Hello everyone.
This time, we will introduce a feature that allows you to use Microsoft Teams (hereafter referred to as Teams) chat directly from the Dynamics 365 (hereafter referred to as D365) app. Note that this feature is currently in preview!

D365 and Teams Integration

Previously, Teams had a feature that allowed users to embed D365 (model-driven app) screens within the app for collaborative work. This enabled communication about specific clients or sales opportunities within Teams. However, this feature had the drawback of only being usable from the Teams app . Switching back and forth between D365 and Teams screens was cumbersome. With the new feature, it 's now possible to use Teams chat directly within the D365 app .

There are two additional features: [1] Create a Teams chat with a link to a record from D365. [2] Link a D365 record to a team channel. This time, we will explain the feature [2].

Advance preparation

With the D365 update, the method for enabling Teams integration has changed. For experienced users, more features can now be configured in the Unified Interface (UCI) without having to navigate to the advanced settings screen. For first-time users, just learn the new method. Note that you need tenant administrator privileges to enable this feature.

1. Open the app and select App Settings >> General Settings > Chat and Collaborate.

2. Change Turn on Microsoft Teams chat in D365 (Preview) from No to Yes.

3. The Microsoft 365 sign-in screen will appear, so log in as an administrator user.

4. Change In linked chats, use record title as default chat name to "Yes" if desired.

If "No" ⇒ Display the participant's name as the default chat name (Teams standard)
If yes, use the record title as the default chat name.

5. Click Save.

6. Once saving is complete, a Teams chat button will be added to the top right of the screen.

Chat with Teams from D365

Let's use chat.
7. When no record is open, the chat screen displays the history. By pressing the "Create Chat" button, you can add members and start a chat just like in Teams. Only chats created in D365 are displayed in the history.

8. On the chat screen where you select a record and open the form, you can create a chat linked to the record. In the example screen, we are opening Fabricam, a business partner company. Click the "Create linked chat" button on the chat screen.

9. Add a participant (user1 in the example screen), check the chat name (the record title will be automatically set depending on the settings), and add a summary message. After entering your message, click "Start Chat."

10. A chat screen will appear. The first message will contain a summary of the record and a link to D365.

11.Of course, you can also check the chat from Teams.

This concludes our introduction to the Teams chat feature from D365.

Areas for improvement

Finally, I'll write about the things I'd like to see improved after using this feature.

- If another user has already created a chat linked to a record, it will appear in the chat list, but you will not be able to see the members or chat content. You will need to contact them in a separate chat and ask to join. I would like the ability to request participation.

- It is not linked to the timeline (a feature that has been available in D365 for some time, which displays activity history and notes in chronological order). It may be inconvenient that you cannot understand the situation unless you check both the timeline and the chat.

- When opening a D365 record from a chat, you need to go to the first message and open the link. If the chat is long, you may have to scroll through the screen.

Finally

How was that.
Don't you think the combination of D365, which strengthens relationships with customers, and Teams, which promotes team communication, is a very useful feature? Please give it a try.
In the next post, we will introduce [2] Linking D365 records to team channels.