C# Add Controls/Sections/Tabs to Form via the CRM SDK

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Hello Experts,

I am trying to "duplicate" an Entity. I managed to duplicate its Attributes, but I don't know how to duplicate its Form. I am looking for something like:

TabMetadata Tab1 = ParentEntity.Form.Tabs.First() ......

Is there a library which gives easy access to Form Metadata?

Thanks!

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meelamri 13,216 User Group Leader on at

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Hi Victor,

I'm afraid there is no library to manipulate the forms. A form corresponds to a systemforms entity record. The configuration of a form is stored in the formXml field.

You can still try to manipulate the xml via c#. You can refer to the following blogs:

coderscollection.wordpress.com/.../

I worked on the same subject recently, I was able to customize the form using power automate cloud flows, this is my blog: xrmtricks.com/.../

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Thanks for your suggestion!

I looked into the formXML in the database and indeed it has everything I need. I decided to go with simple copy-paste of the form and modifying it with replace all in VS Code.

My concern is that I see that every customization of the form(tabs, sections, controls) has an unique ID.

If I copy the formXML of another entity and delete all the ID's and then use that edited form to update an entity in the database, will it automatically create new unique ID's for all the customizations (tabs, sections, controls) ? Or will I break the entity/instance ?

Do you have a suggestion on how to do this safely ?

To be clear, I want to duplicate the form since I have exactly the same custom fields in both entities. I can use replace all to change the prefixes. Ex: Replace All xx_client1 with xx_client2 and delete all unique IDs. Then I would use that form to update formXML of Client2 in the database in SystemForm table.

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meelamri 13,216 User Group Leader on at

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Hi,

You can use this tool : https://www.xrmtoolbox.com/plugins/ITLec.FormXmlManager/ It will generate the IDs for you:

Honestly, I don't know the impact if you keep the same IDs, but I guess it's not a problem because your component is linked to your form which is unique.

Please, don't forget to verify my answer if it was helpful, thank you.

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