Solution Component Extractor: XrmToolBox Plugin

I'm excited to introduce my latest creation: Solution Component Extractor, a free plugin for XrmToolBox. This tool simplifies the process of inspecting and exporting solution components, making it easier for consultants, developers, and admins to gain insights into their Dynamics 365 environments. Whether you're auditing a solution, preparing for a migration, or just curious about recent modifications, this plugin has you covered.

Why I Built This Tool

Deploying solutions to higher environments like QA or production is a critical step that demands accuracy. In my experience, one of the biggest challenges is ensuring the development team includes only the necessary components in a solution to avoid clutter or unintended changes. Stakeholders often require detailed reports of what’s being deployed, and questions about specific components—why they’re included or how they’ve changed—can arise. Additionally, when doubts surface about a component’s purpose or configuration, I need to quickly identify and reach out to the person who last modified it for clarification.

Solution Component Extractor was designed to address these pain points. It allows me to:

  • Verify Deployment Readiness: Before deploying a solution, I can review all components to confirm only the required ones are included, preventing unnecessary or risky changes from reaching higher environments.
  • Facilitate Collaboration: By identifying who last modified a component and when, I can directly contact the responsible team member to resolve doubts or confirm intent, streamlining communication.
  • Meet Stakeholder Needs: The tool generates comprehensive, exportable reports of solution components, making it easy to share with stakeholders for transparency, compliance, or audit purposes.

What Makes It Stand Out?

This plugin isn’t just about listing components—it’s about empowering Dynamics 365 professionals with actionable insights. Here’s what it brings to the table:

  • Comprehensive Component Coverage: The tool supports an extensive range of Dynamics 365 and Power Platform components, including:
    • Core Data Model: Table, Column, Relationship, Key, Choice
    • User Interface: Form, View, Chart, Dashboard, Sitemap, Page, Web Resource
    • Business Logic: Business Rule, Process, Cloud Flow, Custom API, Custom Control, Plugin Assembly, Plugin Step
    • Security and Governance: Security Role, Column Security Profile, Duplicate Detection Rule, SLA
    • Templates and Automation: Article Template, Contract Template, Email Template, Mail Merge Template, Routing Rule, Record Creation and Update Rule
    • Advanced Features: AI Model, Agent Component Collection, Component Library, Connection References, Connection Role, Dataflow, Environment Variable, Masking Rule, Service Endpoint, Virtual Table Data Provider, Virtual Table Data Source
    • Reporting and Analytics: Report, Chart
    • App and Configuration: App, Setting
  • One-Click Excel Export: Export all component data to a structured Excel file for offline analysis, sharing with stakeholders, or integration into documentation. The export preserves the tabular format, enabling easy sorting, filtering, and pivoting.

How It Works: A Quick Walkthrough

Using Solution Component Extractor is as simple as it gets. Here's a step-by-step guide:

  • Install the Plugin: Head over to the XrmToolBox Tool Library, search for "Solution Component Extractor," and install it. Once loaded, connect to your Dynamics 365 environment.
  • Enter Solution Unique Name: In the plugin's interface, type the unique name of the solution.


  • Search and Review: Click the "Search" button. The results populate in a grid view.

  • Grid Column Details:
    • Related Table: The associated table (entity) for context within the data model.
    • Table Component Behavior: The way table component was added to solution - Include Subcomponents/ Do not include subcomponents/ Include As Shell Only. If it is "Include Subcomponents" that means while adding a table you checked Include all objects and metadata. In this case, solution components of the table are not stored into solution. As you have added complete table object. For this particular scenario, you won't be able to see table components like Column, Views and so on as the you added complete table into solution.
    • Component Type: Clearly identifies the type (e.g., Column, Business Rule, Web Resource).
    • Display Name: The user-friendly name as seen in the UI.
    • Name: The schema name for technical precision.
    • Last Modified By: The user who last edited the component (Not all the components has this information available).
    • Last Modified On: The timestamp of the latest change, perfect for tracking updates (Not all the components has this information available).
  • Export to Excel: If you need the data elsewhere, hit the export button. The file generates instantly, ready for your spreadsheet software.

Location: Datiwali, Datiwali Gaon, Thane, Maharashtra 400612, India

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