Table of Contents
1. Introduction and Objectives
Objective
This documentation describes the process for onboarding new portal users in Power Pages[1] with external identity management (Entra External ID[2]). The focus is on the task distribution between internal business departments and external portal users.
Key Message
The internal business department performs activities exclusively in Dataverse[3]. All interaction with the external identity provider is completed entirely by the portal user themselves.
Internal Effort
Systems (internal)
+ Power Pages
Entra External ID
Interaction
2. Role Distribution and Responsibilities
Internal Business Department (Dataverse)
Note: No direct interaction with Entra External ID required.
External Portal User (Entra External ID)
| Step | Activity | System |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Open invitation link | Email Client |
| 2 | Define password[7] | Entra External ID |
| 3 | Activate account | Entra External ID |
| 4 | Perform initial login[8] | Power Pages |
Note: Completely independent completion without internal support.
Important
The business department has no activities in the external identity provider.
3. Detailed Process: Internal Business Department
The invitation function is triggered via Power Pages Admin for the created contact.[6] The system automatically generates a unique redemption code and sends an email to the registered email address.
Power Pages creates an invitation record in Dataverse and sends a preconfigured email template.[11]
Approx. 5 seconds (button click)[4]
Completion of Internal Activities
After completing these two steps, all business department activities are finished. Further process steps occur automatically or are performed by the portal user.
4. Detailed Process: Portal User (Independent)
Important
All following steps are completed independently by the portal user. The internal business department has no tasks in this process section.
The portal user automatically receives an email with a unique invitation link. Validity: Standard 7 days.[12]
By clicking the link, the portal user is redirected to Power Pages. The system validates the redemption code and redirects to Entra External ID upon successful validation.[13]
The portal user is redirected to the signup page of the external identity provider.[14] There, they enter and confirm a self-selected password and any additional profile data.
After successful registration, Entra External ID creates an active user account. The link to the Dataverse contact occurs via the email address.[15]
After completing registration, the portal user is automatically redirected to the Power Pages portal and authenticated.[8] From this point, full portal access is available.
Result
The portal user is now fully registered and can independently log into the portal in the future with their credentials (email + password). Password management is handled exclusively through Entra External ID.[16]
5. System Architecture and Data Flow
Overview of System Components
Data Flow: User Onboarding
Create contact + initiate invitation
Send invitation link
Registration + authentication (completely independent)
Important Note
The integration between Power Pages and Entra External ID occurs via standardized OAuth2/OpenID Connect protocols.[18] The business department requires no knowledge of these technical details and has no activities in the external identity provider.
6. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
7. Summary
Effort for Internal Business Department
Number of Steps
Systems
+ Power Pages
Entra External ID
Interaction
Advantages of the Architecture
Only two simple steps required per portal user
Completely outsourced to Entra External ID[16]
Registration and login completely independent[7]
Bulk import via Power Automate possible for larger user groups[19]
Key Message
Onboarding new portal users requires the internal business department exclusively to create a contact record and initiate an invitation. All further process steps, especially all interaction with the external identity provider, are completed independently by the portal user. This results in minimal effort for the business department while maintaining high process scalability.
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