PCF allows 3d party developers to build visual components using the same framework which is used internally by Microsoft (see picture below for some examples) in the unified interface.
Components created using the PowerApps Control Framework are solution aware and can be used to build a more compelling user experience. The Dynamics365 developer community immediately picked up on this exciting news and Andrew Ly already shared the source code for 3 different controls - Progressbar control , keybinding example and countdowntimer.
Guido Preite @crmanswers also set up PCF Gallery which contains a list of different controls like a timeline control, data card and UK postcode validator. Everyday new controls based on PCF are added.
The PowerApps Component Framework has been in private preview for quite a while but some details were already shared on a number of occasions in 2018. Initially the framework was called Custom Controls Framework and I you encourage to take a look at some interesting post from Bob Guidinger on this topic (see references below). Do keep in mind that there are some changes between the private preview and public preview – see Update existing custom components for more details.
You will notice from the documentation that most samples are using Typescript to implement custom components so I added also some other reference links below which might help you to get started. For a brief introduction you might also want to take a look at the PowerApps April community call recording (PCF presented from 00:47:00 onwards). One thing to note though is that this is a framework which is clearly targeted at professional developers so the Dynamics consultant who occasionally writes some Javascript web resources or some simple plugins in C# will face a steep learning curve. I even think that pure Javascript/.NET developers even have an edge on the average Dynamics consultant when trying to learn the necessary skills required for PCF development.
References:
- What is the Custom Control Framework and why should Dynamics 365 developers be excited about it
- Custom Controls Framework – Introduction by Bob Guidinger
- Custom Controls Framework – Miscellaneous (Part 7) by Bob Guidinger
- PowerApps component framework (Microsoft documentation)
- Getting started with the PowerApps Component Framework (Youtube webinar 00:58:30) – webinar with the PowerApps development team
- Credit card Validator PCF Control with Hands On Lab and demo code
- Typescript SDK for Visual Studio 2017
- Typescript in 5 minutes
- Getting started with Typescript in 2019
- How to create a PowerApps PCF control (Youtube 00:13:05) by Todd Baginski
- Develop your custom control using PowerApps Component framework and use it on your CRM interface
- PowerApps Component Framework – frosting on the cake
- Microsoft PowerApps CLI – time for the non-citizen developers to get more involved
- Create custom controls using the PowerApp Component Framework
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