Starting a Project Operations Lite Trial Environment

January 1, 2024 priyeshwagh777 CRM with .NET Web Applications Dataverse, Dynamics 365, power apps, Power Automate, Power Platform, Project Operations, project operations lite, project operations lite trial

One of the first things you want to get done is to spin up a Project Operations Trial environment. Here’s how you do it!
Note that no Credit Card is required for a Project Operations trial environment.

Project Operations Trial Environment

Here’s how you start a Project Operations trial environment –

Navigate to https://trials.dynamics.com/ which will be redirected to https://dynamics.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics-365-free-trial/ and the page you’ll see will be something like this –
Scroll down on the page till you see the option for Project Operations. Click on Try for free.
Once you click on Try for free, you can enter a new email on which you want to start a trial. I’ve come up with a sample email which I haven’t used before. I prefer not to enter an email/username which I already use.
Click Next and then you can select Setup my account.
Then, you can validate/enter the details which would be something like this and click Next.
Then, choose if you want to receive an OTP via Text or a Call. Text is my preferred way so I selected that and clicked on Send verification code.
I received an OTP which I entered as asked on the next pane and clicked Verify.
Further, I’ll be shown the login details of the trial environment I want to create. Once this is done and I save the information, I click on Next.
Then, you’ll be shown the details of the environment you’ll be provisioning. Save this info before proceeding.
Next, click on Start using Dynamics 365 Project Operations (CE) – Preview Trial. It’ll redirect you to the questionnaire page on a new tab where you’ll need to answer the questions before choosing the Deployment Type.

Deployment Type Questionnaire

As we left off from the Step #9 in the above section, you’ll be taken to a questionnaire Wizard in order to provision a Project Operations trial –

Yes to managing Opportunities as they move through the process.
Yes to requiring advance or extensible resource management.
Yes to requirement of workflow for approval of Time and Expense.
No to advanced Expense management.
No to Non-Stocked Materials
No to Stocked materials as well.
Select the version here. Even if you would have answered the questions randomly, you would have still gotten to choose a different version than recommended. Hence, the answers above point to a recommendation of Project Operations Lite type of Deployment.
Click Begin Setup once Lite Deployment is selected.
Setup will start provisioning once you click on Start.
And it’ll take a while and it’ll say that it will redirect you to the Power Platform Admin Center.
And once you are redirected to Power Platform Admin Center and you’ll see that the environment is provisioning. This will take a few minutes before completion.

Set Name and URL for your environment

Provisioning a Project Operations trial will get set a predefined URL and name which you should update to be readable –

Open the environment once the link is clickable and the State is set to Ready.
Then, click on the Edit button
Once you click Edit, you’ll get to update the Name and the URL. Set to something that is relevant to the purpose of the environment.
Once you click on Save, you’ll see this loading page which will take a while to complete and finally, your Project Operations Lite environment setup will be ready!

Here’s Microsoft’s Documentation detailing which all Deployment Types have different Project Operations features available – https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/project-operations/environment/determine-deployment-type?WT.mc_id=DX-MVP-5003911

Hope this post was useful!

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

Microsoft Loop is now in GA for Microsoft 365 work accounts

November 27, 2023 priyeshwagh777 CRM with .NET Web Applications microsoft 365, microsoft loop

Microsoft Loop is now Generally Available for work accounts in Microsoft 365. Here’s an exciting new product that will make collaboration fun and productive!

Here’s Microsoft’s Announcement article on the same – https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-365-blog/microsoft-loop-built-for-the-new-way-of-work-generally-available/ba-p/3982247?WT.mc_id=DX-MVP-5003911

But, let me summarize first impressions of the same!

Accessing Loop in Microsoft 365

Given that you have the correct access for Loop services in M365, here’s how you can access and use Loop in your Organization –

Go to https://loop.microsoft.com/. You’ll be taken to the Welcome page which looks like this.
You can click on the Loop logo on the top-left to see all the Workspaces you have access to.
You can start of my creating your own Workspaces.
Name your Workspace based on the purpose or the project.
And you’ll have the Workspace ready to create your Pages and Links in the Workspace.
If you click on the + icon, you’ll be able to create new sections like Pages and Links.
In the Pages itself, you can start adding Loop components and generating content as below –
Slash (/) to insert a Loop component
And you can tag people/content using @
In the Tag menu itself, if you scroll to the very bottom you’ll be able to change the Editor Settings.

And this is what the Editor Setting menu looks like where you can change the settings which suit your needs.

And you can explore further what all Loop can do! I believe there are more features coming soon!

Ensure Loop is available for the Organization

By default, Loop is enabled for the your organization. However, you can double check as below –

Given that you might be having Global Admin access to your tenant, you can go to the Org Settings.
And you can see that the workspace access have been given to all the users.

Licensing

Having one of these Microsoft 365 licenses will let you use advanced features of Microsoft Loop –

Microsoft 365 Business Standard
Microsoft 365 Business Premium
Microsoft 365 E3
Microsoft 365 E5

Detailed Documentation here on the Licensing requirements – https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/loop-access-via-microsoft-365-subscriptions-92915461-4b14-49a4-9cd4-d1c259292afa?WT.mc_id=DX-MVP-5003911

In case you don’t have the correct required licenses, you’ll still be able to access Loop but won’t be able to create Workspaces or use any advanced features. Typically, you’ll see a screen like this –

Hope this helps!

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

Thank you!

Dataverse Low-Code Plugins | Dataverse Accelerator | [Preview]

November 6, 2023 priyeshwagh777 CRM with .NET Web Applications dataverse accelerator, low code plugin power fx, low code plugins, Power Platform Admin Center

So by now, you must’ve come across Dataverse Low Code Plugins quite a lot if you’re following Dynamics 365 Wave Updates.

Here’s a post that demystifies and summarizes what Low Code Plugins are all about and how you can start implementing the same.

Note: Please note that this is in Preview at the time of writing this post. Hence, this feature is not recommended for Production use.

What are Dataverse Low-Code Plugins?

Here’s what Low-Code plugins are about in Dataverse –

Low Code plugins let you write server side business logic without having to write custom .NET code and register manually on the Dataverse.
Currently, this is in Preview and once this is out of Preview, a lot of features are expected to be released for Low Code plugins.
You can create 2 types of Low Code Plugins –
- Instant [On Demand]
- Automated [Based on a Dataverse event]

Let’s see how you can get started in using Low Code Plugins in Dataverse.

Getting Started

Here’s how you can get started on Low-Code Plugins in Power Platform.

Ensure that you have the Dataverse Accelerator App installed on your environment. From 1st Oct 2023, all new environments have the Dataverse Accelerator App installed in their environments.
Now, you can run the Dataverse Accelerator in Power Platform App Make [https://make.powerapps.com/environments/] –
Usually you’ll see a Play button when you hover over the Dataverse Accelerator App listing, but alternatively, you can also click on the three dots (ellipses) and choose Play.
You can even Dataverse Accelerator as an App in your Dynamics 365 CRM Sales environment just like other Model-Driven Apps
When the App opens in the new tab on your browser, you’ll see that it looks similar to the Power Apps Maker Portal, you can now see that you’ll get an option to create a new Plugin –
You can create 2 types of Plugins – Instant and Automated.

Or even using the large buttons on the Home Screen
In this example, I’ll create an Automated plugin that will do some Action when an Account is Updated.
Example: So simply when any field is updated on the record, Description field will be updated with the value “This is my first Low Code Plugin“.
So, when I click on Create automated plug-in, I get to define the Name of the Low Code Plugin and details like when it should be triggered.
Once you save this, your Plugin will appear in the Automated plugins list in Dataverse Accelerator.
Now, once you edit the record, notice that the field is blank –
And when you Save the record, the Description field will be updated with the value as mentioned in the Formula of the Plugin.

Low Code Plugin Power Fx [Preview]

Here’s where you start learning Power Fx for Low Code plugins. Please note that a lot of Formulas are currently not supported as of the day of writing this post – https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-apps/maker/data-platform/low-code-plug-ins-powerfx?WT.mc_id=DX-MVP-5003911

Hope this helps!

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

Thank you!

Enable App Auto-Updates in Power Platform Admin Center | [Preview]

November 6, 2023 priyeshwagh777 CRM with .NET Web Applications app source, app updates, auto updates, Power Platform Admin Center

Sometimes, Apps need to be up to date in order for some features to run effectively. Power Platform Admin Center now allows you to select Third-Party Publishers for an Environment to allow automatic App Updates in your defined Maintenance Window slots.

Enable Auto-Updates

Here’s how you turn on Auto-Updates for certain Publishers in your environment –

Go to the Environmnent itself in Power Platform Admin Center given that you have correct Admin access. [https://admin.powerplatform.microsoft.com/environments]
Then, look for Updates and then App Update Settings
Then, turn On Select publishers from which you want to receive app updates to this environment.
Finally, select the Publisher which you want to receive Automatic App Updates on.
And once you select, you’ll see the selection as below to show which apps are allowed to auto-update in your Maintenance Window Hours.

Hope this helps!

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

Thank you!

Validate Email address on Email field in Model-Driven Apps | [Preview]

October 31, 2023 priyeshwagh777 CRM with .NET Web Applications data validation in dynamics 365 sales app, data validation in power apps, email validation in model driven apps, email validation in power apps

As part of various implementations, often you’ll need to ensure that the field validation is in place.

Note: Please note that this feature is still in Preview at the time of writing this post.

Enable Data Validation in Power Platform Admin Center

Here’s how you can enable Data Validation for Email fields in Power Platform Admin Center

Once you have the correct rights in Power Platform Admin Center (https://admin.powerplatform.microsoft.com/environments), select the Environment you want to enable Data Validation for.
Now, expand Product section and go to Features as show below
When you scroll to the very bottom, you’ll find Data Validation option turned out by default.
Turn it on and Save the Settings.
Also, in the App Designer for Model Driven Apps, click on Settings on the Editor. Click on Settings in the Command bar and then go to Upcoming features in the Settings list.
You’ll find that the Enable Smart Email Address Validation Control feature is still set to No.
Turn this feature on, Save the settings and Publish the App again before running it.

Validation in D365 Sales Example

Let’s look at the below example –

When you have enabled the Email address validation, you can try to enter the below data which is invalid on purpose and see the result.
When you enter an address, it’s validating on the fly.
It’ll show that the domain is known but disposable, for example.

What Validation is considered?

Below are the validations that are carried out –

Incorrect Syntax – Like Email Domain and Username can’t exist together
Disposable Domain – Temporary Email domains.
Test or spam emails – You can turn this feature off is you are testing in Sandbox and enable for Production to prevent spam emails being entered.
Expired Email Addresses – Disabled emails which can’t send or receive Emails.
Emails that bounce back – Like disabled addresses which bounce back

Here’s Microsoft official documentation for this feature – https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-apps/maker/data-platform/data-validation-email-column?WT.mc_id=DX-MVP-5003911

Hope this helps!

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

Thank you!

Install correct .NET Framework for Dynamics 365 CRM Plugin Assembly | Plugin Registration Tool

October 16, 2023 priyeshwagh777 CRM with .NET Web Applications dot net framework, plugin registration tool

Here’s how to solve if you see the below error while updating/registering your Plugin assembly in Plugin Registration Toolbox

Here’s how to go about solving the same!

Error while Updating Plugin Assembly

In case you see the above error in Plugin Registration Toolbox, here’s how you can upgrade your Project in Visual Studio to compile using the correct .NET Framework version as suggested in the error –

Go to Properties of the Project and look for Application tab
Now, drop down on the Target Framework and look for the version asked as in the error. At times, it appears that you don’t have it installed on the machine given that you just changed your system, so you need to download it.

Select “Install other frameworks…”
You’ll be redirected to this page (unless there’s a change in the future) – https://dotnet.microsoft.com/en-us/download/visual-studio-sdks?cid=getdotnetsdk
And you can find the right Framework once you look for it. In this case, I need 4.7.1 version.
Save the file and install once download.
Once you begin to install, it’ll go about the same way as any other installer.

And you’ll see this will be installed quickly [within few moments]
Once done, close and restart Visual Studio and then again check the Applications section in Project’s Properties.
You’ll see the installed version appear there.
And once you select it, it’ll ask before applying this framework.
Click Yes and compile the Assembly again. Once done, you’ll be able to register your plugin on the Plugin Registration Tool successfully.

Hope this helps!

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

Thank you!

Install Smart Buttons for Ribbon Workbench | XrmToolBox

January 14, 2023 priyeshwagh777 CRM with .NET Web Applications install smart buttons in ribbon workbench, Ribbon Workbench, smart buttons for ribbon workbench

So, to make things even better in Ribbon Workbench, Smart Buttons have been introduced and here’s what they do and how you can get started with it!

Installing Smart Buttons

Initially, you would see this in your Ribbon Workbench, given that you are working on a Solution in Ribbon Workbench for your customization –

You’d see this message for Smart Buttons if the Smart Buttons solution is not installed in your environment.
Once you click the link (https://ribbonworkbench.uservoice.com/knowledgebase/articles/896958), you’ll be taken to the Release notes and you can then click here to find the link to the GitHub page [https://github.com/scottdurow/RibbonWorkbench/releases]
Here’s Scott Durow’s GitHub Page for the Smart Buttons solution – https://github.com/scottdurow/RibbonWorkbench/releases
The GitHub page also has link to the Unified Client buttons – https://develop1.net/public/post/2018/04/06/Adding-Ribbon-Workbench-SmartButtons-to-the-Unified-Client

And you can Download the solution shown below –
Now, you can import this in your environment –

Once this solution is imported, you’ll see this –
It’ll be a Managed Solution (that’s why you don’t need to Publish Customization :))
And when this is imported, you can re-open the Ribbon Workbench and you’ll find the Smart Buttons show up.

Hope this helps!

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

Thank you!

Investigating Invalid Arguments errors in Dynamics 365 CRM

July 12, 2022 priyeshwagh777 CRM with .NET Web Applications dynamics 365 administration, dynamics 365 crm error message, dynamics 365 debugging, invalid argument error in dynamics 365 crm

In case you encounter errors when working in Dynamics 365 CRM as a Developer, you’ll often see error popups that don’t let you have the option to Download Log File.

And it looks like this –

Now, since you don’t have anything to look at the log, let’s see how we can at least identify what is being called which is throwing this error.

Open Browser’s Dev Tools

Open the Dev Tools by pressing F12 in any browser. In my case, I’m using Chrome.
Go to the Network tab and clear the logs if needed as shown below.
Now, perform the operation which caused the issue.
And in the Dev Tools, you’ll see it populate
Now, if you expand the one with the error, you’ll see the details of the issue.

Hope this was useful!

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

Thank you!

Upgrade Dataverse for Teams Environment to Dataverse Environment

May 23, 2022 priyeshwagh777 CRM with .NET Web Applications Dataverse, Dataverse for Teams, Power Platform Admin Center

Given that you have licenses already in place along with the required Capacity in order to Upgrade from Dataverse for Teams to Dataverse, upgrading the same is an extremely easy process –

Upgrade to Dataverse

In case you have Dataverse for Teams environment and you want to upgrade to Dataverse, here’s what you do in the Power Platform Admin Center (https://admin.powerplatform.microsoft.com/)

Go in the Dataverse for Teams (Microsoft Teams) type of Environment and look for the Upgrade button on the top right corner.
Here’s what the Welcome Page looks like, make sure you understand the operation you are doing as this is permanent and cannot be undone!
Here’s the detailed Microsoft Documentation on the difference between Dataverse for Teams and Dataverse itself – https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/admin/about-teams-environment?WT.mc_id=ppac_inproduct_env#promotion-process?WT.mc_id=DX-MVP-5003911
Once you clicked on Next, you’ll need to agree to Terms and then confirm the same. Again, this operations is a permanent and can’t be reversed.
It’ll start the process just like any other standard environment change process in Power Platform Admin Center (https://admin.powerplatform.microsoft.com/)
This is how it will look while it is being Upgraded.
This took over 1-2 hours. And once done, your environment will be upgraded.

Hope this was helpful!

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

Thank you!

Create a Dataverse for Teams environment and add a Canvas App in a Channel

May 22, 2022 priyeshwagh777 CRM with .NET Web Applications Dataverse for Teams, Power Apps in Teams, Power Platform

If you are used to creating environments in your Power Platform Admin Center (https://admin.powerplatform.microsoft.com/) and wondering how you can create a Dataverse for Teams environment, you can check this post –

So by default, you cannot create a Dataverse for Teams or (Microsoft Teams) environment in your Power Platform Admin Center and it looks like this

Go to Teams

Navigate to the Teams itself and we will take it from there –

When in Teams, click on the three ellipses and search Power Apps in the App Store within Teams to install Power Apps.
Now, click on Add.
Once this is Added, you can start creating your first App. This will create the Dataverse for Teams environment which you will later see in Power Platform Admin Center.
Once you start, you need to select at least 1 Channel from the list – without which you cannot proceed to creating your first App in the Power Apps for Teams.
Then, I select one of the channel I want the App to be in and click on Create.
Then, it takes a few moments to provision the same. Meanwhile, the Microsoft Teams environment is created in you Power Platform Admin Center of type Microsoft Teams.
The Org looks like this when you click on it as shown above. (We’ll come to this later)
While in Teams, you’ll probably see this – Ignore it or hit Retry.
Once you click on Retry, you’ll see the same Power Apps main page.
Now, do the below till #13 only if you want to create a new Canvas App in your Dataverse For Teams Environment. Else, you can directly go to the Channel itself to add the app which I’ll show in the next section.
To create Canvas App – Click on Create an App again and this will open the new Power Apps Studio Editor
And because I see the error in #8 above, I again had to select the channel I want to create my App in.
Now this time, I’m given this Editor where I can mention the name of the App.
App will be created and you’ll see it in Recent Apps in your Power Apps in Teams. It may take a few moments for the Recent Apps section to appear for you.
Click on Publish to Teams to make the App live to use.
Here’s how the Recent Apps section will display the App you just created.

Adding an App to a Channel

Now, here’s what you do when you want to add an existing App to the channel in Teams –

Now, let’s say that you have worked on your App and that you want to show it on the Tab in a Teams channel, click on Publish button once you are done with Editing the App.

You’ll see this, click Next if you don’t want to Edit any other details.
Clicking on that, you’ll be asked the channel you want to make this available to.

You’ll see the Dataverse for Teams environments, then click on the + sign. It’ll then show the Tab on which the App will be shown.
App will be published on that Channel.
In the Power Platform Admin Center, under the Environment, you’ll see the App listed as well.

Hope this was useful! Here are some Power Platform posts you want to check out –

Thank you!

Project Operations Trial Environment

Deployment Type Questionnaire

Set Name and URL for your environment

Share this:

Like this:

Accessing Loop in Microsoft 365

Ensure Loop is available for the Organization

Licensing

Share this:

Like this:

What are Dataverse Low-Code Plugins?

Getting Started

Low Code Plugin Power Fx [Preview]

Share this:

Like this:

Enable Auto-Updates

Share this:

Like this:

Enable Data Validation in Power Platform Admin Center

Validation in D365 Sales Example

What Validation is considered?

Share this:

Like this:

Error while Updating Plugin Assembly

Share this:

Like this:

Installing Smart Buttons

Share this:

Like this:

Open Browser’s Dev Tools

Share this:

Like this:

Upgrade to Dataverse

Share this:

Like this:

Go to Teams

Adding an App to a Channel

Share this:

Like this: