New Features

Excel – Finally!! 🤓

FetchXML Builder is now integrated with Excel – not by copy/pasting, not by exporting to CSV files, not needing to store any file and open in Excel – it is truly integrated to give you the easiest way to drill down in the data, to save the data, to share the data! Am I proud? Oh yes.

Excel will also include a sheet containing the environment from which it was retrieved and the actual query behind it.

Curious about the code? I assume… Go look here!

The first request was created by @shytikov in May 2016, more than eight years ago, in Issue #132..@jdenicola-pa had a similar request in Issue #801. I didn’t use ClosedXML to implement. Instead, I am using library Microsoft.Office.Interop.Excel. Do you have any opinion on which to use? Let me know!

Update logic without a new release

There is now a configuration file stored online, which means I can update the configs to improve the features without releasing a new version of the tool. That’s huge!
So far, it just contains one small feature to hide all entities and attributes that are deprecated, which depends on your local language. I have added in English and Swedish. Can you help me improve for other languages…?

Improvements

• After a few problems with dates, I am now forcing us all to use ISO 8601 (yyyy-MM-dd HH-mm-ss, which I’ve always lived with) for all date/time-related conditions
  • #1045 Dates by @jpvj 
  • #1059 Power Automate Filter formatting incorrect for timestamps by @Roland80 
  • #1060 Setting date column to ‘Enter text’ changes back to ‘Use DatePicker’ by @Roland80 
  • #1064 Error adding/editing conditions for datetime columns by @Rasmus-Petersen-RLL-Sampension 
• Handling more conditions operators
  • #1054 Failed to generate SQL Query. Unsupported SQL condition operator ‘notbeginwith’ by @jpvj
• Simplifying supporting – me being greedy? Maybe, maybe now. Anyway, it is now possible to support FetchXML Builder officially and get a proper invoice to send to your boss.
  • Many of my tool users were annoyed that their company couldn’t officially support these tools. Read more: Helping Me – Helping You
• Handling layout columns better! It has annoyed me for years since I included the advanced use of Layout. Basically to remember your columns. Now it is better. I promise.
  • #1050 Reset layout should delete the whole LayoutXML 
  • #1048 Last Name won’t display? by @daryllabar
• Showing elapsed retrieve time – my (ex)colleague @ChriPalm is using my tools daily, and when you are working on performance, it’s always good to easily see how long it took to retrieve it.
  • #1046 Visualize time elapsed by @ChriPalm
• Including layout in repositories – using Repositories, where queries are stored In FXB, where we don’t need to know where it is now even better than the layout of the result view is also saved.
  • #1010 Store layout also in Repository
• Including PageInfo.Count in C# Fixed – a small property can now be set in the C# code – the Count.
  • #1017 Missing Page Count in C# code
• By default, we hide Deprecated entities/attributes – for most of us, they are just unnecessary entities and attributes in the lists that contain “Deprecated” in the display name. Now, these will, by default, hide those! It can be shown by unclicking the checkbox in the menu “Options – Filter…”.
  • #1036 Filter out all deprecated attributes 
  • Note – it is now handled if your language is in English or Swedish – but as you tell me what they are called in your language, those will also be hidden! Help me, and I’ll help you! See above!

Minor

• Rightaligned Bigint values – the result view can now right-align type Bigint.
• Finding BDU with newer property – the function to find if BDU is installed was using a deprecated feature. Now it’s used correctly.
• Remember how to enter date condition – another annoying missing feature, to remember which type I am entering date/time. Now it does.
  • #1060 Setting date column to ‘Enter text’ changes back to ‘Use DatePicker’ by @Roland80
• Condition handles unshown attributes better – this is a fringe-case – when a condition attribute is not currently showing (see menu “Options – Filer…”) it just broke down. Now it can handle it even if attributes are hidden.
  • #1014 Fetch Error: Incorrect Data Type Expected by @ryncdr 
• ToolTips to back/forth buttons – Is this the smallest improvement ever? Might be so…
• Better update during retrieving – tiny better in the status, down-right corner.
  • Sort of related to #1052

Bugfixes

• Fixing ugly bug about paging results – even more bugs triggering our brain and soul, all about Layout. A lot has now been fixed. Let me know if your brain is still boiling!
  • #1041 Question to v. 1.2024.4.1 record count/page number by @jpvj
  • #1047 Paging doesn’t work anymore
  • #1065 Fetch all pages when top or paging info is given by @Rasmus-Petersen-RLL-Sampension
  • #1051 Latest Version of FetchXML Builder reset layout won’t work at 100% by @vRITHNER
  • #1053 Record numbers are still wrong 
• Moved a lot from Load to Constructor fixes / Fixing #1061 again and Supporting calling issue – it’s been a problem for years! Now it works as assumed.
  • #1061 Separating or re-docking tab causes loss of data by @Roland80
• Fixed problems with the Welcome window – sometimes, for some users, it breaks when this release notes should be shown. A few more safeguards are there now.
• Proper sorting!
  • #1007 Ordering Money doesn’t work in XRMDataGridView

Internal

• Only open a URL from one function, to handle correct parameters, open requested browse profile, etc.
  • Prep for using UrlUtils
  • UrlUtils is now used everywhere
  • Even more general using of UrlUtils.OpenUrl
• Structure code and added regions
• Added v1 of OnlineSettings

Time Flies… ⌚

From my perspective, this release has taken a long time… five months since the last version! Why is that?

Working

One reason is that I’ve been working more than before, focusing more on my customers, and when I’ve stopped working, I’m tired… Boring? Oh yes. But we should be smart. Don’t work too hard – otherwise, you are just asking for The Wall and running into it hardly. Don’t do that. Okay?

Balance

Another big thing I’ve been working on is introducing the possibility of officially supporting my tools. It is a gentle thingy… How can I give you that, so it’s done easily for you, but not pushing on it too much? This is a Balance thing.
I surely know that people may be crazy about it. That’s why I can, online-wise, make it happen more seldom, changing the random times it will appear, and I can even just remove it completely.

Contributions

The Creator and Developer is still Jonas Rapp, since 2014. See me on GitHub, X (Twitter), LinkedIn.