3.2 Forms, Views & Business Logic (Power Fx, Business Rules)
Key Takeaways
- Forms control how a single record is displayed and edited, and are used mainly in model-driven apps
- Form types include Main, Quick Create, Quick View, and Card forms, each suited to a different situation
- Views are saved, filtered, sorted lists of records; they can be system, personal, or public
- Business rules provide no-code 'if-then' logic on forms, such as requiring or hiding fields
- Power Fx formula columns calculate values in real time; workflows and cloud flows automate multi-step processes triggered by data changes
Once a table's structure is in place, makers still need a way for people to see and edit individual records, a way to browse matching sets of records, and rules that keep the data consistent without writing code. Dataverse provides these through forms, views, and a set of no-code and low-code business logic tools. This section covers all three, which together make up a meaningful share of the "Manage the Environment" domain on PL-900.
Forms: Displaying and Editing Records
A form controls how a single record's columns are laid out on the screen for viewing and editing. Forms are used primarily in model-driven apps, where the app surface is generated automatically from the table schema (canvas apps use screens you design by hand instead). Dataverse supports several form types for different situations:
| Form Type | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Main form | The full, primary form used to view and edit a record |
| Quick Create form | A short form for rapidly creating a new record without leaving the current screen |
| Quick View form | A read-only, embedded snapshot of a related record's fields shown on another form |
| Card form | A compact, card-style layout, often used in mobile or space-constrained views |
A single table can have multiple main forms (for example, one for sales staff and a simplified one for support staff), and Dataverse security roles determine which form — and which fields on it — a given user sees.
Views: Filtered, Sorted Lists of Records
A view is a saved, filtered, and sorted list of records from a table, displayed as a grid of columns — think of it as a saved query with a chosen set of visible columns. Views let users quickly get to the subset of records that matters to them without building a filter from scratch every time. Dataverse ships with system views such as Active Accounts, My Active Accounts, and All Accounts, and makers or users can also create their own:
- System views ship with a table and are maintained by makers; examples include "Active X" and "My Active X."
- Personal views are created and saved by an individual user for their own use and are not visible to others by default.
- Public views are created by a maker and shared with other users, becoming available to everyone with access to the table.
Because views only change what is displayed — not the underlying data — they are a safe, no-code way to tailor the experience for different roles without duplicating tables or columns. A table can also have a default view, the view a model-driven app grid shows automatically when a user first navigates to that table's list.
Business Logic: Three No-Code and Low-Code Options
"Business logic" refers to the rules that govern how data behaves — what is required, what is calculated, and what happens automatically when data changes. Dataverse offers several ways to implement this logic without writing custom application code:
| Option | What It Does | Typical Use |
|---|---|---|
| Business rules | No-code, declarative "if condition, then action" statements applied to a table or form | Require a field, show or hide a field, set a default value, show an error message, or apply a business recommendation |
| Power Fx formula columns | A column whose value is calculated in real time from a Power Fx formula referencing other columns | A Total Price column calculated as Quantity × Unit Price |
| Workflows / Power Automate cloud flows | Automated processes triggered by Dataverse events such as a record being created, updated, or deleted | Sending a notification, updating a related record, or kicking off a multi-step approval |
Business rules are the most accessible option — they are built with a simple condition-and-action editor and require no formulas or code, making them a good first stop for enforcing data quality on a form. Power Fx formula columns go a step further, letting a maker define a calculation using the same formula language used throughout Power Apps, so the calculated value is always current and does not need a separate flow to keep it updated. Workflows and cloud flows handle logic that goes beyond a single form or record — reacting to a change in Dataverse and automating a multi-step process, often by connecting to other systems.
For scenarios beyond what these low-code tools can express, pro developers can extend Dataverse with plug-ins — custom server-side code that runs in response to data events — though writing plug-ins is outside the scope of what PL-900 expects a citizen maker to do themselves.
Key Takeaways
- Forms control how a single record is displayed and edited, and are used mainly in model-driven apps
- Form types include Main, Quick Create, Quick View, and Card forms, each suited to a different situation
- Views are saved, filtered, sorted lists of records; they can be system, personal, or public
- Business rules provide no-code "if-then" logic on forms, such as requiring or hiding fields
- Power Fx formula columns calculate values in real time; workflows and cloud flows automate multi-step processes triggered by data changes
A maker wants a Total Price column that always reflects Quantity multiplied by Unit Price, updating automatically whenever either value changes. Which Dataverse feature best fits this need?
Which statement correctly distinguishes a business rule from a cloud flow triggered by a Dataverse event?