Channel Properties in Dynamics

Automatic Record Creation Rules are a great way to evaluate and take action on items that enter queues in Dynamics. They allow you to create and update records, send emails, and start child workflows. This functionality is powerful enough on its own, but if you've ever worked with Automatic Record Creation Rules in Dynamics you've probably noticed the option to use Channel Properties in Dynamics. Channel Properties allow you to take the Automatic Record Creation Rule functionality to the next level.

What Are Channel Properties?

Every Activity type entity in Dynamics contains a hidden field called Additional Parameters. By passing a JSON payload into this field and setting up corresponding Channel Properties and Channel Property Groups, you can evaluate the information contained in the payload as a merge field, just like you would with any other field in Dynamics. This is often very useful when information originates outside of Dynamics and needs to be passed in and evaluated.

How Can I Use Channel Properties?

Consider a real-world use case where we needed to send faxes into Dynamics from an e-fax system and then automatically route it to the correct owning team. The ANI and DNIS from the fax header, along with an email subject, are included in the subject line of an email formatted as JSON:

{'ANI':'8005882300', 'DNIS':'1234', 'Subject':'Fax Received from 800-588-2300'}

Then, we configure the corresponding Channel Properties within Dynamics and associate the Channel Property Group with our Automatic Record Creation Rule. A real-time workflow on create of an email, copies our JSON payload from the email subject into the Additional Parameters field.

This allows us to use the information contained in that JSON payload to evaluate the incoming record and update field values. Observe that our channel properties are available in conditional expressions just like field values.

If a record meets our criteria, we create the fax and update the appropriate fields. From there, we run a custom workflow activity plugin that evaluates the ANI and assigns the fax based on the area code.

Need Additional Help?

This is a very high level overview of Channel Properties and only a single use case. Channel properties can be used on any Activity entity and offer a low-code way to add additional data to Dynamics records. If you need help with configuring and using channel properties, reach out to the experts at Beringer Technology Group today!

Beringer Technology Group, a leading Microsoft Gold Certified Partner specializing in Microsoft Dynamics 365 and CRM for Distribution. We also provide expert Managed IT Services, Backup and Disaster Recovery, Cloud Based Computing and Unified Communication Solutions.