Welcome to this stop on my XrmToolBox Tool Tour. Here, we visit Field Seeker, a newer addition to the XrmToolBox that’s gaining traction based on the number of downloads since its first release.

What Is Field Seeker?

This tool searches for columns (fields) by schema name within the connected environment.

Version: 1.1.1.0 (at the time of review)

Author: Evgeniy Dushkin

XrmToolBox: https://www.xrmtoolbox.com/plugins/evdtooling.FieldSeeker/

GitHub: https://github.com/evdtooling/FieldSeeker

Please see the related Microsoft documentation if you’re unfamiliar with the November 2020 terminology updates within the Dataverse.

How Do You Use Field Seeker?

1. Open XrmToolBox.

2. Connect to your environment.

3. Open Field Seeker.

4. Type the column name (not the Display name) in the Field Name search box. Click the Search Field button.

5. a. If the app locates the column, then it displays a Field Found message:

5. b. If the app does not locate the column, then it displays a Field Not Found message:

6. The Results pane will display the results if found.

7. By clicking the expand button, you can find details about the column under the table name.

When Do You Use Field Seeker?

Now that you know what this tool is and how to use it, let’s examine why you might want to.

Here are three ideas.

• You need to add custom columns to multiple tables. All these columns need the same name and type. For example, you add new columns to the Lead table. You want these columns to appear in the appropriate Account, Contact, and Opportunities tables for correct mapping for the lead qualification process. This toll will ensure parity among the tables and allow you to verify the column details.
• You need to create solutions with columns from multiple tables. You can use this tool to capture all the tables and columns you need to include.
• You need to document your environments. You can use this tool to gather critical attributes for columns across multiple tables as part of a more extensive documentation process.

Have you thought of other uses? Let’s discuss them.

What Issues Might You Experience Using Field Seeker?

Even the most popular and mature tools may present use issues. The developers are human, and they welcome constructive feedback through the GitHub site. Here are a couple specific to Field Seeker.

• The terminology used in the tool does not match Microsoft’s current Dataverse terms. The translation is straightforward. Fields are now columns, and entities are now tables. For more information about this change, please visit the Microsoft documentation on this topic.
• The results return SQL- and developer-based column attributes rather than the “friendlier” labels in the Dataverse. This translation is more complex than the one above. Here’s a table to help you.

Field Types are Simple, Calculated, or Rollup as they are in Dataverse.

Field Requirements are None, SystemRequired, or Recommended as they are in Dataverse.

Field Security and Audit Status appear as Boolean True and False. These correspond to Dataverse Yes and No, respectively.

What New Features Might Help You?

The tool developers are always looking for new features they can include in future versions. I have included a few here I have submitted. If you think of others, let’s connect and discuss them.

• Aligning Dataverse terminology
• Selecting the specific tables to search instead of the entire environment
• Exporting results

Thanks for joining me on this leg of the XrmToolBox Tool Tour. Stay tuned for new stops on our journey. Happy CRMing!