Dataverse delete Dependencies in one step

[CosmoKramer]

Hello,

Does anyone know an 'ease way' of removing many, many Dependencies from a very large Dataverse solution that has 27 related Tables with Dependencies all over the place??

I've read everywhere that there is no easy way of deleting Dataverse Dependencies in a single step. I DO NOT ACCEPT this lame Microsoft excuse...Surely if Dataverse knows the Dependency hierarchical structure to create a new Dependency item, it can 'Undo' it....If not, why, as this is such a basic 101 database solution development process.

Regards,

Cosmo Kramer

[GuidoPreite]

I don't know if you read my answer on Stack Overflow on a similar question (link here)

As I described there, dependencies can be of different types, and usually a dependency tells you "if you remove this thing the application break" (like a field used inside a plugin or in a calculated field, not simple scenarios like a field just used in a form or a view).

So the "undo" part is specific to the dependency type, removing a field from a form is different from removing it from a calculated field (if you can remove it in the first place as you will change the logic of the calculated field).

You have two options:

1) submit your idea to the Ideas portal: https://experience.dynamics.com/ideas/

2) you can create a tool (or pay someone else to create it) that remove the dependencies in automatic way

hope it helps

[CosmoKramer]

Thanks for your prompt response  🙂

Sorry, I still don't accept that MS can't provide a 'Remove Dependence' Removal Wizard that guides one through a 'What will break if you remove this Dependency item' process...It knows what Layer Dependency type an item is when it was installed and what Dependencies have been installed on higher layers , so why can't the reverse actions be performed, just like when a Windows application is uninstalled.

So how does one remove many, many Dependencies on a large Dataverse database in a very timely manner when the Developer is being paid big bucks, as no employer will stand for this very time consuming 1980's style of building/troubleshooting databases?

Regards,

Cosmo

[GuidoPreite]

as today Microsoft does not provide this functionality. You can submit your idea or contact your local Microsoft office, I am not aware of other ways where you can suggest this functionality to Microsoft.

I am not aware of alternatives to delete the dependencies by yourself or pay someone else to do for it. The price depends on which country you are or the country where you hire the resource to remove the dependencies.

hope it helps

[CosmoKramer]

Thanks again for your prompt response  🙂

So in future when developing a new Model Driven App from scratch, is there a way of performing incremental Solution backups that one can drop back to if needed, which has all the required working Dependencies? Such as, for my solution which has 27 Tables with MANY Relationships, 'somehow' create a new cloned ENVIRONMENT every time a new Table is added to the solution....That way, one just has to delete the entire the current Environment to perform and 'Undo' action???

Yes, I would end up with 27 Environments, but it seems that this is what is required until MS adds this 'Undo' feature...  😞

[GuidoPreite]

In your scenario you don't need to clone the environment, you can just export the solution.

When you want to rollback, create an empty environment and import there the solution you want to recover (keep in mind that doing so you only get the metadata (structure) not the data you are using to build a solution.

ALM is not an easy thing inside Dataverse, if you handle ALM you need to have the scope for it, otherwise you can just customize and remove dependencies manually (if required), when you reach a milestone that satisfy you, you can export the solution.

There are several ways to manage this aspect (ALM and solutions) so find the one suitable for you.

[CosmoKramer]

Legend!!!

Could you recommend a good Dataverse/Model Drive App ALM article URL??

[GuidoPreite]

you can start with this post https://benediktbergmann.eu/2020/02/10/cds-basic-alm-process/

but you can find many and more recent articles about this subject including the ones on Microsoft Learn.

[CosmoKramer · Accepted solution]

A BIG thank U for assisting me with this matter  🙂