Tip #1416: Power Platform PowerShell module includes unapproved verbs

tl;dr No, Power Platform team didn’t sneak in any profanities into PowerShell module. It’s caused by the verb Apply, is by design, and can be safely ignored. Longer version I usually oblivious to any warnings produced by the command line tools. My attention is fully reserved for the word FATAL in Ferrari red (#ff2800 if […]

Tip #1143: Managing Dynamics Goes Beyond Technology

It is easy to focus on training and certifications and think this will be enough to implement or maintain a successful Dynamics system but, especially with process management systems like Dynamics, being tech savvy is not enough. Certainly knowing the system, its limitations and capabilities is important but understanding the impact of change is vital […]

Tip #1140: Get ready for October 2018 release

The future is clear

No, Microsoft didn’t invent the time machine (though you can buy one in store). As part of modernizing the way Dynamics 365 gets updated, the team has just released October 2018 release notes. Why did the notes get released 3 (and for some features 5) months ahead of schedule? So that customers and partners can […]

Tip #1028: Prevent duplicate contacts the Viking way

Marius “CRM Viking” Pedersen gave us a great tip about how to prevent duplicate contacts from being created in Dynamics 365: I set emailaddress as alternate key on contact once. That actually worked very well to prevent duplicate contacts from being created. It also required that all contacts must have an email address. You have […]

Tip #994: Compare two security rules

Steve “kick the hornet’s nest” Mordue asks: Does anyone know of a tool for comparing two security roles easily? Good news Steve. There’s a Yack for that. David Yack’s fantastic Xrm.Tools has a security role explorer that allows you to easily compare two Dynamics 365 security roles, identify what is unique to each role, and […]

Tip #971: Be careful when using unsupported solutions

Martian left alone

It does not happen often but it does happen. After some retrospection, I urge everyone to be very careful when following Joel’s advice on using attachment extractor solution. (Some say one needs to be careful when following any Joel’s advice but that’d be a discussion for another day). My arguments (both of them): It is […]

Tip #920: Smart licensing with dual use rights

Penny savvy

One of the key features of Dynamics 365 is the choice of the deployment platform: go online, on-premises or partner-hosted. With Dynamics 365 Online leading the way, licensing has evolved beyond simplistic “pay-per-server-plus-cal” model of the past. For penny savvy customers, the recommended bedside reading is Dynamics 365 On-Premises Enterprise Edition Licensing Guide. If you […]

Tip #919: How to deal with pending alternate keys that fail

Piano keys

We did write about pending alternate keys in tips 894 and 894 + 3 and that it’s easy to reactivate the pending keys using solutions UI in Dynamics 365. However, as David “Xrm.Tools” Yack reports, sometimes pending keys are really stubborn and pressing Create Index generates very introspective and philosophical “Exception: Event failed due to […]

Tip #917: Too many business units

Microsoft org chart

Someone recently asked me what I thought of someone adding 1,000 + business units to Dynamics 365. I told them it was a bad idea. Here’s why: Business units are like large granite rocks–they are designed to be permanent and infrequently moved. While users can be moved between business units, it is not a trivial […]