dashboards

name	dashboards
description	Dataverse System Dashboards and Chart Visualizations. Use when: creating dashboards, dashboard FormXML, chart XML, DataDescription XML, PresentationDescription XML, interactive dashboards, dashboard layout, embedding charts in Model-Driven Apps.

Skill: System Dashboards & Chart Visualizations

When to Use

Trigger when designing, creating, or managing system dashboards, chart visualizations, or interactive dashboards in Model-Driven Apps.

---

Dashboard Types

Type	Created In	Scope	Use Case
System Dashboard	Solution / Web API	Available to all users with access	Standard dashboards for the org
Personal Dashboard	App / MDA	Individual user only	User-specific views
Interactive Dashboard	Solution	All users	Multi-stream with interactive filtering — verify deprecation status before building new
Power BI Embedded	Solution	All users	Advanced analytics

---

System Dashboard via Web API

Create Dashboard

POST /api/data/v9.2/systemforms
Content-Type: application/json
MSCRM.SolutionUniqueName: YourSolution

{
  "name": "Project Overview Dashboard",
  "description": "Dashboard showing project metrics and active tasks",
  "objecttypecode": "none",
  "type": 0,
  "formxml": "<see FormXML below>"
}

⚠️ Dashboard FormXML Rules

1. type: 0 — Dashboards use form type 0 (not type 2 which is main form)
2. objecttypecode: "none" — Dashboards are not entity-bound
3. Do NOT use IsUserDefined on <tab> elements — this attribute is invalid for system dashboards
4. ALL 14 control parameters are required — minimal FormXML that passes PATCH validation still fails at render time
5. Cell attributes: Every <cell> needs colspan, rowspan, and auto='false'
6. Row count must match rowspan: If rowspan='12', include 11 empty <row/> elements after the data row
7. Section columns attribute: '111' = 3-column, '11' = 2-column
8. Dashboard must be separately bound to app module via AddAppComponents

Required Control Parameters (per chart/grid panel)

Every control in a dashboard MUST include ALL of these parameters — omitting any causes blank rendering even though the API accepts the FormXML:

Parameter	Purpose
TargetEntityType	Table logical name
ChartGridMode	Chart, Grid, or All
EnableQuickFind	Quick search toggle
EnableViewPicker	View selector toggle
EnableJumpBar	Alphabetical jump bar
RecordsPerPage	Records per page (e.g., 10)
ViewId	GUID of the view
IsUserView	false for system views
ViewIds	Same as ViewId (required duplicate)
AutoExpand	Fixed or Auto
VisualizationId	GUID of the chart (for chart panels)
IsUserChart	false for system charts
EnableChartPicker	Chart selector toggle
RelationshipName	Empty string for non-related grids

Dashboard FormXML Structure

<form>
  <tabs>
    <tab name="tab0" id="{TAB-GUID}" locklevel="0" showlabel="false">
      <labels>
        <label description="Dashboard" languagecode="1033" />
      </labels>
      <columns>
        <column width="50%">
          <sections>
            <section name="section0" showlabel="false" id="{SECTION-GUID-1}" columns="11">
              <labels>
                <label description="" languagecode="1033" />
              </labels>
              <rows>
                <row>
                  <cell id="{CELL-GUID-1}" showlabel="false" colspan="1" rowspan="12" auto="false">
                    <labels>
                      <label description="Active Projects" languagecode="1033" />
                    </labels>
                    <control id="Chart1" classid="{E7A81278-8635-4D9E-8D4D-59480B391C5B}">
                      <parameters>
                        <TargetEntityType>contoso_project</TargetEntityType>
                        <ChartGridMode>Chart</ChartGridMode>
                        <EnableQuickFind>true</EnableQuickFind>
                        <EnableViewPicker>true</EnableViewPicker>
                        <EnableJumpBar>true</EnableJumpBar>
                        <RecordsPerPage>10</RecordsPerPage>
                        <ViewId>{VIEW-GUID}</ViewId>
                        <IsUserView>false</IsUserView>
                        <ViewIds>{VIEW-GUID}</ViewIds>
                        <AutoExpand>Fixed</AutoExpand>
                        <VisualizationId>{CHART-GUID}</VisualizationId>
                        <IsUserChart>false</IsUserChart>
                        <EnableChartPicker>true</EnableChartPicker>
                        <RelationshipName></RelationshipName>
                      </parameters>
                    </control>
                  </cell>
                </row>
                <row /><row /><row /><row /><row /><row /><row /><row /><row /><row /><row />
              </rows>
            </section>
          </sections>
        </column>
        <column width="50%">
          <sections>
            <section name="section1" showlabel="false" id="{SECTION-GUID-2}" columns="11">
              <labels>
                <label description="" languagecode="1033" />
              </labels>
              <rows>
                <row>
                  <cell id="{CELL-GUID-2}" showlabel="false" colspan="1" rowspan="12" auto="false">
                    <labels>
                      <label description="My Active Tasks" languagecode="1033" />
                    </labels>
                    <control id="List1" classid="{E7A81278-8635-4D9E-8D4D-59480B391C5B}">
                      <parameters>
                        <TargetEntityType>contoso_task</TargetEntityType>
                        <ChartGridMode>Grid</ChartGridMode>
                        <EnableQuickFind>true</EnableQuickFind>
                        <EnableViewPicker>true</EnableViewPicker>
                        <EnableJumpBar>true</EnableJumpBar>
                        <RecordsPerPage>10</RecordsPerPage>
                        <ViewId>{VIEW-GUID-2}</ViewId>
                        <IsUserView>false</IsUserView>
                        <ViewIds>{VIEW-GUID-2}</ViewIds>
                        <AutoExpand>Fixed</AutoExpand>
                        <IsUserChart>false</IsUserChart>
                        <EnableChartPicker>false</EnableChartPicker>
                        <RelationshipName></RelationshipName>
                      </parameters>
                    </control>
                  </cell>
                </row>
                <row /><row /><row /><row /><row /><row /><row /><row /><row /><row /><row />
              </rows>
            </section>
          </sections>
        </column>
      </columns>
    </tab>
  </tabs>
</form>

Dashboard Control Types

ClassId	Control Type
{E7A81278-8635-4D9E-8D4D-59480B391C5B}	Chart or View Grid
{3A17F498-FFAE-4c72-A889-7F4E0C88D5A8}	IFrame (web resource)
{9FDF5F91-88B1-47f4-AD53-C11EFC01A01D}	Web Resource

ChartGridMode Values

Value	Display
Chart	Shows chart visualization
Grid	Shows view grid (list of records)
All	Shows chart with grid below

Query GUIDs:

# Get view GUID
GET /api/data/v9.2/savedqueries?$filter=name eq 'Active Projects' and returnedtypecode eq 'contoso_project'&$select=savedqueryid

# Get chart GUID
GET /api/data/v9.2/savedqueryvisualizations?$filter=name eq 'Projects by Status'&$select=savedqueryvisualizationid

---

Chart Visualizations

Create Chart

POST /api/data/v9.2/savedqueryvisualizations
Content-Type: application/json
MSCRM.SolutionUniqueName: YourSolution

{
  "name": "Projects by Status",
  "description": "Pie chart showing project distribution by status",
  "primaryentitytypecode": "contoso_project",
  "datadescription": "<see DataDescription XML>",
  "presentationdescription": "<see PresentationDescription XML>",
  "isdefault": false
}

⚠️ Charts Require Full PresentationDescription XML

Minimal PresentationDescription XML that passes API validation can still fail at render time. Always use the full MS official format with all styling attributes.

DataDescription XML (What Data to Show)

Use standard aliases groupby_column and aggregate_column — non-standard aliases may cause render errors.

<datadefinition>
  <fetchcollection>
    <fetch mapping="logical" aggregate="true">
      <entity name="contoso_project">
        <attribute name="contoso_projectid" aggregate="count" alias="aggregate_column" />
        <attribute name="statuscode" groupby="true" alias="groupby_column" />
        <filter>
          <condition attribute="statecode" operator="eq" value="0" />
        </filter>
      </entity>
    </fetch>
  </fetchcollection>
  <categorycollection>
    <category>
      <measurecollection>
        <measure alias="aggregate_column" />
      </measurecollection>
    </category>
  </categorycollection>
</datadefinition>

PresentationDescription XML — Column Chart (Full Official Format)

<Chart Palette="None" PaletteCustomColors="91,151,213; 237,125,49; 160,116,166; 255,192,0; 68,114,196; 112,173,71">
  <Series>
    <Series ChartType="Column" IsValueShownAsLabel="True" Color="91, 151, 213"
      Font="{0}, 9.5px" LabelForeColor="59, 59, 59"
      CustomProperties="PointWidth=0.75, MaxPixelPointWidth=40">
      <SmartLabelStyle Enabled="True"/>
    </Series>
  </Series>
  <ChartAreas>
    <ChartArea BorderColor="White" BorderDashStyle="Solid">
      <AxisY LabelAutoFitMinFontSize="8" TitleForeColor="59, 59, 59"
        TitleFont="{0}, 10.5px" LineColor="165, 172, 181">
        <MajorGrid LineColor="239, 242, 246"/>
        <LabelStyle Font="{0}, 10.5px" ForeColor="59, 59, 59"/>
      </AxisY>
      <AxisX LabelAutoFitMinFontSize="8" TitleForeColor="59, 59, 59"
        TitleFont="{0}, 10.5px" LineColor="165, 172, 181">
        <MajorGrid Enabled="False"/>
        <MajorTickMark Enabled="False"/>
        <LabelStyle Font="{0}, 10.5px" ForeColor="59, 59, 59"/>
      </AxisX>
    </ChartArea>
  </ChartAreas>
  <Titles>
    <Title DockingOffset="-3" Font="{0}, 13px" ForeColor="59, 59, 59" Alignment="TopLeft"/>
  </Titles>
</Chart>

PresentationDescription XML — Pie Chart

<Chart Palette="None" PaletteCustomColors="91,151,213; 237,125,49; 165,165,165; 255,192,0; 68,114,196; 112,173,71; 37,94,145; 158,72,14; 99,99,99; 153,115,0">
  <Series>
    <Series ChartType="Pie" IsValueShownAsLabel="True" Font="{0}, 9.5px" LabelForeColor="59, 59, 59" CustomProperties="PieLabelStyle=Inside, PieDrawingStyle=Default">
      <SmartLabelStyle Enabled="True" />
    </Series>
  </Series>
  <ChartAreas>
    <ChartArea>
      <Area3DStyle Enable3D="false" />
    </ChartArea>
  </ChartAreas>
  <Legends>
    <Legend Alignment="Center" LegendStyle="Table" Docking="Bottom" IsEquallySpacedItems="True" Font="{0}, 11px" ForeColor="59, 59, 59" />
  </Legends>
</Chart>

⚠️ Chart XML Schema Rules

• Axis titles MUST be attributes, NOT nested elements: <AxisY Title="Count"/> not <AxisY><Title>Count</Title></AxisY>
• Use standard aliases in DataDescription: groupby_column and aggregate_column
• After creating charts: Bind to app module via AddAppComponents with @odata.type: Microsoft.Dynamics.CRM.savedqueryvisualization

Chart Types

ChartType Value	Visualization
Column	Vertical bar chart
Bar	Horizontal bar chart
Line	Line chart
Pie	Pie chart
Funnel	Funnel chart
Area	Area chart
StackedColumn	Stacked bar chart
StackedBar	Stacked horizontal bar
Doughnut	Doughnut chart

---

Add Dashboard to App Module

POST /api/data/v9.2/AddAppComponents
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "AppId": "app-module-guid",
  "Components": [
    {
      "@odata.type": "Microsoft.Dynamics.CRM.systemform",
      "formid": "dashboard-systemform-guid"
    }
  ]
}

⚠️ Dashboards must be separately bound to the app module. Adding entities (via their views/forms) does NOT include dashboards. Each dashboard needs its own AddAppComponents call with @odata.type: Microsoft.Dynamics.CRM.systemform.

---

Interactive Dashboards

Multi-Stream Dashboard

Interactive dashboards support real-time filtering by clicking chart elements. Each stream shows a different view of the same or related entity.

<!-- Interactive dashboard streams in FormXML -->
<control id="Stream1" classid="{3A17F498-FFAE-4c72-A889-7F4E0C88D5A8}">
  <parameters>
    <StreamName>Active Projects</StreamName>
    <ViewId>{VIEW-GUID}</ViewId>
    <TargetEntityType>contoso_project</TargetEntityType>
    <EnableCharts>true</EnableCharts>
    <EnableFilters>true</EnableFilters>
  </parameters>
</control>

---

Embedding Web Resources in Dashboards

<control id="WebResource1" classid="{9FDF5F91-88B1-47f4-AD53-C11EFC01A01D}">
  <parameters>
    <Url>contoso_/html/projectDashboard.html</Url>
    <PassParameters>true</PassParameters>
    <Security>false</Security>
    <Scrolling>no</Scrolling>
    <Border>false</Border>
  </parameters>
</control>

---

Best Practices

Layout

• Maximum 6 components per dashboard (performance)
• Charts on left, lists on right (natural eye flow)
• Use consistent chart types for similar data across dashboards
• Filter-friendly: ensure views support interactive filtering

Views for Dashboards

• Create dedicated views for dashboard components (named [Dashboard] - Active Projects)
• Keep view column count low (4-6 columns) for readability
• Always filter to active records by default
• Use system views (not personal) for shared dashboards

---

Anti-Patterns

• More than 6 components (causes slow loading)
• Personal views in shared dashboards (break when shared)
• Charts without filters (show misleading totals)
• Not adding dashboards to the app module (users can't find them)
• Complex web resources that make API calls on load (slow, error-prone)
• Hardcoded GUIDs in dashboard FormXML instead of view/chart references
• Using IsUserDefined attribute on tab elements (invalid for system dashboards)
• Omitting required control parameters (charts render blank)
• Using non-standard aliases in DataDescription (render failures)
• Minimal chart XML that passes validation but fails at render time

---

Related Skills

• model-driven-apps — Dashboards are consumed in Model-Driven Apps
• dataverse-web-api/customizations — View and form creation for dashboard components
• business-process-flows — BPFs are a separate skill for process automation