PPTB on LinkeD365 Blog

PPTB - Bulk Data Studio

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Playing catchup documenting the tools I have created for the Power Platform ToolBox.

Another “equivalent” (the quotes means it really isnt, yet) tool to one that is available in the XrmToolBox, made by the mighty, legend of our community Jonas Rapp, Bulk Data Updater.

My version has a little less yellow and blue, but mimics the functionality. Want to populate that new field with something on thousands of records? Tickle lots of records to trigger plugins or flows? Need to put some data in that column calculated from others? This tool will hopefully help!

Using the tool

On logging in you are displayed 2 grids, the left being the data that you are going to edit, the right the changes you are going to make.

Firstly, select your data by clicking on the Fetch Data button

Either select Open View or use raw fetchxml.

Open view presents you with a table and view list, then shows you the raw fetchxml so you can tweak to use in the fetchxml editor.

Once you hit select, the query is run and the results displayed.

Now we need to decide on what we want to update and to what. Hit the config button to be displayed a list of the fields in the view. Hit the toggle to show all fields on the table.

The options for updating dependent on the field type of course.

Fixed Changes the value to what is entered.
Touch Replaces the value as if it has been updated, to trigger downstream flows and plugins.
Calculated Determine the value from simple calculations. See the Calculation options.
Set Null as it says, blanks it out.

Also, the capabilities of the value selection will differ depending on the field types, from as simple as entering text, selecting a lookup value or choices.

Note

For status and state, we have a special case, they need to be linked, so you need to change both together.

Once you are ready, hit the Update Rows button and then confirm with Update Records

Calculation options

When you choose Calculated, you can build expressions using field tokens, system tokens, formatting functions, conditional logic and simple math.

Field tokens

Use values from the current row:

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{fieldname}
{fieldname|raw}
{parent.childfield}

Examples:

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{firstname}
{status|raw}
{account.name}

System tokens

Add system date/time values:

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<system|now|>
<system|today|>
<system|year|>
<system|month|>
<system|day|>
<system|hour|>
<system|minute|>
<system|timestamp|>

Example:

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{description} - Updated <system|today|>

**Conditional logic ** Use iif for if/else expressions:

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<iif|value|operator|compare|then|else>

Supported operators: eq, ne, gt, gte, lt, lte, contains, startswith, endswith.

Example:

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<iif|{tier}|eq|Premium|{price}<math|*|0.90>|{price}>

Formatting functions

Useful text functions include:

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<Upper>
<Lower>
<Trim|chars>
<TrimStart|chars>
<TrimEnd|chars>
<SubStr|start|length>
<Left|length>
<Right|length>
<Replace|old|new>
<Pad|R|length|char>

Examples:

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<Upper>{lastname}, {firstname}
ACC-<system|year|>-<Left|2>{accountname}

Math operations

For numeric values:

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<math|operator|value>

Operators: +, -, *, /

Examples:

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{quantity}<math|*|1.10>
{price}<math|-|5.00>

Quick tips

Use preview to validate expressions before running updates.
Keep field names in your expression aligned with the fields fetched in your query/view.
For status and state updates, set both values together.

Cloning Records

Another powerful feature is the ability to clone records. This creates copies of existing records, optionally including their related child records with properly remapped relationships.

Basic Workflow

Select records to clone via view or FetchXML
Configure clone settings to specify which fields to exclude and which child records to clone
Review the configuration to ensure it meets your needs
Execute the clone to create the copies

Step-by-Step Process

1. Select Your Source Records

First, select the records you want to clone using the same process as the update feature:

Click Fetch Data
Choose Open View or use FetchXML
Select the records to clone

2. Open Clone Settings

Once you’ve selected records, look for the Clone button in the toolbar to open the clone configuration panel.

3. Configure Parent Field Exclusions

In the Exclude Fields tab, you can specify which fields should NOT be copied to the cloned records.

Fields automatically excluded:

Primary ID (the record identifier)
Alternate Keys (any uniqueness constraints)

Fields you typically exclude:

Unique identifiers or codes that should be different in the clone
Read-only fields
System-calculated fields
Fields that shouldn’t be duplicated

How to exclude:

Search for fields using the search box (searches both display name and logical name)
Check the checkbox next to fields you want to exclude
Excluded fields appear with a red background

Note

Warning: If you exclude no parent fields, cloned records will be identical to the originals. This may violate uniqueness constraints on certain fields.

4. Configure Child Table Cloning

In the Child Tables tab, you can specify which related records should also be cloned.

How to add child tables:

Click Add Child Table to add a child table configuration
Select Child Table: Choose which related table to clone from
- The dropdown shows tables that have one-to-many relationships with your parent table
Select Parent Lookup Field: Choose the lookup field that links child records back to the parent
- This is automatically populated if only one link exists
- The system will automatically remap this field to point to the cloned parent record
Exclude Child Fields: Optional - select which fields in the child table should not be copied
- Just like parent exclusions, helps ensure uniqueness or avoid sensitive data

Example: Cloning an Account with Contacts

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Parent Table: Account (e.g., "Contoso Inc")
Child Table: Contact
Parent Lookup Field: parentcustomerid (the field pointing back to Account)
Excluded Fields: Email (so each clone has unique email)
Result: Account cloned, and all Contacts are also cloned with their
 parentcustomerid updated to the new Account

5. Review and Execute

Before cloning, review your configuration:

Parent fields being copied: Displayed in the status message
Child tables: Listed with their lookups and exclusions
Warnings: Alerts if no parent fields are excluded

Once satisfied with the configuration, click Run Clone to execute.

A confirmation dialog will appear reminding you that:

New records will be created in Dataverse
Any active Power Automate flows, plugins, or business rules will be triggered on these new records
The operation cannot be undone (delete the clones manually if needed)

PPTB - Metadata Browser

Fri, 13 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Being involved from the outset of the https://PowerPlatformToolBox.com has been hard work, tiring and worth every hour.

To ensure the PPTB gets as much impetus as possible, providing equivalent tools as what is in the XrmToolBox was part of our goals. It is all very well to have a sexy looking multi-os framework, but without the core tools it would never take off.

This is why the talented Mohsin Mirza (MohsinoXrm) has created the FetchXML Studio and our glorious leader Danish Naglekar has made the [PCF Builder](https://www.powerplatformtoolbox.com/tools/ fca7fd3c-54e1-4d2f-877c-ca29d1f4cd47)

To that end, I have created Metadata Browser. Still going strong on the XrmToolBox the legend that is Tanguy Touzard created the original, and my version respectfully (with his permission) copies that with a reimagined interface to take advantage of the capabilities of the Electron PPTB, with a REact, Fluent based app with an AG-Grid grid to provide a performant interface.

Using the tool

The tool is pretty (hopefully) self explanatory. Select a solution, or all tables and select a table for start looking at the various parts of the table as defined, whether it be fields, relationships, keys or everything else that is connected to a table.

If you choose a solution, a drawer will appear allowing you select Managed or Unmanaged solutions in your environment.

The list of tables will then display all the tables associated with that solution.

This icon opens the table as a new tab
The grid is sortable and searchable
You can add or remove columns to display in the list, displaying a popout like below

Here you can add one more columns against the table. This applies to each subsequent tab, you can add columns to display further details on column attributes, relationships etc.
Save updates the current list
Set Default saves the configuration as your default next time you open the tool.

Note

The columns you select here also affect the columns exported for each tab. It does not impact the Excel export.

Selecting one of the tables opens that table as a new tab.

Each table is added as another tab
More tabs below give you further details for that table
You can search to find an attribute.
This button exports the details of the table, each tab has similar for the data shown.

Each sub tab (Columns, Keys, Relationships, Privileges and Solutions) will retrieve the relevant data from your environment, to quickly see the information that is stored in your system and export it.

Selecting this option allows you to define which tabs will be created in an Excel report, with seperate sheets per option.

This will prompt you to save 1 Excel workbook per table.

Comparing Environments

If you select multiple envrionements in the connection dialog you will be able to compare two environments to show differences between the tables, fields, relationships etc deployed.

In the tables listing, differences are highlighted.

Tables are present in both environments
Table is only present in the primary environment.

Tables only appear in the secondary environment.

In each of the child things, such as columns below, the same highlighting applies.

Please let me know if you have any issues or requests for improvements Metadata Browser

PPTB - Environment Manager

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Much as I love XrmToolBox, and loved making tools for the toolbox, I have always thought that the visual aspect of the tools left some thing to be desired. As it is based on WinForms technology, over 20 years old, it is from an era before my kids were born, suitable for us back then, with our long hair, leather jackets and mobile phones that didnt work and were the size of a brick.

So, when Danish Naglekar proposed late last year that we re-imagine the XTB, I jumped at the chance! If you haven’t seen the Power Platform ToolBox, go download it, check it out and give us feedback!

(Mostly I am excited by Dark Mode, but creating apps that use React/Fluent for wider use is exciting, and look great!)

My first tool on the XTB was the OrgSettings Tool, a take on the solution that Sean McNellis has made.

If you are un-aware, there are several under the cover settings in your Power Platform environment that can alter the way some of the parts work, such as Server Side Sync, Security and other parts of a standard CRM environment. And, updating these settings is not a click in the admin centre.

Whilst it is true to say, the product team are moving towards more clickable, or at least via the PAC CLI update of settings, these settings still keep getting added to and updated.

With that said, I thought why not re-imagine the interface for it in the PPTB, hence I am proud to announce the Environment Manager in PPTB!

Connecting and Reviewing your settings

Environment Manager supports 2 connections, to compare environments. It will also work if you chose just one.

For a single connection, you are presented with one column of values.

For multi connection, you are presented with 2 columns of values.

Here, you can sort, search and compare configuration settings across your environment(s).

If you want to find out a little more information on the setting, there is a little i icon which will firstly show you information dragged from the Github repository, maintained by Sean.

If I have added more info on my blog here this will be available in the LinkeD365 Info button.

Editing a variable

On the left of the grid is a little pencil. Clicking on it enables the values to be changed.

Once happy to update that value, hit the save button on top of the grid, which will give you a progress check and save back the configuration

If you want to revert to the original value, hit the revert button.

Thats it! Hope it helps someone.

Please provide feedback and bugs on the GitHub repository Env Manager