Create a table app with PowerTable

In this article, you'll learn how to create a table app with PowerTable.

Ways to create a table

You can use one of the four approaches to create a table:

1. Upload Excel or CSV file to import data

2. Connect to an existing database table

3. Enter data directly into the table app

4. Connect to a semantic model

Important

In methods 1, 2, and 3, the source and destination are the same underlying database table.

Method 3 uses the semantic model as the source and a database table as the destination. This method allows for writeback scenarios. You can also schedule automatic refreshes from the semantic model.

Prerequisites

• A Fabric SQL database to store your app's metadata.

• Established DMT connections to the Fabric SQL database and semantic model.

• A Plan item in your Fabric workspace.

Create a PowerTable Sheet

1. In your Plan, click on New PowerTable Sheet or click the PowerTable icon on the landing page. Enter a name for the sheet and click Create.

1. Click on Create a New App to create your app. You may also select Explore PowerTable to experience a sample PowerTable app.

Create a DMT Connection to Fabric SQL database

When creating a new app, you need to select a DMT connection to connect to a Fabric SQL database. Select a connection and click Connect.

Then, select a Fabric SQL database. The metadata for your app is stored here. Click Add.

Create a table

Select a table where the data will be stored. Here, you have two options:

• Select Existing Table to connect to an existing table in the Fabric SQL database (or)

• Select New Table to create a new table in the database.

For our demonstration, we'll select New Table to create a new table and import our CSV data.

1. Select New Table.

2. Choose the database schema.

3. Enter a Table Name.

4. Select Upload File in the Import Data section.

5. Click on the space to upload your CSV or Excel file from the local system.

There are also other ways to create a new table.

1. Preview the data and click Next.

Select Exclude records and import table structure only to import only the table structure.

Configure columns

PowerTable automatically detects column properties and renames any unsupported column names to match the supported format. You can review and modify them as needed.

1. Review the detected column settings.

2. Select the primary key if unselected.

3. Select the time zone format, default values wherever required.

4. Optionally add columns using Add column.

5. Select Finish.

In this step, you can enable Slowly Changing Dimensions (SCDs) by turning the toggle.

You have now successfully built your first PowerTable sheet. Click Save to save your table.

Writeback Changes to Source

You can update your table app and make changes to the source database.

1. Edit values directly in the table.

2. Click Save to Database and then Proceed to save changes instantly (considering the approval workflow is not enabled).

With Preview Changes, you can preview the changes. Selecting Discard Changes discards them.

The source database is updated. The audit trail records all changes in detail, including the Row ID, action type, modified columns, previous values, new values, user name, and timestamp.

Next Steps

After creating your first PowerTable application, you can explore additional features:

Reference Data Management: Manage master and reference data centrally while maintaining synchronization with enterprise data platforms. PowerTable provides support for bulk insert/update, lookups, formulas, cascading updates, audit tracking, CRUD permissions, SCD support, and native Microsoft Fabric SQL DB integration.

Project Management: PowerTable provides Gantt layouts and timeline views to manage project schedules, track progress, and monitor dependencies.

Workflow Management: Approval workflows enable governance over sensitive data updates by routing change requests through designated approvers.

Operational Automation: Event‑driven automation enables teams to automate repetitive processes such as record updates and notify them via email/Teams notifications.

Collaborative Data Management: Comments, threaded discussions, mentions, and notifications allow teams to collaborate directly within the data application.

Productivity: Use forms for structured data collection and insertion without coding. Use the master-detail view, cross-tab view, and resource layout for time management, task management, tracking, and resource planning.

Connected Planning: Link PowerTable tables to plans so updates in PowerTable become inputs for a plan - so a change in your revenue forecast automatically flows into headcount, cash flow, and operational plans.