In this article, we will show you how you can easily copy data from one company (or “legal entity”) to another in Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations (D365FO), using the Data Management Workspace and the Data Import Export Framework, known as DIXF.
In this article
- Data Management Workspace
- Data entities
- Destination companies
- Improve copy speeds
- Copy data again
Data Management Workspace
The Data Management Workspace is where you will find everything to do with importing and exporting data via DIXF.
Go to Workspaces > Data Management
To access the Data Management Workspace, you will need to be assigned one of the following security roles:
- System Administrator
- Data Management Administrator
- Data Management Migration User
- Data Management Operations User
On the left, you will see tiles where you can create data projects and configure settings. In the middle, you will find all your data projects and on the right you will be able to view the history of your data jobs.
Data entities in D365FO
Think of a data entity like a layer that sits on top of multiple tables in a database. An entity collects data from all of these tables and presents them to you in a single view. For example, the data relating to a customer is spread across many tables in the D365FO database. The customer entity sits on top of all of these tables giving you the ability to easily import and export customer data in just a few clicks.
Pro Tip: Data entities not tables
In D365FO, you can only import and export data using data entities. You cannot import and export data directly to tables like you can in previous versions of the software (AX2009 and AX2012).
You can find a list of all the available data entities by going to Workspaces > Data Management > Data Entities
Here you will find a list of all the entities you can use in the Data Management Workspace.
If you cannot see any entities here, then you need to refresh the entity list. To do this, go to Workspaces > Data Management > Framework Parameters
Select the Entity Settings tab and click Refresh Entity List.
Copy data into another D365FO company
1. Pick your company
Firstly, make sure you are in the right company (or “legal entity”). The Data Management Workspace is company-specific, so you can only import and export data from the legal entity you are in.
2. Create a copy data project
Next, it’s time to create a copy data project. A data project will contain all the entities you want to copy to another company. Click on Copy into Legal Entity.
Make sure you are in the Enhanced View.
Give your copy data project a name and description (optional).
Note the Source Legal Entity field on the right. This is the company that the data will be copied from.
3. Add your destination companies
A copy data project can be used to copy data to multiple companies (or “legal entities”).
Click Select Existing and select the companies you want to copy the data to.
You can also create a brand new legal entity from this screen by clicking Create Legal Entities. If you want to use the same number sequences for the data entities you copy over, then set the Copy Number Sequences flag to Yes.
4. Add entities
A data project can be used to copy multiple data entities at the same time.
To add an entity to your data project, click Add entity. Select the entity you want to copy and then press Add.
The entities you have added will appear in the Selected Entities FastTab.
5. Filter an entity
You can filter an entity before exporting it. On the Selected Entities FastTab, scroll to the right and click on the filter icon.
Set your filter criteria and then click OK.
6. Copy into legal entity
To copy the entities into another company, click Copy into Legal Entity in the ribbon.
Once the copy is complete, D365FO will redirect you to the Execution Summary page. This page shows you the status and stats of your copy project, including how many records have been copied for each entity.
Got errors?
If you get any errors, then check out our article on how to handle errors in staging using the Data Management Workspace and the Data Import Export Framework (DIXF).
Every time you run a data project, you create a data job. You can view your data job history on the right hand side of the Data Management Workspace.
Improve copy speeds
It can sometimes be a slow process to import large amounts of data. However, there is a way to speed things up.
When you click Copy into Legal Entity you run the import sequentially. By clicking Copy into Legal Entity in Batch, you break the task down into a series of batch jobs that can run parallel to one another – meaning your data gets copied faster.
To set this up, go to Workspaces > Data Management > Framework Parameters.
Click on the Entity Settings tab and then click Configure Entity Execution Parameters.
Search for a entity, type a number in the Import Threshold Record Count column and the Import Task Count.
In the image above, the Import Threshold Record Count is 200 and the Import Task Count is 100 for the Products V2 entity.
In this example, if you were to click Copy into Legal Entity in Batch as opposed to Copy into Legal Entity, you were copying records using the Products V2 entity and your Source Legal Entity contained more than 200 records; D365FO would create 100 import batch jobs and run them in parallel – massively improving the speed at which the records are copied.
When you use Import in Batch you can track the status of the import batch jobs by going to Common > Inquiries > Batch Jobs > My Batch Jobs.
Copy data again
You can easily copy the data again by rerunning your data project, go to Workspaces > Data Management. Select your data project and then click Load Project.
If you wish, change the settings, and then click Copy into Legal Entity in the ribbon.
