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PowerApps, Canvas Apps, Model Driven Apps, Common Data Service and Dynamics 365 Explained

Microsoft has made several exciting new releases and updates to its PowerApps and Dynamics 365 platforms. In this post, we will explain what the different types of PowerApps are and the differences between Canvas Apps vs Model-Driven Apps. We will also discuss the Common Data Model and the Common Data Service, and what the new Common Data Service for Apps exactly is. We will then show how Dynamics 365 ties this … Continue reading PowerApps, Canvas Apps, Model Driven Apps, Common Data Service and Dynamics 365 Explained

PowerApps – Install Model-Driven Sample Apps

To install the model-driven PowerApps samples, you will first need to install a new environment if you have not already done so. Go https://admin.powerapps.com/ and select New Environment. We will call ours Sample Apps Environment: Click to Create Database: Enter currency and language. Ensure “Include sample apps and data” is checked and click Create database: Now go to https://web.powerapps.com/ and change the design mode to Model-driven: Click on Apps, and you will … Continue reading PowerApps – Install Model-Driven Sample Apps

PowerApps Part 4 – Adding a Flow to an App

In our previous posts, we created a PowerApp that displays accounts from Dynamics 365, that a user can select and update. In this post we will extend that app to call a Flow. This is an extremely powerful capability of PowerApps, in that you can easily integrate with other systems and automate processes such as sending an email that can be wired to your PowerApps buttons with no code. Let’s … Continue reading PowerApps Part 4 – Adding a Flow to an App

PowerApps Part 3 – Using an App on a Smartphone and Web

In our previous posts, we created an app that connects to Dynamics 365 and showed how to configure the app settings, share the app with users and publish the app. In this post, we will use the app on a smartphone and on the web. A nice feature of PowerApps is that when you create an app for mobile, you don’t need to go through the additional step of registering … Continue reading PowerApps Part 3 – Using an App on a Smartphone and Web

PowerApps Part 2 – Publishing and Sharing an App

In our previous post, we created a PowerApp that connects to Dynamics 365, displays a list of Accounts and allows a user to select an account and edit it, thereby submitting the change to Dynamics 365. In this post we will show how to publish the app, share it with different users, and use it on a smartphone. Let’s edit the app and prepare it for publishing. First, we want … Continue reading PowerApps Part 2 – Publishing and Sharing an App

PowerApps Part 1 – Creating an App from Scratch

PowerApps is “a service for building and using custom business apps that connect to your data and work across the web and mobile”. Put simply, think about the scenario where you would like to build an app, such as one that you have on your smartphone. Normally, this would be a complex task and would probably involve developers and heavy coding. Microsoft has created a service that allows apps to … Continue reading PowerApps Part 1 – Creating an App from Scratch

Using Local and Global Option Sets in Dynamics 365 Forms

In Dynamics 365, there are 2 types of option set fields, global and local. Global option sets are stored at a “global” level and can be used in any entity. This is different from local option sets, which are available only to the entity they are created in. Having an option set at a form level is beneficial if, say, you have unique attributes for the field and therefore having … Continue reading Using Local and Global Option Sets in Dynamics 365 Forms

Unified Service Desk – RunScript Action

In Unified Service Desk, there is a RunScript action that allows us to run JavaScript within USD. Let’s say we want to do something simple such as displaying an alert “Hello World” when opening a hosted control. On loading our hosted control “Dashboard”, which is of type Unified Interface Page, we will add an action to display our message. Go to Settings->Unified Service Desk and click Hosted Controls: Open Incident: … Continue reading Unified Service Desk – RunScript Action

Creating, Deleting and Updating Records in the Data Export Service for Dynamics 365

The Data Export Service for Common Data Service apps such as Dynamics 365 is used to copy data from the cloud-based Dynamics 365 data store to an Azure SQL Server database. Let’s look at some synchronization examples. First, let’s connect to our Azure SQL database and search our accounts for an account where the name is TEST. We can see it does not exist: Now, in the Dynamics 365 org, … Continue reading Creating, Deleting and Updating Records in the Data Export Service for Dynamics 365

Best Practices Analyzer for USD – Recommendations

Following on from previous posts, below is a list of Unified Service Desk Best Practices Analyzer recommendations. Note these were run in a test environment and may not reflect the outcomes of what you would see if run in your environments: Hard Disk Space: Enable Automatic Crash Recovery: Client Caching: Process Termination Threshold: Internal WPF Hosting Type: Action Calls in PageLoadComplete Event: Action Calls in DesktopReady Event: Action Calls in … Continue reading Best Practices Analyzer for USD – Recommendations