Model-Driven Apps Column Controls

Are you aware that all of these features are available in Model-Driven Apps as column controls? A few years ago, we had to create custom email validation, auto-number, and rich text editors in our projects, but now they are readily available with a simple configuration. Maybe it’s time for a cleanup? #powerplatformcommunity #modeldrivenapps

Apr 03, 2023 0

How To: Microsoft Dataverse Security

Hello everyone! I hope everyone is having a great first day of the year!

I am very excited to announce that I have finally created a Youtube channel called “Coffee & Technology”. Yes, because these are two of my favorite things. 😀

This channel is dedicated to Dynamics 365 and the Power Platform community. I created this channel to share with you how you can leverage out of the box features of Dynamics 365 and share with you some tips and tricks I learned in the past few years.

In the first episode, I will show you how Dataverse Security can adapt to many business scenarios.

I hope you find this helpful and if it did, please don’t forget to like this video, share and subscribe.

Cheers to new hope, new chance! May we have a wonderful 2022!

PS: If you have any business scenarios you need help on and would like me to do a video of, please feel free to reach out. 🙂

Jan 01, 2022 0

Improved Custom Recurring Tasks in Dataverse

Hi there! I have been receiving a few emails regarding my previous post about Custom Recurring Tasks. I read my post and realized that there are missing pieces in there. I probably left it like that to invite discussions and questions. Well, after more than a year, here we are and we got a few inquiries on the solution.

I tested the recurring feature of appointments and use that concept to re-create my Recurring Tasks solution.

I used the same UI section but I kind of optimized the Power Automate. Instead of 2 cloud flows, I kept it to one and use SWITCH to separate the daily vs weekly reoccurrence.

Here is how it looks now:

And to save you time, you can explore the solution by downloading it here. Have fun!

Dec 20, 2021 0

WHAT TO DO WHEN D365 DATA IMPORT DOES NOT WORK?

It gets frustrating when you are in a rush and D365 features does not work as expected for some reasons.

I usually try ALL the workaround first before opening a new ticket to Microsoft support. I want to make sure I have tried different ways and gather all useful information that I can share with Microsoft in case I needed to report an issue. This is also the best way to ensure that we can resolve an issue together as quickly as possible. Because, we are a team! Right?

Anyhow, I wanted to share something with you that I have used when Data Import get stuck in submitted status for some reasons. Usually, the first thing you look into is if the CRM environment is in Administration Mode. If YES, then turning it off should fixed the issue.

However, what do you do if its disabled but still getting this issue? (argh!) Open a Microsoft ticket! Right! But here is another thing that you can use.

Look into XRMToolbox. It usually have a lot of useful administration tool that can help and of course, Data Migration Tool. My goal is to import the same data I have in DEV to a UAT environment to ensure that I have the same GUID in all CRM environments. But why the same GUID, I’ll talk more of that some other time.

Data Migration Tool – I have been using this tool for years but did not realize that it has a filtering capability! I might be late on this but here is how you can use it.

When you create a schema and selected the entity you want to import, go to Tools > Configure Import Settings.

Then at the bottom, check User FetchXML to filter records.

Now, you cannot use the whole fetchxml format, you need to remove the output-format and just keep the filtering tags, like this:

Save and you are good to go! I hope this helps and follow me for more tips! Stay safe, everyone!

Apr 14, 2021 0

Recurring Tasks in Dynamics 365 using Power Automate #lesscode

In Dynamics 365, Appointment Activity has recurrence feature. But what if business has a requirement to have the same functionality when using a Task Activity, like specifying a recurring pattern & dates?

Today I will share with you a simple approach on how you can create a custom recurrence feature in Task Activity using the power of Power Automate.

I used Custom Fields, a Workflow & 2 Power Automate Flows. I also used workflow extension from a Dynamics 365 Workflow Hero, Jason Lattimer.

I added a few more custom fields to hold daily & weekly count for doing a loop in Power Automate.

Then I created a Two Option field called “Automate” that I can use on my Trigger Condition.

At the end, I make sure I decrement the Count just how we do it when writing codes. Then for weekly recurrence, I used Date Time connector – “Add a Time” and set it to add 1 Week.

And there you have it, a simple & working recurring task feature for your Task Activities.

I hope this is helpful. Let me know if you want to see the whole solution. Feel free to message me and I will send it straight to your mailbox.

Stay safe, everyone.

Mar 23, 2020 2

OOB Calendar Control in Activities View #quicktip

Hey Guys! I hope you are all doing well in spite of the virus that is going on. Stay safe and be aware of the situation. Here is a good link for your reference.

For today’s blog, I am introducing #quicktip content to share with you a small feature in Dynamics 365 that deserves some attention. If you are already aware of this then that’s great, if not, I’m happy you found this page.

Our Quick Tip is about the out-of-the-box (OOB) Calendar View that we can use in viewing Activities in Dynamics 365.

Setting the Calendar Control will give your users a calendar view of all their activities marked on due date.

And even if its in calendar view by default, you can always revert it back as list. Check this out.

I hope you find this helpful. Take care eveyone.

Mar 13, 2020 0

How to Open a Quick Create Phone Call through a Custom Ribbon Button?

Here is another tutorial for you.

The requirement is to add a ribbon button so a Customer Service Agent can easily create a Phone Call with minimal clicks in the Unified Client Interface of Dynamics 365. We will also auto-populate the values in the Phone Call form.

Step 1: Create a web resource js file where you will write the custom script to open the quick create phone call form.

Step 2: Add a custom ribbon button in the Contact form using the Ribbon Workbench.

Tip: Make sure that the solution you will open in the Ribbon Workbench only includes the entity you need to modify without all the assets. This will make publishing quicker.

Step 3: Add a Phone Call command in the Ribbon Workbench with CRM Parameter of PrimaryControl. This is the executionContext where you can easily get the attributes of the form.

Step 4: Write these codes:

Your result:

Mar 04, 2020 2

Features of Queues (When to use and recommend Queues vs Activities?)

Activities is a list of all activity types such as Email, Phone Call, Task, Appointment, Fax, Letter, etc.

Queues is a place where you list both activities and cases in the same view.

Depending on business needs, you can recommend either one to manage all action items recorded in CRM. Some business users, they prefer looking into separate views, however, some businesses have multiple teams and it will be beneficial for them to use queues instead.

Here are the most important information you need to understand and know when considering Queues vs Activities.

QUEUES FEATURES

It is required to setup a Team to use Queues. This way, you can easily manage the members’ action items and their security role.
The activities and cases inside a queue is called a queue item.
Users can pick a queue item as needed.
Picking a queue item updates the Worked By field/column. This also updates the record’s owner field.
Users can route a queue item to another Queue or User.
Users cannot route a queue item to a user who is not a member of the Queue that owns the queue item.
A queue item can be delegated to another user who is not member of team by assigning the specific activity or case (just like any other records in CRM).
Releasing a picked queue item will automatically be routed back to the Queue even if you have assigned the activity or case to anotehr user. (Worked By will be empty / Owner == Team)
When displaying an Activity Status in queue, it will be a separate column per activity type unless you add a custom script. This applies with other fields like Due Date, Priority and other important fields. Thus, heading to a separate view for Activities and Cases are helpful.

Activities will stay even if the business chose to use Queues. There are certain users that does not work on Cases which means, Activity Views are good enough for them to manage their action items.

I hope this is helpful. Cheers!

Mar 01, 2020 0

Work Efficiently with XrmToolbox

I personally love learning and has always been passionate on sharing my knowledge especially if it’s about improving productivity.

In the past years, I have the ultimate go-to tool when it comes to tasks that require repetitive configuration. This type of job can be “easy,” but it can be very frustrating and very time-consuming.

This is XrmToolbox. It’s a FREE tool that uses Common Data Service for Apps as its foundational data service built to make administration, customization, or configuration tasks more manageable and less time-consuming. There are more than 100 tools available in the Tool Library, and here are some of the tools you can find:

User Security Manager – Use this tool to manage multiple users with multiple Business Units and Teams.

User Settings Utility – This comes in handy when you get a requirement to set default pane, tab, dashboard, etc. to multiple users or roles.

Workflow Buddy – Working with a vast Dynamics 365 project with several workflows can be very challenging when it’s time to troubleshoot. Although the Dynamics 365 Advanced Find can help, this tool makes it much easier to find a specific workflow.

Option Set Editor – Edit all your Option Set in one window. This editor is a life server when dealing with several local option sets in your environment.

Open Records using GUID – When it’s time to troubleshoot and look for a certain GUID, instead of exporting records and finding it manually, this would be the best tool available.

As I have mentioned, there are more than 100 useful tools available in XrmToolBox. Few of the popular ones are Ribbon Workbench, FetchXML Builder, Entity Relation Diagram Creator, Solution Transfer Tool and a lot more. Whether you are administering Dynamics 365 or managing solutions, troubleshooting or customizing it, this tool is something you must pin in your taskbar.

I hope you find this helpful. Enjoy!

Feb 08, 2020 0

Using JavaScript in Dynamics 365 (Client API Reference)

Today, I will share with you some tips and tricks when adding custom scripts in your Dynamics 365 application. Here, I shared some of the common scenarios that may require you to write codes. The following scenarios are just examples; you might encounter different requirements, but the same solutions can be applied, so keep an open mind. I thought a one-page reference would be of good help, especially for those who are just exploring Dynamics 365 customization.

Scenario 1: Run a script on form load but ONLY when creating a new record.

Solution: Get the form type of the record and use it as your condition to ensure that you don’t load ALL scripts on every form load.

Syntax: if (formContext.ui.getFormType() === 1)

Value	Form type
0	Undefined
1	Create
2	Update
3	Read Only
4	Disabled
6	Bulk Edit

Form Type Return Values

Scenario 2: Every time you open a form, it says unsaved changes. This is because your form is dirty which means there are fields in your form that have changed. To find out what these fields are, you can use the developers’ tool available in your browser.

Solution: Press F12 while running Dynamics 365. Run the following script in the console and it will tell you the fields that you need to deal with.

Syntax: Xrm.Page.data.entity.getDataXml()

Scenario 3: You are required to set a value in your scripts which is only intended to control logic in the form. This becomes a dirty field.

Solution. Set submit mode to control how you want to save the field you changed programmatically. If you are not interested to store the value, you can choose to do so by setting the submit mode it as “never”.

Syntax: formContext.getAttribute(attributeName).setSubmitMode(mode);

always	The data is always sent with a save.
never	The data is never sent with a save. When this is used, the field(s) in the form for this attribute cannot be edited.
dirty	Default behavior. The data is sent with the save when it has changed.

Submit Modes

Scenario 4: You are required to manipulate a lookup field value in the client side.

Syntax: (see image below)

Setting a value to Email Regarding field

Scenario 5: There are cases when users want to enable auto-save for most forms but disable it for specific forms.

Solution: Get save mode

Syntax: executionContext.getEventArgs().getSaveMode()

Value	Save mode	Entity
1	Save	All
2	Save and Close	All
5	Deactivate	All
6	Reactivate	All
7	Send	Email
15	Disqualify	Lead
16	Qualify	Lead
47	Assign	User or Team owned entities
58	Save as Completed	Activities
59	Save and New	All
70	Auto Save	All

Save Mode Values

Scenario 6: Hiding and showing UCI tabs. Depending on the users, they can be very particular on working on form tabs.

Syntax: _formContext.ui.tabs.get(tabName).setVisible(false);

Scenario 7: Manipulate UCI tab label and set it as the active tab (focus) on form load.

Syntax: formContext.ui.tabs.get(tabName).setLabel(“Details”); formContext.ui.tabs.get(tabName).setFocus();

Scenario 8: Need to pass a parameter when a certain field value has been changed.

Solution: Add the script file in the form properties and define the JS function in the onchange event of the field. Enable pass execution context as the first parameter.

Syntax: functionName = function (executionContext) { var formContext = executionContext.getFormContext(); }

Scenario 9: You are required to display a notification message on the form.

Solution: Use form level notifications.

Syntax:

_formContext.ui.setFormNotification("INFO", "INFO");
_formContext.ui.setFormNotification("WARNING", "WARNING");
_formContext.ui.setFormNotification("ERROR", "ERROR");

Scenario 10: You are required to display the field values from another entity or table.

Solution: Instead of re-creating those fields in the same entity create a Quick View Form. Another way is to create calculated fields to feed the field value of another entity.

I hope this helps.

For more information on Client API, here is complete documentation for your reference.

If you would like to connect and ask some more tips, feel free to connect with me at LinkedIn.

Jan 31, 2020 0