Unanswered

Best Practices for my PowerApp

(0) Share

Report

Posted on by Manc_Gurl

254

I'm creating an app that connects to several SQL tables for data sources. There will be a few hundred people using the app to input timesheets, each timesheet can have multiple lines of hours attached to it so there will be eventually be lots of data. I'm using collections to grab filtered data (based on the current logged in user) from the SQL tables. As a best practice, should I show data in my galleries direct from my data source or from my collection? I'd also like to know if when patching data back to my data source I should also patch to my collection at the same time. I want to make sure the app performs well and isn't bogged down when multiple people are using it at the same time. As each user adds multiple lines of data to their timesheet I want to make sure the galleries refresh quickly after patching too. I'm not sure which is the best approach so would appreciate your thoughts.

Categories:

Building Power Apps

All responses (2)

Answers (0)

Sort by

zmansuri 6,048 Super User 2024 Season 1 on at

Like
a
(0)

Report
Copy link

Link copied!

I am not a skilled PowerApps user to answer all of your question. But, i wanted to tell you there is a great course at udemy for making timesheet application in PowerApps. Only difference is it uses SharePoint as data source. But, the great thing is it is 13.5 hour course dedicated to only making Timesheet app in PowerApps. I am recommending you because my first task at the company was to make a timesheet app. And that helped me. I am not affiliated with udemy or course maker.

Build Timesheet Solution with PowerApps & SharePoint | Udemy
timl 37,287 Super User 2026 Season 2 on at

Like
a
(0)

Report
Copy link

Link copied!

Hi @Manc_Gurl

The best practice would be to show data in your galleries direct from your SQL data source.

Unless there is a specific need for you to use collections, I would avoid using them to grab filter data based on the current logged on user. This would also resolve the issue of you needing to keep a collection in sync with the source data when you add or update records.

If you cache the user timesheet data in a collection, there will be an upfront delay when you first populate the collection. The app may or may not display/require all the data, so you may be fetching data unnecessarily.

A Collect/ClearCollect will collect up to 2,000 records at a time. If your user timesheet data exceeds this, you'll need to write additional batching logic.

When you bind a gallery directly to a SQL data source, the 'explicit column selection' feature optimises performance to ensure that Power Apps retrieves only the fields that are necessary.