Azure Functions

Create a Custom Connector For Power Automate & Power Apps

priyeshwagh777 Azure Functions, Customizations, Microsoft Azure, Microsoft PowerApps, Power Automate, Power Platform , , , , , ,

One of the most important qualities of extending capabilities of any platform is being able to add Custom code and make it available to wider use cases.

In this case, it’s a custom code that is encompassed in a Custom Connector in Power Platform and made available to Power Automate or Power Platform.

Use Case

The purpose of my custom connector is to call my hosted custom code in Power Automate or Power Apps.

For this example, I’ve created a simple Azure Function that just returns a value – just to test the working of the Custom Connector. Of course, your use case is to be able to connect to the hosted app, expect it to process the business logic which you intend to do and return back the results.
So, in my case – my Azure Function will simply greet the name passed to it.


See the Postman test below –

Now, let’s make a Custom Connector that will execute this Azure Function in your Power Automate.

Create Custom Connector in Power Apps / Power Automate

You can either make the Custom Connector from the Power Automate portal or the Power Apps Maker portal, both are the same things. Let’s see this example from Power Apps portal –

  1. In this use case, I’m in a Solution in Power Apps / Power Automate. Open the one in your case since you can’t create a Custom Connector from outside a Solution any longer.

  2. Now you can drop down from New and see in Automation menu that you can create a Custom Connector

  3. Now, you’ll be required to enter the name of the Connector itself and other details like a PNG icon for it, Description etc.

  4. Now, below is the info that I filled in. I’m calling it Data Transporter and have selected an Icon which should make me easy to recognize my connector in Power Automate and Power Apps and enter enter the details of my hosted Azure Function which is authenticated using an API Key.
    So, here’s what my info looks like –

  5. Now, when I click on Security after filling all the info, the type of Authentication I used in this case if API Key, yours could be different depending on what your custom application is configured to work with –

  6. It’ll ask you to fill in the information so that it appears as parameters to fill in for the Custom Connector when the end user will work on their Flows/Apps.

  7. The info I’m choosing to fill is this – I’m giving a name to the parameter to indicate what info is required. The actual parameter name required by the Azure Function, in this case – it’s ‘code’ and since I need to pass the API key in Query string, I’ve selected Query instead of Header.

  8. When you go to the next part, i.e. Definition, make sure you also give a Name to the Custom Connector already. Before your lose the info you’ve already entered. Make sure you also click on Create Connector


    Once you click on Create connector, it’ll create it in a few moments.

  9. Now, since you are aware of Triggers and Actions from using Power Automate – in this use case, my Custom Connector is designed to be an Action i.e. when called/used in Power Automate, it’ll simply perform the operation it’s designed to do.
    Hence, I’m selecting an Action here.
    When I select New Action from the left hand pane, it’ll open up information for me to fill out to describe the Action.

  10. Now, since this will appear as a listed item in Actions in my Power Automate connector, I’m filling in this info (and we can check later how it appears).


    Next, I’ll click on + Import from sample as it’ll give me a place to enter a sample for the request to call my hosted Azure Function.



  11. Next, I’ll pass these values as I did in Postman to create the sample. Once done, I can click on Import.

  12. When I import, I’ll the request parameters set in the Custom Connector based on the sample I entered.

  13. Next, I’ll scroll down to ensure that all validations are perfect and I needn’t fix anything.

  14. Next, I’ll skip AI Plugins step and also the Code step since I want to keep this example concise and to the scope of the hosted Azure Function only.


    And this is skipped too –

  15. Now, the final step is to Test the Custom Connector. The Editor will ask you to Update connector before you can Test. Then, in order to begin testing – you’ll need to first create a Connection using New Connection button as shown below.


  16. When you click on New Connection, you’ll be taken to a new tab to enter the API key which you created as parameter in the initial setup of this Connector. See #7 above. Enter the API key you have which works for this hosted app and then click Create connection.


  17. Next, in case the Connection doesn’t appear, click Refresh button once.

  18. Once you refresh, you should see your Connection come up and selected.

  19. Now, next step is to test the Custom Connector itself. Enter the values that you wish to test for and click Test operation.

  20. You’ll see the test results based on what the hosted code is supposed to perform.
    In my case, it was easy as it just greets the name entered.


    And your Custom Connector is now ready to be used!

Consuming Custom Connector

Now, let’s see how you can use the Customer Connector in Power Automate in order to perform the operation in your Flows –

  1. Once in Power Automate, look for the Custom tab in the Action selector.

  2. Then, you can see the Action you defined in your Connector Definition steps above.

  3. Since you need to authenticate using the API key you have, the create Connection step will ask you this info and you can give the name of the Connection.

  4. Pass the value you want to pass as data.

  5. Finally, you can just save and test the Flow itself and look for your Outputs.


    And that’s how you can have a Custom Connector for your custom app/service your have created. I’ll soon write about other aspects of Custom Connector which I wasn’t able to cover in this blog.

Hope this was useful!

Here are some Power Automate posts you want to check out –

  1. Select the item based on a key value using Filter Array in Power Automate
  2. Select values from an array using Select action in a Power Automate Flow
  3. Blocking Attachment Extensions in Dynamics 365 CRM
  4. Upgrade Dataverse for Teams Environment to Dataverse Environment
  5. Showing Sandbox or Non Production Apps in Power App mobile app
  6. Create a Power Apps Per User Plan Trial | Dataverse environment
  7. Install On-Premise Gateway from Power Automate or Power Apps | Power Platform
  8. Co-presence in Power Automate | Multiple users working on a Flow
  9. Search Rows (preview) Action in Dataverse connector in a Flow | Power Automate
  10. Suppress Workflow Header Information while sending back HTTP Response in a Flow | Power Automate
  11. Call a Flow from Canvas Power App and get back response | Power Platform
  12. FetchXML Aggregation in a Flow using CDS (Current Environment) connector | Power Automate
  13. Parsing Outputs of a List Rows action using Parse JSON in a Flow | Common Data Service (CE) connector
  14. Asynchronous HTTP Response from a Flow | Power Automate
  15. Validate JSON Schema for HTTP Request trigger in a Flow and send Response | Power Automate
  16. Converting JSON to XML and XML to JSON in a Flow | Power Automate

Thank you!

HTTP Trigger Azure Function Authorization Types simplified

priyeshwagh777 Azure Functions, Microsoft Azure , , , ,

Now, many of you must be wondering how the Authorization types for Azure Functions using HTTP Triggers work and where to look for information while using these different types. Hopefully, this post helps simplify each of those for you.

Now, when you create a new Azure Function from Visual Studio or from the Azure Portal, you’ll be asked about Authorization where you’ll find the selection to either be 1 of the below –

  1. Anonymous
  2. Function
  3. Admin
  4. System

Anonymous

This type of Authotization let’s you use the Azure Function without needing for any key and anyone with the URL alone can access it. Of course, this is not recommended for any production use –

  1. Now, if you notice your Visual Studio, when you write your first Azure Function, it comes with pre-defined method ready for you to continue to write your own code. But right away, you’ll see that the Authorization method is pre-defined considering you must’ve selected Anonymous while starting the Project.

  2. Also, since the Azure Function is understood to be Published already on the Azure Portal, you’ll see in the Function’s settings that the same has been reflected as well.

  3. Now, if you test this using Postman, the code will be able to run directly just using the URL without any API key. Either you pass in the body – and you’ll get a 200 OK with the result that the Azure Function is supposed to result.


    Or using query parameters – the result will be the same.


    This simply explains Anonymous authorization. Without any check on who’s supposed to access the Azure Function.

Function

In this type of Authentication, only the Function and resources associated to it will be accessible. This needs the caller to have a key [or code] to be passed while calling Azure Function –

  1. Let’s look at the code, and see that the type is not set to Function for Authorization.

  2. And when you Publish the code, the same will be reflected in the Settings too.


  3. And when you want to access the Azure Function from Postman, you’ll need the Function Keys defined in the Function Keys area of the Function itself – a Default Key is given already but you can choose to add your own keys and using any of them would do.

  4. Now, here’s what the Key looks like when you click on Show [there’s a button on the far right to expose the key’s value]

  5. Now, when you go to Postman, you need to can pass this as a query parameter –


    Now, let’s look at the Admin Type of Authorization.

Admin

In this type of Authorization, you get access to Functions’ Runtime APIs. The way to use the Admin key is similar to the Function Keys, just that they are available from the Function App itself than the Function –

  1. Now, when the Authorization is set to Admin

  2. You’ll see this reflected in the portal once Published.

  3. Now, in the Function App itself – you can navigate to the App keys under Functions [as of the portal’s layout in mid-2024]

  4. You can expose to see this value and share it to the clients who are going to consume this Function App. They key required here is the _master

  5. Now, you can test this using Postman


    Remember, this type of Authorization is to be used when the calling client needs to also access Functions Runtime API.
    Finally, Let’s look at the System type.

System

This type of key is managed by Function runtime and is used when the calling client when there’s a need for granular access to function runtime features.

  1. Now, you can set this from the code and publish it.


  2. And it’ll appear in the settings of the Function [In case when the Function wants to access granular function runtime features].

  3. And this is present in the App keys area under System Keys section.

  4. And when you test the same, they work just like any other key from the Function app when called.

Hope this was useful!

Here are some Power Automate posts you want to check out –

  1. Select the item based on a key value using Filter Array in Power Automate
  2. Select values from an array using Select action in a Power Automate Flow
  3. Blocking Attachment Extensions in Dynamics 365 CRM
  4. Upgrade Dataverse for Teams Environment to Dataverse Environment
  5. Showing Sandbox or Non Production Apps in Power App mobile app
  6. Create a Power Apps Per User Plan Trial | Dataverse environment
  7. Install On-Premise Gateway from Power Automate or Power Apps | Power Platform
  8. Co-presence in Power Automate | Multiple users working on a Flow
  9. Search Rows (preview) Action in Dataverse connector in a Flow | Power Automate
  10. Suppress Workflow Header Information while sending back HTTP Response in a Flow | Power Automate
  11. Call a Flow from Canvas Power App and get back response | Power Platform
  12. FetchXML Aggregation in a Flow using CDS (Current Environment) connector | Power Automate
  13. Parsing Outputs of a List Rows action using Parse JSON in a Flow | Common Data Service (CE) connector
  14. Asynchronous HTTP Response from a Flow | Power Automate
  15. Validate JSON Schema for HTTP Request trigger in a Flow and send Response | Power Automate
  16. Converting JSON to XML and XML to JSON in a Flow | Power Automate

Create Application Users for Dynamics 365 environment | Power Platform Admin Center

priyeshwagh777 Azure Functions, Microsoft Azure, Power Platform Admin Center , , ,

Here’s how you now set up Application Users in Dynamics 365 CRM from the Power Platform Admin Center instead from the Classic UI and let’s see how the process is eased.

Classic UI

Previously, you used to see Application Users view in the Dynamics 365 CRM under Settings > Security > Users.



But it’s not longer available. Instead, you now go to the Power Platform Admin Center.

Register App in Power Platform Admin Center [PPAC]

Now, once you are in the Power Platform Admin Center, you can go to the Environment section –

  1. First, let’s say this is your App in your Azure’s Active Directory in the App Registrations. And now you want to create an Application User in Dynamics CRM for this App.

  2. Now, you can go to the PPAC (https://admin.powerplatform.microsoft.com/) and in Environments, look for your D365 CRM/Dataverse environment.

  3. In Settings, you’ll see Users, expand the same and you’ll see Application Users which is now it’s own separate option.

  4. Now, you’ll see the Registered Apps I have already and you can add from the “+ New App User” button above.

  5. Now, select the + Add an app button

  6. And you’ll see the complete list of all the Apps that are in your Azure’s Active Directory. Select the one your just created and click Add.

  7. And then finally click Create once you Add the App you want to create Application User for.

  8. And now, you’ll see the App added as an Application User for your environment.

  9. Now, you also need to provide Security Roles based on the requirement. Select the App User, and click on Edit security roles once available.

  10. In my case, I’m giving 3 Roles which I need to give and click Save.

  11. Now, I’ll also see how many Roles have been given to the App User.

Hope this was helpful! Here are some more Dynamics 365 posts which you might be interested in –

  1. Setup Postman to connect to Dynamics 365 CRM using OAuth 2.0 | Azure App Registration
  2. Dynamics 365 Storage Utilization | Dataverse Storage | Power Platform Admin Center
  3. Use Hierarchy in Roll Up Fields in Dynamics 365 CRM
  4. Filter records in a View owned by a Team you are a member of | Dynamics 365 CRM
  5. Get GUID of the current View in Dynamics 365 CRM JS from ribbon button | Ribbon Workbench
  6. Dynamics 365 App For Outlook missing on SiteMap in CRM? Use shortcut link [Quick Tip]
  7. Import lookup referencing records together in Dynamics 365 CRM | [Linking related entity data during Excel Import]
  8. Mailbox Alerts Hide/Show behavior in Dynamics 365 CRM
  9. Excel Importing Notes (Annotation) entity in Dynamics 365 CRM
  10. Enable/Disable the need to Approve Email for Mailboxes in Dynamics 365 CRM CE
  11. Call Azure Function from Dynamics 365 CRM using Webhooks
  12. Show Ribbon button only on record selection in Dynamics CRM
  13. Accessing multiple occurrences of a field in Business Process Flow using JS in D365 CRM

Thank you!!

Call Azure Function from Dynamics 365 CRM using Webhooks

priyeshwagh777 Azure Functions, CRM with .NET Web Applications, Microsoft Azure , , , ,

This is a vast topic to cover in a blog. But I wanted to write from a bird-eye’s view of how this will pan out in an implementation where you perform a certain operation in Dynamics 365 CRM and an Azure Function is called to perform further operations.

This post is written keeping in mind fair knowledge of Azure Functions, Storage accounts and subscriptions in mind.

I’ll try to keep the article short, so stay with me! 🙂

Create a Function App in Azure

  1. Let’s say you have created a Function App in Azure already and want to connect to Dynamics 365 CRM. Click on the big + New Function button in the screenshot below
    resourceOverview_LI
  2. Now, since I want to keep Visual Studio as my driver for coding and deployment, I’ll create a new Project in Visual Studio of type Azure Functions and click Next
    newProj
  3. On the next page, I’ll give a relevant name and hit Create.
    createProjectButton
  4. Since we will be using Webhooks to connect to the Azure Function, the trigger chosen here is Http Trigger.Make sure you select Framework because Microsoft.Xrm.Sdk assemblies don’t work on .NET Code, but on .NETFramework only.And then you should take care of what your Storage Account and Authorization should be – Finally click Create once done.
    frameWorkSelected
  5. The Project will open with 1 .cs file, so make sure you name your plugin initially –
    accountPluginGetsInApp
  6. It’ll take a while to create the Project. Once created, go to the Portal on Azure and click on the Get Publish Profile
    getPublishProf_LI
    It will be downloaded on the computer. Keep it so that you can import it on the Project in Visual Studio to use for Direct Publish.
    downloadedProfile
  7. Now, right click and chose Publish to make your first push as is so that the Account Function gets pushed to Azure App.
    firstPublish
  8. Then, click on Import and import the Publish Profile settings downloaded in step #5 above –
    selectImport
  9. Once imported, you’ll be taken here – simply Publish once.
    quickPublish
  10. Once Publish is successful, check in the Azure App in Portal, the Function should appear.
    accountPluginGetsInApp

 

Modifying code to read Webhook Call from Dynamics 365

  1. To keep it simple, I’m simply reading the context and then, you can flourish your App further to make it work as required.
    captureContextSo, I’m only reading the request into a String and logging it so that we can see it in the logs in the Azure Function app.
  2. You can use RemoteExecutionContext class to actually get all the contextual information into the Function app and then use it further. See below –
    remotecontext
  3. Once ready with your code, Publish it.

Now, let’s Register the Webhook and call the app.

If you’re also looking for remote debugging, this is a great article-Remote Debugging Azure Functions V2 “The breakpoint will not currently be hit. No symbols have been loaded for this document”

Register a Webhook in Plugin Registration Tool

Coming to Dynamics 365 CRM side of things, you can register a Webhook that will trigger on Account Name update to fire off the AccountPlugin Function App created above –

  1. In Plugin Registration Tool, register a new Webhook
    registerWebHook
  2. Enter Webhook Details. Select Authentication type as WebhookKey –
    enterWebhookDetails
  3. Now, to get the key, go to the Function App in portal, and look </> Get function URL link.
    getKeyandURL
  4. Copy the same and paste in Notepad, separate the code part from the main URL
    selectCopy
    separateCodePart
  5. Paste the URL part in Endpoint URL and key in the Value field. Click Save.
    registerWebHookWIthDetails
  6. Now, add a Step to the Webhook. For this example, I’ve chosen update of Account‘s Account Name field
    addStepregisterStepInWebhook
    And Register it.

Execution

  1. The purpose was to simply ready Dynamics 365 Account record upon modification of the Account Name
    recordChange
    And save the record.
  2. In a minute or so, the Log will be generated (only the logs take a little longer to generate)
    triggered
    And thus, we are able to send data / or rather, call Azure Function and process Dynamics 365 CRM data using Webhooks.

Some other Azure related post you might like to look at – Use Azure App Passwords for MFA enabled D365 authentication from Console App

Hope this was helpful! Tried my best to keep it basic and short as possible. I’m sure you all will explore way beyond and develop awesome implementations!