Week of May 29: Microsoft Build Community-Led Parties Info

by Contributed | May 29, 2023 | Technology

This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.

Your learning goes beyond Microsoft Build. Join After Parties at a local time with your local community.

Here are some of our Community-led After Parties held on from May 29 to June 5 (as of May 29, 2023). Check it out and join your favorite Parties!

MVP/RD/User Group-led Microsoft Build 2023 After Party

Microsoft Learn Student Ambassador-led Microsoft Build 2023 After Party

*Information in this blog is subject to change without notice.

*Go to After Parties pages to find the full event schedule.

Leveraging AI and Copilot in Microsoft’s Power Platform: Automating Workflows, Building Apps

by Contributed | May 27, 2023 | Technology

This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.

Acceleration of Data-Driven App Development with Copilot

by Contributed | May 26, 2023 | Technology

This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.

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At Microsoft Build, 50 updates were announced and among those updates were Power Platform announcements in which we will look at one of them today. Learn how to use the Excel to App with Copilot feature which enables you to take advantage of Copilot to add data processing capabilities by helping you clean and prepare your data before you even start building the app. Copilot can now ingest any Excel file, no matter how loosely structured and create robust structured tables with a variety of data types.

Find out more about Microsoft Build announcements on the Microsoft Build 2023 Book of News 
Earn a free certification voucher by completing at least one Cloud Skills Challenge from the Microsoft Build Cloud Skills Challenge

Excel to App

Students, rising developers and pro-developers can rapidly build solutions in PowerApps by simply dragging and dropping or linking to a data source like Excel, and then build the UI on top of that data.

Things to consider

• You can import your excel file as it is and PowerApps will create a Custom Dataverse Table and a Canvas App for you.


• You do not need to format your table within excel (example you do not have to use Format as a Table within your spreadsheet)


• Your Canvas App and Dataverse table will be built based on the first sheet of your Excel Spreadsheet.


• The excel file needs to be closed when importing within PowerApps

Short Demo

Animation showing a short demo of the Excel to App feature with Copilot in PowerApps

Practical steps to follow

1. Prepare your excel file to use or create a new one.


2. Go to PowerApps and Sign in with your account.


3. On the homepage, click on Start with data
   


4. On the Start with data wizard, choose and click on Upload an Excel file.
   


5. Click on Select from device button then choose your excel file your device.
   
   

    

   
   

    

   
   


6. You will get a preview of your Dataverse custom table that will be created for you. You will be able to edit the table by clicking on Edit Table Properties to change the Table name.
   
   

    

   
   


7. The columns of your table are assigned to their appropriate data types and you have the ability to change/edit the column by clicking on the drop down next to the column and click on Edit Column. Once done, you can click on Create app
   


8. Once you have clicked on Create app, Copilot will build a Canvas App with a Standard template that you can modify based on your needs.
   
   

    

   
   

Let’s Add more AI capabilities with Copilot

1. Within your app, click on Settings then choose Upcoming Features
   
   

    

   
   


2. Search for Copilot and toggle it to enable it. Once enabled close the dialog box.
   
   

    

   
   


3. Once your Copilot Component is enabled, click on Insert and choose Copilot (preview)
   
   

    

   
   


4. Once the Copilot Component is added on the screen, you will need to choose/select the your Datasource.
   
   

    

   
   


5. Once you have chosen your Datasource, the full Copilot Component is added to your app. This allows your app users to use Copilot to understand and analyze their data using suggested prompts.
   
   

    

   
   


6. Play the app and see Copilot in action. Choose one of the suggested prompts, for example on the picture below I want to know how many tickets are open.
   
   

    

   
   

Congratulations! You did it, you built a Canvas app from your excel file using Copilot!

Empowering Accessibility: Language and Audio Document Translation Made Simple with Low-Code/No-Code

by Contributed | May 24, 2023 | Technology

This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.

This solution architecture proposal outlines how to effectively utilize OpenAI’s language model alongside Azure Cognitive Services to create a user-friendly and inclusive solution for document translation. By leveraging OpenAI’s advanced language capabilities and integrating them with Azure Cognitive Services, we can accommodate diverse language preferences and provide audio translations, thereby meeting accessibility standards and reaching a global audience. This solution aims to enhance accessibility, ensure inclusivity, and gain valuable insights through the combined power of OpenAI, Azure Cognitive Services and PowerPlatform.

Dataflow

Here is the process：

1. 
   

   Ingest: PDF documents, text files, and images can be ingested from multiple sources, such as Azure Blob storage, Outlook, OneDrive, SharePoint, or a 3rd party vendor.

   
   


2. 
   

   Move: Power Automate triggers and moves the file to Azure Blob storage. Blob triggers then get the original file and call an Azure Function.

   
   


3. 
   

   Extract Text and Translate: The Azure Function calls Azure Computer Vision Read API to read multiple pages of a PDF document in natural formatting order, extract text from images, and generate the text with lines and spaces, which is then stored in Azure Blob storage. The Azure Translator then translates the file and stores it in a blob container. The Azure Speech generates a WAV or MP3 file from the original language and translated language text file, which is also stored in a blob container

   
   


4. 
   

   Notify: Power Automate triggers and moves the file to the original source location and notifies users in outlook and MS teams with an output audio file.

   
   

 Without Open AI

 With Open AI

Refer for OpenAI
Transform your business with automated insights & optimized workflows using Azure OpenAI GPT-3 – Microsoft Community Hub

Alternatives

The Azure architecture utilizes Azure Blob storage as the default option for file storage during the entire process. However, it’s also possible to use alternative storage solutions such as SharePoint, ADLS or third-party storage options. For processing a high volume of documents, consider using Azure Logic Apps as an alternative to Power Automate. Azure Logic Apps can prevent you from exceeding consumption limits within your tenant and is a more cost-effective solution. To learn more about Azure Logic Apps, please refer to the Azure Logic Apps.

Components

These are the key technologies used for this technical content review and research:

• Azure Translator


• Azure Computer Vision


• Azure Speech


• Azure Function App

Scenario details

This solution uses multiple Cognitive Services from Azure to automate the business process of translating PDF documents and creating audio files in wav/mp3 audio format for accessibility and global audience. It’s a great way to streamline the translation process and make content more accessible to people who may speak different languages or have different accessibility needs.

Potential use cases

By leveraging this cloud-based solution idea that can provide comprehensive translation services on demand, organizations can easily reach out to a wider audience without worrying about language barriers. This can help to break down communication barriers and ensure that services are easily accessible for people of all cultures, languages, locations, and abilities.

In addition, by embracing digital transformation, organizations can improve their efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance the overall customer experience. Digital transformation involves adopting new technologies and processes to streamline operations and provide a more seamless experience for customers.

It is particularly relevant to industries that have a large customer base or client base, such as e-commerce, tourism, hospitality, healthcare, and government services.