In this tutorial, Brian Knight from Pragmatic Works introduces an exciting new feature in Power Apps Canvas applications—the ability to view and work with the code behind any object. This functionality allows developers to copy, modify, and reuse code snippets, making app development more efficient and standardized.
The new Canvas Code Editor in Power Apps uses YAML (YAML Ain’t Markup Language), a human-readable data serialization format that’s been integrated into Microsoft’s ecosystem for managing the properties of Canvas applications. With this new feature, you can easily view and copy the code behind any object in your app, enabling you to replicate or modify it across different screens or even different apps.
To start, open your Canvas app in Power Apps and select an object, such as a button, on your screen:
While direct editing within the Power Apps interface is not currently available, you can copy the YAML code to an external editor like Notepad:
After making your edits, you can paste the modified code back into your Canvas app:
This feature is not limited to individual objects like buttons. You can also view and copy the code for entire containers, including all their child elements:
This new capability offers several advantages:
This feature has been highly requested by the Power Apps community, and Microsoft has finally delivered. By leveraging the Canvas Code Editor, developers can streamline their workflow and improve the efficiency of app development.
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