Dynamics 365 CE Tip of the Month: Create Word templates

Generating documents manually from CRM data can be a slow and tedious process. Whether it’s customer welcome letters, formatted quotes, or internal summary reports, organizations need a fast and standardized way to generate Word or PDF documents using data stored in Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement (CRM). Fortunately, Microsoft Word templates make this process seamless by allowing users to pull CRM data into structured, professional documents without any coding.

Microsoft provides a tool that enables users to create powerful ways to present data in a standard and well-formatted manner. Use Microsoft Word Templates to quickly create Word documents using merged fields from Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement (CRM) data.

To create a Word template, follow the steps below

1. Sign in to make.powerapps.com with a System Administrator role. Ensure you’re in the correct environment
2. Click the Settings gear icon >> Advanced Settings
3. Click the drop-down carrot next to Settings >> Templates >> Document Templates
4. Click + New >> Word Template >> Choose the Entity/Table for the document (e.g., “Account”) >> Click Select Entity
5. Select related tables needed for the template (e.g., Contact). Click Download Template

To add fields to your template, follow the steps below:

1. Enable the Developer Tab in Word:
   1. Open Word >> File >> Options >> Customize Ribbon >> Check the Developer box

   

2. Click Developer >> XML Mapping Pane
3. Select the XML Schema starting with “urn:microsoft…”.
4. Expand the primary entity (e.g., “Account”) to view the schema names for the primary entity
5. Insert your desired fields to the template. In our example we will add the following Account fields:
   1. Account Name >> Right-click “name” >> Insert Content Control >> Plain Text
   2. Phone >> Right-click “telephone1” >> Insert Content Control >> Plain Text
   3. Primary Contact >> Right-click “primarycontactid” >> Insert Content Control >> Plain Text
   4. Address >> Right-click “address1_line1” >> Insert Content Control >> Plain Text

To include tables of related fields, follow the steps below (e.g. adding a table of all related Contacts):

1. Create a table in Word for related records (In our example, multiple Contacts)
2. To find the fields for the Contact table, scroll all the way to the bottom of the XML Mapping Pane and select the drop-down for the Contact relationship.
3. Add desired fields to the table. In our example we will be adding the following fields:
   1. Name >> Right-click “fullname” >> Insert Content Control >> Plain Text
   2. Business Phone >> Right-click “telephone1” >> Insert Content Control >> Plain Text
   3. Email >> Right-click “emailaddress1” >> Insert Content Control >> Plain Text
4. Highlight the row with dynamics content >> Right-click the Contact relationship >> Insert Content Control >> Repeating (this ensures all related records appear in the document)

To use a Word template in D365, follow the steps below:

1. Navigate to Document Templates in Dynamics 365
   1. Click the Settings gear icon >> Advanced Settings >> Click the drop-down >> Templates >> Document Templates
2. Click Upload Template >> Select your Word Template >> Click Upload
3. To use the template, open an Account record >> Click the ellipsis (⋮) in the ribbon >> Word Templates >> Select your template

Using Word templates in D365 allows you to:

• Automate document creation and reduce manual effort.
• Generate standardized, professional reports without coding.
• Leverage Microsoft Word’s familiar formatting tools for easy customization.

By using Word Templates, you can streamline document generation, ensuring consistency and accuracy while saving valuable time. As a trusted Dynamics 365 CRM consulting partner, Rand Group can help you implement, customize, and optimize your CRM solution to fit your business needs. For more insights on optimizing Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement, contact Rand Group today.