Customizing Microsoft Dynamics 365

Introduction to the Microsoft Power Platform

The Power Platform is a powerful combination of tools that allow you to build business applications to store, process and share your data. This chapter will show you how the Power Platform is built, explain the licensing system and give you an overview of what is possible.

• The past: Dynamics CRM
• From Dynamics CRM to Dynamics 365 for Customer Engagement, The Common Data Model and Model-Driven Apps
• Overview of the Microsoft Power Platform
• Introduction to Microsoft Dataverse
• The Common Data Model
• Dynamics 365 Sales, Customer Services, ... as model-driven apps on Microsoft Dataverse

Overview of Model-Driven Apps/Dynamics 365

Before model-driven apps can be created, a environment with a Microsoft Dataverse database must be provisioned. This chapter introduces the concept of an environment and what role it plays in the creating, manage and deployment of model-driven apps. Students are also provided with a quick overview of the look and feel that every model-driven app has and the common functionality of model-driven apps

• Creating and working with environments
• The relationship between environments and Microsoft Dataverse
• Navigating and using a model-driven app

Working with Solutions

Solutions are used by customizers and developers to package related customizations together so that they can be managed and deployed as a single unit. We will see what components can be added to a solution and how they are essentially the building blocks of your environment.

• Introduction to customizing Model-Driven Apps
• Working with Publishers and Solutions
• Difference between Managed and Unmanaged Solutions
• Adding components to your solutions
• Working with managed properties
• Importing and Exporting Solutions
• Versioning solutions
• LAB: Working with Solutions

Creating model-driven apps

Model-driven apps are the building block of any business solution. For instance, we could create our own "event management" app. The app will group together everything our user needs from the CDS and the components we have built.

• Concepts of a model-driven app
• The structure of a Site Map
• Creating a Site Map for an app
• Creating apps with the App Designer
• Navigating between apps
• Managing apps in Solutions
• Preview: the modern app designer
• Introducing XrmToolBox
• LAB: Creating model-driven apps

Creating and customizing Tables

Table are used to model and store business data in a model-driven apps. Conceptually they are like tables in a relational database. Microsoft Dataverse defines quite some build-in tables like contact, account, case... but almost always customizers will have to create new tables. In this chapter you will learn all aspects of how to create new tables.

• Creating and configuring tables in Microsoft Dataverse
• The default table columns
• Creating custom Activity Tables
• LAB: Creating and configuring Tables

Managing Relationships

Just like accounts and contacts have relationships in Microsoft Dataverse, we can provide relationships for our own tables. You will learn what types of relationships are possible and how to configure them.

• Plan, create, and configure Table Relationships
• Creating and using relationships - 1:N, N:N
• Connections and Connection Roles
• Defining self-referential relationships
• Defining hierarchy visualizations
• Creating polymorphic or multi-table relationships
• LAB: Managing relationships

Creating and customizing Columns

Columns define the individual data items that can be used to store data in a table. Columns are sometimes also called fields or attributes

• Adding custom Columns to Tables
• Supported column data types
• Working with File and Image data types
• Working with Lookups
• Preview: creating multi-table or polymorphic Lookups
• The Choice and Choices data types
• Using the Status and Status Reason columns
• Defining Alternate Keys for a Table
• Importing rows in tables using Dataflows
• Aggregating data with Rollup Columns
• Calculate data based on other column with Calculated Columns
• Creating Formula columns using PowerFX
• LAB: Creating columns

Customizing Forms

Forms are used to visualize table rows. In this module you will learn about the different Form Types and how to create or customize forms using the Form Designer.

• Define the structure of Forms
• How to add, remove or modify the components of a Form using the Form Designer
• Placing image column on Forms
• Configure and use Quick Create, Quick View and Card Forms
• Working with custom components
• Embedding Canvas apps in a Form
• LAB: Creating and configuring Forms

Business Rules

Business rules essentially automate control logic on tables, without the need for development. Think of making columns required depending on the value of another column for instance.

• What are Business Rules?
• Create and apply Business Rules
• Defining the scope of Business Rules
• Business Rules limitations
• LAB: Working with Business Rules

Creating and using Views

Offer the data needed for different scenario's with views. With a view, we can either look at all table rows, or we could apply some filtering, sorting, etc.

• Examine the different types of system, public and personal Views
• Create new public views and modify existing Views
• Configure quick find, advanced find and associated Views
• Configure views with custom controls like the Editable grid, Calendar Control,...
• LAB: Creating and configuring views

Reporting in Model-driven apps

Reporting is essential when working with data. In this module you will learn how you can create Charts and Dashboards. This module also shows how you can integrate Microsoft Dataverse and Model-driven apps with Power BI

• Build Interactive Charts to show in Views or on Dashboards
• Classic Dashboards showing Charts, Data or web pages
• Interactive Dashboards with dynamic sorting and filtering
• Working with the Tabular Data Stream (TDS) endpoint
• Using Power BI Desktop with data stored in Microsoft Dataverse
• Creating embedded Power BI Dashboards
• Embedding a Power BI report in a Table Form
• LAB: Reporting in model-driven apps

Creating Business Process Flows

Business process flows in Dataverse are guided workflows that streamline and standardize processes within an organization by providing a visual representation of the steps needed to complete a task. They ensure consistency and compliance by guiding users through predefined stages and actions.

• What is a Business Process Flow
• Creating a Business Process Flow
• Using a Business Process Flow
• LAB: Creating a Business Process Flow

Securing Model-driven apps

This module teaches how you can implement a robust security model in Model-Driven apps using Business Units, Security Roles, Users and Teams.

• Building a Security Model
• Business Units and their role in security modeling
• Define Privileges and access levels in Security Roles
• Creating and maintaining users
• Team management
• LAB: Implementing security in Microsoft Dataverse

Power Platform Automation

Power Automate gives you the ability to automate organizational processes. As a part of the Microsoft Power Platform, it integrates seamlessly with the Model-Driven apps and Microsoft Dataverse.

• Power Automate overview
• Trigger a Flow based on a create, update or delete of an table row
• Consuming Microsoft Dataverse data inside a Power Automate Flow
• Available Actions with the Microsoft Dataverse connector