This cheat sheet is a fast, exam-focused review of everything on PL-900 (Microsoft Power Platform Fundamentals). It's built for your final days of prep — skim it, test yourself, and drill anything that feels unfamiliar. It's a memory aid, not a replacement for understanding: PL-900 questions are scenario-based, so know when to use each app and connector.
Exam Snapshot
Passing Score
700 / 1000
Cost
$99 USD
Questions
40–60
Expiration
Never
Business value of Power Platform
20–25%
Core components (apps, automation, BI, pages)
55–60%
Power Platform administration & governance
15–20%
No coding required
✓ Conceptual only
1. Power Platform Overview
Power Platform is Microsoft's low-code/no-code suite of products. The five core components:
| App | What it does | Use when… |
|---|---|---|
| Power Apps | Build custom apps (canvas or model-driven) | You need a custom business app without full development |
| Power Automate | Automate workflows and processes | Repetitive tasks, approvals, data sync between apps |
| Power BI | Visualize and analyze data (reports & dashboards) | Business intelligence, KPI tracking, data storytelling |
| Power Pages | Build public-facing websites with Dataverse data | External-facing portals, customer self-service sites |
| Copilot Studio | Build AI chatbots (formerly Power Virtual Agents) | Customer service bots, internal Q&A assistants |
2. Power Apps
Two App Types — Know the Difference
| Type | Design approach | Data source | Use case |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canvas app | You design each screen (blank canvas) | Many sources (SharePoint, SQL, Dataverse, Excel, etc.) | Flexible, custom layouts |
| Model-driven app | UI generated from data model | Dataverse only | Complex business processes, consistent UI |
Exam tip: Canvas = designer controls the look. Model-driven = data model controls the look. If the scenario requires connecting to multiple external data sources with a custom interface → canvas. If it involves complex Dataverse data with business rules → model-driven.
3. Power Automate
Flow Types
| Flow Type | Trigger | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Automated flow | An event (new email, new row in SharePoint) | Save email attachments to OneDrive automatically |
| Instant (manual) flow | User clicks a button | Send a status report on demand |
| Scheduled flow | A recurring time/date | Sync data every night at midnight |
| Desktop flow (RPA) | Automates legacy desktop apps | Automate data entry in old software without an API |
| Business process flow | Guides users through stages | Sales pipeline stages in Dynamics 365 |
Key distinction: Power Automate vs Logic Apps — Power Automate is for business users (no-code/low-code, self-service). Azure Logic Apps is for developers (code-first, enterprise integration). They share connectors but target different audiences and governance models.
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Key Components
| Power BI Desktop | Free Windows app for creating reports and data models. |
| Power BI Service | Cloud platform for publishing, sharing, and collaborating on reports. |
| Power BI Mobile | View reports on iOS/Android. |
| Power BI Gateway | Bridge for refreshing data from on-premises sources in the cloud. |
| Workspaces | Collaborative containers for dashboards, reports, and datasets. |
| Apps | Packaged collections of dashboards and reports shared with end users. |
Report vs Dashboard
- Report: Multi-page, built in Power BI Desktop, from one dataset, fully interactive.
- Dashboard: Single page, built in Power BI Service, pins visuals from multiple reports. Read-only (no cross-filtering).
Exam tip: Dashboards are only in Power BI Service (not Desktop). Reports can be in both Desktop and Service. If a question involves sharing a view with consumers → think Apps. If it involves collaboration with colleagues → think Workspace.
5. Power Pages
Power Pages (formerly Power Apps Portals) builds external-facing websites connected to Dataverse data.
| Audience | External users (customers, partners, public) — not internal employees |
| Data source | Dataverse (required) |
| Authentication | Supports anonymous, Microsoft, LinkedIn, Google, and custom identity providers |
| Use cases | Customer self-service portals, case submission forms, partner extranets |
Key distinction: Power Pages = external website. Power Apps = internal app for employees. If the scenario involves public or external users accessing Dataverse data → Power Pages.
6. Dataverse
Dataverse is the cloud data platform underlying Power Platform. It stores data in structured tables with built-in security, business rules, and logic.
| Feature | What it means |
|---|---|
| Tables | Store structured data (similar to database tables). Some are standard (Account, Contact), others are custom. |
| Columns | Fields in a table. Multiple data types: text, number, choice (picklist), lookup, file, etc. |
| Relationships | Links between tables. One-to-many is most common (one Account → many Contacts). |
| Business rules | No-code logic applied when data is created/updated (validation, default values, show/hide). |
| Security roles | Row-level and column-level permissions to control who can see/edit which records. |
| Environments | Containers for Dataverse databases and Power Platform apps. Separate dev/test/prod. |
Exam tip: Dataverse is required for model-driven apps and Power Pages. Canvas apps can use Dataverse but are not required to. If you need row-level security with fine-grained control → Dataverse. SharePoint lists are simpler but lack Dataverse's security model.
7. Copilot Studio
Copilot Studio (formerly Power Virtual Agents) is the no-code tool for building AI-powered chatbots and copilots.
| Topics | Conversation flows — what the bot says when triggered by a user phrase |
| Triggers | Phrases or events that start a topic |
| Entities | Data extracted from user input (e.g., city, date, product name) |
| Actions | Connect the bot to Power Automate flows or external APIs |
| Channels | Where the bot deploys: Teams, websites, Facebook, email, etc. |
Exam tip: Copilot Studio = build bots for employees and customers (Teams, web). Azure Bot Service = developer tool for custom bots with code. If the scenario is a business user building a customer support bot without coding → Copilot Studio.
8. Connectors & AI Builder
Connector Types
- Standard connectors: Included in standard Power Platform licenses. SharePoint, OneDrive, Office 365, Teams, etc.
- Premium connectors: Require a premium license. Dataverse, SQL Server, Salesforce, HTTP connector, etc.
- Custom connectors: Built by your organization to connect to internal APIs or services not in the connector catalog.
AI Builder
AI Builder adds pre-built and custom AI models to Power Platform apps and flows — no coding or ML expertise needed.
| Form processing | Extract key fields from documents (invoices, receipts) |
| Object detection | Identify objects in images |
| Text classification | Classify text into categories (e.g., positive/negative sentiment) |
| Prediction | Predict binary outcomes (will this deal close?) |
9. Administration & Governance
| Tool / Concept | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Admin Center | Central hub for managing environments, capacity, and settings. |
| Data Loss Prevention (DLP) policies | Control which connectors can be used together to prevent data leaks. Group connectors into Business / Non-business / Blocked. |
| Environments | Isolated containers for apps, flows, and data. Separate dev, test, and production environments. |
| Managed environments | Premium governance features: sharing controls, usage insights, data policies. |
| Center of Excellence (CoE) Toolkit | Free toolkit of templates and tools to monitor, manage, and nurture Power Platform adoption. |
Most-tested governance point: DLP policies control which connectors can work together. If a question involves preventing users from combining a business connector (SharePoint) with a personal connector (Twitter/X) in one flow → DLP policy.
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Common Questions
Is a cheat sheet enough to pass PL-900?
A cheat sheet is a fast review and memory aid — not a replacement for working through Microsoft Learn and practice questions. PL-900 uses scenario-based questions, so you need to know when to use each app, not just what they are.
What is the difference between Power Apps canvas and model-driven apps?
Canvas apps give you full control over the UI — you design every screen and can connect to many data sources. Model-driven apps auto-generate the UI from your Dataverse data model and require Dataverse as the data source. Canvas = designer-first. Model-driven = data-first.
What is the difference between Power Automate and Logic Apps?
Power Automate is the business user tool — no-code/low-code, licensed per user, managed through the Power Platform admin center. Azure Logic Apps is the developer tool — code-first, consumption or standard plan, managed through Azure. They share many connectors but serve different audiences with different governance models.
Does PL-900 expire?
No. PL-900 is a Fundamentals certification and does not expire. Once you pass, it stays on your Microsoft transcript permanently.
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