Create a dynamic Excel template

  • 5 minutes

You can create an Excel template in Power Apps from two different areas:

  • Advanced settings - Using this area requires specific permissions that are available through the System Administrator or System Customizer security roles.

  • From a list of records - In a list (view), templates are available only for the user who created them. These are called personal templates.

This module focuses on personal templates.

Create a dynamic Excel template

To create an Excel template based on Dataverse, follow these steps:

  1. Play a model-driven app, and then select a view of a table from which to generate the report. Next, select Download Template from the Excel Templates dropdown menu.

    Screenshot of a sample model-driven app, displaying a list of active sales forecasts. Focus is on the Download Template option from the Excel Templates menu.

  2. In the displayed form, confirm the pre-selected or select another table (entity) and view. The columns that will be displayed in the Excel Template will be those displayed in the selected view. If you want to change the columns to be displayed in the Excel Template, select Edit Columns, select or de-select columns, and then select Download. If you don't wish to change the columns, simply select Download.

    Screenshot of the Download Template form, showing the Download option.

  3. Open the generated Excel template. (It was downloaded on your local computer wherever your downloads are saved.) Be sure to use a local version of Excel, rather than Excel online. Customize the spreadsheet as required and then save the file. Once it is saved, upload it to the model-driven app by navigating to the same table view from where you originally downloaded the template and then selecting Upload Template from the Excel Templates dropdown menu.

    Screenshot of a sample model-driven app, showing the Upload Template option of the Excel Templates menu.

  4. In the pop up that appears, select the saved Excel template file on your computer and then select Upload.

    Screenshot of the Select file to upload as a template form, highlighting the Choose File and Upload options.

  5. Once the template is uploaded, it's available for you to use for any view that you select in the applicable Dataverse table. Simply select a view, and then select your template name from the Personal Excel Templates section of the Excel Templates dropdown menu. The generated file will contain the records that are displayed in the current view.

    Screenshot of the uploaded template option from the Personal Excel Templates section of the Excel Templates menu.

  6. Once you've generated your Excel report, you can download the file locally, or you can open it in Excel Online.

    Screenshot of the local and online options that are available for the Excel Template generated file.

Next steps

You've now learned how to create a dynamic Excel template from Power Apps. Next, you'll learn how to use an Excel template to create a specific sales forecasting spreadsheet that's based on a Dataverse table.