As Microsoft continue to develop the products within the Power Platform, we’re pleased to introduce a recently announced update to model-driven apps.
Microsoft have now added in-app notifications via a public preview in model-driven apps. This allows the user to see all notifications via a notification centre with an indication of new notifications shown on the bell in the header and a new notification count.
What is a model-driven app?
Firstly, you may be wondering what a model-driven app is. Model-driven apps is a design approach which focuses on adding forms, views, charts, and dashboards to your apps. This requires little or no code but still offers the ability to build apps that can be simple or very complex. This app design is part of the wider Power Apps product set (which you can learn more about here) and can also be seen within Microsoft’s first party CRM apps such as Dynamics 365 Sales.
Where can I access my notifications?
Notifications can be accessed in the header by clicking the bell icon. This will open the notification centre and show the latest notifications first. However, this feature needs to be enabled by opting in to show the notification centre and toasts to users for each model-driven app.
What benefits do notifications provide?
Notifications will allow you to keep in touch with your users while working within the web or mobile app. They will provide timely messages with helpful and relevant information such as an upcoming service reminder or a missed SLA.
How are Notifications sent?
Notifications are sent by creating a record in the notification table. This is done by using any of the table APIs or Power Automate. The notification sender can also define navigation links, formatting, and custom icons to make a custom notification.
Summary
Although this new functionality is only available in preview for the moment, the introduction of notifications to model-driven apps is a useful development from Microsoft which will certainly enhance the user experience. If you are an existing Strategy 365 client and want to discuss in-app notifications with one of our team, feel free to get in touch.
