Connect C# to CRM Dynamics 365 With Entity Framework Core

Dynamics 365 is a powerful CRM and ERP solution from Microsoft, widely used for business applications. Integrating it with your .NET applications using Entity Framework Core (EF Core) allows developers to work with Dynamics 365 data using familiar ORM paradigms and LINQ queries.

In this tutorial, you will learn how to set up a connection between a C# application and Dynamics 365 using dotConnect for Dynamics 365 along with Entity Developer to generate EF Core models. This enables smooth and efficient data access in your .NET applications.

Why dotConnect for Dynamics 365?

• Fully managed ADO.NET provider designed specifically for Dynamics 365 with optimized performance.
• Support for EF Core with full LINQ and asynchronous programming support.
• Seamless integration with Entity Developer for powerful ORM model design and code generation.
• Simplified Dynamics 365 entity relationships with automatic mapping.
• Rapid development without dealing directly with Dynamics 365 Web API complexities.

Download and activate dotConnect for Dynamics 365

Download and install dotConnect for Dynamics 365 directly on your machine, or install the Devart.Data.Dynamics NuGet package. To activate a 30-day trial, use the license key assigned to you after completing the registration on the Devart website.

After purchasing the full version, go to your profile's Licenses page. Choose your product and click Details. Here, you'll find the license details and the Activation Key.

To activate a connection in your application, add the License Key to your connection string.

Check Dynamics 365 objects

To connect to Dynamics 365 using the built-in Data Explorer, right-click Data Connections and choose Add Connection.

Select Dynamics 365 as the data source, choose Web Login to get credentials, and click Test Connection.

If the test connection is successful, click OK.

Once connected, you can browse tables, execute queries, and manage data directly within Data Explorer.

Build Dynamics 365 EF Core model

The Professional and Developer editions of dotConnect for Dynamics 365 come equipped with Entity Developer - a robust ORM model designer and code generator that supports both Entity Framework and EF Core. This tool simplifies the process of generating a model from a data source or creating a data source from an existing model.

Follow the detailed illustrated guide to create your database model using Entity Developer. When this process is complete, the model you created opens, ready for use.

Entity Developer generates classes for the selected tables, representing data entities. It also creates a Model class descendant, which manages the connection to the Dynamics 365 CRM database and handles data flow. This class contains properties and methods corresponding to your Dynamics 365 CRM objects, allowing you to retrieve and modify data easily.

The generated code can be found in:

• DataModel1.Contact.cs - Contains entity definitions.
• DataModel1.Model.cs - Custom partial classes and methods that you can add here to extend the functionality.

With the model set up, you can interact with Dynamics 365 data using Entity Framework Core in your .NET application.

using System;
using System.Linq;

namespace DynamicsEFCore
{
  class Program
  {
    static void Main(string[] args)
    {
      using (var context = new Model())
      {
        var contacts = context.Contacts
          .Take(10)
          .ToList();

        foreach (var contact in contacts)
        {
          Console.WriteLine($"Name: {contact.Firstname} {contact.Lastname}, Phone: {contact.Mobilephone}");
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Step 2: Write the code to insert a new role

In your Program.cs file, add the following code to insert a new row into the Contact table:

using System;
using System.Linq;

namespace DynamicsEFCore
{
  class Program
  {
    static void Main(string[] args)
    {
      using (var context = new Model())
      {
        // Create a new Contact object
        var newContact = new Contact
        {
          Firstname = "TestName",
          Lastname = "TestLastName",
          Mobilephone = "+12345678910",
          Ownerid = Guid.Parse("**********")
        };

        // Add the new Contact to the context
        context.Contacts.Add(newContact);

        // Save changes to the database
        context.SaveChanges();

        // Retrieve and display the added contact
        var addedContact = context.Contacts
          .OrderByDescending(c => c.Createdon)
          .FirstOrDefault();

        if (addedContact != null)
        {
          Console.WriteLine("Added Contact:");
          Console.WriteLine($"First Name: {addedContact.Firstname}");
          Console.WriteLine($"Last Name: {addedContact.Lastname}");
          Console.WriteLine($"Mobile Phone: {addedContact.Mobilephone}");
          Console.WriteLine($"Created On: {addedContact.Createdon}");
        }
        else
        {
          Console.WriteLine("Failed to add the contact.");
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Build and run your application.

Update Dynamics 365 data

Now, let's update the phone number for an account with the name "John Doe" in Dynamics 365. This example assumes that the full name is unique or that you have a way to uniquely identify the account you want to update.

We retrieve the account named "John Doe" from the database and update the Mobilephone property with the new phone number.

Here's how you can implement this in your Program class:

using System;
using System.Linq;

namespace DynamicsEFCore
{
  class Program
  {
    static void Main(string[] args)
    {
      using (var context = new Model())
      {
        // Find the contact with Firstname "John" and Lastname "Doe"
        var contact = context.Contacts
          .FirstOrDefault(c => c.Firstname == "John" && c.Lastname == "Doe");

        if (contact != null)
        {
          // Update the mobile phone with a random value
          var random = new Random();
          contact.Mobilephone = $"+1{random.Next(1000000000, 1999999999)}";

          context.SaveChanges();
          Console.WriteLine($"Updated mobile phone for John Doe: {contact.Mobilephone}");
        }
        else
        {
          Console.WriteLine("Contact John Doe not found.");
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

When this code is executed successfully, the mobile phone for the selected account is updated.

Delete data from Dynamics 365

This example demonstrates how to fetch the account by name and then delete it from the database.

First, retrieve the contact with the name "TestName TestLastName" from the database.

Once you have retrieved the account, remove it from the DbContext and save the changes.

Here's how you can implement this in your Program class:

using System;
using System.Linq;

namespace DynamicsEFCore
{
  class Program
  {
    static void Main(string[] args)
    {
      using (var context = new Model())
      {
        var contact = context.Contacts
            .FirstOrDefault(c => c.Firstname == "TestName" && c.Lastname == "TestLastName");

        if (contact != null)
        {
          context.Contacts.Remove(contact);
          context.SaveChanges();
          Console.WriteLine("Contact TestName TestLastName deleted.");
        }
        else
        {
          Console.WriteLine("Contact TestName TestLastName not found.");
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

As a result, the selected contact is deleted from the database.