Plugin Project Structure and Coding Foundation

Plugin Project Structure and Coding Foundation

With the development environment and tools ready, the next step is to organize your project files so you can begin writing plugin logic that Dynamics CRM will accept and run.

Project Creation and Naming

In Visual Studio, create a new project using the Class Library (.NET Framework) template. Use a clear naming pattern such as CompanyName.Plugins.EntityName. For example, a plugin for the Account table could be named LS.Plugins.AccountPlugins. Make sure the project targets .NET Framework 4.6.2, as this is required for compatibility with Dynamics CRM.

Signing the Assembly

Before a plugin can be registered in CRM, its assembly must be signed with a strong name key. In Visual Studio, open the project properties and go to the Signing tab. Check Sign the assembly, then create a new key file such as key.snk. For simplicity during development, you can choose to proceed without password protection.

Installing Core SDK Assemblies

Your project needs specific libraries to interact with Dynamics CRM data and services. Use the NuGet Package Manager to install Microsoft.CrmSdk.CoreAssemblies. This package includes essential types such as the IPlugin interface and the Microsoft.Xrm namespaces.

Implementing the Plugin Boilerplate

To streamline development and maintain consistency, create a boilerplate base class for your plugins. Add a new class file named PluginBoilerplate.cs and paste in your standard template code. This abstract class defines a structure that all your plugin classes will follow and centralizes common logic and references.

Creating Your Plugin Class

With the boilerplate in place, rename the default Class1.cs file to something that reflects the plugin’s purpose, such as CapitalizeAccountName. Have your class inherit from the boilerplate base class. Use Visual Studio’s Quick Actions to implement the abstract class, which generates an Execute method. This method gives you access to three key services used in plugins:

  • IPluginExecutionContext — information about the operation and the data that triggered the plugin
  • IOrganizationService — the primary API used to create, update, and delete CRM records
  • ITracingService — a logging facility to assist with debugging

Organizing your project files in this way ensures that each plugin class follows a standard structure, making the code easier to maintain and extend over time.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Part 1: Creating Code Apps in Power Apps - A step-by-step guide (with real errors I faced & how I fixed them)

Image
Intro In this post I’ll walk you through how I set up a code-based app for Power Apps (React/Vite front-end + Power Platform CLI for packaging/deployment), the exact errors I ran into, and how I solved them. If you want a hands-on, copy-paste able guide that covers Node versions, pac auth, environment issues, and packaging tips, this is for you. Prerequisites Microsoft 365 account with access to a Power Platform environment Node.js ( 20.19+  recommended LTS) VS Code Install power platform tools extension in VS Code. Steps: Step 1 : Open Visual Studio Code and launch the integrated terminal. Step 2: In the terminal, run the following commands one by one.   mkdir D:\CodeApps - Force cd D:\CodeApps npm create vite @latest myfirstapp -- -- template react - ts cd D:\CodeApps\myfirstapp npm install Initially, I ran the command: npm create vite@latest MyFirstApp -- --template react-ts This gave the error: Invalid package.json name The issue was caused because package...
Read more

Calling Microsoft Graph API from Power Automate Using Azure App Services – Step-by-Step Guide

Image
Step 1: You should have an Azure subscription, or if you have access to the Microsoft Entra Admin Center, you can create an app from there. This app can then be used in Power Automate to connect to Microsoft Graph API. Step 2: Click on "New registration" , provide a name for your app, assign the required API permissions (such as Microsoft Graph permissions), and then click "Register" to complete the app registration process. Step 3: After registration, you'll be redirected to the app's overview page. From there, navigate to the API permissions tab and click "Add a permission" to assign the necessary Microsoft Graph API permissions. Step 4: Select Microsoft Graph as the API, and based on your requirements, choose the appropriate permissions. In my case, I selected Application permissions , which do not require user sign-in and are suitable for background services or automation. Step 5: Select the required Microsoft Graph API permissions. Yo...
Read more

Step-by-Step Guide: Power Automate Custom Connector Using Graph API from Azure App Service

Image
Step 1: Open Power Automate, navigate to the Custom Connectors tab, and select Create from blank as shown in the image below. custom connector(click image for better resolution) Step 2: In the General tab, upload an icon (less than 1MB), add a description, select the correct scheme (in my case, HTTPS ), and provide the host name. For example, if your API URL is https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/users/{email} , the host name will be the highlighted part — graph.microsoft.com . Step 3: Go to the Security tab. Here, you need to select the authentication method. Choose OAuth 2.0 as the authentication type, as shown in the image below. Step 4: Select the Identity Provider as Azure Active Directory . Check the box Enable Service Principal Support . This option allows you to create a connection using a Client ID and Client Secret instead of using the user's own authentication. Next, provide the Client ID , Client Secret , Tenant ID , and other required details as shown in t...
Read more