Opening Dynamics 365 Related Records in a Modal Dialog

A new feature in the 2020 Release Wave 1 enables users to open records in a modal dialog without leaving the main record form in model-driven apps for Dynamics 365 and Power Apps.

Through the Main Form Dialog, users are no longer forced to leave forms when opening a related record. This has the immediate benefit of reducing clicks and delays when users need to go back to the previous record as this remains in the background.

For example, this could apply when opening a case record from a contact, or opening an opportunity from an account record. It can be configured across multiple scenarios including look-up fields, sub-grids and the command bar by using the navigateTo api and supporting Javascript.

Please contact us if you need assistance in enabling this new feature for your environment.

With the related record open in a dialog, supported user actions can include: editing fields, using the tab control to browse the record, link this to a Teams channel, add timeline entries and check the org chart.

Administrators can define the appearance and positioning of each dialog window for each action and different entities which are set in the script.

In the example below, a dialog is set to the central position across 50% of the window. This will shown when users click the related account from the lookup field on the main contact form shown in the background. If required, the dialog could be varied to appear as a higher or smaller % width.

The dialog position can also be shown on the right. 

In the following example, a dialog has been set to occupy 25% of the screen upon clicking the data entry in a partner lookup field. 

This provides a simplified view of the related form which gives users the flexibility to see the original main form in the background. 

For both examples, the dialog can be popped out in full screen mode.

At the current time this is a preview feature and is expected to be generally available from April as part of the 2020 Release Wave 1.

Watch a quick demonstration of modal dialog in action and contact Preact for help in creating the script and applying this to your system.