Microsoft Dynamics 365: Counting Sub-grid Records and Enabling Users to Hide Empty Sub-grids

In Microsoft Dynamics 365, we can use sub-grids to present data to users in a tabular format. This is a nice and compact way of displaying data. However, sometimes there is no data in those sub-grids to display and the end users might prefer to get back that space and optimize the space on the form. In this blog post, we cover how we can dynamically obtain the number of records in a sub-grid using JavaScipt and use that information to give end users the flexibility to optimize the space on forms by hiding empty sub-grids.

There are two types of sub-grids on Dynamics 365 forms:

  • Read-only sub-grids: Show data in a tabular format but do not allow users to edit data directly on the sub-grid. To edit the data, users have to double click on the record in the grid to open the form, edit the data, and then save it.
  • Editable sub-grids: Apart from showing data in a tabular format, editable sub-grids offer rich inline editing capabilities on web and mobile clients including the ability to group, sort, and filter data within the same sub-grid so that you do not have to switch records or views. In addition to providing all these extensive editing capabilities, editable sub-grids still honor the read-only sub-grid metadata and field-level security settings as well as the general Microsoft Dynamics 365 security model.

Summary of the key syntax

Here is a high-level summary of the main Microsoft Dynamics 365 JavaScript syntax covered in this blog post.

  • Count the number of records in sub-grid, where <subgridName> is the logical name of the sub-grid :
    formContext.getControl("<subgridName>").getGrid().getTotalRecordCount();
  • Remove the blank option in an option set, where <optionsetName> is the logical name of the option set:
    formContext.getControl("<optionsetName>").removeOption("");
  • Get the option set’s selected value , where <optionsetName> is the logical name of the option set:
    formContext.getAttribute("<optionsetName>").getValue();
  • Set the selected value of an option set, where <optionsetName> is the logical name of the option set and <value> is the value the option set will be set to:
    formContext.getAttribute("<optionsetName>").setValue("<value>");
  • Enable/Disable a field, where <fieldName> is the logical name of the field and <Boolean> can be true or false (i.e. true disables field and false enables it):
    formContext.getControl("<fieldName>").setDisabled(<Boolean>);
  • Hide/Unhide section, where <nameOfTab> is the name of the tab containing the section, <nameOfSection> is the name of the section and <Boolean> can be true or false (i.e. true makes the section visible and false hides the section):
    formContext.ui.tabs.get("<nameOfTab>").sections.get("<nameOfSection>").setVisible( <Boolean>);

Application Example: Enabling Users to Hide Empty Sub-grids

Using the code below, we can give end users the flexibility to optimize the space on forms by hiding empty sub-grids. In the code below, the hideEmptyOfficesSubgrid function is the entry point and is called when saving the form and loading the form.

function hideEmptyOfficesSubgrid(executionContext) {  
    var formContext = executionContext.getFormContext();
    var operationsTabName = "tab_operations";
    var officeGridSectionName = "office_grid_section";
    var officeGridName = "office_subgrid";
    var enableOfficeGridName = "hos_enableofficesgrid";
    var no = 183840000;
    var yes = 183840001;
    formContext.getControl(enableOfficeGridName).removeOption(""); 

    setTimeout(function () {
        if (formContext.getControl(officeGridName) != null && formContext.getControl(officeGridName) != undefined) {
            var count = formContext.getControl(officeGridName).getGrid().getTotalRecordCount();
            var enableOfficeGrid = formContext.getAttribute(enableOfficeGridName);
            var enableOfficeGridCtrl = formContext.getControl(enableOfficeGridName);
            var officeGridSection = formContext.ui.tabs.get(operationsTabName).sections.get(officeGridSectionName);
            disableSubgridControlField(count, enableOfficeGridCtrl);
            hideEmptySubgrid(count, enableOfficeGrid, officeGridSection, no, yes);
        }
    }, 5000);      
}

function disableSubgridControlField(count, subgridCtrlField) {  
    if (count <= 0) 
        subgridCtrlField.setDisabled(false);       
    else if (count > 0) 
        subgridCtrlField.setDisabled(true);
}

function hideEmptySubgrid(count, subgridCtrlField, subgridSection, no, yes) {  
    if (areTheseTwoInputsIdentical(subgridCtrlField.getValue(), yes)) 
        subgridSection.setVisible(true);       
    else if (count <= 0 && (areTheseTwoInputsIdentical(subgridCtrlField.getValue(), no) || subgridCtrlField.getValue() == null)) 
        subgridSection.setVisible(false);
    else if (count > 0 && areTheseTwoInputsIdentical(subgridCtrlField.getValue(), no)) {
        subgridCtrlField.setValue(yes);
        subgridSection.setVisible(true);
    }
}

function areTheseTwoInputsIdentical(input1, input2) {
    if (input1 == input2) 
        return true;
    else 
        return false;
}

How the code works

In the first image below, the account record is not enabled for Offices (i.e. the value of Enable Office Grid option set is No). Therefore, Offices grid is empty and hidden.
Account record not enabled for Offices sub-grid

After enabling the account record for Offices by changing the value of the option set field, “Enable Offices Grid” to Yes, the Offices sub-grid shows up and we can add offices to the sub-grid as shown below. The “Enable Offices Grid” field controls the appearance and disappearance of the Offices sub-grid.
Account record enabled for Offices sub-grid

As shown in the image above, the Enabled Office Grid option set is locked as soon as we add and save records to the Offices sub-grid. This prevents a scenario of logic inconsistency where an account record has offices in it’s sub-grid and the user proceeds to change the value of the Enable Offices Grid field to No. Therefore, the Enable Office Grid field value can only be changed back to No and hide the Offices grid after the sub-grid emptied up and there are no more records in it. Therefore, using the solution above, end users can be empowered with the option of hiding empty sub-grids and optimize the space on the form.