Open Lookup Field Form in the same context of the Main Form within Dynamics 365 CRM/Power Apps

Introduction

With the recent wave release of Microsoft, there is a new enhancement added to enrich the adding of New or editing the existing Lookup Record from the main entity record. This feature is called Main Form Dialog (MFD). In this, if we have any lookup field on the form and we want to add or edit the existing lookup record, it will open related entity form in the same context i.e. it does not leave the current record.

When the user wants to add a new record for the lookup field entity, they can easily add it without losing previously entered information on the main form, this enriches the user experience. For example, consider a user is creating a new account and they need to add primary contact. Here, suppose the user enters some information of an account and when they try to add new primary contact, it leaves the main form and opens the contact form in the same context, so it loses account information!

With help of MFD, users can add a new contact record and associate it with an account without losing any information from the account form. Also, if a user is on the account and they wanted to open a contact form to see some information, they can easily do that and come back to the account form by just closing the contact form.

To use this feature, first, we need to do some settings. Please follow the below steps for the same.

1. Go to https://make.powerapps.com and login with your credentials

2. Then go to Data -> Tables -> Account, as shown below.

3. Once you open Account, open the form for which you need to enable MFD and then select lookup field and check the two properties checkbox as shown below.

4. Once you are done with the above settings, save and publish the form.

Now when you open the account form and click on the Primary contact lookup field, it opens up in the same context like a popup window, as shown below.

Existing contact Record:

New Contact Record:

When you want to add a new contact record, it will open the contact form as a pop-up where a user can enter information quickly without leaving the main form so that it does not lose any information from the main form.

Conclusion

With the help of the Main Form Dialog (MFD) enhancement, users can easily add and edit lookup information and enjoy an enriched user experience.