Category Archives: Blog
Connecting Application Insights Logs and Query Through Logic Apps
Application Insights is a powerful monitoring tool within Azure that provides insights into application performance and diagnostics. Logic Apps, on the other hand, enable workflow automation for integrating various Azure services. By combining these tools, you can automate querying Application Insights logs and take actions based on the results. This blog explains how to set up this connection step-by-step. Prerequisites Before proceeding, ensure you have the following: Step 1: Enable Logs in Application Insights To ensure Application Insights data is accessible: Step 2: Create a KQL Query KQL (Kusto Query Language) is used to query Application Insights logs: Step 3: Set Up a Logic App Create a Logic App that will query Application Insights: Step 4: Configure Logic App Actions To execute and process the query: 2. Add a Body for the request: “`json { “query”: “traces | where timestamp >= ago(1h) | summarize Count=count() by severityLevel” } 3. Add actions to handle the response, such as sending an email or creating an alert based on the query results. Step 5: Test the Workflow Use Cases Conclusion Integrating Application Insights logs with Logic Apps is a straightforward way to automate log queries and responses. By leveraging the power of KQL and Azure’s automation capabilities, you can create robust workflows that monitor and react to your application’s performance metrics in real-time. Explore these steps to maximize the synergy between Application Insights and Logic Apps for a more proactive and automated approach to application monitoring and management. We hope you found this blog useful, and if you would like to discuss anything, you can reach out to us at transform@cloudfonts.com.
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Create a paginated report from a Schematic model
In data analytics, paginated reports are essential for creating detailed, print-ready documents like financial statements, invoices, and performance reports. These reports are perfect for scenarios where a clear and well-organized layout is required.So, how can you create these reports using a schematic model? In this blog, we’ll break it down step by step, showing you how to turn raw data into meaningful, easy-to-read reports. Core Content 1. What Is a Schematic Model?A schematic model is a structured representation of your data, showing relationships between entities like tables, columns, and keys. It acts as the blueprint for querying and organizing your data efficiently. Tools like Power BI and SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) commonly use schematic models to simplify data workflows. 2. Why Paginated Reports Matter Step-by-Step Guide to Creating a Paginated Report Step-1: Open the Power BI Service and select the report semantic model and there is an option for Create Paginated Report. Step-2: After opening you will find the Editor page from where you can develop the report Step-3: Design the report as per you requirement After creating the report, save the report and you can see new paginated report is visible in service. Conclusion:Creating a paginated report from a schematic model is a streamlined process when approached methodically. By leveraging a structured model, you ensure accuracy, scalability, and professional presentation for your business needs. CTA:Ready to transform your data into actionable insights? Start exploring your schematic model today and design your first paginated report. For guidance or best practices, explore more resources or reach out to our team of experts. We hope you found this blog useful, and if you would like to discuss anything, you can reach out to us at transform@cloudfonts.com.
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Building Real-Time Dashboards with Azure Stream Analytics and Power BI
Real-time dashboards are essential for monitoring live data and gaining instant insights into business operations. Azure Stream Analytics and Power BI provide an efficient way to process and visualize streaming data. In this blog, we will walk through the steps to build a real-time dashboard using these tools, with illustrative images to guide you. Why Real-Time Dashboards Are Needed In today’s fast-paced world, businesses need to make decisions quickly based on live data. Real-time dashboards enable organizations to: Use Cases for Real-Time Dashboards Real-time dashboards can be applied across various industries, including: Prerequisites Before we begin, ensure you have the following: Step 1: Set Up Your Data Source
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Building Custom Solutions with Low-Code Plugins: Part 1- Overview
Low-code development has revolutionized the way businesses build software applications. By providing a visual, drag-and-drop interface, low-code platforms enable developers to quickly create complex applications without writing much code. However, even with the power of low-code platforms, there may be times when you need to extend their capabilities to meet specific business requirements. This is where low-code plugins come into play. Low-code plugins are small pieces of software that can be added to a low-code platform to extend its functionality. In this blog post, we will discuss the benefits of using low-code plugins, the steps involved in creating them, and some tips for successful development. Benefits of Using Low-Code Plugins Low-code plugins offer a number of benefits for businesses, including: Steps in Creating a Low-Code Plugin The process of creating a low-code plugin typically involves the following steps: Tips for Successful Low-Code Plugin Development Here are some tips for developing successful low-code plugins: Example Use Cases Low-code plugins can be used to solve a variety of business problems. Here are some examples: Conclusion Low-code plugins offer a powerful way to extend the capabilities of low-code platforms and create custom solutions that meet specific business needs. By following the steps outlined in this blog post and incorporating the tips for successful development, you can effectively leverage low-code plugins to drive innovation and achieve your business objectives. Later we will see working of the Low-Code Plugin in Dynamics 365 CRM with an example. We hope you found this blog useful, and if you would like to discuss anything, you can reach out to us at transform@cloudfonts.com.
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Building Better Forms: Mastering Form Components in Dynamics 365
In today’s ever-evolving app development landscape, delivering an exceptional user experience is critical. Power Apps offers various tools to help developers create intuitive and efficient applications, and one of the standout features is the Form Component. This feature simplifies the design and usability of forms, making applications more scalable and maintainable. What Are Form Components? Form Components in Power Apps are modular elements that can be created once and reused across multiple forms or applications. By utilizing these components, developers can maintain consistency in design, functionality, and behavior. Essentially, they act as reusable building blocks for forms, streamlining the development process and enhancing the user experience. A common use case for Form Components is displaying entity-specific forms, such as a Quote Lookup field. Let’s explore how to implement a Form Component for this scenario. Implementing a Form Component for the Quote Lookup Field Imagine you have a requirement to display the form of a specific entity, such as a Quote, using the Quote Lookup field. Follow these steps to set it up: After selecting the form in the Component, the Lookup field will display like this Save and Publish: After adding the Form Component, click ‘Save’ and then ‘Publish’ to apply your changes. Key Considerations Once the setup is complete, your Quote Lookup field will display the desired form seamlessly. Here’s how it will look: With these steps, you can enhance the functionality of your forms and deliver a better user experience in your Dynamics 365 applications. Happy developing! We hope you found this blog useful, and if you would like to discuss anything, you can reach out to us at transform@cloudfonts.com.
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PowerApps Copilot: Transforming Formula Creation with New Features
Introduction PowerApps continues to evolve with new features that simplify formula creation and make app development more accessible for everyone. The recent updates bring innovative tools like natural language-based Power Fx formula generation and enhanced formula explanations. In this blog, we’ll explore these new features and provide actionable tips and tricks to help you leverage them effectively in your apps. 1. Generate Power Fx Formulas Using Natural Language One of the standout updates is the ability to create Power Fx formulas using natural language instructions. This feature is perfect for both beginners and experienced developers looking to save time. How It Works: Practical Tip: Use natural language for complex formulas that are hard to write manually, such as: This approach accelerates formula creation, reduces errors, and lowers the learning curve for new users. 2. Enhanced Formula Explanation for Better Understanding Have you ever been puzzled by a long or intricate formula? The enhanced formula explanation feature can help by providing plain language explanations for selected parts of a formula. How It Works: Practical Tip: 3. Multi-Language Support in Formula Generation With the growing global adoption of PowerApps, formula generation now supports multiple languages. This feature ensures that users can work comfortably in their preferred language. How It Works: Practical Tip: Use this feature when collaborating with teams across regions. It allows contributors to describe actions in their native language, making formula generation inclusive and efficient. 4. Speed Up App Development with AI Assistance AI-based suggestions in the formula bar aren’t just for natural language inputs. They can help optimize existing formulas and suggest best practices as you build. How It Works: Practical Tip: Examples below Hope this helps Conclusion The latest PowerApps formula updates are game changers for app developers. From generating formulas with natural language to debugging them with enhanced explanations, these features simplify app development and make PowerApps more accessible to users of all skill levels. We hope you found this blog useful, and if you would like to discuss anything, you can reach out to us at transform@cloudfonts.com.
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Mastering Concurrency in Power Automate: An Essential Guide for Optimized Workflows
Introduction Power Automate has revolutionized process automation by offering a low-code platform for building efficient workflows. However, when dealing with large-scale data or simultaneous operations, concurrency becomes a critical concept. Understanding and managing concurrency ensures that workflows run smoothly without performance bottlenecks or data integrity issues. In this blog, we’ll explore the concept of concurrency in Power Automate, its implications, and how to configure it effectively. Along the way, we’ll illustrate the topic with a practical example to help you grasp its real-world application. 1. What Is Concurrency in Power Automate? Concurrency refers to the ability of a workflow to execute multiple iterations or steps simultaneously. While concurrency can significantly speed up workflows, it must be handled carefully to avoid conflicts, particularly when working with shared resources or sequential processes. 2. Why Concurrency Matters Managing concurrency effectively can: However, improper configuration can lead to issues like data overwrites, skipped steps, or exceeding service limits. 3. Configuring Concurrency in Power Automate a) Setting Concurrency in Loop Actions Loop actions (e.g., “Apply to each”) in Power Automate have a concurrency control setting that determines how many items can be processed in parallel. b) Default Setting: By default, loops run sequentially. 4. Practical Example: Parallel Processing for Email Notifications a) Scenario: Your organization frequently sends mass email notifications to users based on CRM data. Using sequential processing causes delays, especially for large datasets. b) Solution: Implement a Power Automate workflow with concurrency enabled: Trigger: The workflow starts with a scheduled recurrence trigger or a Dataverse event. Data Retrieval: Fetch user data from Dataverse or SharePoint. Apply to Each: Enable concurrency control for the “Apply to Each” loop. Set a parallelism degree of 5 to process 5 emails simultaneously. Send Email: Each iteration sends an email notification to a user. Error Handling: Use retry policies or error-handling branches to manage failures. Outcome: The workflow completes email notifications significantly faster, improving operational efficiency while maintaining reliability. Following image contains settings of ‘Apply to Each’ action in Power Automate 5. Key Considerations and Best Practices a) Identify Dependencies: Avoid enabling concurrency for workflows with interdependent steps. b) Service Limits: Check Power Automates limits to prevent throttling. c) Monitor Performance: Use Power Automate analytics to monitor workflow performance and adjust settings as needed. d) Test Before Deployment: Ensure workflows behave as expected under concurrent execution. Conclusion Concurrency in Power Automate is a powerful tool for optimizing workflows, especially when handling bulk operations or parallel tasks. By understanding its settings and best practices, you can design workflows that are both efficient and reliable. I hope you found this blog useful, and if you would like to discuss anything, you can reach out to us at transform@cloudfonts.com.
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Taking a deep dive into the physical and financial postings in Dynamics 365 F&O.
In Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations (D365F&O), the concepts of physical and financial posting are at the core of inventory and transaction management. Understanding how these two processes work and their impact on inventory valuation and ledger updates is crucial for maintaining accurate financial records and operational efficiency. The Physical and Financial posting Checkboxes are in the Item Model Group. The pathway for which is: Inventory Management>Set Up> Inventory> Item Model Group. So, what is Physical Posting? Physical Posting refers to recording the movement or status change of Inventory Items without affecting the Financial Ledger. If this option is cleared, packing slips, product receipts, and production orders that are reported as finished are not posted in the ledger, regardless of the settings in the parameter setup pages. These transactions track physical inventory levels and ensure operational accuracy. Examples of physical postings include: Physical postings are essential for operational teams to track stock levels and manage logistics effectively. However, they do not impact the financial statements until a corresponding financial posting occurs. What is Financial Posting? Financial Posting occurs when a Transaction affects the company’s General Ledger, impacting financial accounts such as Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) and Accounts Payable/Receivable. If this option is cleared, the way accounting entries are handled changes significantly to simplify the process. When a purchase order is invoice-updated, the value of the items is posted only to the item consumption account and not to the inventory receipt account. Similarly, when a sales order is invoice-updated, no entries are made in either the item consumption account or the issue account. This option is especially helpful for service items, where posting item consumption during sales order invoicing isn’t necessary. By clearing this option, the journal lines for these items do not generate any ledger postings, keeping your financial records clean and focused without unnecessary complexities. Examples of financial postings include: Financial postings ensure that all inventory transactions are accurately reflected in financial records, enabling proper accounting and compliance with regulatory standards. Key Differences Between Physical and Financial Posting Aspect Physical Posting Financial Posting Impact Tracks inventory movement/status. Updates financial accounts. Ledger Update No impact on the general ledger. Impacts general ledger accounts. Use Case Operational purposes (e.g., stock tracking). Financial reporting and accounting. Examples Product receipts, stock transfers. Invoices, COGS postings, sales revenue. Configuring Posting in D365F&O D365F&O allows businesses to control how physical and financial postings are handled using parameters and setups. Here’s how you can configure them: To encapsulate, Physical and financial postings in D365F&O are fundamental to achieving a seamless connection between operational processes and financial reporting. They ensure that inventory movements are accurately tracked and that financial records reflect real-time business activities. By configuring these setups correctly, organizations can enhance their decision-making capabilities, reduce errors, and maintain compliance with accounting standards. Moreover, understanding the nuances of these postings allows businesses to streamline operations. For example, leveraging features like item model groups or automated posting parameters ensures that teams can focus on strategic growth rather than manual corrections. This integration of operational and financial data also supports better collaboration between departments, paving the way for improved efficiency and transparency. Ultimately, D365F&O empowers businesses to not only track their inventory effectively but also align their financial records with operational realities, creating a robust framework for sustainable growth and success. That’s it for this blog. We hope you found this blog useful, and if you would like to discuss anything, you can reach out to us at transform@cloudfonts.com.
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Transform Document Management in Dynamics 365: Automate, Organize, and Scale Across All Entities with Custom Pages for Streamlined Document Handling
Introduction Document management is a critical aspect of any organization using Dynamics 365 CRM, and finding a simple, scalable solution can often be a challenge. In this blog, I’ll show you how PowerApps Custom Pages can transform your document handling experience. By leveraging model-driven capabilities, I’ve built a solution from scratch that allows you to handle multiple document templates at once without the complexity and clutter of traditional methods. Using Custom Pages, you can generate and organize documents across different entities directly within the Dynamics 365 environment, making it easy to scale your solution for any table or scenario. Let’s take a closer look at how Custom Pages can streamline and simplify document management for your organization. The Use-Case: Document Management Application Key Components of the Solution which I have chosen for this use-case and blog Step-by-Step Process Step 1: Create the Custom Page (refer to my previous blog if needed) Create a solution, create custom Page and then embed it into Model-Driven App. I’ve made a sample example below: Step 2: How to retrieve parameters when App is opened. For the App’s ‘OnStart’ property, enter the following code Step 3: Trigger Document Generation App (I have used a ribbon button to trigger using JS) You will need to write a JavaScript in order to trigger and display the Custom Page. Where to find the app name, you will find in the solution. My example is below Step 3: Trigger Document Generation Page Once the document is created, you can close the Page using X button. As per JS code, our code will navigate to Document Tab. Ensure the name of Document Tab is correct. Step 4: Automation to SharePoint Use PowerApps Connector and add your input parameters to it. In the Custom Page, do insert the newly created Power Automate flow and pass the input values respectively Also, once the flow is completed, you can send a response back to Custom Page using same connector but of different action ‘Respond to PowerApp or Flow’. Conclusion Conclusion This Custom Page use-case demonstrates how a thoughtfully designed solution can enhance productivity and user experience in Dynamics 365. By streamlining document creation and navigation, it reduces friction in day-to-day operations, empowering teams to focus on higher-value tasks. Whether you’re a technical developer or a functional consultant, this approach provides actionable insights for building powerful and efficient solutions. References We hope you found this blog useful, and if you would like to discuss anything, you can reach out to us at transform@cloudfonts.com. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.
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A Step-by-Step Beginner’s Guide on Creating PowerApps Custom Pages in D365
Introduction In this guide, I’ll Walk you through creating your first PowerApps Custom Page in Dynamics 365. This beginner-friendly approach will demystify the process and include a high-level use-case to inspire your developing use-cases in creative and simple way. Why are Custom Pages good? Custom Pages are Model-Driven exclusive Pages that can be used with Dataverse/CRM easily, it can bring flexibility and power to your Model-Driven Apps by allowing tailored layouts, interactive designs, and seamless integration within Dynamics 365. Custom Pages supports Power FX commands which are not present in Canvas Apps. Step-by-Step Guide to Creating a Custom Page Step 1: Prerequisites and Environment Setup Ensure users have the necessary permissions and access to PowerApps Studio and Dynamics 365.Also, prefer using Solutions as pages are seen in solutions but not in Apps section. Step 2: Create a New Custom Page There are 2 ways to create Custom Page, I will highly recommend 1st point but 2nd point is also there for your knowledge. You will land to PowerApps Editor screen for Page after this Add desired content to the Page as per your use-case, for the blog purpose, I made a contacts page. Save your Custom Page and Publish it. [Note: Do save and publish the App] Step 3: Embed the Custom Page in Dynamics 365 Model-Driven App To add the newly created Page in your Model-Driven App, add the Model-Driven app to your solution and click on Edit For showing it on the Navigation Menu, do select checkbox. But if you want to show it Page as on-demand style/pop-up or JS triggered style then simply add the page to Model-Driven and hide it on Sitemap. [Note: Once completed, Do save and publish the App] Final Output Your Custom Page will be embedded directly to the Model-Driven App. That’s all for creating Custom Page in Model-Driven App. Conclusion Creating a Custom Page in D365 is a simple yet powerful way to enhance your Model-Driven Apps. With this guide, you’re ready to start building interactive, dynamic solutions tailored to your business needs. Hope my blog helps you! We hope you found this blog useful, and if you would like to discuss anything, you can reach out to us at transform@cloudfonts.com. Reference Links Microsoft documentation: Understanding Custom Page Microsoft Documentation: Create Custom Page Microsoft Documentation: Calling/Navigating to Custom Page
