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Dataverse Table Editor — maker-portal parity spec

Captured 2026-05-26 by catalog agent from Microsoft Learn (Power Apps maker portal · Dataverse Web API EntityDefinitions reference) and inspection of apps/fiab-console/lib/editors/powerplatform-editors.tsx::DataverseTableEditor + apps/fiab-console/lib/azure/powerplatform-client.ts. Loom has working Dataverse Web API read of tables and attributes (UAT-verified); this spec compares Loom's current surface against the full Power Apps maker-portal Table hub UX.

Overview

A Dataverse table (formerly "entity") is the unit of data modeling in Power Platform. Each table has a logical name (e.g., account), schema name (Account), display name (localised), entity set name (accounts — used in the Web API), primary ID attribute (accountid), primary name attribute (name), and a collection of typed columns, keys, relationships, business rules, views, forms, charts, dashboards, and security row-filters. Tables come in three kinds — System (out-of-box, e.g. account, contact, systemuser), Standard (Microsoft-shipped business tables that can be extended), and Custom (created in the maker portal or via solution). Tables are the foundation for canvas apps, model-driven apps, Power Pages lists/forms, Copilot Studio Dataverse knowledge sources, and AI Builder training datasets.

Power Apps maker portal — Table hub UX

Tables list

  • Filter pivots: All · Custom · Default · Activity · Managed
  • Columns: Display name · Name (logical) · Type · Managed by · Customizable · Last modified
  • Command bar: + New table · Import (Excel / CSV / Power Query) · Sync from Excel · Connect to virtual data source · Export to Excel
  • Per-row: open table hub, copy logical name, delete (custom only)

Table hub (per-table)

Single landing canvas split into:

Properties panel

  • Display name (sing / plural) · Description · Name (logical, immutable after create) · Schema name · Primary column (Name) · Type (Standard / Activity / Virtual) · Ownership (User/Team · Organization) · Audit changes · Track changes · Provide custom Help · Enable for mobile · Enable for tablet · Enable for offline · Enable quick-create · Enable duplicate detection · Enable connections · Enable mail merge · Enable Knowledge Articles · Enable SharePoint document management

Schema area

  • Columns — typed column list with filter (Custom · Required · All) and + New column. Data types: Single line of text · Multiple lines · Whole number · Decimal · Currency · Date/Time · Choice (Yes/No, Optionset, MultiSelect) · Lookup · File · Image · Customer · Owner · Status · Status Reason · Autonumber · Calculated · Rollup · Power Fx formula · Big int
  • Each column edit reveals: required level (None / Recommended / Required) · searchable · audit · field security · description · format (Email / Phone / URL / TickerSymbol / Text Area) · max length · default value · IME mode · range
  • Relationships — Many-to-One · One-to-Many · Many-to-Many; per-rel cascade rules: Assign · Reparent · Share · Delete · Unshare · Merge · Rollup View (Cascade All / Active / User-owned / None / Remove Link / Restrict)
  • Keys — alternate keys (composite columns, used as natural keys in upsert)

Data experiences

  • Forms — Main · Quick Create · Quick View · Card · Mobile Express; form designer with sections / tabs / columns / sub-grids / iframes / web resources / business rules attached to form
  • Views — System views and personal; view designer with column picker, sort, filter (incl. related-table joins), aggregations
  • Charts — system charts (bar / column / line / pie / funnel / tag) bound to a view
  • Dashboards — multi-chart + view tiles

Customizations

  • Business rules — scope: Entity / All forms / specific form; condition + actions (set value · clear value · set required level · show/hide · enable/disable · validation message · recommendation); designer with graphical condition editor or code-view IF-THEN
  • Commands — modern Command Bar buttons (icon, label, visibility expression, action — Power Fx OR Run Flow OR JavaScript)
  • Business process flows — multi-stage process bar (Qualify → Develop → Propose → Close); stages with data steps + branching

Table columns and data

  • Inline data editor: view rows, add row, edit cell, delete row, choose visible columns
  • Column-stats panel (count, null %, distinct count) for custom tables
  • Search box + simple OData filter

Tools (right rail)

  • Solutions membership (which solutions contain this table)
  • Dependency map · Created on / by · Modified on / by

Solution authoring tie-in

  • Tables belong to solutions (managed vs unmanaged)
  • All schema edits land in the currently-active solution layer; managed properties (can-customize) gate downstream edits

What Loom has today

From apps/fiab-console/lib/editors/powerplatform-editors.tsx::DataverseTableEditor and apps/fiab-console/lib/azure/powerplatform-client.ts:

  • Environment picker (shared useEnvironments) → drives the per-env Dataverse base URL
  • List tables — GET /api/data/v9.2/EntityDefinitions?$select=MetadataId,LogicalName,SchemaName,DisplayName,IsCustomEntity,EntitySetName,PrimaryIdAttribute,PrimaryNameAttribute filtered client-side to custom + a curated set of system tables (account, contact, systemuser, team, msdyn_aimodel, mspp_website); first 500
  • Tables table — Logical name (clickable) · Display name · Entity set · Custom? — sortable by row
  • Click a table → schema view loads attributes
  • List attributes — GET .../EntityDefinitions(LogicalName='<name>')/Attributes?$select=MetadataId,LogicalName,SchemaName,AttributeType,RequiredLevel,DisplayName,IsCustomAttribute,IsPrimaryId,IsPrimaryName
  • Attributes table — Logical name (with PK + Name badges) · Display name · Data type · Required · Custom? — first 500
  • Reload button on both list and detail
  • Solution listing client method (listSolutions) exists in the client but no UI surface today
  • Error MessageBars on 401/403/404 with hint

Gaps for parity

  1. No + New table create flow — can't create a custom table (display name, plural, logical-name prefix, primary column, ownership, audit, custom Help, mobile/offline toggles) from Loom
  2. No table-properties editor — can't toggle audit, change tracking, quick-create, duplicate detection, SharePoint doc mgmt, knowledge articles on an existing table
  3. No column-create / edit / delete — Loom is read-only on attributes; no + New column typed form (text · number · choice · lookup · etc.), no required-level edit, no default-value, no calculated / rollup / Power Fx authoring
  4. No relationship designer — 1:N / N:N relationships not listed and can't be created; cascade-behavior matrix not exposed
  5. No keys (alternate-key) editor — can't define composite natural keys for upsert
  6. No views designer — Loom doesn't list system views, can't add/edit a view (column picker, sort, filter, aggregations)
  7. No forms designer — Main / Quick-Create / Quick-View / Card / Mobile Express forms not listed and can't be edited
  8. No charts / dashboards — not surfaced
  9. No business-rules designer — Loom can't list, create, or edit business rules (condition + actions, scope, error message)
  10. No commands / modern Command Bar editor — no button list, no Power Fx / Run Flow / JS action authoring
  11. No business-process-flow editor — multi-stage process bar not surfaced
  12. No inline data editor — can't view rows of a table, can't add/edit/delete a row from Loom; Loom only shows the metadata schema
  13. Tables list filter — Loom uses a hardcoded allow-list of 5 system tables + all custom; no All / Custom / Default / Activity / Managed filter pivot, no full-text search by display name
  14. Solutions panel — listSolutions exists in client but has no UI; can't show which solutions contain a table, can't switch active solution
  15. Managed properties — IsManaged, CanBeCustomized not shown; edit attempts on managed tables would silently fail
  16. Column data types beyond name+type — Loom shows AttributeType but not the underlying typed metadata (max length for strings, precision for decimals, target table(s) for lookups, optionset values for choices, formula expression for calculated columns)
  17. Dependency view — no map of "what depends on this table" (apps, flows, reports, business rules)
  18. Import data flows — no Excel/CSV/Power Query import, no virtual-table connect
  19. Pagination — hard-capped at 500 rows; no $skiptoken-based paging for large schemas (Dynamics envs commonly have 1500+ tables)

Backend mapping

Live Dataverse Web API is the canonical path (Loom has read working): - List tables — GET /api/data/v9.2/EntityDefinitions - Get table — GET .../EntityDefinitions(LogicalName='<name>') with $expand=Attributes($select=...) - Create table — POST .../EntityDefinitions with Microsoft.Dynamics.CRM.EntityMetadata payload (DisplayName, SchemaName, DisplayCollectionName, OwnershipType, PrimaryNameAttribute) - Update table — PUT .../EntityDefinitions(LogicalName='<name>') - Delete table — DELETE .../EntityDefinitions(LogicalName='<name>') (only when custom + unmanaged) - Columns CRUD — POST/PUT/DELETE .../EntityDefinitions(LogicalName='<name>')/Attributes with type-specific metadata classes (StringAttributeMetadata, IntegerAttributeMetadata, LookupAttributeMetadata, PicklistAttributeMetadata, etc.) - Relationships — POST .../RelationshipDefinitions (OneToManyRelationshipMetadata, ManyToManyRelationshipMetadata) - Keys — POST .../EntityDefinitions(LogicalName='<name>')/Keys - Views (savedqueries) — GET/POST/PATCH /api/data/v9.2/savedqueries - Forms (systemforms) — GET/POST/PATCH /api/data/v9.2/systemforms with formxml payload - Business rules (workflows kind=2) — GET .../workflows?$filter=category eq 2 - Commands — appactions / commanddefinitions tables (modern command bar) - Row data — GET/POST/PATCH/DELETE /api/data/v9.2/<entitySetName>(id) with Prefer: odata.include-annotations="*" - Solutions — GET /api/data/v9.2/solutions + AddSolutionComponent action - Publish customizations — POST .../PublishAllXml (required after schema changes for the maker UX to pick them up)

Required Azure resources / tenant settings

  • Dataverse-enabled Power Platform environment (every operation is per-env)
  • MSAL Web App SP registered as Application User with System Customizer (read) or System Administrator (full CRUD) on the target env
  • Solution membership: schema edits should be made in an unmanaged solution; surface a solution picker in the editor
  • For column types that need extra services: File / Image columns require Dataverse storage capacity; Power Fx formula columns require formula engine; Calculated / Rollup require server-side workflow engine (all on by default for Production envs)

Estimated effort

5 sessions. Column CRUD with all data types + required-level + default-value is ~1 session (largest UX). Relationships designer (1:N / N:N / cascade matrix) + Keys editor is ~1 session. Views designer + Forms designer (form-XML round-trip) is ~1 session — Forms is the hardest because the canonical representation is form-XML, not JSON. Business rules + Commands + Business-process flows is ~1 session. Inline data editor (rows + filter + add/edit/delete) + Solutions picker + Publish-all-customizations + dependency view is the fifth.