Queries on Power Apps Portals Capabilities

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Posted on by aaroh_bits

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Hi All,

Background Information

We have O365 Subscription
We are using Microsoft Forms for the visitors who come to the office. Both install staff and external visitors.
There a requirement from the Operations team to extend the functionality
- such as the system must be accessible by internal and external users via QR code.
- SSN accepts only 4 characters in NNNX format which Microsoft Forms cannot meet the requirements.
- Previously entered data of the user to be auto-populated the next time the user goes back to the system. There will be no sharing of devices. It is okay to store data per device.
So the IT team is turning to Power Apps which has QR code and handle SSN requirements

New design considerations with Power Apps Portals

A solution for entry declaration (check-in) purposes only. No need to check out. All the details captured in the current form must also be captured in the new form.
The system must be accessible by internal and external users via QR code. No installation of any app and no sign in should be made necessary.

Q: Using external users for we have to Power Apps Portals and right now we don't have any QR Code option as it's in UserVoice. Anyway, the QR code is used in Power Apps Portals and internal staff can use the normal Power Apps canvas app.
The previously entered data of the user to be auto-populated the next time the user goes back to the system. There will be no sharing of devices. It is okay to store data per device.
Q Is requirement 3 possible with Power Apps Portals
SSN accepts only 4 characters in NNNX format
Q Does requirement 4 possible with Power Apps Portals

@OliverRodrigues @Pstork1 @Drrickryp @yashag2255 @WarrenBelz

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Building Power Apps

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Pstork1 69,653 Most Valuable Professional on at

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The main problem I see with your plan is #3. The external users you describe would be anonymous users since you say you don't want the system to require a login, "No installation of any app and no sign in should be made necessary". If that is the case then there is no way to pre-populate the previous data, since the user doesn't identify themselves by logging in. Since no client is installed there is no way to store it on the remote device either.

Power Apps portal can handle anonymous users, but I don't see any way to accomplish #3 on any system if the user's are anonymous.

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Rahber 1,935 on at

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Requirement 2: You can use QR code in PowerApps Portal as well. You need a QR code scanner library and enable camera, the library will read the code and will return you the data.

Requirement 3: If i understand correctly the user data will be populated on the basis of the QR code. so if the QR code contains the Unique Key of that user you can identify them.

Requirement 4: You can use JavaScript validations to achieve that on a input field in PowerApps Portal.

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aaroh_bits 416 on at

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Hi @Pstork1 ...

I guess, the explanation was not clear enough. Sorry about that.

Requirement 2:
The system must be accessible by internal and external users via QR code. No installation of any app and no sign in should be made necessary.

Visitors should NOT install any app on their phone and should NOT require to sign in. They should use a QR code scanner on their mobile phone that should redirect to the Power Apps Portal form.

Requirement 3:
The previously entered data of the user to be auto-populated the next time the user goes back to the system. There will be no sharing of devices. It is okay to store data per device.

if a visitor comes on 5 June 2020, scans the QR code and fills in the form within Power Apps Portal. The data will be stored in CDS.
He comes again on 10 June 2020, and enters the email address, the data could be fetched from CDS and displayed to the user. Can this approach feasible?

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aaroh_bits 416 on at

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HI @Rahber

Thanks for your valuable inputs.

Requirement 2:
Once we complete the form, we can use a QR Code generator using https://www.qr-code-generator.com/ and use this QR one of the pages (like scanme.aspx ) on the Power Apps portal. In that context, visitors simply use this page that redirects to actual form for the visitors. Does this approach work?

Requirement 3:

if a visitor comes on 5 June 2020, scans the QR code and fills in the form within Power Apps Portal. The data will be stored in CDS.
He comes again on 10 June 2020, and enters the email address, the data could be fetched from CDS automatically and displayed to the user. Can we use this approach?

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Pstork1 69,653 Most Valuable Professional on at

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I understood the explanation and as I said, Power Apps Portals do support anonymous access. But if you access the portal anonymously then there will be no way to restore previous values because you are anonymous. Without signing in there is no way to reload previous values. I see no way to accomplish the requirements you are listing with Power Apps Portals. Navigating to the Portal using a QR code will NOT provide an alternative to signing in and will only provide an anonymous interface.

Retrieving anonymously entered content based on entry of an email address that is used as a key would be possible. But that's essentially half a sign in process. The only thing missing is a password. Yes it could work, but without an actual sign in the information entered would be completely unsecured. Anyone entering the same email address would have access to the contents of the form. I'm not sure how sensitive your data is, but that seems to me like a bad idea.

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aaroh_bits 416 on at

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Thanks, @Pstork1 for the insightful suggestion.

Do we have any way to record user details from some data source without login via QR code?
This requirement is similar to what the Singapore Government using for the visitor via the National ID card OR QR code.

When a visitor scans the QR code, the user details are auto-populated with his/her name and National ID card.
Any advice Power Apps Portal can be used in this context?

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Pstork1 69,653 Most Valuable Professional on at

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In the first instance in your example the users are logging in, but they are doing it with a physical card that is presented instead of a userId and password. There would be no way to do that without installing something on the remote client.

In the second instance the QR code is specific to the store, not the user. It will get the user to the site. You say it will also populate the interface with the user identity, but I don't see how that is possible since the QR code is generated for the store not the individual. Again this will only work if something is stored on the local computer that inputs the info when the QR code is scanned.

So unless you want to install something on the local phone I don't see any way to accomplish this with anonymous users. The logic doesn't work. The user information has to come from somewhere, either a physical card or software on the local device. The design you are proposing just won't work. There are pieces missing and the example you are citing isn't the same situation that you are proposing.

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aaroh_bits 416 on at

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Hi @Pstork1 ..

Thanks for the valuable inputs. I really appreciate your time to answer.

If we still the Power Apps portal, we read a cookie when a user's mobile phone (an assumption that cookie is enabled) via QR code, and then query CDS via Client-side JavaScript using Web API will this still feasible? I feel it might overcomplicate the solution.

So this scenario which I explained in the proposed solution doesn't seem to fit the business requirements.
@Pstork1 Is Power Apps Portal the right solution for this business needs? OR some other Microsoft solution such as a custom application hosted on Azure and backend as SQL server for contact tracing for the visitors.

Please help to share your thoughts.

Thanks in advance

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Pstork1 69,653 Most Valuable Professional on at

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yes, using a cookie to store information on the user's device to be retrieved later could work. But I don't know of any way to use the javascript you are suggesting to populate the Power Apps forms you are using on the Portal. So I would say it is very complicated.

I've tried to explain that I don't think Power Apps Portal is the right mechanism based on your requirements. But overall I question whether even a custom website can accommodate your requirements as stated. You want the client to be entirely anonymous, but you also want to pre-populate fields based on the identity of the client. You can't really do that if the client is anonymous.

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aaroh_bits 416 on at

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Hi @Pstork1 ..

after the discussion, we decided to use

external authentication providers such as Facebook, Gmail, Microsoft Account, etc for Anonymus users. In this context, the CDS is able to save these entries into CDS.

for Autehticated users, they can log in via AAD and the entries will be saved.

Does this design good design enough? Please advice.

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