March 2, 2025 | Power Apps | 5 min read
Select columns downloaded on mobile devices
The 2025 Wave 1 release, allows makers to choose which columns of data get downloaded to mobile devices for offline use.
Introduction
Power Apps makers are aware about Mobile offline-first feature that ensures your app works seamlessly even when you don't have an internet connection by storing essential data directly on your device.
Offline-first means that an app stores all the data you need on your phone, so you can use it even when you don't have internet. When you first use the app, it needs an internet connection to download the data, but after that, it works without needing the internet.
Even when you're online, the app will mostly use the data stored on your phone to make things faster. If you make any changes while offline, the app will automatically sync them with the server once you're connected to the internet again. The app also takes care of any issues if there are conflicts between the local data and the server data.
In short, offline-first makes sure your app works smoothly whether you're connected to the internet or not, and it automatically keeps everything updated when you go back online.
With the "Select columns downloaded on mobile devices" feature, introduced in Power Platform Release Plan 2025 Wave 1 and currently in public preview, you can now choose which columns of data get downloaded to mobile devices for offline use. This feature helps mobile apps work faster and saves time by only downloading the necessary data. By selecting fewer columns, the app can download data more quickly, making the experience smoother and more efficient.
How to use this feature?
In the settings of your offline-enabled app in the maker portal, you can customize how data is downloaded to improve the experience for your users. For each table, you can choose which columns you need in the app:
- Use the columns suggested by the system
- Manually select the columns you want
On the main page of the offline settings, you can see how many columns have been selected for download for each table.
Conclusion
The combination of the Mobile Offline-First feature and the new ability to select columns for offline use provides a powerful way to optimize your Power Apps for users who need to work without internet connectivity. By storing only the essential data and selecting specific columns, you can improve the app's performance, speed up data downloads, and create a more efficient user experience. This ensures that your app runs smoothly both online and offline, with automatic syncing and conflict resolution when the device reconnects to the internet. With these features, Power Apps makers can offer a seamless, responsive experience for users, regardless of their network connection.
- Enabled for : Admins, makers, marketers, or analysts, automatically
- Public Preview : Jan 2025
- General Availability: Apr 2025