Microsoft Dynamics 365 - Create or edit entity field (Classic UI)

 In Microsoft Dynamics 365, fields define the individual data items that can be used to store data in an entity. Fields are sometimes called attributes by developers. You can use the customization tools in the solution explorer to edit system fields that allow customization, or to create, edit, or delete custom entities.

Create new fields to capture data when existing system entities don’t have fields that meet your requirements.

After you create new fields, be sure to include them on the forms and views for the entity so that they are available from the Microsoft Dynamics 365 user interface. 

Create and edit fields:

1.      Navigate to Microsoft Dynamics 365 > Settings > Solutions click on your work solution and from solution explorer Under Components, expand Entities, and then expand the entity you want.

2.      Click on Fields OR choose the Forms node open a form in the form editor and below the Field Explorer click New Field to create a new field OR for any field already added to the form you can double-click the field to display the Field Properties. On the Details tab, click Edit.

3.      To add a new field, on the Actions toolbar, click New, and then enter a Display Name to generate the Name.

- OR -

To edit a field, select it in the list, and then on the Actions toolbar, click Edit. You can make changes to the following fields:

a.      Field Requirement, select whether it’s optional, recommended, or required.

b.      Searchable, select whether to include this field in the list of fields shown in Advanced Find for this entity and also in the field available for customizing the find columns in the Quick Find view and the Lookup view.

c.      Field Security, enable or disable the feature for this field.

d.      Auditing, enable or disable the feature for this field.

4.      For new fields, select the Type, and then enter required information for that type. For existing fields, you cannot modify the type, but you can modify the settings for the type.

 

5.      Enter all the details above and Click Save and Close to close the form editor.

6.      Publish your customization.

 

 

Types of fields:

The following table contains information about the field types available in Microsoft Dynamics 365.

Field type	Description	Available field data type
Simple field	Contains data that is not based on a formula.	Single Line of Text, Option Set, Two Options, Image, Whole Number, Floating Point Number, Decimal Number, Currency, Multiple Lines of Text, Date and Time, Lookup
Calculated field	Contains calculations that use fields from the current entity or related parent entities.	Single Line of Text, Option Set, Two Options, Whole Number, Decimal Number, Currency, Date and Time
Rollup field	Contains an aggregate value computed from the records related to a record, or a value computed over a hierarchy.	Whole Number, Decimal Number, Currency, Date and Time

 

Possible data types for a field: The following table contains information about the field data types available in Microsoft Dynamics 365.

Data Type	Notes
Single Line of Text	The following formats are available: Email: This opens a new email message in the default email software and also validates the email address. Text: This creates a text box. Text area: This creates a scrolling text box. URL: This opens the URL in the user's default browser and validates (or adds) a valid protocol (HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, FTPS, OneNote, and TEL). Ticker Symbol: This creates a stock ticker symbol in all capital letters. Click the symbol to open information about the stock in the default browser. By default, the MSN website opens. Phone: This creates a link that lets Skype or Skype for Business users initiate a call by using the linked number.
Option Set	Select an existing option set, or define a new one.
Two Options	After creating this field, configure it in the form to which it was added. In the form, select whether the field is displayed as option buttons (also known as radio buttons), a check box, or a list.
Image	Each entity can have one image field. When an entity has an image field it can be configured to display the image for the record in the application.
Whole Number	The following formats are available for this field: None. The defaults are integer values between -2,147,483,648 and 2,147,483,648, although you can set different minimum and maximum values. Duration. This creates a drop-down list box with values in minutes, hours, and days. Time Zone. This creates a drop-down list box with options for every available time zone. Language. This creates a drop-down list box with options for every language that your organization has made available for users.
Floating Point Number	Select up to 5 precision points. You can set the minimum and maximum values.
Decimal Number	Select up to 10 decimal points. You can set the minimum and maximum values.
Currency	When you add a currency field to an entity, a corresponding (Base) field is also created. The (Base) field also has a currency data type. If the entity does not already have a field with a currency data type, two additional fields are created: Currency. A lookup data type whose value must be set before you can set the value of a field with a currency data type. Exchange Rate. This has a decimal number data type.
Multiple Lines of Text	This is a scrolling text box. You can set the maximum number of characters for this field.
Date and Time	There are two formats: date only or date and time.
Lookup	You can create a lookup field using an entity relationship that has already been created, but not yet used with another lookup field. If you create a lookup field in an entity form, the relationship is automatically generated. A lookup field is created as a relationship field.
Customer	A lookup field that you can use to specify a customer, which can be an account or contact. Note This feature was introduced in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2016 Service Pack 1 and Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online 2016 Update 1.

 

Important Note: Once a field is created you cannot change field Name/ logical name and data type. Whereas field Display Name, Field Requirement, Searchable, Auditing, Field Security is editable.