connectors

title	Connector Patterns
description	Power Platform connector usage patterns and best practices
category	integrations
subcategory	connectors
tags	connectors office365 sharepoint dataverse api
difficulty	intermediate
products	power-apps-canvas power-automate
author	PowerAppsDarren
created	2026-01-27
updated	2026-01-27

Connector Patterns

Table of Contents

• Overview
• Directory Structure
• Available Connectors
  • [Office 365 Outlook](#office-365-outlookoffice365-outlook)
  • [Office 365 Users](#office-365-usersoffice365-users)
• Connector Best Practices
  • 1. Delegation Awareness
  • 2. Error Handling
  • 3. Performance Optimization
  • 4. Connection References (ALM)
• Common Patterns
  • People Picker
  • Send Email
  • Get Manager
• Related Resources

Patterns for working with Power Platform connectors in Power Apps.

Overview

This folder contains patterns and examples for using various Power Platform connectors. Connectors are pre-built integrations that allow Power Apps to interact with external services and data sources.

Directory Structure

connectors/
├── office365-outlook/    # Email and calendar operations
├── office365-users/      # User profile and directory lookups
└── README.md

Available Connectors

Office 365 Outlook

Email, calendar, and contact operations.

Common uses:

• Send emails with attachments
• Read inbox messages
• Manage calendar events
• Access contacts

Office 365 Users

User profile and organizational data.

Common uses:

• People picker implementations
• User profile lookups
• Org chart navigation
• Manager/direct reports queries

Connector Best Practices

1. Delegation Awareness

Understand which operations are delegable:

// Delegable - runs on server
Filter(SharePointList, Status = "Active")

// Non-delegable - limited to 500/2000 records
Filter(SharePointList, Text(ID) = "123")

2. Error Handling

Always handle potential connector errors:

// Check for errors after connector calls
If(
    !IsBlank(Errors(DataSource)),
    Notify("Error connecting to data source", NotificationType.Error),
    // Success logic
)

3. Performance Optimization

• Cache frequently-used data in collections
• Use Concurrent() for parallel connector calls
• Minimize connector calls in galleries

// Cache user data on app start
ClearCollect(
    colCurrentUser,
    Office365Users.MyProfile()
);

// Then reference the cached data
colCurrentUser.DisplayName

4. Connection References (ALM)

For solutions deployed across environments:

// Use environment variables for connection-specific values
LookUp(
    'Environment Variable Values',
    'Environment Variable Definition'.'Schema Name' = "prefix_SharePointSiteUrl"
).Value

Common Patterns

People Picker

// Search for users
Office365Users.SearchUser({searchTerm: txtSearch.Text, top: 15})

Send Email

// Send email with Office365Outlook
Office365Outlook.SendEmailV2(
    txtTo.Text,
    txtSubject.Text,
    txtBody.Text
)

Get Manager

// Get current user's manager
Office365Users.Manager(User().Email)

Related Resources

• Power Apps Connectors List
• Custom Connectors
• Power Automate Integration
• Integrations Overview

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History

Date	Author	Changes
2026-01-27	Claude	Created initial README