How do you determine which app to use? If your application isn’t going to be connected to a Microsoft Dataverse database, then the choice is easy. You create a canvas application since model-driven apps can only be built on top of Dataverse. Otherwise, it’s important to first identify what your application is going to be used for.
The table provides a high-level comparison between the two.Expand table
| App consideration | Canvas | Model-driven |
|---|---|---|
| Data source | Not Dataverse-driven | Dataverse-driven |
| App purpose | Task or screen focused | Back office / process focused |
| User Interface (UI) | Custom UI | Responsive / consistent UI |
| Device integration | User personalization | |
| Easily embeddable | Data relationship navigation | |
| Security trimming of UI |
To expand on this explanation a little more, let’s look at an example. Contoso Real Estate sells commercial and residential properties. They have a team of agents in the field that meet with potential sellers and show properties to buyers. They need to quickly identify which properties to show based on the needs of the buyer they’re working with. When working with a new seller, they also need to quickly intake the property, snap pictures, schedule open houses, and capture any other relevant information so the property can be listed as quickly as possible. Contoso’s managers need to:
- quickly see which properties are currently listed
- know how many times they were shown
- manage offers as they come in
- help provide support to sellers as they work to sell properties
From a seller standpoint, the best solution would be to create a canvas app to support them in the field. The canvas app can not only connect to Dataverse data, but it can easily connect to other data sources such as Google Calendar to schedule open houses for properties. The ability to create a custom user interface means the application can be designed to provide the best experience for sellers working in the field. Finally, because of the device integration capabilities, sellers can easily take pictures of the property using their mobile device, and those pictures are automatically associated with the property.