Data Validation in Dynamics 365 and Power Apps

In the world of data management, the age-old saying "garbage in, garbage out" has always held true. The quality of your data is crucial, and that's why in this video, Brian Knight from Pragmatic Works is going to show you how to clean up that "garbage" before it even gets into your Dynamics 365 or Power Apps database. So, let's dive into the world of data validation.

Setting the Stage

Brian introduces us to the concept of data validation and how it can improve the quality of data that enters your system. In this demonstration, he's focusing on the validation of addresses within Dynamic 365 or the Dataverse system. He highlights that while obvious errors might get flagged, there are less obvious issues that can slip through the cracks. That's where this new feature comes in handy.

Enabling Data Validation in Power Apps

Next, Brian takes us through the process of enabling data validation. The first step is to turn it on at the environment level. To do this, you need to navigate to make.PowerApps.com and access the admin center. Once there, choose your environment, and under settings, find the 'Features' section. Data validation is one of these features, and you can toggle it on. Brian points out that this feature is in preview at the time of recording, so it's essential to enable it.

Applying Data Validation to Your App

With data validation enabled at the environment level, Brian moves on to applying it to your app. He demonstrates this process with a model-driven application. The steps are straightforward:

1. Open the solution containing your app.
2. Edit the application.
3. Access 'Upcoming Features.'
4. Enable 'Smart email validation' and other relevant features.
5. Save your changes and republish the application.

Ensuring Proper Column Classification

Brian emphasizes that for data validation to work, the column being validated must be correctly flagged as an email address. When creating a table and defining a text column as an email address, ensure that you mark it as such. This step is crucial for the system to recognize and validate email addresses properly.

Seeing Data Validation in Action

To illustrate the impact of data validation, Brian uses an email address field. He demonstrates how the system now recognizes legitimate email addresses and can even identify if a domain doesn't exist. This is a powerful tool for filtering out potentially problematic data, such as temporary or throwaway email addresses.

Summary

In this video, Brian Knight shows us how to improve data quality by implementing data validation in Dynamics 365 and Power Apps. This feature allows you to catch and prevent data entry errors before they compromise your database. The three crucial steps are: enabling data validation at the environment level, applying it to your app, and ensuring proper column classification for the data you want to validate.

Data quality is paramount in any data-driven system, and with tools like data validation, you can ensure that your Dynamics 365 and Power Apps databases remain clean and reliable. If you're interested in more training and insights related to Dynamics, Model-Driven Apps, Data Verse, and the Power Platform, Pragmatic Works offers valuable resources on their website. Be sure to subscribe to their channel for more informative videos like this one.

In the age of data, ensuring its quality from the very beginning is a critical step, and data validation is a valuable tool to help you achieve that goal.