cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 
Reply
mnmsymmons
Helper I
Helper I

Disable app/hide dataset in gallery for a few minutes on a schedule?

I have an app accessing SharePoint list data in gallery view. This app has buttons that will kick off patches and flows.

 

Everyday at roughly 12:02pm a flow will kick off from a report update and update the base data in this app.

 

Flow then deletes all items in the list and replaces with a new set of items based off the new report. Whilst this is happening there is about 1-2minutes (depending on the amount of data) where the user may see an incomplete set of data which could cause some confusion or they may try to kick off something using data that has been cleared or is no longer valid.

 

Is there any functionality you can think of in Powerapps to do one of the following (in order of preference):

 

  1. Disable the app everyday from 12:02pm until 12:05pm with some sort of UI message to the user
  2. The above without a message to the user
  3. From 12:02pm until 12:05pm hide the dataset from the view (not sure if putting it in the 'Items' property will necessarily work if the user hasn't triggered a refresh)

Thanks in advance

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION

Accepted Solutions
mnmsymmons
Helper I
Helper I

OK, so here's the solution I have implemented with success.

 

Flow now triggers a list item to indicate the data refresh is in progressing by updating it's "Running" Boolean field to be true. (this also has some other benefits as I was having issues with flows being initiated twice by local to one drive syncing so I can use the same field to stop second instances). Obviously at the end of the data refresh flow this field returns to false.

 

I have a text input box covering the entire app with display mode as view, the text with a standard message (see screenshot) and in Visible the following code

 

If(LookUp(FlowRunning,ID="1",Running)=true,true,false)

 

Where FlowRunning is my SharePoint list and 1 being the ID of the relevant item.

 

Then to handle the auto refreshing so I have a timer with Visible set to false, Duration set to 3000ms, Repeat on, Auto start on, Auto pause on and OnTimerEnd set to "Refresh(FlowRunning)"

 

Seems to work fine so far. Thanks all for your help

 

Capture2.PNG

View solution in original post

6 REPLIES 6
PeteMc
Resolver I
Resolver I

You could add code to the onstart property to check the time and transfer the user to a information page that has no navigation features. Then add an onstart timer that checks the time every minute and then also transfers user who are already running the app to the same page. On this page you have an onvisible timer that will then return the user to where they originally were (And refresh datasets).

Anonymous
Not applicable

Is the PowerApp directly accessing the SharePoint list via the connector in PowerApps or is it calling a Flow to get the data?

 

  • If the list, then perhaps have the Flow set some value somewhere else - another sharepoint list, availability/inavailability of a file (a "lock file" is one wya to look at it), etc to indicate that the Flow is doing its job and the data is unavailable (perhaps even giving an estimate to when it will be).  

    The Flow when it starts updating, sets this value, and when its totally complete clears it.  

    The PowerApp checks this value PRIOR to trying to load the data.  If its set, it knows to wait or return and error for the user to try later.  If its not set it reads it.

    In this way you're not dependent on ensuring that the times are in sync - ie: rescheduling the time the Flow runs has no bearing on whether or not this would work.

  • If the latter, then the Flow could check this value (wherever it is) and instead of returning the data return an error that it is currently unavailable.

Hope this helps!


Brian

Drrickryp
Super User
Super User

 

Hi @mnmsymmons,
I took a different approach using two timer controls and two textinput boxes. Timer1 will control the clock and   Timer2 will  block the screen and prevent the user from working on the app while the data update is done.  Textinput1 will be an onscreen clock showing the current time.  Textinput2 will set the time to block the screen while the data update is done.  The following are the settings for the controls.
Timer1 properties
Duration- 1000
Repeat- true
AutoStart- true
AutoPause- true
OnTimerEnd- UpdateContext({textbox1:Text(Now(),"[$-en-US] hh:mm:ss")})
OnTimerStart-false
Visible- false
TextInput1// (This is the Clock, shows current time in hrs:Min:Sec)
 Default- "Current time " &textbox1
Textinput2 (trigger for starting Timer2
Default- "12:00:00"
DisplayMode- View
Timer2
Adjust size to cover most of the screen.
Autostart- false
Repeat- false
Text- "App paused for data update.  Returning in  " & Text(Time(0, 0, (Timer1.Duration-Timer1.Value)/1000), "[$-en-US]mm:ss")
Duration- 280000
AutoPause- true
DisplayMode- View
OnTimerEnd- UpdateContext({show:false})
Start- textbox1-Textinput2.Text=0;UpdateContext({show:true})
Visible- show
Explanation:  When the screen becomes visible, Timer1 starts (AutoStart).  The clock (Textinput1) will show current time in Hr:,Min:Sec and update every second (Duration-1000). It will autopause if the user navigates away from the screen. Timer2 will become visible when the two textboxes are equal and starts a countdown.  The Text property of Timer2 shows the countdown and lets the user know how long it will be before the data update is complete  Timer2 covers the screen controls and keeps the user from accessing them.  Timer2 will start when the two Textinput boxes are equal (textInput2=current time).  The duration of the countdown is 280000 milliseconds or 3 minutes.  This can be adjusted for the length of time it takes for the data update to complete. At the end of the countdown, the Context variable, "show" becomes false and Timer2 is hidden until the next time the two TextInput controls become equal.  Pretty nifty if I do say so myself.

mnmsymmons
Helper I
Helper I

Thank you @PeteMc @Anonymous & @Drrickryp for your great suggestions. Wasn't expecting so many options and detail!

 

I think I will try a hybrid of the SharePoint List holding the "lock file" info by including an update in the start and end of my Flows and then utilise the textbox to hide all user controls. I will use a timer to periodically refresh this Lock File list.

 

Taking the disabling of the app from one suggestion and the switching to an actual update time as opposed to a conservative 3mins when it could be a lot less at times.

 

I'm even tempted to update a % value in the lock file list and show % complete during the update but that's more for being nifty then actually needing it! 

 

I'll confirm solution once I get working

 

Thanks

v-xida-msft
Community Support
Community Support

Hi @mnmsymmons,

Do you want to disable your app from 12:02 pm to 12:05 pm everyday?

 

I agree with @PeteMc's thought almost. Currently, within PowerApps, there is no direct way to disable an app, as an alternative solution, you could consider navigate the end user to a Non-functionality screen within your app.

When the app is started up, check if the current time is between 12:02 pm and 12:05 pm, if yes, navigate to the Non-functionality screen within your app.

I have made a test on my side, please take a try with the following workaround:

Set the OnStart property or OnVisible of the first screen of your app to following formula:

 

If(
Now()>=Today()+Time(12,2,0)&&Now()<=Today()+Time(12,5,0),
Navigate(Non-Functionality screen,ScreenTransition.Cover)
)

Within the Non-functionality screen, add a Timer control, set the Duration to following:

 

 

1000

Set the AutoStart property and Repeat property to following:

 

 

true

Set the OnTimerEnd property to following:

If(
Now()<Today()+Time(12,2,0) || Now()>Today()+Time(12,5,0),
Navigate(MainScreen,ScreenTransition.Fade)
)

Set the Visible property to following:

false

 

Best regards,

Kris

 

Community Support Team _ Kris Dai
If this post helps, then please consider Accept it as the solution to help the other members find it more quickly.
mnmsymmons
Helper I
Helper I

OK, so here's the solution I have implemented with success.

 

Flow now triggers a list item to indicate the data refresh is in progressing by updating it's "Running" Boolean field to be true. (this also has some other benefits as I was having issues with flows being initiated twice by local to one drive syncing so I can use the same field to stop second instances). Obviously at the end of the data refresh flow this field returns to false.

 

I have a text input box covering the entire app with display mode as view, the text with a standard message (see screenshot) and in Visible the following code

 

If(LookUp(FlowRunning,ID="1",Running)=true,true,false)

 

Where FlowRunning is my SharePoint list and 1 being the ID of the relevant item.

 

Then to handle the auto refreshing so I have a timer with Visible set to false, Duration set to 3000ms, Repeat on, Auto start on, Auto pause on and OnTimerEnd set to "Refresh(FlowRunning)"

 

Seems to work fine so far. Thanks all for your help

 

Capture2.PNG

Helpful resources

Announcements

Power Platform Connections Ep 15 | L. Baybutt | Thursday, 1 June 2023

Episode Fifteen of Power Platform Connections sees David Warner and Hugo Bernier talk to Microsoft MVP Lewis Baybutt aka Low Code Lewis, alongside the latest news and community blogs.   Use the hashtag #PowerPlatformConnects on social media for a chance to have your work featured on the show.      Action requested: Feel free to provide feedback on how we can make our community more inclusive and diverse.  This episode premiers live on our YouTube at 12pm PST on Thursday 1st June 2023.  Video series available at Power Platform Community YouTube channel.    Upcoming events:  European Power Platform conference – Jun. 20-22nd - Dublin Microsoft Power Platform Conference – Oct. 3-5th - Las Vegas  Join our Communities:  Power Apps Community Power Automate Community Power Virtual Agents Community Power Pages Community  If you’d like to hear from a specific community member in an upcoming recording and/or have specific questions for the Power Platform Connections team, please let us know. We will do our best to address all your requests or questions.   

May 2023 Community Newsletter and Upcoming Events

Welcome to our May 2023 Community Newsletter, where we'll be highlighting the latest news, releases, upcoming events, and the great work of our members inside the Biz Apps communities. If you're new to this LinkedIn group, be sure to subscribe here in the News & Announcements to stay up to date with the latest news from our ever-growing membership network who "changed the way they thought about code".       LATEST NEWS "Mondays at Microsoft" LIVE on LinkedIn - 8am PST - Monday 15th May  - Grab your Monday morning coffee and come join Principal Program Managers Heather Cook and Karuana Gatimu for the premiere episode of "Mondays at Microsoft"! This show will kick off the launch of the new Microsoft Community LinkedIn channel and cover a whole host of hot topics from across the #PowerPlatform, #ModernWork, #Dynamics365, #AI, and everything in-between. Just click the image below to register and come join the team LIVE on Monday 15th May 2023 at 8am PST. Hope to see you there!     Executive Keynote | Microsoft Customer Success Day CVP for Business Applications & Platform, Charles Lamanna, shares the latest #BusinessApplications product enhancements and updates to help customers achieve their business outcomes.     S01E13 Power Platform Connections - 12pm PST - Thursday 11th May Episode Thirteen of Power Platform Connections sees Hugo Bernier take a deep dive into the mind of co-host David Warner II, alongside the reviewing the great work of Dennis Goedegebuure, Keith Atherton, Michael Megel, Cat Schneider, and more. Click below to subscribe and get notified, with David and Hugo LIVE in the YouTube chat from 12pm PST. And use the hashtag #PowerPlatformConnects on social media for a chance to have your work featured on the show.     UPCOMING EVENTS   European Power Platform Conference - early bird ticket sale ends! The European Power Platform Conference early bird ticket sale ends on Friday 12th May 2023! #EPPC23 brings together the Microsoft Power Platform Communities for three days of unrivaled days in-person learning, connections and inspiration, featuring three inspirational keynotes, six expert full-day tutorials, and over eighty-five specialist sessions, with guest speakers including April Dunnam, Dona Sarkar, Ilya Fainberg, Janet Robb, Daniel Laskewitz, Rui Santos, Jens Christian Schrøder, Marco Rocca, and many more. Deep dive into the latest product advancements as you hear from some of the brightest minds in the #PowerApps space. Click here to book your ticket today and save!      DynamicMinds Conference - Slovenia - 22-24th May 2023 It's not long now until the DynamicsMinds Conference, which takes place in Slovenia on 22nd - 24th May, 2023 - where brilliant minds meet, mingle & share! This great Power Platform and Dynamics 365 Conference features a whole host of amazing speakers, including the likes of Georg Glantschnig, Dona Sarkar, Tommy Skaue, Monique Hayward, Aleksandar Totovic, Rachel Profitt, Aurélien CLERE, Ana Inés Urrutia de Souza, Luca Pellegrini, Bostjan Golob, Shannon Mullins, Elena Baeva, Ivan Ficko, Guro Faller, Vivian Voss, Andrew Bibby, Tricia Sinclair, Roger Gilchrist, Sara Lagerquist, Steve Mordue, and many more. Click here: DynamicsMinds Conference for more info on what is sure an amazing community conference covering all aspects of Power Platform and beyond.    Days of Knowledge Conference in Denmark - 1-2nd June 2023 Check out 'Days of Knowledge', a Directions 4 Partners conference on 1st-2nd June in Odense, Denmark, which focuses on educating employees, sharing knowledge and upgrading Business Central professionals. This fantastic two-day conference offers a combination of training sessions and workshops - all with Business Central and related products as the main topic. There's a great list of industry experts sharing their knowledge, including Iona V., Bert Verbeek, Liza Juhlin, Douglas Romão, Carolina Edvinsson, Kim Dalsgaard Christensen, Inga Sartauskaite, Peik Bech-Andersen, Shannon Mullins, James Crowter, Mona Borksted Nielsen, Renato Fajdiga, Vivian Voss, Sven Noomen, Paulien Buskens, Andri Már Helgason, Kayleen Hannigan, Freddy Kristiansen, Signe Agerbo, Luc van Vugt, and many more. If you want to meet industry experts, gain an advantage in the SMB-market, and acquire new knowledge about Microsoft Dynamics Business Central, click here Days of Knowledge Conference in Denmark to buy your ticket today!   COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS Check out our top Super and Community Users reaching new levels! These hardworking members are posting, answering questions, kudos, and providing top solutions in their communities.   Power Apps:  Super Users: @WarrenBelz, @LaurensM  @BCBuizer  Community Users:  @Amik@ @mmollet, @Cr1t    Power Automate:  Super Users: @Expiscornovus , @grantjenkins, @abm  Community Users: @Nived_Nambiar, @ManishSolanki    Power Virtual Agents:  Super Users: @Pstork1, @Expiscornovus  Community Users: @JoseA, @fernandosilva, @angerfire1213    Power Pages: Super Users: @ragavanrajan  Community Users: @Fubar, @Madhankumar_L,@gospa  LATEST COMMUNITY BLOG ARTICLES  Power Apps Community Blog  Power Automate Community Blog  Power Virtual Agents Community Blog  Power Pages Community Blog  Check out 'Using the Community' for more helpful tips and information:  Power Apps , Power Automate, Power Virtual Agents, Power Pages 

Microsoft Power Platform Conference | Registration Open | Oct. 3-5 2023

We are so excited to see you for the Microsoft Power Platform Conference in Las Vegas October 3-5 2023! But first, let's take a look back at some fun moments and the best community in tech from MPPC 2022 in Orlando, Florida.   Featuring guest speakers such as Charles Lamanna, Heather Cook, Julie Strauss, Nirav Shah, Ryan Cunningham, Sangya Singh, Stephen Siciliano, Hugo Bernier and many more.   Register today: https://www.powerplatformconf.com/   

Check out the new Power Platform Communities Front Door Experience!

We are excited to share the ‘Power Platform Communities Front Door’ experience with you!   Front Door brings together content from all the Power Platform communities into a single place for our community members, customers and low-code, no-code enthusiasts to learn, share and engage with peers, advocates, community program managers and our product team members. There are a host of features and new capabilities now available on Power Platform Communities Front Door to make content more discoverable for all power product community users which includes ForumsUser GroupsEventsCommunity highlightsCommunity by numbersLinks to all communities Users can see top discussions from across all the Power Platform communities and easily navigate to the latest or trending posts for further interaction. Additionally, they can filter to individual products as well.       Users can filter and browse the user group events from all power platform products with feature parity to existing community user group experience and added filtering capabilities.     Users can now explore user groups on the Power Platform Front Door landing page with capability to view all products in Power Platform.    Explore Power Platform Communities Front Door today. Visit Power Platform Community Front door to easily navigate to the different product communities, view a roll up of user groups, events and forums.

Welcome to the Power Apps Community

Welcome! Congratulations on joining the Microsoft Power Apps community! You are now a part of a vibrant group of peers and industry experts who are here to network, share knowledge, and even have a little fun! Now that you are a member, you can enjoy the following resources:   The Microsoft Power Apps Community Forums If you are looking for support with any part of Microsoft Power Apps, our forums are the place to go. They are titled "Get Help with Microsoft Power Apps " and there you will find thousands of technical professionals with years of experience who are ready and eager to answer your questions. You now have the ability to post, reply and give "kudos" on the Power Apps community forums! Make sure you conduct a quick search before creating a new post because your question may have already been asked and answered!   Microsoft Power Apps IdeasDo you have an idea to improve the Microsoft Power Apps experience, or a feature request for future product updates? Then the "Power Apps Ideas" section is where you can contribute your suggestions and vote for ideas posted by other community members. We constantly look to the most voted Ideas when planning updates, so your suggestions and votes will always make a difference.   Community Blog & NewsOver the years, more than 600 Power Apps Community Blog Articles have been written and published by our thriving community. Our community members have learned some excellent tips and have keen insights on building Power Apps. On the Power Apps Community Blog, read the latest Power Apps related posts from our community blog authors around the world. Let us know if you would like to become an author and contribute your own writing — everything Power Apps related is welcome!   Power Apps Samples, Learning and Videos GalleriesOur galleries have a little bit of everything to do with Power Apps. Our galleries are great for finding inspiration for your next app or component. You can view, comment and kudo the apps and component gallery to see what others have created! Or share Power Apps that you have created with other Power Apps enthusiasts. Along with all of that awesome content, there is the Power Apps Community Video & MBAS gallery where you can watch tutorials and demos by Microsoft staff, partners, and community gurus in our community video gallery.   Again, we are excited to welcome you to the Microsoft Power Apps community family! Whether you are brand new to the world of process automation or you are a seasoned Power Apps veteran. Our goal is to shape the community to be your ‘go to’ for support, networking, education, inspiration and encouragement as we enjoy this adventure together!   Let us know in the Community Feedback if you have any questions or comments about your community experience.To learn more about the community and your account be sure to visit our Community Support Area boards to learn more! We look forward to seeing you in the Power Apps Community!The Power Apps Team

Top Solution Authors
Top Kudoed Authors
Users online (2,882)