database from the list of options and click Next. Your new private connection is now created.

Setup Connection

  1. Choose your table where the data will be stored: Here, you have two options:

  • Select Existing Table to connect to an existing table in the database (or)

  • Select New Table to create a new table in the database.

For our demonstration, we'll select New Table to create a new table and import our CSV data. We'll also choose a database schema (in this case— 'dbo').

Create new table

  1. Enter a name for the table and choose Upload Excel/CSV.

Note that you can also choose to connect to an existing semantic model or enter data manually within the app. These are covered in the following sections.

Upload CSV

  1. Select the file you want to upload.

Select the file

  1. Preview the uploaded data and click Next.

Preview Data

  1. PowerTable detects column properties automatically. You can edit them if needed. Choose the primary key. You can also add additional columns in this step, using the Add Column option. After verifying the details, click Finish.

Click 'Finish'

You have now successfully built your first app using PowerTable.

PowerTable app

To get the most out of PowerTable, you will need to perform one or more steps listed below. We'll cover them in detail later.

  • Configuring field properties

  • Defining access control permissions

  • Configuring workflow approvals

  • Setting up automation including triggers, cascading updates, and email/Microsoft Teams notifications

  • ... and more.

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