Month: September 2024

Understanding Dataverse search in Dynamics 365 – Quick Review

Hi Folks,

One of my colleagues asked about Dataverse search, hence I am writing this article on Dataverse Search in Dynamics 365 and in the end, will compare different search options available in Dynamics 365.

Dataverse Search:

In layman terms, Dataverse Search is a powerful search tool that helps you find information quickly across your organization’s data in Microsoft Dataverse, which is the underlying data platform for apps like Power Apps, Dynamics 365, and more, shows you all the related information from across different tables or records in one place.

In short, Dataverse Search is the evolved version of Relevance Search, offering a more robust, faster, and user-friendly search experience including search results for text in documents that are stored in Dataverse such as PDF, Microsoft Office documents, HTML, XML, ZIP, EML, plain text, and JSON file formats. It also searches text in notes and attachments. Before enabling it, just note that once Dataverse search is enabled, it will be affected in all your Model Driven Apps, as of now, just take note.

It is on by default, here is where you can now turn off the Dataverse Search:

  1. Navigate to https://admin.powerplatform.com
  2. Click on Environments –> Choose your required environment –> Settings –>Features

3. Disable/Enable the Dataverse search feature.

Once enabled, we need to configure the tables for Dataverse Search so that indexing is performed at the backend, in order to do this…

  1. Navigate to https://make.powerapps.com, select your desired solution –> Click on Overview as shown below

Now you need to choose Manage Search Index and you can choose your desired table and fields, there isn’t a limit on the number of tables you can configure, but there is a limit on the number of fields you can configure for an environment, a maximum of 1000 fields are permitted both including system and custom fields, 50 fields are used by system, so you can configure 950 fields.

Just note that some field types are treated as multiple fields in the Dataverse search index as indicated in this table.

Field typeNumber of fields used in
the Dataverse search index
Lookup (customer, owner, or Lookup type attribute)3
Option Set (state, or status type attribute)2
All other types of fields1

At the bottom of the snap above, you could see the percentage of columns indexed in this environment.

When Dataverse search is enabled, the search box is always available at the top of every page in your app. You can start a new search and quickly find the information that you’re looking for.

When Dataverse search is turned on, it becomes your default and only global search experience for all of your model-driven apps. You won’t be able to switch to quick find search also known as categorized search.

You can also enable Quick actions as shown in the below table

TableQuick actions
AccountAssign, Share, Email a link
ContactAssign, Share, Email a link
AppointmentMark complete, Cancel, Set Regarding, Assign, Email a link
TaskMark complete, Cancel, Set Regarding, Assign, Email a link
Phone CallMark complete, Cancel, Set Regarding, Assign, Email a link
EmailCancel, Set Regarding, Email a link

Here is the short table comparing all types of searches in Dynamics 365…

FunctionalityDataverse searchQuick FindAdvanced Find
Enabled by default?Yes.
Note: For non-production environments an administrator must manually enable it.		Yes, for the table grid.
No, for multiple-table quick find (categorized search). An administrator must first disable Dataverse search before multiple-table grid find can be enabled.		Yes
Single-table search scopeNot available in a table grid. You can filter the search results by a table on the results page.Available in a table grid.Available in a table grid.
Multi-table search scopeThere is no maximum limit on the number of tables you can search.Searches up to 10 tables, grouped by a table.Multi-table search not available.
Search behaviorFinds matches to any word in the search term in any column in the table.Finds matches to all words in the search term in one column in a table; however, the words can be matched in any order in the column.Query builder where you can define search criteria for the selected row type. Can also be used to prepare data for export to Office Excel so that you analyze, summarize,or aggregate data, or create PivotTables to view your data from different perspectives.
Searchable columnsText columns like Single Line of Text, Multiple Lines of Text, Lookups, and Option Sets. Doesn’t support searching in columns of Numeric or Date data type.All searchable columns.All searchable columns.
Search resultsReturns the search results in order of their relevance, in a single list.For single-table, returns the search results in a table grid. For multi-table, returns the search results grouped by categories, such as accounts, contacts, or leads.Returns search results of the selected row type with the columns you have specified, in the sort order you have configured.

Hope you learned something today…if you have any questions, do let me know in the comments…

Cheers,

PMDY

Setting Up Your First Canvas App – Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners –

Canvas App Series – #02

This is the second blog post series on Canvas Apps where you can learn and grow from Zero – Hero in Canvas Power Apps. In this blog post, we will talk about different ways you can get started with creating canvas apps.

Introduction

Power Apps Canvas Apps allow users to build powerful applications with a drag-and-drop interface, requiring little to no coding. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced user, setting up your first Canvas App is a straightforward process. This guide walks you through each step.

Prerequisites

Before getting started, ensure you have:

  • A Microsoft Power Apps account (Sign up here).
  • Access to Power Apps Studio.
  • Basic knowledge of what you want to build (e.g., a simple data entry form).

Step 1: Accessing Power Apps Studio

There were different ways you can create a Canvas Apps

  1. You can create a canvas app by giving your requirement in Copilot which will in turn build your Canvas Apps.

2. You can design them using any of the existing templates available

3. You can also design your App using Plan designer which is the latest feature released and still in preview, for this you need to enable

For this you need to have an plan available

You can click on See more plans option available, create new plans if necessary

You have to state your business problem, this is pretty much same as using the Copilot in the old experience but here you just tell what problem you have been solving by creating the App, that’s it.

I entered Tracking Student Attendances as my problem and within a matter of 1 min, it designed whole data model where you can accept or propose for a new change.

Once you accept, next it will go ahead and start preparing the data necessary.

After you accept this, it will start designing for the user experiences

Once everything is done, you

It will ask you to save in a solution, this way you will be able to save all your changes to a solution which can be safely moved across environments.

And that’s it, your fully functional app is ready in few mins.

Step 2: Designing Your App

Once inside the Power Apps Studio:

  1. Drag and drop controls from the left-side panel to the canvas.
  2. Add labels, text inputs, buttons, and galleries as needed.
  3. Resize and align elements for a clean layout.

Below is the sample Power App screen in Studio containing the components.

Step 3: Connecting to a Data Source

  1. Click on Data in the left panel.
  2. Select Add data and choose a source like SharePoint, Dataverse, or Excel.
  3. Connect your app to the data source.

Step 4: Adding Functionality with Formulas

Power Apps uses Excel-like formulas to add functionality. Example:

  • To navigate to another screen: Navigate(Screen2, ScreenTransition.Fade)
  • To filter data: Filter(Orders, Status="Pending")

Step 5: Previewing and Testing Your App

  1. Click on the Play button in the top-right corner.
  2. Test the app’s functionality.
  3. Fix any layout or data issues as needed.

Image Suggestion: Screenshot showing the app running in preview mode.

Step 6: Saving and Publishing

  1. Click File > Save As.
  2. Choose Cloud as the storage option.
  3. Click Publish to make your app available.

Image Suggestion: Screenshot of the Save & Publish screen.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You’ve built your first Canvas App. You can continue refining it by adding more features, integrating AI, or automating workflows.

Are you ready to explore more? Share your first Canvas App experience in the comments!

Do you want step by step guided walk through, then check this App in a Day Workshop from Microsoft where you can start from scratch and build a fully functional Canvas App.

Cheers,

PMDY