Category: Customization
Custom Translations – the Easy Way
In many customer projects and products, I have built solutions for managing translations in Microsoft Dynamics 365 / CDS / CRM.
Sure, the metadata can be translated to show labels etc in the language of the user, but having a custom solution for translations ensures localized content for texts that are shown to the user from code or automation.
Continue reading “Custom Translations – the Easy Way” Querying date intervals in the Common Data Service
Querying date intervals in Microsoft Common Data Service, Power Apps and Dynamics 365 is not always possible using Advanced Find nor is it as easy as working with plain SQL.
TL;DR – with FetchXML this is quite possible!
Continue reading “Querying date intervals in the Common Data Service”Conditional Unique Auto Number Sequences in Microsoft Dynamics 365 / CRM
A common request for Auto Numbers in Microsoft Dynamics 365 (CDS/CRM) is to have one number field with different formats and unique sequences based on data on the record or it’s parents.
I call this “Conditional Unique Auto Number Sequences”.
Continue reading “Conditional Unique Auto Number Sequences in Microsoft Dynamics 365 / CRM” NEW Release: UML Diagram Generator
Read all about the UML Diagram Generator tool that generates PlantUML files from your Microsoft Dynamics 365 / Common Data Service metadata:
Continue reading “NEW Release: UML Diagram Generator”Create view: Active Contacts in My State
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement and Common Data Service offer us the querying language FetchXML to retrieve data. Since this is the language used for views saved in the system, we can use FetchXML Builder for XrmToolBox to alter the features of views beyond what is possible using platform features, without making them unsupported.
Continue reading “Create view: Active Contacts in My State”No more Export as Unmanaged
Ever since “CRM 2011” Microsoft has been pushing the message that we should have unmanaged solutions only in Development environments. That message is being emphasized even more as we walk into the new Power Platform era.
Ideas have been raised that one day we might not be allowed to import unmanaged solutions to an environment that is not explicitly tagged for Development.
I would suggest completely removing the possibility to export solutions as unmanaged.
Continue reading “No more Export as Unmanaged”Dynamic content in Auto Numbers for Microsoft Dynamics 365 / CRM
As the creator of the Auto Number Manager tool in XrmToolBox, I get two questions more than any other questions:
How can I number existing records?
How can I add dynamic content to the numbers?
In a previous article I gave my solution to the first question. I will now dive into the second one and show a simple way of adding dynamic information from the numbered entity and related entities into the numbered attribute.
Continue reading “Dynamic content in Auto Numbers for Microsoft Dynamics 365 / CRM”Auto Numbering existing records in Microsoft Dynamics 365 / CRM
As the creator of the Auto Number Manager tool in XrmToolBox, I get two questions more than any other questions:
How can I number existing records?
How can I add dynamic content to the numbers?

To answer these questions once and for all, I will post my suggestions in two articles. I will step way outside my comfort zone of coding the solutions and give you strictly no-code alternatives.
Well, I do feel reasonably comfortable, since I wrote the code in the tools we need… ?
Managed or Unmanaged solutions – a hot case still slightly open
The case is obviously not entirely closed.
My recent article Case closed: Managed or Unmanaged solutions in Microsoft Dynamics 365 / CRM received a lot of attention, and sparked writers, podcasters, tweeters and commenters around the world to give feedback, yell at me, agree with me, or simply continue the discussion both publicly and privately.
I have received virtual hugs and probably lost quite a few followers.
I really enjoy following and participating in the discussion, and one comment I got today from Anthony Ellis (read it here) inspired me to write a follow-up article. So here it goes.
Continue reading “Managed or Unmanaged solutions – a hot case still slightly open”