Just Arrived: Exploring Copresence in Microsoft Power Pages

Introduction

The idea of copresence has arisen as a game-changer in the quickly changing field of digital collaboration, transforming how we engage and interact with people through online platforms. We discover the significance of copresence and its revolutionary effect on collaboration and engagement as we dig into the dynamic world of Power Pages, a sneak peek of cutting-edge online portals. The copresence concept is already present in the Power Apps Canvas app and is now being implemented in Power Apps Power Pages.

Power Platform Overview

Microsoft’s Power Platform is a low-code/no-code solution that allows any type of user/developer to easily create applications, portals, automated processes, and chatbots. Using the Power platform, one can build custom solutions, make Data-Driven Decision Making, improve customer Engagement, build User-Friendly Interfaces, have real-time insights, and reduce costs. The copresence concept is already available in PowerApps and Power Automate, which allows users to collaborate and work.

The Power platform consists of 4 primary major products:

1. PowerApps: Power Apps is a flexible low-code platform that enables organizations to design custom applications/solutions to their challenges. It is a user-friendly platform for creating innovative apps. We have different types of Power Apps. Copresence functionality is already available in power apps.
   • Canvas apps: With the help of Canvas Apps, we can construct unique apps from scratch in a flexible environment. Because we have complete control over the app’s structure, style, and features, it can be used for various purposes.
   • Model-driven apps: Model-driven apps offer a structured method for creating apps based on a data model. They are perfect for complicated business scenarios because they come with pre-built components like forms, views, and dashboards.
   • Portals/Power pages: Power pages help us create websites without writing any line of code. It can integrate text, photos, videos, Power BI reports and dashboards. Also, it can integrate chatbots for Power virtual agents, Canvas apps, model-driven apps etc. We can also include Dataverse tables, entity forms to collect user data, and many other components.

2. Power Automate: With the help of Microsoft’s Power Automate cloud-based tool, you can develop automated workflows and processes for various services and apps. Power Automate enables task automation, application integration, and business process streamlining without the need for in-depth coding expertise.
3. Power BI: Microsoft offers a robust business intelligence and data visualization tool known as Power BI. It enables users to establish connections to numerous data sources, process and model data, and produce interactive reports and dashboards that offer insights and support business decisions. With the help of multiple Power BI components, such as Power BI Desktop, we can create visualizations and reports. Using Power BI Service, a SaaS application, we can create visualizations, reports, and dashboards.
4. Power Virtual Agent: With Power Virtual Agent, we can build intelligent chatbots without writing any code. In place of a human agent, this intelligent chatbot will be accessible to users around the clock and respond to their inquiries with answers regardless of when they ask them or where they are located. Chatbots can be deployed in Power Pages, Microsoft Teams, Slack, Cortana, Line, Facebook, and other platforms that enable power virtual agents.

Copresence feature in Power Apps and Power Automate

Users of PowerApps can now collaborate or work simultaneously on an app or project thanks to a new feature. This  feature might entail tools for in-the-moment communication, joint editing, or sharing the same app view while working away. While working in Power Apps Canvas Studio, copresence enables multiple creators to access an app simultaneously. Only one editor can make changes using the canvas app’s copresence function; everyone else must use read-only mode. Users from the same tenant can collaborate in the flow, update the actions, modify already-existing steps, and more with the help of the Power Automate Copresence feature.

Power Pages Overview: Changing Digital Engagement with Dynamic Design

Power apps’ Portals/Power Pages feature allows us to create websites without knowing much about coding. Power pages concentrate on both internal and external users. Power pages allow customers, suppliers, partners, or stakeholders to communicate with the company.

Use the Power Pages Design Studio to modify the Power Pages. Many templates are available; you can pick one that suits your needs or start from scratch. You can alter the theme, fonts, and other color options to better reflect your brand. By employing several webpage templates, one can change the layouts and pages of any number of web pages as needed. Once the power pages are live, keep an eye on the website, check the analytics report periodically, and, if necessary, update the power pages and publish.

Two different Power Pages licensing options exist: pay-as-you-go Power Pages licensing and prepaid subscription Power Pages licensing. You can pay a certain amount for a specific number of authenticated and anonymous users on each website with a prepaid membership.

When it comes to the capabilities and features of Power pages, each organization can:

1. It is simple to create a web portal that can be used for various things, including event registration, self-service help, customer service support, and more.
2. Include different controls and components, such as text, photos, lists (Dataverse entities), entity forms, multistep forms, Power BI dashboards and reports, chatbots powered by Power virtual agents, iFrames, and more.
3. Connect Power BI, the model-driven and canvas apps for Power Apps, Dynamics 365, Sharepoint, and Dataverse.
4. Use web templates, styling, fonts, colors, background colors, and a variety of other options to completely customize the user interface in accordance with the requirements.
5. Design responsive power pages that can be seen on a mobile device or desktop computer, with the site’s elements adjusted to fit the device’s size.
6. Create multilingual websites based on the requirements, the clients’ locations, and the types of consumers they are.
7. Make it easier for users to interact with the portal by giving them links to survey forms and Dataverse data.

Offer various forms of authentication for accessing the Power pages. We can give anonymous access to anyone or authenticated users to grant them access.

Copresence's Emergence in the Power Pages

The term “copresence” refers to the experience of being present with others, whether in person or online. To mimic the sense of community and involvement frequently felt during face-to-face conversations, it goes beyond simple digital exchanges. The Power Pages environment offers a distinctive canvas for investigating how copresence enhances interactions and promotes easy cooperation.

Power Pages’ copresence feature makes identifying who is editing a portal simple by looking at the editor’s icon and name. Suppose another user joins the design studio while you are editing the same site. In that case, you will be alerted to the individual and the page they are trying to modify. Suppoe if you don’t want anyone to alter or update any of the work in the design studio you’ve done, you may get in touch with them right away by gathering their contact information in the command bar and asking them to refrain from making modifications. If we need to get in touch with the editor, we may do so by using a variety of communication channels. In the design studio, the primary navigation pane is on the left, making it simple to see who is collaborating on whichever page. The new function has not yet been added to Power Pages, but once it has, it will be enabled by default in all Power Platform environments. You will see the details of the users in the command bar as soon as other users join the power pages to modify the website.

A number, such as +1 or +10, appears if more than three users are editing the power pages simultaneously. Expand the list of all active users on the website by selecting that number. Choose a name from the command bar to access the user’s details and contact options, including Send mail and Chat in Teams. Team members can collaborate to edit websites while exchanging ideas and other elements utilizing copresence.

You can explore employee training opportunities for Power Apps to build a competent workforce.

About CloudThat

CloudThat has the unique recognition of having strategic partnerships with major public cloud providers AWS, Microsoft Azure, and GCP. We are a Microsoft Solutions Partner, AWS Authorized Training Partner, AWS Advanced Tier Services Partner, and Authorized VMware Training Partner.

We offer a wide array of Microsoft Power Platform training offerings. Explore our Consulting and Training pages to learn more about our offerings.