How to Create a Canvas App in Power Apps from an Excel?

Microsoft will come up with different solutions for business users. They have developed Power Apps, a powerful platform for business or non-technical users, where they can quickly and easily create an app by connecting their data sources like SharePoint, Excel, SQL, etc., with no-code solutions.

In this SharePoint tutorial, I will show you how to create a Canvas app in Power Apps from Excel with no-code solutions. Also, I will show you the benefits of using Excel as a data source in Power Apps.

Moreover, I will explain how to save and run a Power Apps app using Excel as a data source.

How to Create a Canvas App in Power Apps from an Excel

Let me explain to you with an example,

• I have an Excel sheet for a user’s details, and I need to create an app where users can fill in their details.
• After they fill in their details using that app, that data should also be stored in the Excel sheet.
• So I can also have their data in my Excel sheet and Power Apps.

Now we will see the steps to achieve it:

Step 1: Format an Excel sheet as a table

• We will build a canvas app utilizing the Excel spreadsheet mentioned above. However, as we can see, the Excel sheet is not prepared as a table; as a result, if we try to create a canvas app without formatting, we will encounter the problem “There are no tables in this file“.

• So, 1st format your Excel sheet into a table format as shown below:

Step 2: Store Excel file in OneDrive or OneDrive for business

I have stored my Excel file in OneDrive for business as Glamor glam users, as shown below:

Now, we will create a canvas app from an Excel file by taking a connection from OneDrive for business.

Step 3: Create Power Apps Canvas App

• Open your Power Apps home page [https://make.powerapps.com/] -> Click on the +Create [left-navigation menu] -> Select Excel as a data source.

NOTE:

If you are new to Power Apps and learn how to create a Power Apps Canvas app, then read this complete tutorial: How to Create a Canvas App in Power Apps

• Now choose a connection such as OneDrive for business -> Click on the Create button.

• Then, it will ask us to log in to our OneDrive for Business account, log in it.
• Then, choose the file that you have uploaded to OneDrive for Business.

• Choose a Table -> Then click on the Connect button.
• Now using Excel as the data source, our Power Apps app will be created with three screens.
  • Browse Screen
  • Detail Screen
  • Edit Screen

We can create a Power Apps app from an Excel sheet.

Let us discuss here, what are the benefits of using an Excel sheet as a data source in Power Apps using the 3 screens with a no-code solution.

Browse Screen

Opening the Browse screen shows us all the items we created in our Excel sheet. And we also get the following controls, such as:

Controls	Description
Reload icon	We can refresh a Power Apps app from an Excel sheet
Sort icon	By using this icon, we can sort the items in ascending order or descending order.
Add icon	If you want to add a new record from Power Apps to an Excel sheet, click on the + Add icon, provide the data, and submit it. Then, that item will be updated in an Excel sheet.
Search box	Here, we can search for a particular item using this search box.
Next arrow	Once we click on the next arrow icon, it will navigate to the second screen (Detail screen).

Detail Screen

Now, on the detail screen, we get all the information about the specific item of an Excel sheet. And we also get the following controls, such as:

Control	Description
Back arrow	It will redirect to the browse screen.
Trash icon	Once click on the edit icon, it will navigate to the third screen (Edit screen) where you can update the respective Excel item.
Edit icon	Once click on the edit icon it will navigate to the third screen (Edit screen) where you can update the respective Excel item.

Edit Screen

Similarly, when we open the edit screen, it will open the edit form where we can add a new item to a Power Apps app, and that new item will also be updated in the Excel sheet. And we also get the following controls, such as:

Control	Description
Accept icon	If we want to delete an item of it, click on this cancel icon to remove the record.
Cancel icon	If we want to delete an item of it, just click on this cancel icon to remove the record.

So, as above, I have discussed the benefits of using an Excel sheet as a data source to create a Power Apps app with no code solutions.

Save and Publish Power Apps App

Here, I will show you how to save the Power Apps app and run the app, which is created from Excel as a data source.

• Click on the Publish icon [top-right corner] of the page.

• A dialogue box will appear, providing a name for an app -> Then, click on the Save button.

• Then, click on the Publish icon and select the Publish this version button as shown below:

• Whenever we publish a Power Apps app, the app will be saved under the Apps section on the Power Apps page.

Play Power Apps App

• If we want to run the Power Apps app, then click on the More options (…) option -> Select the Play option like below:

• Once we play or run the app, it will display the Browse screen -> If you need to add an item, click on the + button later, and it will open the Edit screen -> If you click on the Accept icon, it will open the Detail screen.

So, after creating a Power Apps app from Excel as a data source, this is how we can save and run the app in Power Apps.

Also, you may like some more Power Apps tutorials:

• Create a Canvas App from a SharePoint List
• Share a Power Apps app using Microsoft Teams
• How to Share Power Apps With External Users?
• How to Create a Power Apps Collection
• Power Apps Collection vs Table
• Power Apps Screen Templates

Conclusion

Here, I have shown you every step of how to create a Power Apps app using Excel as a data source. While creating an app, remember that your Excel sheet should be formatted as a table, and also, we need to store that Excel sheet in the Onedrive for business.

Then, we can create an app from Excel as a data source. Moreover, I have shown you the benefits of creating a canvas app from Excel with no-code solutions. Without using any code, we can create an app to edit the items, delete the items, navigate to another screen, and many more.

As well, explained to you how to save and run a Power Apps app using Excel as a data source.