1. What Are Modern Controls in Canvas Power Apps?
Modern Controls are the latest generation of user interface (UI) components introduced for Canvas Power Apps. Built on Microsoft’s Fluent Design System, these controls provide a cleaner, more responsive, and visually consistent experience compared to traditional classic controls. They are designed to simplify app development while helping makers create applications that look professional across desktop, tablet, and mobile devices.
One of the biggest advantages of Modern Controls is their built-in support for performance, accessibility, and theming. Unlike classic controls that often require manual styling, Modern Controls automatically adapt to your application’s selected theme, ensuring a consistent appearance throughout the app. They also include accessibility improvements such as better keyboard navigation, focus indicators, and screen-reader compatibility, making apps easier to use for a wider audience.
For organizations building new Canvas apps, Modern Controls provide a future-ready approach that reduces development effort while delivering a modern user experience aligned with Microsoft’s latest design standards.
3. Exploring the Most Useful Modern Controls
Modern Controls offer a wide range of components that help developers build professional, responsive, and user-friendly Canvas apps. Instead of relying on custom-built UI elements, makers can use these ready-made controls to create consistent experiences while reducing development time.
Some of the most commonly used Modern Controls include the Tab List, which provides an intuitive way to build navigation menus and multi-step forms, and the Text Input, Dropdown, Radio Group, and Checkbox controls, which simplify data collection while maintaining a clean, modern appearance. The Button control supports multiple styles, such as primary and secondary actions, allowing developers to clearly distinguish important user actions.
For visual feedback, Power Apps also includes controls like the Progress Bar and Spinner. A Progress Bar helps users track task completion or workflow progress, while the Spinner indicates that a process is running in the background, improving the overall user experience during data loading or processing.
Other useful Modern Controls include the Date Picker, which offers an improved calendar interface for selecting dates, the Info Button, which displays contextual help without cluttering the screen, and the Link Control, which allows users to open external websites or navigate to other Power Apps. Together, these controls provide everything needed to create modern business applications with minimal customization.
5. Best Practices for Using Modern Controls
Modern Controls make it easier to build professional-looking Canvas apps, but following a few best practices will help you get the most out of them. When starting a new project, consider using Modern Controls from the beginning instead of mixing them with classic controls wherever possible. This ensures a consistent user interface, simplifies maintenance, and allows your app to fully benefit from Microsoft’s Fluent Design System.
Take advantage of Modern Themes rather than manually styling each control. By using a global theme, you can update your application’s colors and appearance across every screen with minimal effort. At the same time, avoid excessive customization unless it’s required, as keeping the default Fluent styling results in a cleaner and more consistent user experience.
It’s also important to test your app on different devices, including desktop, tablet, and mobile screens. Modern Controls are designed to be responsive, but verifying layouts, spacing, and interactions across multiple screen sizes ensures the best experience for every user. Additionally, check keyboard navigation and focus behavior to confirm your app remains accessible to all users.
Finally, if you’re updating an existing application, adopt a phased migration strategy instead of replacing every classic control at once. Start by modernizing key sections such as navigation menus, forms, or dashboards, then gradually replace remaining controls after testing functionality and compatibility. This approach reduces risk while allowing your application to take advantage of the improved performance, accessibility, and consistent design offered by Modern Controls.
