Particularly in the Power Platform ecosystem, can require a great deal of troubleshooting. Microsoft provides several tools for this purpose, one of them being the Monitor tool. This tool, alongside other browser-based debugging tools, can be used to identify and rectify issues that occur during the development and usage of these kinds of applications. Particularly, this feature can advantageously serve developers preparing for the PL-400 Microsoft Power Platform Developer exam.
What Is the Monitor?
The Monitor is a debugging tool within Power Apps that provides developers with the opportunity to view a real-time stream of events from a published app. These events include user activity, platform events, plugin execution, and API requests and responses. The Monitor helps to detect performance issues, anti-patterns, and errors that might be affecting your app.
How to Use the Monitor
To use the Monitor with a Canvas or model-driven app for troubleshooting purposes, follow the steps below:
- Within Power Apps, select the app you wish to monitor.
- Open the Monitor from the command bar within Power Apps Studio.
- Initiate the streaming of data within Monitor by selecting “Start Session”.
- Run the app and reproduce the problem or performance issue.
- Take note or capture the events that occur around the problem for further investigation.
Browser-Based Debugging Tools
Apart from the Monitor, other browser-based debugging tools also exist and can be leveraged for troubleshooting Canvas and model-driven apps.
Google Chrome DevTools
One such browser-based debugging tool is Google Chrome’s DevTools. DevTools has a network monitoring feature that allows you to view HTTP requests/responses and WebSocket communication, a resources panel that lets you inspect cookies, Local Storage, Session Storage, and WebSQL Databases, and a Timeline panel to measure runtime performance.
F12 Developer Tools
For Internet Explorer and Edge, there’s the F12 Developer Tools. This package provides similar features to Google Chrome’s DevTools, with additional including a feature to simulate a number of different display settings which helps with testing responsive design.
Firefox Browser Developer Edition
For Firefox users, the Firefox Browser Developer Edition is a browser specifically tailored to developers. It comes with built-in developer tools that include a console, a debugger, a network monitor, a style editor, a web console, and more.
Developers working with Canvas and model-driven apps can use these tools to dig deeper into issues that become apparent during use. By understanding the underlying structures of the applications, events, and their timing, developers can find better and more efficient ways to troubleshoot issues and streamline their apps.
For effective troubleshooting, it’s crucial to understand how to use these tools and when to use them. While the Monitor provides a focus on Power Apps specific events, browser-based debugging tools allow for a deeper incursion into HTTP communication, runtime performance, and data manipulation.
In conclusion, the combination of Power App’s in-built Monitor tool and external browser-based debugging tools provide developers with comprehensive means to troubleshoot Canvas and model-driven apps effectively. Mastering these tools is essential for anyone preparing for the PL-400 Microsoft Power Platform Developer exam.
Practice Test
True or False: You can use Monitor to debug canvas app issues in real-time.
- True
- False
Answer: True.
Explanation: Monitor is a tool designed to track and debug your app as it is running in real time.
To check Network Call timings, which browser debugging tool do you use?
- A. Monitor
- B. Microsoft Visual Studio
- C. Browser’s Developer Tools
- D. None of these
Answer: C. Browser’s Developer Tools
Explanation: The browser’s developer tools are useful for checking the timings of network calls, as they present a timeline of events including load times, rendering, and more.
True or False: Monitor cannot be useful while Debugging Model-Driven App issues.
- True
- False
Answer: False.
Explanation: Just as with canvas apps, Monitor can be used to investigate issues in model-driven apps in real-time.
Select the options that are correct about using Monitor to view error messages in Canvas apps:
- A. You can use Monitor to track down unexpected behaviors.
- B. Monitor allows you to filter events.
- C. Monitor provides you insights about what your app did or didn’t do.
- D. None of the above.
Answer: A, B, C.
Explanation: Monitor is a tool that aids real-time debugging by providing insights into what the app is doing, allowing you to track unexpected behaviors and filtering specific events.
What does the Console tab in the browser developer tool primarily help with?
- A. Checking rendering times
- B. Checking load times
- C. Logging JavaScript and displaying error messages
- D. Checking network call timings
Answer: C. Logging JavaScript and displaying error messages
Explanation: The Console tab in browser’s developer tools is primarily used to log JavaScript and display error messages for debugging purposes.
True or False: Monitor does not give information about which rules were evaluated in your canvas app.
- True
- False
Answer: False.
Explanation: Monitor gives you detailed information about each formula or rule evaluation done in real time in your canvas app.
In a model-driven app, where do you connect the Monitor tool to start debugging?
- A. In the browser’s URL.
- B. In the Power Apps portal.
- C. In the Power Automate portal.
- D. None of these.
Answer: B. In the Power Apps portal.
Explanation: You connect to the Monitor tool from within the Power Apps portal when you want to debug a model-driven app.
True or False: You cannot apply filters in Monitor to view specific events.
- True
- False
Answer: False.
Explanation: One of the features of Monitor is the ability to apply filters, to help you focus on specific events or actions.
Which of the following codes would you add in the browser URL to start a debug session for a model-driven app?
- A. &debug=true
- B. &monitor=true
- C. &initiateDebug=true
- D. None of these
Answer: A. &debug=true
Explanation: To start a debug session for a Model-Driven App, you need to append “&debug=true” at the end of browser URL.
True or False: Troubleshooting Canvas and Model-Driven Apps is only possible through Monitor, there are no other debugging tools.
- True
- False
Answer: False.
Explanation: While Monitor is a powerful debugging tool its not the only one. Other browser-based debugging tools like browser developer tools can also be used.
Interview Questions
What is the primary function of Microsoft’s Monitor tool in the Power Apps?
The primary function of Monitor tool in Microsoft Power Apps is to provide real-time and historical data on operations performed in your app. It aids developers in triaging, debugging, and resolving issues within their Canvas and model-driven apps.
How can a developer start a session within the Monitor tool?
To start a session within Microsoft Monitor, select the Monitor tool from the left-hand navigation pane in Power Apps. Once within Monitor, click on the Start New Session button.
What kind of issues can be resolved with the Monitor tool in Microsoft Power Apps?
Monitor tool in Microsoft Power Apps can help resolve a various range of issues in both Canvas and Model-driven apps. This includes troubleshooting performance issues, identifying and fixing errors in formulas and operations, understanding usage and optimization patterns, and debugging issues with data sources.
When working in Power Apps, how can you use browser-based debugging tools to troubleshoot issues?
Browser-based debugging tools can be used for troubleshooting issues with Power App by inspecting HTML elements, diagnosing network issues, seeing console logs and warnings, and using breakpoints in code for line-by-line execution.
What advantage does the Monitor tool provide for model-driven apps?
For model-driven apps, the Monitor tool provides a comprehensive view across all user actions and platform runtime operations. It allows you to trace issues like plugin-in failures and custom API messages to their root cause and fix the issues quickly.
What data can you expect to see in the Monitor session timeline?
In the Monitor session timeline, you can expect to see information about app user actions and platform executions, including their timing and status. It also displays detailed data properties like input parameters, response details, and error messages, if applicable.
What is the role of the Power Apps Diagnostic tool?
The Power Apps Diagnostic tool analyses the performance of Canvas apps. It suggests improvements, and highlights potential issues such as excessive network usage, long running formulas, and inefficient data requests.
How do you enable trace logs in model-driven apps to assist with debugging?
To enable trace logs in model-driven apps, you can add “&trace=true” at the end of the URL for your model-driven app. This will generate a detailed trace log that can be downloaded and analyzed.
If you are troubleshooting a Power App that uses custom APIs, where would you find related error messages within Monitor?
You can view the detailed history of custom API requests in the Monitor session details panel. The operations performed by custom APIs and any associated error messages will be displayed here.
What insight does the “Server Requests” metric in the Diagnostics tool provide?
The “Server Requests” metric in the Diagnostics tool provides information about the number of calls made from the app to any data sources. It can help identify potential network inefficiencies or bottlenecks in Power Apps.
How would you use the ‘Inspect’ element in browser-based debugging?
With ‘Inspect’ element in browser-based debugging, the developer can explore the HTML, see CSS properties, and view any changes in real-time. This can help debug layout or styling issues in Power Apps.
Can you use the Monitor tool to troubleshoot issues with Microsoft Dataverse?
Yes, you can use the Monitor tool to troubleshoot Microsoft Dataverse issues. It can provide details about the operations performed and any associated errors while the app interacts with Dataverse.
Can you filter the logs in the Monitor tool?
Yes, the Monitor tool provides various filters to refine the logged data. You can filter by operation type, status (such as errors or warnings), and even by user who performed the operations.
Is it possible to share the diagnostic data from Monitor tool with others?
Yes, you can share diagnostic data from the Monitor tool by downloading the logs and then sharing the .csv file with whoever needs it.
How can errors from Plugins can be traced in model-driven apps?
Errors from Plugins in model-driven apps can be traced using the Monitor tool. It provides detailed information about the execution of plugins and any errors that occurred during that process.
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