Sunday, June 20, 2021

PL-100 Study Guide

 Hi All, 



I had cleared PL-100 and its relatively tough exam to pass. 

  • Its NOT the beginner exam . Please go to PL-900 for fundamental exam. 

  • With around  1 year + plus experience, you should good to prepare for this exam. 

  • Highly recommend to study for PL-100 Microsoft Learn course first. 

  • This exam expires in 2 years.

  • The exam preparation take 15 days to 30 days depending on your skillset and  fill in knowledge gaps. 

  • Please don't rush and solidify your concepts before you write this exam.     

Here are some resources that I used. 

FREE 

  1. Microsoft Learn (PL-100  -17.5 hours of reading  ) - It is a MUST. 

  2. Power Fx Canvas Apps from Zero to Hero (PL-100) by Rory Neary 

PAID 

  1. Whizlabs 115 questions   (US$19.95, Use discount if its available )

    Note: There are some questions on Udemy too. But these are repeated and incorrect answers. 

  2. Pluralsight (Free 7 day trail )
    Microsoft Dynamics 365: Customizing with Power Apps  
    by Amber Israelsen 

  3. Pluralsight
    Introduction to Microsoft Dataverse 
    by Vishwas Lele 

There are 4 main sections. It is not comprehensive list.
Please PL-100 download the complete measure skilled.  

  1. Design solutions (10-15%) 

    1. Create a high-level design - 

    2. Identify required Power Platform components 

    3. Design data models
      PowerApps and the Microsoft Common Data Model
      Types of columns


    4. Design User Interface
      Back and Navigate functions in Power Apps

    5. Design for accessibility 

    6. Design for localization 

    7. Design output
      Power BI Desktop vs Power BI Service 

    8. Design security, privacy, and compliance

    9. Understand Power Platform environments 
      Power Automate 

  2. Create solutions (55-60%)
    1. Manage Power Platform development environments

    2. Create model-driven apps 

    3. Create canvas apps
      Show data in a line, pie, or bar chart in Power Apps
      UpdateContext function in Power Apps

    4. Create and Use Controls 

    5. Create and configure data stores 

    6. Create business logic 

    7. Create Power Automate flows 

  3. Analyze and visualize data (5-10%)
    1. Create Power BI reports 

    2. Implement other reports 

    3. Describe AI Builder models 

  4. Implement and manage solutions (15-20%)
    1. Configure Common Data Service security

    2.  Test apps and flows 

    3. Secure a solution 

    4. Deploy the solution

    5. Manage versions of canvas apps 

All the best for the exam. 

--Aroh 

Friday, April 9, 2021

DA-100 Study Guide

 Hi All, 


These are some tips for clearing DA-100 exam. Please note, its NOT a beginner exam but needs intermediate skills in Power BI. You should at least 6 months to 1 year before you sit for this exam


1. Introduction to DA-100 Exam

  • Successor to previously exam 70-788 called Analysing and Visualizing Data with Microsoft Power BI. 
  • Must have skills on good understanding of how to use Power BI to perform data analysis


2.  Difference between 70-778 vs DA-100



    •  70-788 retired on January 31, 2021 https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/certifications/exams/70-778

    •  DA-100 is role based i.e. you become associate and expert into specific Microsoft skillset.

    • https://query.prod.cms.rt.microsoft.com/cms/api/am/binary/RE2PjDI

    • For Example: to become Microsoft Enterprise Expert, you need to clear MS-100, MS-101 and one of the Security Exam MS-500

    • For Power BI, you need to clear DA-100 (associate) , and then clear DP-200, DP-201   (Expert) exam

    • For Power BI, you need to clear DA-100 (associate) , and then clear DP-200, DP-201   (Expert) exam. Now, these DP-200 and DP-201 are getting replaced DP-203 (Beta )

    • Around to 80% 70-778’s topics are covered in DA-100. Good News :) 
    • DA-100 is more focused on AI concepts and newer features in Power BI Desktop which has released in last 2 years. 

    3. Microsoft Learn for DA-100 Resources 


      Please note Microsoft keep on new topics in the exam very regularly. So when you write the exam, please check if your exam is getting being updated. 



    The learning path for DA-100 is comprehensive and skillset are intermediate. 

    4. DA-100 Online courses


    a) BI Elite - USD 29 per month, 7 Days Trail 
    The best course for DA-100. 

    Created by 
    Parker Stevens a Microsoft MVP in Data Platform. 
    I used this course for a month. 

    Its around 7-10 hours of video content. 

    b) Udemy  - USD 16-17 (Depending on promotion) - With you for Life Long. No Subscription required.  

     25 hours. Covers Basic to Advanced. 

    c) Measure up - USD 99   - 146 questions 

    5. Main area to focus on study on  

      

    A ) Prepare the Data (20-25%)

     

    Get Data from Different Data Sources

    1.       Identify and Connect to a Data Source

    2.       Change Data Source Settings

    3.       Select a Shared Dataset or Create a Local Dataset

    4.       Select a Storage Mode. Concept of Storage Mode

    5.       Use of CDS and workflows 

    6.       Power Apps and Dataflow. Power BI Dataflows within Power BI Desktop. Directly Refresh via Power BI service.  

    Profile the Data

    7.       Identify Data Anomalies and use of scatter chart.

    8.       Examine Data Structures

    9.       Interrogate Column Properties and view data quality within Power BI.

    10.   Interrogate Data Statistics and view the quality profile.

    Clean, Transform, and Load the Data

    11.   Resolve Inconsistencies, Unexpected or Null Values, and Data Quality Issues. Concept of replace values and remove error.

    12.   Apply User-Friendly Value Replacements. Concept of replace values with null within something User-Friendly Value.

    13.   Identify and Create Appropriate Keys for Joins. Concept of joins between tables. Adding custom column. Power BI functions such as Text.From.

    14.    Evaluate and Transform Column Data Types. Concept of changing data types via Power Query.

    15.   Apply Data Shape Transformations to Table Structures. Concept of transpose, reverse row, unpivot columns & group by.

    16.   Combine Queries. Concept of merging, remove duplicates, & append queries. 

    17.   Apply User-Friendly Naming Conventions to Columns and Queries. Concept of User-Friendly Naming Conventions and Queries why they are important.

    18.   Leverage Advanced Editor to Modify Power Query M Code. Concept of Power Query M Code for more complex scenarios, use advanced editor, Power BI functions Table.TransformColumnsName(#”Renamed Columns”, Text.Upper or Text.Proper) .

    19.   Configure Data Loading. Concepts of Enable load (to uncheck reduce the Power BI model size), Include in report refresh.  

    20.   Resolve Data Import Errors. Concepts of Native Query under Transform Data, removing the calculated columns & incorrect data type.

     

    B) Model the Data (25-30%)


    Design a Data model

    1.       Define the Tables. Show hide tables.

    2.       Configure Table and Column Properties. Concepts of data modelling tab within Power BI, properties and configure synonyms, row label, storage mode (Import, Direct Query, Dual), data type and formatting options.

    3.       Define Quick Measures. Quick measures allow you to write measures on the fly without writing any DAX. Right click on new quick measure.

    4.       Flatten Out a Parent-Child Hierarchy. Use of Path function.

    5.       Define Role-Playing Dimensions.

    6.       Define a Relationship’s Cardinality and Cross-Filter Direction.  Concepts of 1-M, 1-1, M-1 relationships, Cross filter direction.

    7.         Design the Data Model to Meet Performance Requirements. Concepts of Snowflake Schema and Star Schema (Single Fact table & other are around fact table)

    8.       Resolve Many-to-Many Relationships.  Concepts of Many-to-Many relationships are convenient to set up, but they may impose performance and calculation issues. DAX distinct, union functions.

    9.       Create a Common Date Table. Concepts of Blank query with Advanced editor with Date table M code.

    10.   Define the Appropriate Level of Data Granularity.



    Develop a Data Model


    11.   Apply Cross-Filter Direction and Security Filtering

    12.   Create Calculated Tables. Concepts of Calculated Tables with DAX, New Table with Filter, Summarize function 

    13.   Create Hierarchies. 3 ways.

    a.       Built in with date, File >> Options >> Current File >> Data Load >> Check Auto date/time under Time Intellisense.

    b.       Drag multiple columns in Power BI visual (Axis). Not the preferred way.

    c.       Drag fields on top of each of other. The preferred way as it can be reused.

    14.   Create Calculated Columns. Concepts of Quantity and UnitPrice Columns within Sales table and need to compute multiplication of Quantity and UnitPrice. New Column with named as Total Price = Quantity * UnitPrice. Its row context as works on each row.

    15.   Implement Row-Level Security Roles. Concepts of selective users should view only specific data and others can see entire dataset.

    a.       Modelling >> Manage Roles.

    b.       Role (Corporate Manager)
    Tables (Custom Categories)
    DAX expressions [CustomerCategoryName] = “Corporate”

    c.       You can View As Corporate Manager

    User can be logged in and in Power BI, under View as, you can check what that user can see by checking Other user.

    d.       Publish >> Datasets >> Ellipsis >> Security >> Individual email OR Office 365 Groups.
    In this way only end users can see what they are supposed to view.

    16.   Set up the Q&A Feature. Concepts of Q&A Feature uses AI and machine learning. Configure Set up, Review Questions, Teach Q&A and supply synonyms, Manage Terms.

    Create Measures by using DAX

     

    17.   Use DAX to Build Complex Measures. Concepts of DAX that computes on the fly and use filter context. Calculated Column may increase size of data model. use all measures in one empty table. [ Measures ] =  { Blank() }

    18.   Use CALCULATE to Manipulate Filters. Concepts of CALCULATE and its most important DAX function.

    19.   Implement Time Intelligence Using DAX. Concepts of TOTALYTD, TOTALMTD

    20.   Replace Numeric Columns with Measures. For more complex DAX, you can use Shift + Enter to view the DAX function clearly. 

    21.   Use Basic Statistical Functions to Enhance Data. Concepts of MIN, MAX, AVERAGE, MEDIAN, STDED (Standard Deviation), VAR (Variance) 

    22.   Create Semi-Additive Measures. Concepts of  Semi-Additive Measures with Calculate, Lastdate 

     

    Optimize Model Performance

     

    23.   Remove Unnecessary Rows and Columns. Concepts of filtering only data which is required. Use Remove duplicates, Remove blank rows, Remove errors, Remove Columns. 

    24.   Identify Poorly Performing Measures, Relationships, and Visuals. Concepts of performance analyser. Add visuals and then click ok Start recording.  Option to export and stop the performance analyser.

    25.   Improve Cardinality Levels by Changing Data Types. Concepts of Date time to Date which improve data model performance.

    26.    Improve Cardinality Levels Through Summarization. Concepts of Group By and select the operations.

    27.   Create and Manage Aggregations. Concepts of Reference (makes copy of table), Group By. manage aggregations. 

     C) Visualize the Data (20-25%)

     

    Creating Reports

     

    1.       Add Visualization Items to Reports. Concepts of visual items in the Visualization pane. Preview features are under Fine >> Options & settings >> Preview features. Insert tab has elements section (textbox, button, shapes, image), elements section (Power Platform), AI visual section (Q&A, Key influencers, Decomposition tree) 

    2.       Choose an Appropriate Visualization Type. Concepts of requires some with experience, each chart serve gives different use cases.

    3.       Format and Configure Visualizations. Concepts of formatting and Configure options, colouring, text, wrap, conditional formatting, search for a property such as size under formatting.

    4.       Import a Custom Visual. Concepts of importing from AppSource, or local file in format of .pbviz file. Play visual. Format >> Edit Interactions

    5.       Configure Conditional Formatting. Concepts of formatting >> Data colours >> Conditional Formatting. Minimum and Maximum values based on field. Or format by rules. 

    6.       Apply Slicing and Filtering. Concepts of slicers, formatting, dropdown and list, filtering. Show slicer as hierarchy. 

    7.       Add an R or Python Visual. Concepts of local installation of R or Python by going to Files >> Options >> Python OR R scripting. Drag R visual and drop columns. Write plot in R script editor. 

    8.       Configure the Report Page. Concepts of use of charts, filters, Top N,

    9.       Design and Configure for Accessibility. Concepts of background of Power BI page, shapes, lines, transparency of the visual, colour gradients, Tab order View >> Selection (Layer order, Tab order), Colour blind safe (View)

     

      Create Dashboards

     

    10.   Set Mobile View. Concepts of publishing report to Power BI service, report to dashboard, pin report to dashboard. Dashboard >> Ellipsis >> Mobile View. Mobile layout. Ability to switch mobile view to desktop view.

    11.   Manage Tiles on a Dashboard. Concepts of resizing tiles, move or rearrange, Q&A, add comment to a tile, tag people, open in focus mode to see dashboard tile full screen, export to .csv, Edit details.

    12.     Configure Data Alerts. Concepts of receive alert emails when a metric goes above or below a desired threshold. Data available on tiles which are card, KPI and gauge visualization. Card visual >> Manage Alerts. Add alert rue, give a title, condition for a threshold of a sales goes below 1 million and email to be sent, alert configurations.

    13.     Use the Q&A Feature. Concepts of Q&A in Dashboard. Q&A can display the user data in different visuals such as funnel chart, pie chart, map, scatter chart, stacked bar chart. Able to pin the Q&A visual.

    14.   Add a Dashboard Theme. Concepts of dashboard theme. Ellipses >> Dashboard theme in Power BI service. Different options of theme such as Light, Dark, Colour-blind friendly or custom. Upload JSON theme for more control on visuals. 

    15.   Pin a Live Report Page to a Dashboard. Concepts of entire report >> ellipses >> Pin a live page.  Ability to interactivity between visuals.

     

    Enrich Reports for Usability

    16.     Configure Bookmarks. Concepts of show and hide pages. Insert >> Button >> Blank button. Clear all filters. View >> Bookmarks. Add >> Clear all filters. Bookmarks save the state. Clear all filters button >> Visualizations >> Turn on action >> Type to Bookmark, Bookmark to Clear all filters.

    17.   Create Custom Tooltips. Concepts of Page 1 >> Visualizations >> Page Information >> Tooltip. Page 2 Donut chart >> Formatting >> Tooltip >> Set Page to Page 1

    18.   Edit and Configure Interactions Between Visuals. Concepts of Format >> Edit interactions. Select the visuals, change other visual if this has to disabled. 

    19.   Configure Navigation for a Report. Concepts of tabs at the bottom of the Power BI report to switch between pages, but it’s a much better user experience if navigation occurs via buttons. Button >> Visualization >> Action >> Type & Bookmark.

    20.   Apply Sorting. Concepts of visual sorting >> ellipsis  >> Sort By.
    Add columns >> Examples from examples (for e.g. Day Order)
    Data view >> Day name column >> Sort by >> Day Order
    Report view >> day order works well.

    21.   Configure Sync Slicers. Concepts of different pages should have same sliders across.
    View >> click on Sync Sliders >> Check on their pages.

    22.   Use the Selection Pane. Concepts of View >> Click on Selection >> can move layers  or tab order (show /hide).. Able to Group the layers   

    23.   Use Drill-Through and Cross Filter. Concepts of cross filter select a Visual >> View >> Edit interactions >> can change from cross filtering instead of filtering. 
    Table visual >> add multiple columns >> Under Visualizations >> Add drill-through fields here option >> add fields under Add drill-through fields >> Automatically adds back button.

    24.    Drill Down into Data by Using Interactive Visuals.

    25.   Export Report Data. Concepts of export a visual to CSV.  Export data as summarized data OR Underlying data.   

     

    D) Analyze the Data (10-15%)

     

    Enhance Reports to Expose Insights.

     

    1.       Apply Conditional Formatting. Concepts of depends on field valid.

    a.       Stacked Bar Chart >> Formatting >> Data Colours >> Ellipsis >> Format by Field Value (not colour  scale or Rules), >> Based on Field >> Select a measure >> Click OK.

    Using DAX with IF statement value is low, then RED, else GREEN.

    b.       You can’t Conditional Formatting for line chart. Convert bar chart to Line chart, you can get Conditional Formatting.

    2.       Apply Slicers and Filters. Concepts of advanced slicers with custom visuals. Search for filter “Text Filter”, “Smart Filter by OKViz”, “Timeline slicer”.

    a.       Drag Text filter and table visual. Add 2-3 fields in the table visual. Search for some text content on the Text Filter

    b.       Drag Smart filter. It has autocompleted.

    c.        Drag Timeline slicer. For Date fields.

    3.       Perform Top N Analysis. Concepts of Top N within a visual.

    4.       Explore Statistical Summary.

    5.       Use the Q&A Visual. Concepts of  drag Q&A visual on Visualization pane. Review Q&A setup.

    6.        Add a Quick Insights Result to a Report. Concepts of analysis option within a visual on Power BI Desktop. On Power BI Service >> Get Quick Insight.

    7.       Create Reference Lines with the Analytics Pane.  Concepts of certain visual that have this option.  Line Chart >> format >> Trend Line, Constant Line, Min, Max, Average line, Forecast (Forecast length, Confidence interval)

    8.        Use the Play Axis Feature of a Visualization. Concepts of certain visual only such as scattered chart.


    Perform Advanced Analysis

     

    1.       Identify Outliers. Concepts of Key Influencers Visual which is an AI driven insight visual. 

    2.       Conduct Time Series Analysis. Concepts of change date time to time for this line chart visual.

    3.       Use Groupings and Binning. Concepts of two different techniques to create new calculated partitions of your columns in the dataset. Select any columns from a table >> New Group.

    4.       Use the Key Influencers to Explore Dimensional Variances. Concepts of convert bar chat to Key Influencers visual.

    5.       Use the Decomposition Tree Visual to Break Down a Measure.

    6.       Apply AI Insights. Concepts of 3 AI visuals within Power BI. Using Analyse option in Line Chart to either explain the decrease or increase.  

    E) Deploy and Maintain Deliverables (10-15%) 


    Manage Datasets

     

    1.       Configure a Dataset Scheduled Refresh. Concepts of setting up a  scheduled refreshes on your dataset to make sure your data is always up to date. Power BI Pro licenses allow you to schedule up to 8 refreshes per day.

    Power BI Premium allow you to schedule up to 48 times
    Power BI Service >> Workspace >> Datasets >> Schedule Refresh.

    2.       Configure Row-Level Security Group Membership. Concepts of Workspace >> Datasets + dataflows >> DA 100 Report >> Ellipses  >> Security >> Email addresses OR Office 365 Groups.

    3.       Providing Access to Datasets. Concepts of providing access to a dataset directly to another member of your organization. Workspace >> Datasets + dataflows >> DA 100 Report >> Ellipses  >> Manage Permissions >> Add User >> aroh@contoso.com

    In Power BI Desktop >> Get Data >> Power BI datasets >> DA 100 Report is accessible to aroh@contoso.com

    Workspace >> Datasets + dataflows >> DA 100 Report >> Ellipses  >> View lineage. To view where sets is used.

    4.       Configure Incremental Refresh Settings.  Concepts of incremental refresh allows you to only refresh a certain portion of the table. You can even specify to only refresh the table if Power BI detects that the data has changed.

    5.       Endorse a Dataset. Concepts of endorse a dataset so that your users know which datasets are trusted to use for report development.

    Workspace >> Datasets + dataflows >> DA 100 Report >> Ellipses >> Settings >> Endorsement with 3 options. Promote dataset and hit Apply.

    In Power BI Desktop >> Get Data >> Power BI datasets >> DA 100 Report shows Promoted

    Create and Manage Workspaces

     

    6.       Create and Configure a Workspace. Concepts of creating a workspace >> Advanced to add specific users.

    7.        Recommend a Development Lifecycle Strategy. Concepts of best practices concerning how to govern the development of your Power BI solutions.

    8.       Assign Workspace Roles. Concepts of many workspace roles to choose from when deciding what role to assign to other users.

    Workspace >> Access >> 4 different roles  (Admin, Member, Contributor, Viewer)

    9.       Configure and Update a Workspace App. Concepts of Apps are a great way to package Power BI solutions and share them with other members of your organization or with the entire organization. In this video, we will publish our first app and then go through the process to update the app after changes are made to our Power BI items.

    Create App >> Set up App Name >> Logo >> Navigation >> Permissions

    10.    Publish, Import, and Update Assets in a Workspace. Concepts of to import Power BI reports into the Power BI Service how to update a report and dataset after it’s already been published to a workspace.


     All the best. 

    --aaroh 


    Sunday, September 13, 2020

    How to create custom connectors in Power Platform


    Hi All,

    Power Platform has become one the most set of tools that many organizations are leveraging.  Power Platform has the robust power of Power Apps, Power Automate and Power BI into one powerful business application platform that helps citizen developers as well as pro developers in providing quick and easy app building and data insights.


    Microsoft Power Platform is low-code platform that spans Office 365, Azure, Dynamics 365, and standalone applications a shown below


    Microsoft Power Platform is low-code platform that spans Office 365, Azure, Dynamics 365, and standalone applications a shown below 

    Figure 1 Credit: Microsoft
























    The best thing about Microsoft Power Platform is that is caters not only for citizen developers but also for professional developers as shown: 






    Why needs an API in Power Platform?

    Power Platform leverages Microsoft services to connect to other services such as SharePoint, OneDrive as 3rd party services such as MailChimp, Adobe Sign etc.

    What is an API?

    API (Application Programming Interface) that allows two applications to talk to each other.

    for e.g. A user initiates Power Apps (Application) to get a signature leveraging Adobe Sign, this will be the API call from Application (Power Apps) and Adobe Sign as a data source as shown below.


    What is connector?


    A connector is a wrapper around an API that allows the underlying service to talk to Power Automate and Power Apps. 


    Type of connectors

    You have 2 types of connectors.
    1.       Public connectors (available to all)

    2.       Custom connectors (built for your organization)







    Today we will build 2 simple custom connectors, one for Power Automate and another for Power Apps.

    A)      Weather API (with Power Automate)

    For this API, you need to create an account so that you can use an API key. 








    ·         Navigate to Office.com
    ·         Go to make.powerapps.com
    ·         Switch to your environment where want to create custom connector. I use Power Apps community plan which is suitable to development and NOT suitable to production environment.

    ·         Read through the https://aka.ms/powerappscommunityplan documentation  or  Use this video how to get started with Power Apps Community Plan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyrjpdVm_Ko  


    ·          Power Apps >> Home >>  Data >> Custom Connectors >>  Create from blank

    ·         Create a custom connector and it as Custom Connector  and click on Continue



    ·         Upload a custom image for the connector.







    ·         In the General  page fill the details:
    Icon colour: #007ee5
    Description:  Retrieve the weather by using
    http://api.weatherstack.com/
    Scheme:   Change to HTTP:
    Host: api.weatherstack.com
    Base URL: /



    ·         Click Security to click on the next screen.
    The authentication type should be API key.
    Create an API key with key as Parameter label and Parameter name as access key; switch the parameter location to Query as illustrated:
    Parameter label:  key
    Parameter name: access_key
    Parameter location: Query





    ·         In next step which is Definition and fill in the details:
    Summary: Get weather
    Description: Get weather in a specific city
    Operation ID: GetWeather

    The operation ID will be in our Power Automate flow.


    ·         In a new browser tab, type a weather request to make sure it works fine and also to generate sample data that we will reuse in our connector definition with the access_key and query parameter 


    Endpoint’s URL (Request):
      
    http://api.weatherstack.com/current?access_key=2cb0533199c00cfc699963d7a0728881&query=Mumbai

    Response (Output):
    {"request":{"type":"City","query":"Mumbai, India","language":"en","unit":"m"},"location":{"name":"Mumbai","country":"India","region":"Maharashtra","lat":"18.975","lon":"72.826","timezone_id":"Asia\/Kolkata","localtime":"2020-07-19 16:28","localtime_epoch":1595176080,"utc_offset":"5.50"},"current":{"observation_time":"10:58 AM","temperature":31,"weather_code":143,"weather_icons":["https:\/\/assets.weatherstack.com\/images\/wsymbols01_png_64\/wsymbol_0006_mist.png"],"weather_descriptions":["Haze"],"wind_speed":22,"wind_degree":260,"wind_dir":"W","pressure":1004,"precip":2.1,"humidity":75,"cloudcover":75,"feelslike":39,"uv_index":6,"visibility":5,"is_day":"yes"}}


    ·         Within the Definition page, locate Request section, click Import from sample



    ·         We need to get weather information for a City. We use Get Verb >> URL 
    Simply paste:
    http://api.weatherstack.com/current?access_key=2cb0533199c00cfc699963d7a0728881&query=Mumbai as shown.




    ·         Delete the access_key from Query parameter as end users will not access.


    ·         Click on Edit on the query parameter


     

    ·         Enter parameters details as shown below:
    Name: query
    Description: Fill in the city
    Summary:  City Name
    Is Required: Yes


    ·         Click on Default under the Response section,

    ·         Click on Import from sample option


    ·         Copy the Weather’s API JSON content.
    {"request":{"type":"City","query":"Mumbai, India","language":"en","unit":"m"},"location":{"name":"Mumbai","country":"India","region":"Maharashtra","lat":"18.975","lon":"72.826","timezone_id":"Asia\/Kolkata","localtime":"2020-07-19 16:28","localtime_epoch":1595176080,"utc_offset":"5.50"},"current":{"observation_time":"10:58 AM","temperature":31,"weather_code":143,"weather_icons":["https:\/\/assets.weatherstack.com\/images\/wsymbols01_png_64\/wsymbol_0006_mist.png"],"weather_descriptions":["Haze"],"wind_speed":22,"wind_degree":260,"wind_dir":"W","pressure":1004,"precip":2.1,"humidity":75,"cloudcover":75,"feelslike":39,"uv_index":6,"visibility":5,"is_day":"yes"}}



    ·         In Power Automate’s Response windows, paste the content as Body from Weather’s API JSON and click on Import.


    ·         You can view JSON payload within Body.


    ·         Click on Create connector


    ·         Click on Test.
     

    ·         Click on New connection


    ·         Enter the API key and click on Create Connection.



    ·         Click on Refresh

    ·         You must have connected to this API within Connection section and type any city name: 



    ·         Results will display all entries for that location.

    ·         Go back to Definition, click on Default under Response



    ·         Edit on Temperature property.



    ·         Update the title as Temperature in Celsius

    ·         Update Connector.

    ·         My Flow >> Instant from blank >> Custom Weather API >> Create


    ·         Choose Action >> Custom >> Select Custom Weather API




    ·         Set a city name



    ·         Create a Compose action and get the Temperature property



    ·         Test the flow and check the results.


     



    A)      Google Books (with Power Automate)

    In this example we will get retrieve Books information using Google Books API.
    We will make small Books library app as shown. 




    ·         Power Apps >> Home >>  Data >> Custom Connectors >>  Create from blank

    ·         Create a custom connector,  it as Google Books API and click on Continue





    ·         In the Definition in fills the details:
    Upload custom image
    Icon background: #007ee5
    Description:  Google API connection for getting volumes of book from the Internet.
    Scheme: HTTPS
    Host:
    www.googleapis.com
    Base URL: /books/


    ·         Verify the Google Books API https://developers.google.com/books/docs/v1/using
    We will perform a search for Google Book volumes with this end URL point
    https://www.googleapis.com/books/v1/volumes?q=search+terms


     
    ·         This time we will not use any authentication and simply move to Definition page.





    ·   In the Definition page, create a new action called as GetBook and fill in details a follows

    Summary: Get Book
    Description: Get a volume from the API
    Operation ID * GetBook

    The
    Operation ID will be used in Power Apps


    ·         Now, got Google Books API, we have to make minor modifications so that we can use for Endpoints for our custom connector Request and Response portion.

    ·         Request would be:  https://www.googleapis.com/books/v1/volumes?q=search+terms


    ·         In Definition, go to REQUEST and click on Import from Sample , Use Get Verb and type the URL endpoint https://www.googleapis.com/books/v1/volumes?q=search+terms and click on Import.

    ·         In Definition, go to RESPONSE, click on Default




    and click on Import from Sample ,



    and paste the JSON payload




    to Body and click on Import.



    ·         Now, we got a many properties from the JSON payload.


    ·         Click on Validation link to proceed. 


    ·         Click on New Connection



    ·         Click on Create prompt.


    ·         Next, click on Connections

    ·         Click on Edit icon.



    ·         Test the connection, supply an ISBN 9780143442295 and click on Test operation.



    ·         We get 200 response and check if we get correct details.



    NOTE: Please note creating a custom connector takes time and we you rush you might get 404 error.  Please be patient and wait for 2-3 minutes once custom connector and then test operation

    ·         Create a new simple Power Apps. 




    ·         Connect to newly created Google Books API and connect in our sample Power Apps.



    ·         Drag Text box and Button. 






    1·         On Button add the following code:
    ClearCollect(Book,GoogleBooks.GetBook({q:TextInput1.Text}))
    Book is collection in Power Apps.




    ·         Run the Power Apps and type an ISBN 9780143442295.


    ·         Go to File >> Collection >> Book >> we have around 2142 records. 







    ·         Now, for a complete solution, we need a store our books library solution in some database repository. For that we keep our books in Common Data Service (CDS). 

    I had defined a custom entity called Books and a couple of fields as follows:
    a.       Books – Primary field – optional
    b.       Authors – optional
    c.       Cover – optional
    d.       Description – optional
    e.       ISBN -   optional
    f.        Title – optional 




    ·         This is the complete solution



    ·         Attached is source code of completed solution.

     hope this blog post help you 

    References:

    ·         Define overview of Connectors: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/connectors/custom-connectors/

    ·         Weather API: https://weatherstack.com/documentation

    ·         Google Books API: https://developers.google.com/books/docs/v1/using

    ·         Google Books API video sample https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSzI093-xgk

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