4.2 Configuring Table Properties

Creating a table is step one; configuring its properties is where most AB-410 'build data models' questions live. Open any table in make.powerapps.com and select Properties, or set them at creation through New table > Set advanced properties.

The Basics: Names and Description

• Display name — the singular name shown in apps ('Inspection'); changeable later
• Plural display name — shown in lists and navigation ('Inspections'); changeable later
• Description — documents the table's purpose for future makers
• Schema name — the API name, auto-generated from the display name and prefixed with the solution publisher's customization prefix; immutable after save

The exam hammers this distinction: display names are cosmetic and editable, while the schema name is permanent. Under Advanced options at creation you also pick the Type (standard, activity, virtual, or elastic), Record ownership, a table image used on design surfaces (not in apps — that is what image columns are for), and a Color used in model-driven apps.

Attachments and Activities

The Enable attachments checkbox on the create panel appends notes and files to rows — one checkbox powers the notes timeline, including file attachments, in model-driven apps. Decide on it deliberately when you design the table, because retrofitting notes later means revisiting the table's classic settings. Separately, the Creating a new activity option lets users associate activities — emails, tasks, appointments — with rows, which is what lights up the full activity timeline on a form.

Track Changes

Track changes enables efficient delta synchronization: Dataverse detects what changed since data was last extracted or synced instead of re-reading everything. It is a hard prerequisite for:

• Azure Synapse Link for Dataverse — the Microsoft Learn table-properties documentation names this explicitly
• Mobile offline synchronization profiles
• Performant data-export integrations

Exam trap

Track changes is about sync and export performance, not who changed what. If a scenario says 'record who edited a row and when,' that is auditing — choosing track changes there is the classic wrong answer.

Auditing: Three Switches, Three Levels

Dataverse auditing records a change only when it is enabled at all three levels:

1. Organization level — turned on in the Power Platform admin center under the environment's settings
2. Table level — Audit changes to its data in the table's advanced options
3. Column level — Enable auditing on each individual column

When you enable table auditing, many column types — owner, number, text, and choice — are audited by default, but lookup columns are not; opt those in one by one. Users review changes through the audit history on the row. Classic exam question: 'Table auditing is on, but changes to the Assigned To lookup are never recorded — why?' Because column-level auditing for that lookup is off.

Duplicate Detection

Duplicate detection has its own three-part chain: an administrator enables it for the environment, you select Apply duplicate detection rules on the table, and then duplicate detection rules must be created and published. A rule left unpublished silently does nothing — a favorite distractor.

Offline and Search Availability

• Can be taken offline — makes the table's rows available in the Power Apps mobile app while disconnected; combine with track changes and an offline profile that scopes which rows download
• Appear in search results — includes rows in in-app search; pair it with environment-level Dataverse search (relevance search) configuration

Canvas Apps, Model-Driven Apps, and Availability

Any Dataverse table — standard or custom — can be connected from a canvas app through the Dataverse connector; there is no per-table switch that hides it from canvas makers (security roles control actual data access). Model-driven apps, by contrast, only surface the tables a maker explicitly adds in the app designer. So when a scenario says 'inspectors must use the table on phones with no connectivity,' the complete answer is three settings working together: Can be taken offline on the table, track changes for efficient sync, and a mobile offline profile that scopes which rows download.

A realistic exam scenario: Fabrikam's field inspectors create Inspection rows on site, snap photos, and sync when back online. The maker enables attachments for photo notes, activities so each inspection can carry follow-up tasks, track changes, and offline availability — one coherent advanced-options conversation.

The Rest of the Advanced Panel

Know these toggles by name for 'which property do you enable' questions:

One last discipline point: Type and Record ownership choices are constrained after creation, and deleting a table destroys its rows, so treat the advanced panel as an architecture decision, not a settings afterthought.