Boost maker productivity inside Dataverse using formula columns!
We are thrilled to announce the preview of formula columns in Dataverse – a next generation column in Dataverse. These capabilities were made available in the blogpost: Dataverse for Teams Formula columns. Now you are empowered with the same capability inside Dataverse where you can express your business logic on top of existing columns and reference column from other tables. As calculations are done at the Dataverse level, results can be seen and used in all Dataverse endpoints, including the Dataverse for Teams table view, canvas and model-driven Power Apps, Power Automate, Power BI, the Dataverse APIs, to name just a few.
Formula columns are based on Power Fx. Power Fx provides a much richer set of functions than were previously available with calculated columns, especially for text processing and also provides a lowcode way to perform app extensibility.
As you can see in the following Image from Dataverse below , you can use the Power Fx formula bar to create a formula column that computes few arithmetic operations using the supported functions. The formula dynamically returns based on the data type of the resulting expression.
The formula editor supports IntelliSense to suggest formulas and errors in real time.
This feature supports text, decimal, choice, boolean, lookup and limited date/time functionality, targeted primarily for core calculations while we are working towards building the complete parity with existing Calc columns. On read, all calculations are on done on the fly as added projections of the SQL Select query. Results are real time. We are also working on other modes of operation, where values can be calculated and stored on write. This would enable support for rollups of one-to-many and many-to-many relationships, something we are working as part of our future roadmap.
Will this functionality replace existing calculated columns and rollups? Not at present and there will be no rush, those existing technologies are tried and true. Only when we have more feedback and experience, and we’ve worked through any functionality gaps, we will draw up and communicate a long-term migration plan. Eventually we want formula columns should be able to do everything that can be done today, and much more, in an easier to use and Power Platform consistent manner.
Take it for a spin and please let us know what you think! Please leave feedback in the Microsoft Dataverse – Power Platform Community forum. For more details, please refer to our documentation.