Forms: The Data Entry Surface
A form is the layout a user sees when opening or creating a single record, built from tabs, sections, and columns that arrange table fields. Dataverse supports multiple form types per table — Main forms for full data entry, Quick Create forms for lightweight capture in a side panel, and Quick View forms that embed a read-only summary of a related record inside another form. You can also define multiple Main forms and route different security roles to different forms using form order.
Cricket analogy: A player registration form is like the official BCCI player profile sheet, with sections for personal details, batting stats, and bowling stats laid out in a fixed order, just as a Dataverse Main form organizes tabs and sections.
Views: Filtering and Sorting Records
A view is a saved query that defines which columns display, in what order, with what filters and default sort, when users browse a list of records. Dataverse distinguishes system views (like Active Accounts, defined by makers and available to everyone) from personal views (saved privately by individual users). Public views appear in the view selector dropdown above a grid, and admins can set one view as the default for a table.
Cricket analogy: A 'Top Run Scorers This Season' leaderboard is a saved, filtered, sorted view of the player table, just as a Dataverse system view like Active Accounts filters and sorts records for everyone to use.
Charts and Dashboards
Charts visualize aggregated data from a view — bar, column, pie, line, and funnel chart types are built into the chart designer, and each chart binds to a specific view and aggregation (count, sum, or average of a numeric column, optionally grouped by a category). Charts can be embedded on a form to summarize related records, added to a view for a visual summary above the grid, or placed on a Model-Driven App dashboard alongside other charts and lists for an at-a-glance overview.
Cricket analogy: A run-rate line chart plotted over-by-over during an IPL match is exactly the kind of aggregated visualization a Dataverse chart produces from a filtered view of ball-by-ball data.
{
"name": "Open Opportunities by Owner",
"entity": "opportunity",
"chartType": "BarChart",
"series": {
"aggregation": "Sum",
"dataField": "estimatedvalue",
"groupBy": "ownerid"
},
"boundView": "Open Opportunities"
}You can add a chart directly above a view's grid so users see the visual summary and the underlying record list together — click the chart icon in the command bar of any grid to toggle this on for a given view.
A chart is bound to one specific view's filter criteria; if you change that view's filters later, the chart's data will silently change too, which can be confusing if the chart is embedded on a shared dashboard others rely on.
- Forms define the single-record editing layout; Main, Quick Create, and Quick View forms serve different data-entry needs.
- Multiple Main forms can be defined per table and routed to different security roles via form order.
- Views are saved queries controlling filters, sort, and displayed columns for lists of records.
- System views are available to everyone; personal views are saved privately by individual users.
- Charts aggregate a numeric column (count, sum, average) grouped by a category, drawn from a specific view.
- Chart types include bar, column, pie, line, and funnel, each suited to different comparison or trend needs.
- Dashboards combine multiple charts and lists for a consolidated, at-a-glance view of Dataverse data.
Practice what you learned
1. Which form type is designed for fast, lightweight record capture in a side panel?
2. What does a Quick View form do?
3. What distinguishes a system view from a personal view?
4. A Dataverse chart is always bound to which of the following?
5. Which chart type best visualizes leads narrowing in stages from Contacted to Closed Won?
Was this page helpful?
You May Also Like
Dataverse Tables and Relationships
Learn how Microsoft Dataverse organizes data into tables, columns, and relationships that power Model-Driven and Canvas apps.
Business Rules
Apply no-code logic in Dataverse tables to set field values, show warnings, and enforce validation without writing JavaScript.
Model-Driven App Navigation (Sitemap)
Learn how the Sitemap defines the navigation structure — areas, groups, and subareas — that users see in a Model-Driven App.
Related Reading
Related Study Notes in Microsoft Technologies
Browse all study notesWindows 10 / UWP Development Study Notes
.NET · 30 topics
Microsoft TechnologiesWindows Batch Scripting Study Notes
Batch · 30 topics
Microsoft TechnologiesMFC (Microsoft Foundation Classes) Study Notes
C++ · 30 topics
Microsoft TechnologiesSilverlight Study Notes
.NET · 30 topics
Microsoft TechnologiesXAML Study Notes
.NET · 30 topics
Microsoft TechnologiesWPF (Windows Presentation Foundation) Study Notes
.NET · 30 topics