D365 Form Helpers

Minimal TypeScript helpers that wrap Dynamics 365 / Power Apps client-side formContext APIs with typed, ergonomic utilities for form scripting. This repository contains the exact code you provided and concise, copy‑paste examples for every public function.

Install the package in your project directory with:

npm install @sguez/d365-form-helpers

TypeScript configuration

It is recommended to set the following in your tsconfig.json:

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "moduleResolution": "NodeNext",
    "module": "NodeNext"
  }
}

Purpose

Make Dynamics client scripting:

• typed and readable,
• flexible (accepts name, index, array, matching delegate or instance),
• less boilerplate when attaching handlers or manipulating attributes/controls/tabs.

What’s included

• Provider.from(context) — detects context type and returns either FormContext or PrimaryControl.

• FormContext — extends PrimaryControl and additionally exposes event-specific helpers bound to the provided EventContext (getDepth, getEventSource, getSharedVariable, setSharedVariable, getContext).

• PrimaryControl — main helper wrapping Xrm.FormContext with convenient methods:

  • safe getters: getAttribute, getControl, getTab, getSection, getAttributeValue
  • flexible setters: setAttributeValue, setRequiredLevel, setOptional, setRecommended, setMandatory, setVisible, setDisabled
  • Event setters: addOnLoad, addOnSave, addOnChange, addTabStateChange, addPreSearch, addSubGridOnLoad, addOnReadyStateComplete, addOnOutputChange, addOnResultOpened, addOnSelection, addOnPostSearch.
  • (bulk operations supporting names, indexes, arrays, delegates and direct instances)

• TabControl — wrapper for a single tab providing getSection, label methods, visibility and focus helpers.

• CheckTypes — runtime type guards for Xrm objects (attributes, controls, tabs, grids, iframes, kb search controls, etc.).

Best practices

• Prefer using Provider.from(executionContext) because it directly returns an exploitable formContext without worrying about the type of the source object.
• Keep your business logic in TypeScript, compile to a single (minified) JS file for Dynamics web resource consumption.

Quick usage examples

All examples assume @types/xrm is installed as a dev dependency for editor support.

Provider.from — automatic context detection

import Provider from "@sguez/d365-form-helpers/Provider";

// In an onLoad handler
function onLoad(executionContext: Xrm.Events.EventContext) {
  const formContext: FormContext = Provider.from(executionContext); // returns FormContext
  formContext.setVisible("mobilephone", false);
  console.log("depth:", formContext.getDepth());
}

// In a ribbon action (primaryControl provided)
function ribbonAction(primaryControl: Xrm.FormContext) {
  const formContext: PrimaryControl = Provider.from(primaryControl); // returns PrimaryControl
  formContext.setDisabled("name", true);
}

PrimaryControl — creation and getters/setters

import PrimaryControl from "@sguez/d365-form-helpers/PrimaryControl";

function example(executionContext: Xrm.Events.EventContext) {
  const formContext: PrimaryControl = new PrimaryControl(executionContext.getFormContext()); // or use Provider.from(executionContext)

  // Get attribute, control, tab, section
  const attribute = formContext.getAttribute("emailaddress1");
  const control = formContext.getControl("mobilephone");
  const tab = formContext.getTab("Summary");
  const section = formContext.getSection("AddressSection");

  // Read values
  const emailAddress = formContext.getAttributeValue("emailaddress1");
  const values = formContext.getAttributeValue(attribute => attribute.getName().startsWith("_custom_"));

  // Set values
  formContext.setAttributeValue("firstname", "John");
  formContext.setAttributeValue(["firstname", "lastname"], "REDACTED");

  // Requirement level
  formContext.setRequiredLevel("emailaddress1", "required");
  formContext.setOptional("middlename");
  formContext.setRecommended("nickname");
  formContext.setMandatory(["firstname", "lastname"]);

  // Visibility / disabled
  formContext.setVisible("mobilephone", false);
  formContext.setVisible(["mobilephone","telephone1"], true);
  formContext.setVisible(c => c.getName().startsWith("addr_"), false);

  formContext.setDisabled("mobilephone", true);
  formContext.setDisabled(["mobilephone","telephone1"], false);
}

PrimaryControl — event helpers (examples for each method)

function registerHandlers(formContext: Xrm.FormContext) {
  const formContext: PrimaryControl = new PrimaryControl(formContext); // or use Provider.from(formContext)

  // Form and data events
  formContext.addOnLoad(ctx => console.log('form loaded'));
  formContext.addOnDataLoad(ctx => console.log('data loaded'));
  formContext.addLoaded(ctx => console.log('ui loaded'));
  formContext.addOnSave(ctx => console.log('on save'));
  formContext.addOnPostSave(ctx => console.log('post save'));

  // Process events
  formContext.addOnPreProcessStatusChange(ctx => console.log('pre process status'));
  formContext.addOnProcessStatusChange(ctx => console.log('process status'));
  formContext.addOnPreStageChange(ctx => console.log('pre stage change'));
  formContext.addOnStageChange(ctx => console.log('stage change'));
  formContext.addOnStageSelected(ctx => console.log('stage selected'));

  // Attribute change
  formContext.addOnChange('emailaddress1', ev => console.log('email changed'));
  formContext.addOnChange(['firstname','lastname'], ev => console.log('name changed'));
  formContext.addOnChange(a => a.getName().startsWith('_custom_'), ev => console.log('custom changed'));

  // Tab state
  formContext.addTabStateChange('Summary', ev => console.log('tab state changed'));

  // Lookup events
  formContext.addOnLookupTagClick('parentaccountid', ev => console.log('lookup tag clicked'));
  formContext.addPreSearch('parentaccountid', () => console.log('presearch'));

  // Grid / subgrid
  formContext.addSubGridOnLoad('ContactsSubgrid', ctx => console.log('subgrid loaded'));
  formContext.addSubGridOnRecordSelect('ContactsSubgrid', ctx => console.log('record selected'));

  // Iframe
  formContext.addOnReadyStateComplete('webresource_iframe', ctx => console.log('iframe ready'));

  // Standard control
  formContext.addOnOutputChange('someControl', ctx => console.log('output changed'));

  // KnowledgeBase Search control
  formContext.addOnResultOpened('kbSearch', ctx => console.log('result opened'));
  formContext.addOnSelection('kbSearch', ctx => console.log('kb selection'));
  formContext.addOnPostSearch('kbSearch', ctx => console.log('post search'));
}

FormContext — event-aware wrapper

import { Provider } from "@sguez/d365-form-helpers";

function onChange(executionContext: Xrm.Events.EventContext) {
  const formContext: FormContext = Provider.from(executionContext); // returns FormContext
  const source = formContext.getEventSource();
  const depth = formContext.getDepth();
  formContext.setSharedVariable('myKey', { started: true });
  const shared = formContext.getSharedVariable('myKey');
}

TabControl usage

const tab = form.getTab('Summary');
if (tab) {
  const section = tab.getSection('AddressSection');
  section?.setVisible(false);
  tab.setLabel('Main summary');
  tab.setFocus();
}

CheckTypes — type guard examples

import { isLookupControl, isGridControl, isAttribute } from "@sguez/d365-form-helpers";

const control = formContext.getControl('parentaccountid'); // control: Xrm.Controls.Control
if (isLookupControl(control)) { // control: Xrm.Controls.LookupControl
  control.addOnLookupTagClick(() => console.log('tag clicked'));
}

const grid = formContext.getControl('contacts'); // grid: Xrm.Controls.Control
if (isGridControl(grid)) { // control: Xrm.Controls.GridControl
  grid.addOnLoad(ctx => console.log('grid loaded'));
}

const attribute = formContext.getAttribute('emailaddress1');
if (isAttribute(attribute)) {
  console.log('attribute type', attribute.getAttributeType());
}

Notes & best practices

• The helpers accept multiple input shapes: name (string), index (number), array, predicate delegate or an instance — this reduces branching in your code.