Use editable grids

Editable grid is a custom control that provides rich inline editing capabilities on web and mobile clients (Dynamics 365 for phones and Dynamics 365 for tablets) including the ability to group, sort, and filter data within the same grid so that you do not have to switch records or views. The editable grid control is supported in the main grid and subgrids on a form in the web client and in dashboards and on form grids on the mobile clients. Although the editable grid control provides editing capability, it honors the read-only grid metadata and field-level security settings. Editable grids also support business rules and form scripting so you can apply custom business logic according to your organization's requirements.

Note

If you are using legacy forms (versions prior to Dynamics CRM 2016) and enable an editable grid on a subgrid, the editable subgrid will not be rendered. System administrators can turn off legacy forms in system settings, if needed.

Enable editable grids

You can enable editable grids at the table level to use in the main grid, or at the form level to replace read-only subgrids (associated grids) with an editable grid.

  1. Open solution explorer.

  2. In the Tables list, open the appropriate table, select the Controls tab, and then select Add Control.

    Add Editable Grids custom control.

  3. In the Add Control dialog box, select Editable Grid, and then select Add.

  4. In the Editable Grid row that's added, select the form factor(s) you want to apply the grid to. This makes the editable grid control the default control for the selected form factor(s).

    Editable Grid row with form factor selection.

    Note

    At runtime, users can toggle between editable grids and read-only grids.

To enable editable grid for a grid in a form, open the form editor, double-click the read-only grid that you want to replace with the editable grid, and then click on the Controls tab and select the editable grid from the list of controls.

You can revert to the non-editable grid at any time for main grid and associated grids, if required. Also, at runtime, users can toggle between editable grids and read-only grids.

More information: Make model-driven apps grids (lists) editable using the Editable Grid custom control

Form scripting support

The editable grids support client-side events and methods that can be used to write custom client extensions according to your business need. More information: Grids and subgrids in model-driven apps (Client API reference)

Tables and views supported by editable grid

Not all tables and views support the use of editable grid.

On the web client, a table will support editable grid if all of the following conditions are true:

  • The table is customizable (IsCustomizable = true)
  • The table is either refreshed (IsAIRUpdated = true) or a custom table (IsCustomEntity = true)
  • The table is not a child table (IsChildEntity = false)

On the mobile client, a table will support editable grid if the table can be displayed in the mobile client's site map.

For information about the tables that support editable grids, see Supported out-of-the-box tables section in Make model-driven apps grids (lists) editable using the Editable Grid custom control

Editable grids do not support roll up associated views (Rollup type = Related).

Use the following sample code to generate an XML file that you can open in Excel as an XML table to view the table-support information for editable controls. Excel will figure out the schema automatically, and display the information under the following columns:

  • LogicalName: Logical name of table.
  • DisplayName: Display name of table.
  • CanEnableEditableGridWeb: Displays status (True or False) whether editable grid is supported for the table on the web client.
  • CanEnableEditableGridMobile: Displays status (True or False) whether editable grid is supported for the table on mobile clients. (Dynamics 365 for phones and Dynamics 365 for tablets).
using System;  
using System.Linq;  
using System.Xml.Linq;  
using System.ServiceModel;  
using System.ServiceModel.Description;  
using System.Collections.Generic;  
using System.Xml.Serialization;  
using System.Xml;  
using System.IO;  
  
// These namespaces are found in the Microsoft.Xrm.Sdk.dll assembly  
// found in the SDK\bin folder.  
using Microsoft.Xrm.Sdk;  
using Microsoft.Xrm.Sdk.Query;  
using Microsoft.Xrm.Sdk.Metadata;  
using Microsoft.Xrm.Sdk.Client;  
using Microsoft.Xrm.Sdk.Messages;  
  
// This namespace is found in Microsoft.Crm.Sdk.Proxy.dll assembly  
// found in the SDK\bin folder.  
using Microsoft.Crm.Sdk.Messages;  
  
namespace Microsoft.Crm.Sdk.Samples  
{  
    /// <summary>  
    /// This sample generates an XML table to display the table-support information for   
    ///  editable controls.  
    /// </summary>  
    public class DumpEditableGridEntityInfo  
    {  
        #region Class Level Members  
  
        /// <summary>  
        /// Stores the organization service proxy.  
        /// </summary>  
        OrganizationServiceProxy _serviceProxy;  
  
        // Create storage for new columns being created  
        public List<AttributeMetadata> addedAttributes;  
  
        // Specify which language code to use in the sample. If you are using a language  
        // other than US English, you will need to modify this value accordingly.  
        // See https://msdn.microsoft.com/library/0h88fahh.aspx  
        public const int _languageCode = 1033;  
  
        // Define the IDs/variables needed for this sample.  
        public int _insertedStatusValue;  
  
        #endregion Class Level Members  
  
        #region How To Sample Code  
        /// <summary>  
        /// </summary>  
        /// <param name="serverConfig">Contains server connection information.</param>  
        /// <param name="promptForDelete">When True, the user will be prompted to delete all  
        /// created entities.</param>  
        public void Run(ServerConnection.Configuration serverConfig, bool promptForDelete)  
        {  
            try  
            {  
  
                // Connect to the Organization service.   
                // The using statement assures that the service proxy will be properly disposed.  
                using (_serviceProxy = new OrganizationServiceProxy(serverConfig.OrganizationUri, serverConfig.HomeRealmUri, serverConfig.Credentials, serverConfig.DeviceCredentials))  
                {  
                    // This statement is required to enable early-bound type support.  
                    _serviceProxy.EnableProxyTypes();  
  
                    //<snippetDumpEditableGridEntityInfo1>  
                    RetrieveAllEntitiesRequest request = new RetrieveAllEntitiesRequest()  
                    {  
                        EntityFilters = EntityFilters.Entity,  
                        RetrieveAsIfPublished = true  
                    };  
  
                    // Retrieve the MetaData.  
                    RetrieveAllEntitiesResponse response = (RetrieveAllEntitiesResponse)_serviceProxy.Execute(request);  
  
                    // Create an instance of StreamWriter to write text to a file.  
                    // The using statement also closes the StreamWriter.  
                    // To view this file, right click the file and choose open with Excel.   
                    // Excel will figure out the schema and display the information in columns.  
  
                    String filename = String.Concat("EditableGridEntityInfo.xml");  
                    using (StreamWriter sw = new StreamWriter(filename))  
                    {  
                        // Create Xml Writer.  
                        XmlTextWriter metadataWriter = new XmlTextWriter(sw);  
  
                        // Start Xml File.  
                        metadataWriter.WriteStartDocument();  
  
                        // Metadata Xml Node.  
                        metadataWriter.WriteStartElement("Metadata");  
  
                        foreach (EntityMetadata currentEntity in response.EntityMetadata)  
                        {  
                            // Start Entity Node  
                            metadataWriter.WriteStartElement("Entity");  
  
                            bool canBeDisplayedInSitemap = currentEntity.IsCustomizable.Value;  
  
                            if (canBeDisplayedInSitemap)  
                            {  
                                metadataWriter.WriteElementString("LogicalName", currentEntity.LogicalName);  
                                metadataWriter.WriteElementString("DisplayName", currentEntity.DisplayName.UserLocalizedLabel?.Label);  
                                metadataWriter.WriteElementString("CanEnableEditableGridWeb", (!(bool)currentEntity.IsChildEntity && ((bool)currentEntity.IsAIRUpdated || (bool)currentEntity.IsCustomEntity)).ToString());  
                                metadataWriter.WriteElementString("CanEnableEditableGridMobile", (currentEntity.IsVisibleInMobileClient.Value || currentEntity.IsVisibleInMobileClient.CanBeChanged).ToString());  
                            }  
  
                            // Write the Entity's Information.  
  
                            //End Entity Node  
                            metadataWriter.WriteEndElement();  
                        }  
  
                        // End Metadata Xml Node  
                        metadataWriter.WriteEndElement();  
                        metadataWriter.WriteEndDocument();  
  
                        // Close xml writer.  
                        metadataWriter.Close();  
                        Console.WriteLine("Dumped information in the EditableGridEntityInfo.xml file");  
                    }  
                }  
            }  
  
            // Catch any service fault exceptions that Microsoft Dynamics CRM throws.  
            catch (FaultException<Microsoft.Xrm.Sdk.OrganizationServiceFault>)  
            {  
                // You can handle an exception here or pass it back to the calling method.  
                throw;  
            }  
        }  
        #endregion How To Sample Code  
  
        #region Main  
        /// <summary>  
        /// Standard Main() method used by most SDK samples.  
        /// </summary>  
        /// <param name="args"></param>  
        static public void Main(string[] args)  
        {  
            try  
            {  
                // Obtain the target organization's Web address and client logon   
                // credentials from the user.  
                ServerConnection serverConnect = new ServerConnection();  
                ServerConnection.Configuration config = serverConnect.GetServerConfiguration();  
                DumpEditableGridEntityInfo app = new DumpEditableGridEntityInfo();  
                app.Run(config, false);                  
            }  
            catch (FaultException<Microsoft.Xrm.Sdk.OrganizationServiceFault> ex)  
            {  
                Console.WriteLine("The application terminated with an error.");  
                Console.WriteLine("Timestamp: {0}", ex.Detail.Timestamp);  
                Console.WriteLine("Code: {0}", ex.Detail.ErrorCode);  
                Console.WriteLine("Message: {0}", ex.Detail.Message);  
                Console.WriteLine("Plugin Trace: {0}", ex.Detail.TraceText);  
                Console.WriteLine("Inner Fault: {0}",  
                    null == ex.Detail.InnerFault ? "No Inner Fault" : "Has Inner Fault");  
            }  
            catch (System.TimeoutException ex)  
            {  
                Console.WriteLine("The application terminated with an error.");  
                Console.WriteLine("Message: {0}", ex.Message);  
                Console.WriteLine("Stack Trace: {0}", ex.StackTrace);  
                Console.WriteLine("Inner Fault: {0}",  
                    null == ex.InnerException.Message ? "No Inner Fault" : ex.InnerException.Message);  
            }  
            catch (System.Exception ex)  
            {  
                Console.WriteLine("The application terminated with an error.");  
                Console.WriteLine(ex.Message);  
  
                // Display the details of the inner exception.  
                if (ex.InnerException != null)  
                {  
                    Console.WriteLine(ex.InnerException.Message);  
  
                    FaultException<Microsoft.Xrm.Sdk.OrganizationServiceFault> fe  
                        = ex.InnerException  
                        as FaultException<Microsoft.Xrm.Sdk.OrganizationServiceFault>;  
                    if (fe != null)  
                    {  
                        Console.WriteLine("Timestamp: {0}", fe.Detail.Timestamp);  
                        Console.WriteLine("Code: {0}", fe.Detail.ErrorCode);  
                        Console.WriteLine("Message: {0}", fe.Detail.Message);  
                        Console.WriteLine("Plugin Trace: {0}", fe.Detail.TraceText);  
                        Console.WriteLine("Inner Fault: {0}",  
                            null == fe.Detail.InnerFault ? "No Inner Fault" : "Has Inner Fault");  
                    }  
                }  
            }  
            // Additional exceptions to catch: SecurityTokenValidationException, ExpiredSecurityTokenException,  
            // SecurityAccessDeniedException, MessageSecurityException, and SecurityNegotiationException.  
  
            finally  
            {  
  
                Console.WriteLine("Press <Enter> to exit.");  
                Console.ReadLine();  
            }  
  
        }  
        #endregion Main  
  
    }  
}  

See also

Grids and subgrids in model-driven apps (Client API reference)
Make model-driven apps grids (lists) editable using the editable grid custom control