This article is part of our Microsoft Feature Review Series. These short, to the point blogs offer a quick snapshot of information for users who need a quick overview of a feature, how it’s managed or configured, some insight into how a business or organization can use it, and links to resources or tutorials for a deeper dive.
How to Change Personalization Settings in Dynamics 365
Dynamics 365 offers several options for users to personalize their in-app experience. As you read, you’ll learn some of the key personalization features in Dynamics 365 and how they support users in their day-to-day use of the platform.
First, a user needs to know where to go to change these settings. Navigate to the ‘gear’ icon in the upper right and tap, exposing a short list of options. Click ‘Personalization Settings.’
Doing so opens the ‘Set Personal Options’ window.
Personalize Your Options
The ‘Set Personal Options’ window provides a selection of tabs that a user can navigate through to review and change settings to alter their personal experience. We won’t touch on every item, but we will highlight some key options you may want to adjust for yourself.
We encourage you to read more about it using these Microsoft resources for on-premise and Power Apps.
General Tab
On the General tab, several settings are handy but also important.
1. Default Pane / Default Tab
This is where a user will land when they log into the application, which may vary upon user preferences. One user may want to sign in and see their opportunities, while another may want to land on their Activities page. Select from the dropdown list to customize your view upon logging in. 
2. Records Per Page
The ‘Records Per Page’ tab controls how many records a user sees in a view. If the number of records exceeds this figure, a user will have to advance the ‘Page’ to see the next set of records.
3. Advanced Find Mode
‘Advanced Find’ is a small item, but I’ve seen this cause considerable confusion.
Advanced Find Mode Set to Simple
If left marked as ‘Simple’ when a user opens ‘Advanced Find,’ they’ll see what appears to be an uneditable query and will need to click ‘Details’ to edit it.
In order to edit the query logic, the user needs to click “Details.”
Advanced Find Mode Set to Detailed
Conversely, if they set this to ‘Detailed,’ the user will see the editable query right away.
Formats Tab
Another area that can be really impactful is the Formats tab. A user can select their preference with respect to the number separator, the currency layout, the time, and even the short/long date! This can be a game-changer for some users.
Clicking ‘Customize’ will launch a new window where users can select their preferences for each area.
In the screenshot below, you can see I’ve changed the short date setting from the default 2/8/2021 layout to 08-Feb-21.
Email Signatures
Custom user email signatures can be embedded on outgoing emails, including necessary links, contact information, and company branding. A user can create multiple signatures to use (example: initial send vs. response).
These are added to the email, much like choosing an email template, as illustrated below. Users can also select one as the default signature, which automatically gets added to every new email.
Finally, the Email tab contains a few important features.
On this tab, users can select a checkbox that permits other users to send emails on this users behalf. Note that the sending user would also require this allowed within their security role. The other important aspect here is how the application behaves with respect to emails. You have several options to choose from, so we recommend reviewing the Microsoft documentation on how this works.
Find more information via Microsoft for on-Premise here and online here.
Personalize Your Applications for Efficiency
Ensuring users have a smooth system experience is an important aspect of their system enjoyment. The more they enjoy being in the application, the more likely they are to use it. These are just a few of the settings that can be valuable to users as they try to personalize the system to their liking. If you have questions or need assistance, give C5 Insight a call at 704-895-2500. We exist to help your team work better together.
