CRM REST Builder 2.4.0.0

Long overdue but here’s an update I’ve been working on for awhile.

• Added support for Web API actions & functions
• Added Web API endpoint selection
• Added Web API filtering on related records
• Added Retrieve via odata.nextlink
• Enhanced formatting of code output
• Added format code option for code editor & FetchXML queries
• Set exception alerts to Xrm.Utility.alertDialog when >= 6.0
• Added button to launch from application ribbon to open full screen
• Fixed handling of multiple Prefer headers
• Misc. bug fixes, like the one where it was generating the wrong code for lookups
• Moved project hosting to GitHub

Web API Actions and Functions
You’ll notice the buttons don’t light up immediately. In order to determine which actions and functions (including custom actions) are available in your org., we need to download and parse the metadata/CSDL (https://org/api/data/v8.1/$metadata) which happens to be quite large. This happens in the background so it won’t hold you up if you’re wanting to use other functionality.

Some actions and functions take complex objects (entities / entity collections) as parameters. Due to the complexity I didn’t want to try and tackle building one of those complex objects inside building the parameters for the action/function so instead in the parameter lit you’ll see something like this instead of fields to enter actual data:

• entity logical name Entity
• (Variable Types) Entity
• Collection (entity logical name)
• Collection ((Variable Types))

In these cases the parameter is an entity of a specific type, an entity which could be of variable types (think adding an account, contact, or lead to a marketing list), a collection of a specific type of entity, or a collection of variable types of entities. The generated code will provide the base to set the entity as the parameter (to to a collection) but for this version you’ll need to set the entity id and name (for variable types). This implies that the associated entity is already created, you could also insert code to create the associated record on the fly like if you are using WinOpportunity. You could insert the object code for a new opportunityclose entity and send that as the parameter to handle everything in one transaction. 

Web API RetrieveMultiple with Related Records
When using an ‘expand’ operation when querying a group of records you’ll notice the collection of child records for each parent record being retrieved is empty. This is by design. The max amount of records able to be retrieved by a query is 5,000, then they when you figure in a potential 5,000 child records for each of the 5,000 parent records you’d end up with a result set containing 25,000,000 records which just isn’t practical. So instead you’ll see returned a url for a standard Retrieve request for each of the sets of child records (relationship_name@odata.nextlink) that would need to be executed for each set of records. Make things easier and speed things up I’ve added the ability to generate code for these requests specifically.

Checkout the project on GitHub:

https://github.com/jlattimer/CRMRESTBuilder

For 2015 & 2016 use the v2.4.0.0 release
For 2011 & 2013 use the v.1.4.0.0 release

https://github.com/jlattimer/CRMRESTBuilder/releases