Mapping Entity Attributes

Mapping streamlines data entry when creating new records that are associated with another record. When an entity A structure used to manage data. Microsoft Dynamics CRM entities include Account, Case, and Activity. has a entity relationship A metadata configuration that allows for a related record to have a lookup field, which lets users link the related record to another record. Any related records can appear in a list that is visible from the record that they have been related to. with another entity, it is possible to create new related entity An entity that is associated with a primary entity (record type) through a unique reference defined by using a lookup control on the related entity form. For example, an account has a unique reference to a primary contact. records from the associated view The view of an entity that is displayed in the forms of other entities. The associated view is different from the views that are visible for the entity in its own area of the user interface. For example, in an account record, under Details, you can click Contacts to view and open a contact form. That is the Contacts associated view. There can be only one associated view of each entity. visible on the primary entity The entity that a related entity is associated to. Sometimes called a parent entity.. When the user creates a new record from an associated view, mapped data from the primary entity record is copied to the form for the new related entity record. You control what data is copied by adding new mappings in the relationship between the two entities. If a record is created any way other than from the associated view of the primary entity, data is not mapped.

For example, you might want to set up a mapping between the address fields in accounts Companies that might do business with your organization. and the address fields in contacts People who represent customers or potential customers, or individuals related to accounts. For example, an individual who purchases products or services for their own use, or an employee of an account. A contact may also be a person involved in a business transaction, such as a supplier or a colleague., so that when a user adds a contact associated with a specific account, the address fields for the contact are filled in automatically.

You can map one attribute A property of an entity with a specific data type. Attributes are analogous to columns in a database table. When attributes are added to an entity form, they are displayed as fields that correspond to their data type. to multiple target attributes. For example, you can map address information in an account to both the billing and shipping addresses in an order A confirmed request for delivery of goods or services based on specified terms. An order is a quote that has been accepted by a customer..

Mapping only applies just before a new record is created from an associated view. Users are able to make changes before saving the record and later changes to the data in the primary record are not applied to the related record.

Mapping picklists

If the attribute is a picklist Drop-down list. You must specify the values to show in the list, and the default value., make sure that the option values are identical between the two picklists. When values are added to a picklist, the values are assigned an integer based on the order in which they are added. For two picklists to be identical, the integer values must also be identical. If they were not added in the same order, the label for the option value on the target attribute can be edited so they represent a valid mapping as long as this does not affect existing data. If you later modify either picklist, you must also remember to modify the other picklist to keep them synchronized. Any invalid picklist attribute mappings will cause the target picklist attribute to use the default picklist value.

Generate mappings automatically

It is possible to automatically create mappings for the relationship but this is usually not recommended. This process will map any mappable attributes based only on the datatype and name of the attribute. All existing mappings are removed.

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