InterviewUC&C28 Feb 2022 · 5 min read

How to Build a Custom App for Microsoft Teams with Power Apps

Learn how Microsoft Teams, Power Apps and Dataverse let buyers build low-code custom apps and workflows fast.

Custom Microsoft Teams app with Power Apps

With the advent of Power, Apps Microsoft allows more teams to build unique collaborative experiences in a digital world.

Designed to respond to the rising demand for low-code and no-code functionality, the Power Apps ecosystem is a suite of apps, tools, connectors designed to help you build apps for your small business. Thanks to Microsoft's pre-built templates, you don’t necessarily need any existing technical knowledge to use these tools, ready to get you started.

With more teams working in remote and hybrid environments than ever before, staff rely on a host of apps to keep them operating productively in any environment. Here’s what you need to know about building a custom app for Microsoft Teams.

Tapping into the Microsoft Teams Dataverse

Microsoft’s low-code app environment means you can create your custom tools and automation to empower staff members wherever they might be. Rather than having to wait for another developer to create the perfect tool for your distinct needs, you can design the technology you need yourself.

To enable this, Microsoft introduced the Microsoft Dataverse for Teams. The dataverse is a built-in solution for Microsoft Teams, allowing users to build custom apps and workflows using Power Apps and Power Automate. Essentially, you’re getting a package of tools from data storage to various crucial data types and one-click deployment bundled into one.

Each team on Microsoft Teams can only have one Dataverse for that collaboration environment. The Dataverse stores manage and shares team-specific information, workflows, chatbots, and apps created with Power Apps.

The updated Power Apps application within Teams provides an integrated experience for app markers, so you can begin building workflows and editing apps inside of your collaborative tool. Once you’re done building and editing, it only takes one click to quickly publish your app and share them with your entire team.

Getting Started with Apps in Microsoft Teams

There are a couple of ways to use the apps created by Power Apps within Teams. The best option is to install the Power Apps Personal app in Microsoft Teams. You can do this by opening Microsoft Teams, then clicking on “More added apps.” After installing Power Apps, you can pin it into your Microsoft Teams sidebar, so you can access the app whenever you like.

To start building your app using the Personal App in Teams, click on Power App, then click on “Create”. Choose which team will own or host the app and give the app a name.

If this is the first app being created for a selected team, you’ll need a new Dataverse for that team. Microsoft will make the Dataverse for you, so don’t worry. It might take a little while for Teams to organise all your data. Once you have your dataverse:

Select “Create a new table” on the left-hand side of the Power Apps Studio to build a table
Add columns with specific types – text, dates, and numbers – which will help later
Create choice columns with lists of options and lookups to create relationships to other tables
Start filling in rows of data – just like you would with a table in Excel.

To make sure anyone can build an app in Microsoft Teams, Microsoft offers a range of templates. These are purpose-built apps for common application patterns that all team members can easily install. You can use a template without any modifications or customise and extend the template as much as you see fit.

To choose a template, tap on the “All Templates” option within Power Apps, and you’ll see a range of standard options, including a help desk service or apps for organising contacts. While you can build an app from scratch, it’s a bit more of a complex process.

Customising and Publishing Your App

Once you’ve finished with your table or selected your template, it will be automatically added to your Microsoft Teams app gallery. Once your Power App is ready, you can add it to Teams easily. You can do this by selecting the Team and the channel where you want your Power App to Go. After this, click the “+” icon at the top of the bar of a Teams instance to add a tab.

Your Dataverse will have added your new app to your ecosystem for you, so you should be able to search for your app from the available list of tabs to add to Teams. Click on the app you created and click on the Save button. You and the other users within your Microsoft Teams instance should be able to see the app load in the Teams window.

If you like, you can click on the globe icon near the top of the Microsoft Teams page, near the “tabs” section, to open your app in its own space. Other controls on the top bar can also allow you to make the app full-screen, start a conversation based on the app, or refresh the app. You can also remove an app from your Microsoft Teams installation at any time by clicking on the name of the app and choosing “Remove”.

You should also be able to install any apps you create using Power Apps directly from the Microsoft Teams store if you’re having trouble. Within the Power Platform admin centre, you’ll have more control over your environments and get real-time self-help recommendations. The Power Platform admin centre will also allow you to change user roles and data-loss prevention policies.

Due to the Microsoft Teams-based tab for Power Apps, your colleagues should be able to access and edit the app's functionality at any time, based on their user permissions.

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