MULTISELECT Optionsets in Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement

MULTISELECT Optionsets in Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement

This may sound so strange but THANK YOU MICROSOFT!!! This is a piece of functionality that loads of us have been waiting for for A LONG time. It probably got me more emotional than the release of editable grids.. and I'll tell you what, that was a pretty emotional day!

SO what exactly are "Multiselect Optionsets" and how do they work? In this post I'll be showing you as much as I possibly can about this functionality as well as how it will work across the system. A good example here is "How would one search Multiselect Optionset values using Advanced find?" WELL... if you need to know about that type of thing, hopefully this post will help you out.

Traditionally, we had to create 1:N relationships with meta data type entities to allow users to replace Multiselect optionset requirements. This worked but often solutions became rather entity heavy and there were just loads of categorisations and filtered relationships. It also wasn't feasible to  have hundreds of standard optionsets on a form. It all kinda turned into Optionset Armageddon.

The Multiselect Optionset enables users the ability to select multiple options from a pick list type control and associate these options to the relevant record. 

To create these optionsets, simply go into your form configuration environment and create a new attribute. Select "Multiselect Optionset" and then add in your values.

The Multiselect Optionset is then made available directly on the form for interaction by users. The question is, How does this work with the rest of the solution? Can users still utilise this for reporting and searching. ABSOLUTELY!!!

In order to make these Multiselect fields visible within the views, simply add the field to the view and VIOLA, there it is, with the options separated by semi colons. The Multiselect fields are also both VISIBLE AND EDITABLE from within the editable grids when they are enabled.

The filter criteria still work against the column and it will allow you to filter on a collection of the options or simply if the Multiselect only contains 1 of them. This works in a similar manner within Advanced Find, however users can be a lot more precise in their searches.

In the advanced find selection criteria there is now an option called "Contains Values". This will select all records where the Multiselect Optionset contains ANY of the values described / selected in the Advanced Find query. It is a bit like an "OR" query but in one line and against 1 field. You will have the ability to run a similar query with the "Does Not Contain Values" option. Should you select the "Equals" option then the Multiselect Optionset MUST contain each one of the fields stipulated. This is similar to an AND query in one line and against 1 field.

Ultimately, the new Multiselect optionset functionality is absolutely fantastic and will resolve MANY issues within the Dynamics 365 solution. There are 1 or 2 smaller functions to do with the Multiselect, such as the inability to include the field within a business process flow, but I'm sure things will get better as the UI and controls improve.

HAPPY MULTISELECTING!!