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Get the Report →Create Dynamic Dynamics 365 Grids Using the Infragistics XamDataGrid
Learn how you can connect Dynamics 365 to Infragistics XamDataGrid to build dynamic grids.
Using Infragistics WPF UI controls, you can build contemporary applications reminiscent of Microsoft Office for both desktop and touch-based devices. When coupled with the CData ADO.NET Provider for Dynamics 365, you gain the capability to construct interactive grids, charts, and various other visual elements while directly accessing real-time data from Dynamics 365 data. This article will guide you through the process of creating a dynamic grid within Visual Studio using the Infragistics XamDataGrid control.
About Dynamics 365 Data Integration
CData simplifies access and integration of live Microsoft Dynamics 365 data. Our customers leverage CData connectivity to:
- Read and write data in the full Dynamics 365 ecosystem: Sales, Customer Service, Finance & Operations, Marketing, and more.
- Extend the native features of Dynamics CRM with customizable caching and intelligent query aggregation and separation.
- Authenticate securely with Dynamics 365 in a variety of ways, including Azure Active Directory, Azure Managed Service Identity credentials, and Azure Service Principal using either a client secret or a certificate.
- Use SQL stored procedures to manage their Dynamics 365 entities - listing, creating, and removing associations between entities.
CData customers use our Dynamics 365 connectivity solutions for a variety of reasons, whether they're looking to replicate their data into a data warehouse (alongside other data sources)or analyze live Dynamics 365 data from their preferred data tools inside the Microsoft ecosystem (Power BI, Excel, etc.) or with external tools (Tableau, Looker, etc.).
Getting Started
You will need to install the Infragistics WPF UI components to continue. Download a free trial here: https://www.infragistics.com/products/wpf.
Create a WPF Project
Open VisualStudio and create a new WPF project.
Add a TextBox for passing a SQL query to the CData ADO.NET Provider and a Button for executing the query.
The XAML at this stage is as follows:
< Window xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation" xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml" xmlns:d="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008" xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006" xmlns:local="clr-namespace:CDataXamDataGridGroupingListApp" xmlns:igWPF="http://schemas.infragistics.com/xaml/wpf" x:Class="CDataXamDataGridGroupingListApp.MainWindow" mc:Ignorable="d" Title="MainWindow" Height="450" Width="800"> < Grid> < TextBox x:Name="textBox" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Height="44" TextWrapping="Wrap" Text="TextBox" VerticalAlignment="Top" Width="682" Margin="10,10,0,0"/> < Button x:Name="button" Content="Execute" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Margin="697,10,0,0" VerticalAlignment="Top" Width="85" Height="44"/> < /Grid> < /Window>
Add and Configure a XamDataGrid
After adding the initial controls, add a XamDataGrid to the App. The component will appear in the Visual Studio toolbox.
Arrange the component on the designer so that it is below the TextBox & Button and linked to the boundaries of the app.
Once the XamDataGrid is placed, edit the XAML to set the XamDataGrid DataSource attribute to "{Binding}" and set the FieldSettings AllowRecordFiltering and AllowSummaries attributes to "true." Next, add an empty method as the Click event handler for the Button component. The XAML at this stage is as follows:
< Window xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation" xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml" xmlns:d="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008" xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006" xmlns:local="clr-namespace:CDataXamDataGridGroupingListApp" xmlns:igWPF="http://schemas.infragistics.com/xaml/wpf" x:Class="CDataXamDataGridGroupingListApp.MainWindow" mc:Ignorable="d" Title="MainWindow" Height="450" Width="800"> < Grid> < TextBox x:Name="textBox" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Height="44" TextWrapping="Wrap" Text="TextBox" VerticalAlignment="Top" Width="682" Margin="10,10,0,0"/> < Button x:Name="button" Content="Execute" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Margin="697,10,0,0" VerticalAlignment="Top" Width="85" Click="Button_Click" Height="44"/> < igWPF:XamDataGrid Margin="10,59,10,10" DataSource="{Binding}"> < igWPF:XamDataGrid.FieldSettings> < igWPF:FieldSettings AllowSummaries="True" AllowRecordFiltering="True"/> < /igWPF:XamDataGrid.FieldSettings> < /igWPF:XamDataGrid> < /Grid> < /Window>
Connect to and Query Dynamics 365
The last step in building our WPG App with a dynamic DataGrid is connecting to and querying live Dynamics 365 data. First add a reference to the CData ADO.NET Provider to the project (typically found in C:\Program Files\CData[product_name]\lib).
Next, add the Provider to the namespace, along with the standard Data library:
using System.Data.CData.Dynamics365; using System.Data;
Finally, add the code to connect to Dynamics 365 and query using the text from the TextBox to the Click event handler.
Edition and OrganizationUrl are required connection properties. The Dynamics 365 connector supports connecting to the following editions: CustomerService, FieldService, FinOpsOnline, FinOpsOnPremise, HumanResources, Marketing, ProjectOperations and Sales.
For Dynamics 365 Business Central, use the separate Dynamics 365 Business Central driver.
OrganizationUrl is the URL to your Dynamics 365 organization. For instance, https://orgcb42e1d0.crm.dynamics.com
private void Button_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e) { //connecting to Dynamics 365 string connString = "OrganizationUrl=https://myaccount.operations.dynamics.com/;Edition=Sales;"; using (var conn = new Dynamics365Connection(connString)) { //using the query from the TextBox var dataAdapter = new Dynamics365DataAdapter(textBox.Text, conn); var table = new DataTable(); dataAdapter.Fill(table); //passing the DataRowCollection to the DataContext // for use in the XamDataGrid this.DataContext = table.Rows; } }
Run the Application
With the app fully configured, we are ready to display Dynamics 365 data in our XamDataGrid. When you click "Execute," the app connects to Dynamics 365 and submits the SQL query through the CData ADO.NET Provider.
Live Dynamics 365 data is displayed in the grid.
Group the data by dragging and dropping a column name into the header.
As you add groupings and filters, the underlying SQL query is submitted directly to Dynamics 365, making it possible to drill down into live Dynamics 365 data to find only the specific information you need.
Free Trial & More Information
At this point, you have created a dynamic WPF App with access to live Dynamics 365 data. For more information, visit the CData ADO.NET Provider page. Download a free, 30-day trial and start working live Dynamics 365 data in apps built using the Infragistics UI controls today.