Dynamics 365 Plugin Cheat Sheet - Simplify Your Development Efforts

Introduction: Dynamics 365 plugins offer a versatile way to customize and extend the capabilities of your CRM system. As a developer working with Dynamics 365, having a handy reference for plugin code snippets can significantly speed up your development process. In this blog post, we present a comprehensive Dynamics 365 Plugin Code Cheat Sheet with the latest code snippets and best practices, empowering you to build powerful CRM customizations more efficiently.

Create a Basic Plugin Class:

csharp
using Microsoft.Xrm.Sdk;

public class MyPlugin : IPlugin
{
    public void Execute(IServiceProvider serviceProvider)
    {
        // Your plugin logic here
    }
}

Register the Plugin:

Choose the appropriate "Message" and "Execution Mode" (synchronous or asynchronous) based on your requirements and register the plugin using the Plugin Registration Tool.

2. Accessing Plugin Context

Retrieve Target Entity in Pre/Post-Operation:

Entity targetEntity = null;

if (context.InputParameters.Contains("Target") && context.InputParameters["Target"] is Entity)
{
    targetEntity = (Entity)context.InputParameters["Target"];
}

Get Entity Attribute Value:

csharp
string attributeName = "new_fieldname";
if (targetEntity.Attributes.Contains(attributeName))
{
    var attributeValue = targetEntity.GetAttributeValue<string>(attributeName);
}

3. Handling Errors

Throw Custom Exception:

csharp
throw new InvalidPluginExecutionException("An error occurred: Custom error message.");

4. Plugin Execution Context

Get Initiating User ID:

csharp
Guid initiatingUserId = context.InitiatingUserId;

Check if Plugin is Running in Sandbox:

csharp
bool isSandbox = context.IsExecutingInSandbox;

5. Retrieve Related Records

Retrieve Parent Record ID:

Guid parentRecordId = ((EntityReference)targetEntity["parentcustomerid"]).Id;

Retrieve Child Records (N:1 Relationship):

csharp
QueryExpression query = new QueryExpression("contact");
query.Criteria.AddCondition("parentcustomerid", ConditionOperator.Equal, targetEntity.Id);
EntityCollection results = service.RetrieveMultiple(query);

6. Update Records

Update a Record:

csharp
Entity recordToUpdate = new Entity("entityname", recordId);
recordToUpdate["new_field"] = "New Value";
service.Update(recordToUpdate);

7. Delete Records

Delete a Record:

csharp
service.Delete("entityname", recordId);

8. Retrieve Configuration Settings

Retrieve Configuration Record:

csharp
string configEntityName = "new_configuration";
ColumnSet configColumns = new ColumnSet("new_setting1", "new_setting2");
Entity configEntity = service.Retrieve(configEntityName, configRecordId, configColumns);

Conclusion: This Dynamics 365 Plugin Code Cheat Sheet provides you with essential code snippets and best practices to streamline your CRM customizations. Whether you're new to plugin development or an experienced developer, having quick access to these code snippets will help you build powerful Dynamics 365 solutions more efficiently.

Remember, always test your plugins thoroughly in a development or sandbox environment before deploying them to production. Stay up-to-date with the latest Dynamics 365 SDK and follow best practices to ensure your plugins are secure and performant.

Happy plugin coding