Design and create models
This unit reviews how to identify, apply, and manipulate a model, as well as providing an overview of models and their importance in development.
A model is a group of elements, including metadata and source files that define a solution with customizations. These models are included in packages, which can be turned into a deployable package. Finance and operations uses deployable packages to deploy customizations and updates to your environments.
Importance of models
In finance and operations apps, models are mandatory for customizations. Models can be thought of as a collection of Microsoft Visual Studio projects. Projects can only be assigned to a single model. Models can help identify where certain objects are stored. For example, a warehouse management model will contain warehouse management-related objects. A customized model can be created to hold all customizations that are made to the system.
Create a model
In Visual Studio, you can use the Create model wizard under the Dynamics 365 button to create two types of models:
- A model that is deployed in its own package
- A model that is part of an existing package
A model in its own package can be used to create new model elements and extend elements. You can also select reference models. Because this model is compiled in its own assembly and binaries, it simplifies deployment and the ALM.
A model that is part of an existing package lets you overlay source code and metadata. However, overlaying source code can cause future issues with deploying Microsoft updates. We recommend that you always use extensions or create new elements.
You can also update model parameters in Visual Studio from the Dynamics 365 menu.
To do this, select Model Management and then select Update model parameters. Then, select the model name to update the parameters and dependencies of the model.