Data Management in Dynamics 365 for Operations

When using Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Operations (D365O) Data management – CustCustomerEntity for data export/import, and when financial dimensions are involved, there is a small setup step which must be done prior to export/import.

If this step is not done, the following error is displayed when trying to export/import:

“No active format for data entities has been set up. Set up an active format for each dimension format type.”

Here is how to resolve this error message:

To see the customer’s existing financial dimensions, access the customer list page https://<server>.dynamics.com/?cmp=<comp>&mi=CustTableListPageDrill into the customer details using the Financial dimensions fast tab.

In this implementation, we are using 5 financial dimensions, as shown above. Not all dimensions are required to be filled.

In order to successfully export the customer record, we need to set up the format. This is found at General ledger> Chart of accounts> Dimensions> Financial dimension configuration for integrating applications (mi=DimensionIntegrationConfiguration).

1. Add a new default dimension format. In this case, we name it “Customer import”.
2. Use dimension format type “Default dimension format”.
3. Select the financial dimensions which will be exported/imported as part of the Customers data entity.
4. To maintain simplicity, I specifically ordered the financial dimensions in the same sequence (alphabetical) as they appear on the customer details form (shown on previous image).
5. The system will display a format example. This is comprised of the selected dimensions separated by a hyphen.
6. Set the format “Active for type”.

Now, when exporting the customer record, we see that the financial dimension is displayed properly.

Use the same format for entering data into a spreadsheet for import using Data management – CustCustomerEntity.

Important: Note that the hyphen separator is always required, even if no value is provided for a dimension (see first line, where both the first and fifth dimensions are not specified).

Interested in support or training for your organization? Contact us with your requirements. Meanwhile, learn how you can prep and import data for Microsoft Dynamics 365 for sales with this free technical guide: