Custom Forms

In Parts 1 and 2 we created an elementary document controller in SharePoint and for the most part, is now a fully working and usable system for creating documents. We want to take it further and make it possible to create certain documents using Content Types, automatic Metadata and fill in customer info, in just one click!

For this we will need a few things:

  1. A customer list to refer to. This will be modest, but will include a logo and postal information
  2. A PowerApp for the users to interact with
  3. Some time to build it!

In this part, we will focus on creating the customer list and then the PowerApp.

The Customer List

This customer list will serve as a minor take on a CRM, it won’t have all the features of CRM, but it will have everything we need to build an effective Document Control App.

In the same vane as Part 1 and 2, we are going to build a Custom SharePoint List. In this case, we won’t be using Content types, only using metadata. This can be added from the standard contact Metadata already in SharePoint

Then we need to create an image library and configure the logos

I have filled in the customer list with some fictional companies for demonstration only. We don’t work with Evil corps, honest!

Note that we have lined up the customer columns with the columns available in the content types in the document library.

The PowerApp

PowerApps gives us a fantastic way to bring information together, in this case, linking the customer list we just created with the document library content types.

So first thing we need to do is link to SharePoint,

Then we need to build a component that will serve as our main menu

We will need a Customer screen, a screen to review Welcome Letters, Quotes and Invoices, then an edit screen for the customers. We will also create screens for New Quotes and Invoices. Welcome Letters can be created using a single click, so we won’t need a page for this.

In this screen we can see the logo, address, contact information, small map and some buttons to do things, like edit the customer and create welcome letters

When clicking on Welcome Letter, we want it to create the welcome letter and then automatically fill in all the fields, but we will sort that out in Part 4.

We will do the same for Quotes and Invoices, but we will need screens so we can add bits to it.

We have also created a screen specifically for creating and editing customers

In Review

As you can see, with a bit of time, we can create great looking and interactive apps in SharePoint and PowerApps, they can be used to automate the creation of documents and to make interacting with Sales info more engaging.

This opens our process up so we can spend less time on documentation and more time engaging with our customers.

In Part 4, we will start using Microsoft Flow to automate the creation of the documents.