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saadzag edited this page Sep 24, 2024 · 1 revision

Environment Comparator Plugin Documentation

Overview

The Environment Comparator Plugin is a tool designed to help Dynamics 365 administrators compare two environments, ensuring consistency between configurations. It identifies differences in solutions, entities, fields, workflows, and plugins between environments. Additionally, users can filter their comparisons to focus on custom fields, system fields, or both.

Features

1. Solution Comparator

The Solution Comparator allows users to compare the solutions deployed in two environments. It detects:

  • Missing Solutions: Solutions present in one environment but missing in the other.
  • Version Differences: Identifies differences in version numbers between environments.
  • Custom Solutions: Focuses on custom (unmanaged) solutions while excluding managed solutions.

How it Works:

  • Connect to two environments using the plugin.
  • The tool compares the name, version, and components of solutions between both environments.
  • A detailed report shows missing or mismatched solutions.

2. Entities and Fields Comparator

The Entities and Fields Comparator provides a comparison of the metadata between environments. This includes both system and custom entities and fields. The tool can filter by:

  • Custom Fields Only
  • System Fields Only
  • All Fields

Key Comparisons:

  • Entities: Identifies entities missing from either environment.
  • Fields: Compares custom and system fields, detecting differences in: Field type (e.g., string, int)
    • Maximum length (for string fields)
    • Requirement levels (mandatory, optional)
    • Any customizations applied.

How it Works:

The user selects whether to compare custom fields, system fields, or all fields. The tool provides a comparison report listing entities and fields that are missing, added, or modified in either environment.

3. Workflows and Plugins Comparator

The Workflows and Plugins Comparator identifies differences in active workflows and plugins between two environments. It compares:

  • Workflows: Checks if workflows are missing, added, or have different statuses (enabled/disabled) between environments.
  • Plugins: Identifies differences in plugin assemblies, including version differences.
  • Plugin Steps: Compares plugin steps, ensuring that the message type (e.g., Create, Update), execution order, and execution stage (Pre-Validation, Pre-Operation, Post-Operation) are consistent between environments.

How it Works:

The tool compares workflows and plugins across both environments. Reports highlight missing or modified workflows, plugins, and plugin steps. The comparison includes details on plugin execution steps, such as message, target entity, rank, and status.

4. Field Type Filters

In all field comparisons, users can choose from three types of fields:

  • Custom Fields: Only shows fields created or customized by users.
  • System Fields: Displays default system fields only.
  • All Fields: Shows both custom and system fields.

5. Comparison Reports (Planned)

The plugin generates comprehensive reports that provide clear insights into the differences between environments. Reports include:

  • Entity and Field Differences: Lists entities and fields missing, added, or modified in either environment.
  • Solution Versions: Displays differences in solution versions and components.
  • Workflow and Plugin Status: Highlights workflows and plugins that have been altered, with details on any changes.

Reports can be exported in formats like CSV or Excel for further analysis.

How to Use the Plugin

  • Connect to Environments: The plugin requires users to connect to two Dynamics 365 environments.
  • Select Feature to Compare: Choose whether you want to compare solutions, entities & fields, or workflows & plugins.
  • Generate Report: The tool will perform the comparison and generate a report showing all detected differences.
  • Filter Options: Users can filter the comparison results based on custom fields, system fields, or both.

User Instructions

  • After installing the plugin, ensure that both environments are correctly connected.
  • Use the tabs to switch between comparing solutions, entities/fields, and workflows/plugins.
  • Select the comparison type and generate the report.
  • Review the results in the provided report, which highlights differences between environments.
  • Error Reporting and Feature Requests In case of any errors or suggestions for future enhancements, please feel free to create a ticket in the GitHub Repository.

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