PowerAPPS Integration - Bug, Oversight or limitation?

[shaunwilks]

Hello All

I have used a PowerAPP for 12 months. Now I want ot integrate it into a PowerBI Solution.

On the surface it sounds like its going to be easy. 

Add the PowerApps visual into PowerBI vis the PBI portal (not the desktop), add my data source fields and select the existing PowerApp I want to integrate.

This appears as though it does everything right - but it doesnt.

The "PowerBIIntegration" component is now visible under the tree of the PowerApps solution so it appears as though its connected to PBI correctly HOWEVER when you go to try and use PowerBIIntegration.Refresh()  you get "Invocation of unknown or unsupported function."

Now in the PowerBI PowerApps visual rather than "Selecting an Existing PowerAPP, I choose Create New, and then try and use a PowerBIIntegration.Refresh() it works without any error. 

Surely this cannot mean that everyone has to go through PBI to re-create their PowerAPP.  It goes against all design methodologies. You would want to Create the powerapp and test that it works first before any integration or before you build the PBI Report to put it on.

Any thoughts or workarounds please ??  I thought it would be pretty imporant now the powerapps visual is in PBI desktop by default.

Thanks in advance

[v-chuncz-msft]

@shaunwilks 

You may check Limitations of the PowerApps custom visual and create a support ticket if necessary.

[denyschamberlan]

First before going further in my statements, perhaps it should be important to point out that the
PowerApps visualiztion is no longer a "custom" visual... but has now been fully integrated in Power BI Desktop October 2019 edition.

So if you installed the latest October 2019 version, then it should be displayed as followed in default Visualization panel.

 

So for the sake of testing, I tried to replicate a very similar scenario as the one shown by Charles Sterling in the following video. 
PowerApps custom visual for Power BI V2 

Unfortunately adding the PowerBIIntegration.Refresh() method just didn't work in my case. 

1) I first created a very simple report on Power BI Desktop and connected it to an Azure SQL Database in DirectQuery mode.

2) I then added a PowerApps visualization in the Power BI Desktop report. When prompted to select either an existing
    app or create a brand new one, I chose the 2nd option allowing me to create a brand new on "all-from-scratch".
    I also used the very same Azure SQL Database as Data Source.
3) I then wanted to add the PowerBI PowerBIIntegration.Refresh() method to OnSelect() option as displayed in the video, 
    though I ended up with an "Invocation of unknown or unsupported function" error...
  
so something is obviously missing... Maybe I'm wrong... but I assume this may not be included as basic PowerApps options... If I could get a concise confirmation about requirement$ from anyone in the PBI Community, then that's fine with me... Unfortunately this didn't happen...

[shaunwilks]

I actually posted this in the powerplatform forums as well - hard to know where was more appropriate.

In summary - the PowerBIIntegration.Refresh() method ONLY is available to PowerApps, that were created from the "Create New" option in the PowerApps visual from within a PowerBI report via the PowerBi Service.  There are alot of IFs there I know. 

So if you created the App in PowerApps and then use the Select existing option in the PowerApps Visual to link to it, while it looks like it sets that App for use within Power BI because it actually adds the PowerBIIntegration.Data to that PowerApp, what it doesnt do is add the PowerBIIntegration.Refresh() method to the existing solution.

I personally think its an oversight that will cause many to have to scrap already created PowerApps and start them again from scratch. Another limitation is the auto generated App from the PowerApps Visual in PBI, also sets a fixed orientation which you cannot change.