5 Reasons to Use Environment Variables in the Power Platform

[@ThreeDigitIQ]

This is confusing to me.... Since other users can't see, use or edit environment variables you create, doesn't that defeat the entire purpose? For example, I create the environment variable. None of the others see the environment variables as available in their flows. Even then, I cannot see the flows they create unless they make me an owner of the flow. I can see the environment variables they used, but I cannot modify them or add in other variables.

[@BulbDigital]

Hey! The key is working in a solution - we have a video all about that here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oJW1aX5mp5x4hqssi=majCSpQPHN3QCDXT 😁

[@fredbarnes196]

This is confusing! So in essence it is like a config file? For example in dev you set myURL='123' and in prod you set myURL= '124' and so the environ table has different values for myURL in dev vs prod? That can't be it though since I cant edit the environ variable table Or you use "current value" for dev, and "default value" for prod, but delete the "current value" for dev prior to exporting the solution? That doesn't make sense either, since myURL would be wrong for dev after that.

[@BulbDigital]

App configuration is certainly one of the primary use cases for environment variables. It is also true that you may not be able to update an environment variable value in production. This is actually by design. There may be ways around it, but the intent is that the value is set for the variable when that variable is imported in a managed solution. If using the Power Apps UI to import your solution, and the variable value is exported with no "current value", you will be prompted to set it during the import. From that point forward you can't / shouldn't update it if it was deployed as part of a managed solution. This is somewhat dependent on the configuration of your environment. If your organization is doing the right thing and locking down TEST and PROD environments, there is often no way to update the environment variables without providing the value in a configuration file that is applied during the import.