"Does Not Contain Data" Filter Criteria in the Advanced Search for Dynamics 365

Prior to the release of Microsoft Dynamics 365 version 9.0 it was not possible to exclude records, in the advanced search, that have a specific relationship to another record. This was only possible with custom FetchXML queries. Since version 9.0 the advanced search has been improved and there are new ways to query and analyze the CRM data. Users can now query records that have explicitly no relation to a specific entity. In older versions of Microsoft Dynamics 365 this was only reversely possible. This enhancement created new possibilities of analysis which we would like to explain to you briefly.

Filter Criteria “Contains Data” in Dynamics 365

Before version 9.0 the user could query contacts that have a for example any Lead associated.

Filter Criteria “Does Not Contain Data” in Dynamics 365

With the new feature the user is able to query contacts that do not have any leads associated with.

This gives the user new possibilities for analyzing the data. For example, if you want to look for contact records, that have new leads, but no opportunities associated with. In this way, it is easy to uncover new potentials for the sales department.

You could also search for contacts that doesn’t have any phone call activities. With the result you could create tasks and distribute them to your sales team, so they can call all these “untouched” contacts.

Be careful: There are still some limitations for this filter criteria. Grouping for example is only possible with “AND”. Following an example how a query in the advanced search could look like.

Another limitation is that, it is not possible to add filter conditions for the child entity, if you select the “Does Not Contain Data” filter criteria at the entity level.

To give you some examples, the following queries are still not possible with the advanced search:

-          Contacts without opportunities in the last year

-          Contacts without phone calls in the last 6 months

-          Contacts without cases in the last month

Discover Uncovered Potential for your Sales Team

We would suggest our readers to play around a bit and combine the filter criteria “not in” with other criteria you already well know. There are dozens of different ways to support the sales team in their work. The best way to uncover these potential, is to use it on your own.