Microsoft Dynamics 365 – Page 2 – Nishant Rana's Weblog

10 highlights of 2022 Release Wave 2

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How time flies! 2022 Release Wave 2 plans are already here. The Release Plans describe new functionality planned to be rolled out from October 2022 to March 2023. In this post I have picked 10 features that I want to highlight from the Power Platform release plan. Remember that the plans are living documentation, features can be added or removed and dates might change. It’s time to prepare for the wave and let the plans give you 💡 for future solutions!

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Import Data (Import Data Wizard) – Few key points

Let us understand a few points about the Import Data feature with a simple example –

Say for example we have exported the following 4 records.

The exported file will have the view name along with the timestamp.

The exported file –

It has 3 hidden columns that allow for re-import of these records possible.

1^st column contains the GUID of the record, the second contains the Row Checksum which it uses to make sure to update only those records or rows which are changed, and the 3^rd column is Modified On which it uses to track if the record has been modified since it was exported.

Now let us update one of the records we exported inside CRM.

On importing the same file,

as expected we get 1 failure.

Error message – “You cannot import data to this record because the record was updated in Microsoft Dynamics 365 after it was exported” for the same record which we updated inside the app.

Now let us update one of the records (which has a possible duplicate) and re-import the file.

During import, we have let the Allow Duplicates settings be default i.e. No.

This time also apart from the previous error we get one partial failure.

The error message says – “A record was not created or updated because a duplicate of the current record already exists.“

This is because the record that was modified and imported was having another record having the same email id, triggering our duplicate detection rules. Also, we had specified Allow Duplicates as No while importing the file.

This time let us set Allow Duplicates as Yes and try the import with the same file.

As expected there was no partial error this time.

And the record got updated this time.

Another point to remember is if we export and import the file without any changes, or for the rows with no modification, it will not perform any action, i.e. trigger a create/update for any of the records.

For tracking the changes, as we mentioned earlier it uses the Row Checksum column’s hash value.

Now let’s update the GUID of the record in the 1^st row (changed b to c in the end) and the modified date (changed to 55 from 53 minute part) for the 4^th row and see the results.

As expected both these records failed – 1^st one where we changed the GUID with the error message – “The record could not be updated because the original record no longer exists in Microsoft Dynamics 365” and the 4^th row with the error that “You cannot import data to this record because the record was updated in Microsoft Dynamics 365 after it was exported” as we had changed the Modified Date in the imported excel file.

Lastly, let us restore the original value of those 2 fields of the hidden columns and try the import to see the results.

As expected we do not get any error for those 2 rows as we had restored the original value.

For .zip files 32 MB is the max size limit for other file types i.e. xlsx, csv, txt and xml it is 8 MB.

Microsoft recommends import to be limited to 20K rows or fewer.

Just in case we are interested to see how the data validation works especially for the option set field in the exported excel file from CRM.

Select the field in excel and open the Data Validation from the Data tab, which refers to the hiddenSheet.

To see the hiddenSheet, right-click the worksheet and select the View Code option.

It opens the VBA window, where we can select the hiddenDataSheet object and change its Visible property to -1-xlsSheetVisible.

Back in our excel, we can see the hiddenSheet visible and the values of our option-set fields.

Hope it helps..

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Duplicate Detection for leads (Preview) – Dynamics 365 Sales

Few key points on the new duplicate detection rules (preview) –

This new Duplicate Detection feature is available only for leads.
This can be enabled from Dynamics 365 Sales app. We need to navigate App Settings >> Data Improvement – Duplicate Detection (preview) to enable this feature.

It identifies duplicate leads based on –

Email address
Phone number
Similar name and company name (e.g. John Denver from Contoso and John Danver from Contoso. inc)
Similar name and the same email domain ( John Denver, JR@contoso.com, and John Danver, SalesExecutive@contoso.com)

It uses Dataverse Search for detecting duplicates.

It works along with the already existing duplicate detection rules set through Settings >> Data Management >> Duplicate detection rules

It takes around a couple of minutes for the setting to get enabled. Also, we get the message that data is getting prepared and it might take a few hours and up to a few days for it.

After this new detection rule is enabled, we can select the potential duplicate lead record and select the View duplicates option from the command bar.

This opens the Duplicate records page, with the duplicate records listed.

It also highlights the field based on which it identified the duplicate record. Email and the name in this case.

We have the option to Remove and Delete the selected duplicate record(s).

We get the same options when we open the record which has possible duplicate records as a notification on the form.

Clicking on View possible duplicates open the same duplicate records page.

Get all the details here

Hope it helps..

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Why Your Business Needs Dynamics 365 Map

After a new product launch, companies want their clients/customers to use the product and expect them to share their valuable feedback. Companies often complain that their products do not reach the clients or they do not receive feedback from the client (maybe because their sales rep never made it!).

Well, there can be many reasons for not having the correct data. Be it targeting regions with fewer clients, sales reps never visiting them, or anything else.

How would you improve your product if you do not have the right feedback? If you feel you are unable to track the sales reps’ performance due to a lack of tools, then you must think of integrating your Dynamics CRM with Dynamics 365 Map.

What is Dynamics 365 Map?

Dynamics 365 Map is a plugin that integrates with your Dynamics 365 and displays all the CRM data on the map. It makes data visualization easier. It is developed with the support for Power Apps and integrates well with the CRM.

To have a list of thousands of customers from different regions can be hard to understand. But with a map view, you can easily understand the regions with more sales and the regions that require more marketing campaigns.

This plugin works best for the marketing and sales team. It helps them have correct data to make improved decisions in the future. Also, the data, like appointment duration, appointment notes, etc., which had no proper documentation before, can now be handled well with this map integration.

Reasons Why Your Business Needs Map Integration

There are many more features that make Dynamics 365 map integration a must-have for the marketing and sales department. Let’s go through them one by one:

Route Optimization

Here is the usual process followed by the sales and marketing managers. They hand over the list of client details to the on-field sales representatives. The sales reps visit them one by one and report to their managers at the end of the day.

The sales reps spend more time going from one place to another. But with the map integration, they have optimized routes covering all the locations they want to visit. The map calculates the distance, traffic, and other factors like no toll roads, road closures, etc., to avoid delays in reaching the destination.

The sales rep will save time they spend on roads. They can update their status from the phones when they arrive for meetings and after the meeting is over. Also, the managers would have the current location of the sales reps, so if there are any other clients nearby, the sales rep can meet them. It is a smarter way of optimizing their time and effort.

Map Records

Data visualization matters while planning and deciding future strategies. Having a list of all the data can be more confusing. You might have thousands of details of clients and others. When you are planning a strategy based on product, type of clients, day, or month, it would be hard to find clarity on one particular entity.

But after map integration, you can view all the CRM entities on the map. If you wish to run a marketing campaign in a particular region, you can use filters like region and territory and also draw shapes to find the details you wish from that particular region. All the records from the selected region are plotted on a map.

The managers can plot records and assign the task to their team members. With map visualization, it is easy for the managers to assign tasks. If a particular region has more clients, they can add more sales reps to that region to complete the target.

Proximity Search

Your managers might be visiting a client or are out for some other meetings. What if you can find the locations of other clients nearby their current location? Meeting clients can help in developing a good relationship with your business. It can bring in more sales and turn out fruitful for your organization.

The proximity search feature works best for such scenarios. The proximity search feature shows the clients who are near their current location. So, if the reps are out somewhere and they get free from their meeting earlier than expected, they can use this feature to know the locations of other clients. This way, they can make the best use of their time to improve engagement with the clients.

To have a proximity search, the user needs to add a few filters to fetch only the required information. The result would show concentric circles of different diameters based on your chosen distance. The managers can find the locations that work best for them.

CheckIn/CheckOut

Have you ever called your team member who is busy in a meeting with the client? Do you have to wait the whole day to get feedback about the meetings to make future decisions? Do you feel you are not getting true feedback from the clients because there is a possibility that your sales rep never met them?

For a business trying to get reviews on their new products, having no or compromised responses hinders improvement. If this is the case with you, then you must integrate your CRM with the Dynamics map. Because by doing that, you can track the check-ins and check-outs of your sales rep. The sales rep can only check in when they reach the premises of the given location. They would checkout once the meeting is over and then update the reports/discussion on the app.

Thus, you would have records of how long the meeting lasted, along with the reports. With this feature, none of your sales reps can cancel a meeting without you being notified.

Analytics Dashboard

Improvement comes from analyzing. A business can only grow when they have enough data to analyze what is working and what is not. Especially if you’re sending your sales team on the field, data helps plan the future marketing strategy. The reports from the data of the day, week, month, and year can help you analyze. Based on those reports, make changes that require immediate action and strategies that can be changed with time.

The analytics dashboard in the Dynamics map forms reports and allows you to filter different entities and compare them. Business decisions, sales rep performance, sales reports, and all other things are visible on the dashboard, which helps you plan better.

Multiple Language Support

It’s the fact that users find easy-to-use tools that are in a language you are comfortable with. Understanding tools in the language you have only basic proficiency in might stop you from making their best use.

Dynamics 365 Map supports multiple languages. The user can choose the language of their choice. It would ensure they can use the app with all its features.

Point of Interest

Knowing only the location is not enough when you are going to spend your day at some random location. What if someone wants to set up a meeting in a cafe nearby? Or wants to fill up gas at a gas station.

The sales reps can plan better if they know good cafes and restaurants in the location they are visiting. The sales reps spend their whole day on the field, so they need essentials like food, money, fuel, etc. So, with the Point of Interest feature on the Dynamics Map, the sales reps can find gas stations, cafes, ATMs, medical stores, hospitals, mechanics, etc.

The users do not have to use any other app to find the locations, they can simply search with keywords like cafes, gas stations, ATMs, etc. They would have results on their map along with the locations they are working on.

Security Templates

The chances of a security breach increase if all the employees can see the CRM data. The Dynamics Map has security templates with which you can assign different roles to different employees based on their hierarchy and requirements. So, the employee would be able to see information about the clients they are assigned.

You can also customize the actions for a certain group of users. For example, you can give edit rights to senior managers and view rights to sales representatives.

Conclusion

If you are a pharma company, packaged food/drinks manufacturer, or anyone who has on-field sales reps, Dynamics 365 map integration is what your CRM needs. It helps in better planning of the day for sales reps, and with features like route optimization, your team saves both time and fuel. It helps you visualize the data more easily and decide the strategies for the next marketing campaign. The map gives better ideas to target areas for increasing sales. Licensed companies are offering this integration. They often offer customization on products so you can get them customized per your business requirement. They also help with CRM integration and offer support in initial days and lifetime free updates.

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Managed Environments (preview) – Power Platform Admin Center

Managed Environments is a new feature added in the Power Platform Admin Center to simplify the administration of the platform. It is in Preview currently.

To enable it, select a particular environment and click on Enable Managed Environments.

We will need either Global Admin, Power Platform Administrator, or Dynamics 365 Administrator AD roles to enable the Managed Environments.

Through Managed Environment, we can specify who can receive the Weekly
Digest i.e., a weekly email summary of resource usage in the environment, apart from Dynamics 365 and Power Platform Admin. (it can be managed through PowerShell also)

Limit the sharing of the canvas apps to the security group and max number of users.

New Environment filters for the Managed Environment with regards to data policies.

For the Weekly Digest, we need to enable the tenant-level analytics from Power Platform Admin Center, click on the settings gear, and enable it from the Power Platform settings window.

Below are the information provided in the Weekly Digest –

Total Apps, active flows and active app users in the past month in the managed environments.

Details of the apps that haven’t been launched for a long time.

Details of the most popular apps and flows of the last month.

Through Limit Sharing we can configure sharing with security groups as well as the max number of users with whom the app can be shared with. Here just for testing, we have set it as 1.

On trying to share the canvas apps with more than one user we will get the below error

“Apps in this environment cannot be shared with security groups or more than 1 user.”

The Data policies option adds the additional filter on the Data Policies page to show the details for the selected environment.

Click on the See active data policies for this environment

Below we can see the Environment filter added.

Get all the details here

Below is the mail we received for one of our trial tenant, which had hardly anything in it.

Hope it helps..

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Fixed – Unable to add record type ‘Lead’. It is invalid to create component msdyn_decisioncontract with the same export value as an existing component in Unified Routing (Dynamics 365)

Recently while trying to enable Unified Routing on Lead table/ entity we got the below error.

“Unable to add record type ‘Lead’. It is invalid to create component msdyn_decisioncontract with the same export value as an existing component“

The issue was that the we forgot to enable the unified routing on lead before migrating lead related unified routing records in that environment, from the development environment.

So as per the details in the error message, we found the below record and deleted it.