Can you use a check box in a model driven app to display certain data in a mail merge word doc?

[Sam-Mikris]

Hi all, 

We are making a Mini CRM and we currently have a paper enquiry form which we are trying to digitalise. See photo attached. 

The form basically tells the office what needs doing to a job, this is then duplicated with further information onto a work order that follows the job around the workshop as it gets done. 

The above is our work order that follows the job around telling the operators what type/level of service is required, each drop down has various options that corresponds to the enquiry slip but with greater detail. 

We are trying to make this as automated as possible as we find a lot of our time is replicating the same data 3 or 4 times from the enquiry form to the invoice. 

So what would be the best way to replicate this enquiry form digitally in a MDA so that it is just a simple check box for the office staff but this can then produce a work order with more relevant information on it for the workshop staff? 

[SBax]

When you say produce a work order, is a work order a record within your Dataverse database that will be viewed within the app, or is it a document that is sent to workshop staff? 

[Sam-Mikris]

Hi, so theoretical both! I would use some of the details from the work order as a view for our job tracking side so active job, on hold, ready for shipping etc and the rest of the details would be going to a mail merge for a printed word document for the workshop! 

[SBax]

I would recommend the following approach...

1. Add yes/no field to your form

2. Trigger a power automate flow to create your work order on change of the field from step 1

3. Build a work template to handle the physical document creation (either an OOTB Dataverse word template, or a custom one using word and populate via power automate) 

I can assist with any specific questions you might have around any of the above

[Sam-Mikris]

Sounds simple enough, what would be the best approach for this. Would it be to replicate what we have in paper for just digitally or a new form that could cover both basis, and on the work order there can be about 15 different options on each of the drop downs. 

[SBax · Accepted solution]

I would recommend a new form that covers both.

You could use a business rule to hide any fields that aren't required when your tickbox is "false" 

in terms of the different options, you could use a choice if the optionset doesn't change very often, or a lookup if you want the ability to add/edit/remove options regularly 

[Sam-Mikris]

Okay, so I assume that this would just be a bunch of columns in the dataverse table that replicates what the drop downs use in the work order currently.

If so how would I assign these choices to specific products in the product table so that when we use the quote to send to a work order it pre populates the choices based on what products have been assigned to the quote?

[SBax]

Yes to the first part,

For the second part you could use field mapping, or take inspiration from Dynamics 365 sales (quote lines, order lines) 

Do you have sales hub on your environment? If you do, you could just use quotes and orders (orders would be your work order) 

[Sam-Mikris]

We do not as a company as being as we have 15 employees total the cost doesn't outweigh the time saving being as out of the 15 3 maybe 4 of us would be using it.

So will go with the quote lines and order lines idea and see how far I get. 

Are there any guides on how to do this as I have found like 4 online but they go about it in different ways? 

[SBax]

I was under the impression that sales hub was installed by default on all environments

If it isn't in your environment, go to power platform admin centre and you should be able to install it from the "Dynamics 365 apps" section (from memory it's under resources on the left menu)

You don't need a premium licence to use basic sales hub features as far as I know