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Take That for Data: How Analytics is Changing the NBA

Last week saw the end of an entertaining NBA playoff series between the Memphis Grizzlies and the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs ended up winning the series 4-2. One of the series highlights came off the court, when Grizzlies coach David Fizdale went on an epic rant in a post-game interview, stating various statistics and concluding the officiating in the game was biased. He finished the interview with the words “Take that … Continue reading Take That for Data: How Analytics is Changing the NBA

C# – Task Parallel Library

In C#, there is a feature called Task Parallel Library that was introduced in .NET 4.0 and is useful for handling asynchronous calls. Let’s create a new C# Windows Forms application. Windows forms apps are good to demo this as they can get locked up with long running synchronous calls: Add a button to the Win Form: Let’s say we want to simulate some long running code. We will use … Continue reading C# – Task Parallel Library

Power BI Audit Log

Power BI has an Audit Log capability, where interactions in Power BI are captured and logged. This is useful for companies requiring compliance. In order to active it, go to the Admin portal: Select the link: You will see the screen below. Select “Start recording user and admin activities”: Select Start Recording User and Admin Activities: You may need to wait a few hours for the system to be enabled. Once … Continue reading Power BI Audit Log

North52 – Alert

North52 contains functionality to show an alert box to the user, just as can be done with JavaScript. To do this, create a new North52 formula and select ClientSide – Peform Action. We will create this example on the Account entity: Find the form to run the code against. We will run this on the Account Form on the OnLoad event: Now click on the Functions tab to find the … Continue reading North52 – Alert

Workflow Scope in Dynamics 365

Workflows in Dynamics 365 can run under specific scopes. We will go through an example of creating a workflow that will create a task for specific accounts. First, go to Processes and create a new workflow: Note the scope that the workflow can run under. We will select User, with the other options being Business Unit, Parent: Child Business Units and Organization: Next, create a task record to “call the … Continue reading Workflow Scope in Dynamics 365

Salesforce Content Packs for Power BI

To install the Salesforce content pack for Power BI, go to log into powerbi.com and from the bottom left, select “Get Data”: Select Services: Search for Salesforce. Select Salesforce Sales Manager->Get Now: If you are authenticated, select Allow: The new dashboard will load: With new underlying reports: Select Salesforce Sales Rep->Get Now: Select Salesforce Reports->Get Now: Connect to Salesforce: Enter your Salesforce credentials: You may see below:  

SSDT Analysis Services and Reporting Services Projects in Visual Studio 2017

If you try to open old Analysis Services smproj or Reporting Services projects in Visual Studio 2017 you may run into an unsupported error. To install the required templates, go to: https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=ProBITools.MicrosoftAnalysisServicesModelingProjects Select the Download link: Then for Reporting Services go to: https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=ProBITools.MicrosoftReportProjectsforVisualStudio Select Download: You will now be able to create and load analysis services and reporting services projects in Visual Studio:  

Visual Studio 2017 Install

Go to https://www.visualstudio.com/downloads/ and download the version you require. Run the download. I will install Professional. Select the components you would like to install and note the additional components in the Summary when you select a workload: Select Individual Components to install additional software: And Language Packs if required: Select Install on the bottom right: Once completed: Visual Studio will open:  

Installing the Sales Analytics for Dynamics 365 Content Pack

To install the Sales Analytics for Dynamics 365 Content Pack, go through the following steps. Sign in to Power BI at http://powerbi.com: And you will see something like below. Under Services, click Get: This will take you to the AppSource window. Enter Dynamics in the search box and find Sales Analytics for Dynamics 365. Click Get it now: Enter the URL to your Dynamics 365 Service, and the last month of … Continue reading Installing the Sales Analytics for Dynamics 365 Content Pack

USD – Opening Multiple Records

In Unified Service Desk, users can select a Dynamics 365 record, which we can set up to open in its own hosted control. For example, if a user selects a Contact, we can open that contact in a “Contact” hosted control. However, what if we would like to open multiple tabs of Contacts? For example, in USD we have a list of contacts: Selecting one contact opens the contact tab: … Continue reading USD – Opening Multiple Records