Entity Field Catalog

Export entity and field metadata from Dataverse solutions to Excel format with comprehensive documentation.

Table of Contents

• Entity Field Catalog
  • Table of Contents
  • UI Preview
  • Features
  • Installation
  • Development
  • Usage in ToolBox
  • Key Concepts
    • Metadata Export
    • Export Formats
  • Technical Stack
  • Configuration
    • Export Options
    • Field Properties
  • Troubleshooting
    • No Entities Appearing
    • Export Fails
    • Excel File Issues
    • CSV Export Issues
  • Best Practices
  • Contributing
  • License
  • Support
    • Field Details (per entity)
  • Development
  • License
  • Contributing
  • Author

UI Preview

Features

• ✅ React 18 with TypeScript
• ✅ Vite for fast development and optimized builds
• ✅ Modern Fluent UI design with responsive layout
• ✅ Multi-entity selection for batch export
• ✅ Multiple export formats: Excel (.xlsx) and CSV (.zip)
• ✅ Comprehensive metadata export (entities, fields, properties)
• ✅ Solution-based entity filtering
• ✅ Field properties included (primary ID, primary name, required)
• ✅ Real-time entity selection with checkboxes
• ✅ Export progress tracking
• ✅ Full integration with Dataverse API via PPTB

Installation

Install dependencies:

npm install

Development

Run development server:

npm run dev

Build for production:

npm run build

Preview production build:

npm run preview

Usage in ToolBox

1. Build the tool:

   npm run build

2. The built files will be in the dist/ directory:

   • index.html - Main entry point
   • index.js - Bundled application
   • index.css - Compiled styles

3. Install the tool in Power Platform ToolBox through the UI

4. Use Entity Field Catalog:

   • Select a solution from the dropdown
   • Check the entities you want to export
   • Choose your export format (Excel or CSV)
   • Click "Export" to download the file

Key Concepts

Metadata Export

Exports comprehensive metadata about entities and their fields:

• Entity Information: Logical name, display name, schema name, description, primary ID/name attributes
• Field Information: Logical name, display name, schema name, data type, description
• Field Properties: Is primary ID, is primary name, is required flag

Export Formats

Choose between two export options:

• Excel (.xlsx): Single workbook with "Entities" summary tab plus one tab per entity
• CSV (.zip): Compressed archive containing Entities.csv plus one CSV file per entity

Both formats contain identical data, choose based on your preference and tool compatibility.

Technical Stack

• React 18 with TypeScript
• Fluent UI React Components for modern, accessible UI
• Vite for fast development and optimized production builds
• ExcelJS for secure Excel export without external dependencies
• PPTB API for all Dataverse operations

Configuration

Export Options

• Excel Format: Professional workbook suitable for documentation and analysis
• CSV Format: Portable format for data integration and processing
• Multiple Entities: Select multiple entities to export in one operation

Field Properties

The export includes these field attributes:

| Attribute | Description | | ------------ | ----------------------------------------- | | Display Name | Human-readable field name | | Logical Name | Dataverse logical identifier | | Schema Name | Database schema name | | Type | Field data type | | Primary ID | Whether field is the primary key | | Primary Name | Whether field is the primary display name | | Required | Whether field is required |

Troubleshooting

No Entities Appearing

Issue: Solution dropdown shows solutions but entity list is empty

Solution:

• Verify the solution contains entities (some solutions may be empty)
• Try selecting a different solution
• Check that you have appropriate permissions to read solution metadata
• Refresh the tool

Export Fails

Issue: Export operation fails or produces empty files

Solution:

• Verify you have read permissions on all selected entities and fields
• Ensure entity metadata is accessible in Dataverse
• Try exporting a single entity first
• Check browser console for detailed error messages

Excel File Issues

Issue: Exported Excel file won't open or is corrupted

Solution:

• Try using CSV format instead to isolate the issue
• Verify your Excel version supports the .xlsx format
• Try opening the file with Excel Online first
• Check that no special characters are causing issues

CSV Export Issues

Issue: CSV file won't unzip or contains corrupted data

Solution:

• Verify your system has a working ZIP extraction utility
• Try exporting again with fewer entities
• Use Excel to open individual CSV files directly
• Check for special characters in entity/field names

Best Practices

1. Document Everything: Use this tool to create comprehensive entity/field documentation
2. Solution-Based: Export solutions separately for better organization
3. Backup Reference: Keep exports as reference documentation for your Dataverse schema
4. Version Control: Track exports over time to monitor schema changes
5. Share Widely: Use CSV format for sharing with non-Excel users

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! When contributing:

1. Maintain PPTB integration patterns
2. Keep webview bundle browser-only (no Node.js dependencies)
3. Test in Power Platform ToolBox
4. Update documentation as needed
5. Follow existing code style

License

This project is licensed under the GPL-2.0 License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Support

• Issues: GitHub Issues
• Discussions: GitHub Discussions

Field Details (per entity)

| Column | Description | | ------------------ | ------------------------------------------ | | Field Display Name | Human-friendly field label | | Field Logical Name | Dataverse logical name | | Field Schema Name | Dataverse schema name | | Field Type | Data type | | Is Primary ID | Indicates if the field is the primary ID | | Is Primary Name | Indicates if the field is the primary name | | Is Required | Indicates if the field is required | | Field Description | Field description |

Development

To run the tool in development mode:

npm run dev

This will start the Vite development server with hot module replacement.

License

This project is licensed under the GPL-2.0 License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

Author

Power Maverick - GitHub