Writing a Simple Dynamics 365 Plugin: A Beginner’s Guide

Dynamics 365 is a powerful CRM solution that can help businesses manage their customer relationships efficiently. One of the most powerful features of Dynamics 365 is its ability to support custom plugins. Plugins allow developers to add new functionality to Dynamics 365 and customize the platform to meet the specific needs of their business.

If you’re new to Dynamics 365 development, writing a simple plugin can be a great way to get started. In this article, we’ll provide a step-by-step guide on how to write a simple Dynamics 365 plugin.

Step 1: Create a New Project in Visual Studio

Before you can start writing your plugin, you’ll need to create a new project in Visual Studio. To do this, open Visual Studio and select “File” > “New Project”. In the “New Project” dialog box, select “Microsoft Dynamics 365” from the list of templates and choose “Dynamics 365 Plug-in Library”. Give your project a name and click “OK” to create it.

Step 2: Define Your Plugin Class

Once you’ve created your project, you’ll need to define your plugin class. Open the “Plugin.cs” file in your project and modify it to look like this:

“`
using System;
using Microsoft.Xrm.Sdk;

namespace MyFirstPlugin
{
public class Plugin : IPlugin
{
public void Execute(IServiceProvider serviceProvider)
{
// Your code goes here
}
}
}
“`

This code defines a new plugin class called “Plugin” that implements the “IPlugin” interface. The “Execute” method is where you’ll write your plugin logic.

Step 3: Write Your Plugin Code

Now that you’ve defined your plugin class, it’s time to write your plugin code. In this example, we’ll create a plugin that fires whenever a new contact is created in Dynamics 365 and sets the contact’s “Job Title” to “New Contact”.

“`
using System;
using Microsoft.Xrm.Sdk;

namespace MyFirstPlugin
{
public class Plugin : IPlugin
{
public void Execute(IServiceProvider serviceProvider)
{
// Get the execution context
IPluginExecutionContext context = (IPluginExecutionContext)serviceProvider.GetService(typeof(IPluginExecutionContext));

// Check that we’re firing on a “Create” message for the “contact” entity
if (context.MessageName.ToLower() == “create” && context.PrimaryEntityName.ToLower() == “contact”)
{
// Get the target entity from the execution context
Entity entity = (Entity)context.InputParameters[“Target”];

// Set the “Job Title” attribute to “New Contact”
entity[“jobtitle”] = “New Contact”;
}
}
}
}
“`

This code uses the “IPluginExecutionContext” interface to get information about the current execution context. It then checks that the plugin is firing on a “Create” message for the “contact” entity and gets the target entity from the execution context. Finally, it sets the “Job Title” attribute to “New Contact”.

Step 4: Build and Deploy Your Plugin

Now that you’ve written your plugin code, it’s time to build and deploy it to Dynamics 365. To do this, right-click on your project in Visual Studio and select “Build”. Once the build is complete, navigate to the “bin/Debug” folder in your project directory and find the generated DLL file.

To deploy your plugin to Dynamics 365, you’ll need to upload the DLL file to your Dynamics 365 organization. To do this, open your Dynamics 365 instance in a web browser and navigate to “Settings” > “Customizations” > “Developer Resources”. From here, select “Import” and choose your DLL file. Once the import is complete, your plugin will be available for use in Dynamics 365.

Conclusion

Writing a simple Dynamics 365 plugin is a great way to get started with Dynamics 365 development. By following the steps outlined in this article, you should be able to create a basic plugin that sets an attribute on a new contact record. As you become more comfortable with Dynamics 365 development, you can build on this knowledge and create more complex plugins to meet the specific needs of your business.