How to Share Power Apps With External Users?

In this Power Apps tutorial, I will explain How to Share Power Apps With External Users. External users are those not part or outside of your organization.

Recently, I was working with a canvas app in Power Apps for a client where we have a requirement to share the app with external users who can use the app. Since the app was connected to a SharePoint list, we also need to ensure external users can access the SharePoint site (external sharing) to insert, update, or delete items from the App itself.

Once I successfully shared the app with external users in Power Apps, I wanted to write and share the things in this complete tutorial so you can follow the same steps.

Note:

According to the Microsoft Power Platform Licensing guide, Any user or device that inputs data into, queries, views data from or otherwise accesses Power Apps, Power Automate,
Power Virtual Agents and Power Pages, directly or indirectly must be properly licensed.

To share an app with an external user, you need to follow the below steps:

1. Invite the external user (.gmail, .yahoo, .hotmail, etc.) as a guest user to your organization from the Azure Active Directory.
2. Assign a Power Apps license to the guest user from the Microsoft 365 Admin Center.
3. Share the SharePoint list with the external user to which the Power Apps app is connected.
4. Finally, Share the Power Apps app with the external or guest user.

Important points to be remembered while sharing a Power Apps app with an external user

Points:

1: We cannot directly share the Power Apps with external users.
2: When we share Power Apps with an external user, they can only use the app but they cannot edit or share the app.
3: Guest users should have a Power Apps license to use an app.
4: If the SharePoint list is connected to a Power App, they should have access to the SharePoint site.

Let us check the steps to share a Power Apps canvas app with an external user.

Share Power Apps With External Users

I have already created a canvas using Power Apps, and I will share that app with an external user. If you are new to Power Apps, check out a complete tutorial on creating a canvas app in Power Apps from a SharePoint list.

• Open your Power Apps home page (https://make.powerapps.com/), and select the app you need to share with an external user in the Apps section.

• You can get the Share option in two ways. Such as you can either click on the Share button on the top navigation menu or else, click on more options (…) and select Share.

• It will open the Share dialog box from which we can invite the external user through email. But when we try to enter the guest’s email ID, it will show “User wasn’t found. If the email address is correct, contact your admin for help” as shown below:

To overcome this, we need to create a guest user account in the Azure Active Directory. Here, I will show you how to add a guest user in the Azure active directory.

Add a Guest User in Azure Active Directory

• Login to Azure active directory (https://portal.azure.com/) with your Microsoft 365 credentials. Then click on Azure Active Directory from the left navigation or the Azure services on the home page.

• This will open the Users page, Here, click on All users -> + New user -> choose Invite external user like below.

• On the Invite external user page, provide all the details below:
  • Email: Provide the email address of an external user.
  • Display name: Provide the name of an external name to be displayed.
  • Send invite message: If you need to send an email invitation, select a checkbox.
    • Message: Here, provide a message regarding inviting them.
    • Cc recipient: Provide a recipient mail address where they can also receive this message.
• Then, click on the Review + invite as in the image below.

• Then again, click on the Invite button.
• Once you invite the external user, they will receive an email to access applications within their organization, which looks like the below:

• Once the external user clicks on the Accept invitation, it will ask, “We’ll send a code to your Gmail to sign you in“,
• Once they click on the Send code, they will receive a dialogue box as Enter Code [We just sent a code to your Gmail]. The external user will receive an email with a code, provide that code in this dialogue box.

• Once they click on Sign in, they will receive an dialogue box as “Permissions is requested by this domain”, with the Accept button.
• Later when the external user click on the Accept button, it will redirected to a “My Apps” page.

• After that, a guest user will be added to an Azure Active Directory as shown below:

• If we try to share an app from the Power Apps app section, the user will be found by emailing the external user.

• After adding a guest user, we should know that they can be as a user but not a Co-owner.

Note:

External user can only use the app but they cannot edit or share the app.

• If we need to send an email invitation, they can select a check box of Send an email invitation to new guest users.
• Then click on the Share Button.

• After that, the external user will receive an email to run the app as shown below:

• When the external user clicks on the Run the app, they will receive a dialogue box as “You need to have a Power Apps plan. You don’t have the correct plan to access this app. Ask your admin for one, or ask the admin at the organization in which you’re a guest“

• To deal with this, the organization’s admin should provide Power Apps licensing to an external user. Here, I will explain, as an organization admin, how to assign a Power Apps license to the guest user from the Microsoft 365 admin center.

Provide a Power Apps Licensing to a Guest User

To provide a Power Apps licensing to a guest user, we must be a Global, Licence, or User admin to assign a license.

• Log in to the Microsoft 365 admin center.

https://admin.microsoft.com/

• Expand the Users [Left-Navigation menu] -> click on the Active users.

• Then search for an external user, which you have added in the Azure directory -> Select the user -> Click on the Licenses and apps section.

• Then, in the Licences, select a check box of Microsoft 365 E5 Developer -> Expand Apps -> Uncheck Select all -> Now provide only access to Power Apps.
• Click on the Save changes.

• Your changes will be saved, and the external user will have Power Apps licensing to use an app.

Now, the external user returns to an email where the app was shared and clicks on the Run the app. The external user can use the app as shown below:

When the external user clicks on the + button [top-navigation menu], the below image will represent:

But later, when they added items and while submitting the data, they were facing an error as “Network error when using the patch function, you don’t have permission to create this row,” as shown below:

So to overcome this, we also need to share our SharePoint list with an external user because it should also retrieve the data from a SharePoint list so that they can submit their data, the external user-submitted data will also be updated in a SharePoint list.

I will demonstrate how to share the SharePoint list with the external user to which the Power Apps app is connected.

Share the SharePoint List With Power Apps External User

I will show you how to share a SharePoint online list with an external user.

• Open the SharePoint list to which the Power Apps app is connected -> Then click the Share button [top-navigation menu].

• A Share dialogue box will appear, provide the external user name [the external user added in Azure Active Directory].
• Expand the eye icon, then choose Can Edit list [Can edit, add, remove items, columns, or views].
• Then click on the Send button.

• Now the external user will receive mail regarding the shared with them as shown below:

• Then the external user can have access to a SharePoint list.

The external user can return to an email where the app was shared when they click on Run the app.

The external user can use the app to add the items using Power Apps app.

Now we can see data will be updated in the Power Apps detail screen and also in the SharePoint list as shown below:

As the external user, remove the items using Power Apps app.

• Click on the right arrow of the selected item -> Then click on the delete button.

• Now we can see data (PN75 – Television) will be deleted in the Power Apps detail screen and also in the SharePoint list as shown below:

This is how we can share a Power Apps app with an outside organization.

Also, you may like some more Power Apps tutorials:

• Share a Power Apps App Within an Organization [Share a Power Apps app using Microsoft Teams]
• How to Create a Canvas App in Power Apps from an Excel?
• How to Create a Canvas App in Power Apps
• Power Apps Licensing And Pricing [Detailed Guide]
• Different Types of Apps in Microsoft Power Apps
• How to Remove Duplicate Rows in Power Apps Collection

Conclusion

Here, I have explained how to share Power Apps with external users. Always remember, “When we share Power Apps with an external user, they can only use the app but cannot edit or share it.”

Moreover, to share a PowerApp with an external user, we must create a guest user account using the Azure active directory. Also, remember to provide PowerApps licensing to a guest user to access a Power App.

Also, if the PowerApps is connected to a SharePoint list, share a SharePoint list with an external user where they can submit their data, which will be updated in a SharePoint list also. Later, then share a Power Apps app with an external user.