Create a new form based on an existing form

You can create a new form based on an existing form. The existing form must have a form type of Main.

By basing a new form on an existing one, you can re-use the existing form's navigation, fields, properties, event scripts, and security roles. In the new form, you can also edit these existing elements, remove them, or add new ones.

You can add or edit fields, sections, tabs, and navigation, and properties associated with the form, and then save it with a new name.

Create a new form based on an existing form

1. In the Navigation Pane, click Settings.
2. Under Customization, click Customizations.
3. In the Customization area, click Customize the System.
4. Under Components, expand Entities, and then expand the entity you want.
5. Click Forms. In the main pane, double-click any form with a Form Type of Main.
6. In the form that opens, you can make any of the following design changes:

   Add a tab to a form.

   Add a section to a form

   Add a field to a form.

   • In the Field Explorer pane, double-click the field that you want to add to the form.

   Add or edit an IFRAME.

   Add or edit a sub-grid.

   Add or edit a web resource.

   Add or edit form navigation for related entities.

   Edit form headers and footers.

   1. On the Home tab, in the Select group, click Header or Footer.
   2. To edit the properties, on the Home tab, in the Edit group, click Change Properties.

      The Header Properties or the Footer Properties dialog box opens.

   3. On the Display tab, specify the width of the field label.
   4. On the Formatting tab, specify the number of columns you want in the header or footer. You can also specify field label alignment.
   5. Click OK.
   6. To add fields to the header or footer, in Field Explorer, select a field and drag it to the spot in which you want it to display.

   Remove a tab, section, field, or IFRAME.

   1. On the Home tab, in the Select group, click Body.
   2. Select the tab, section, field, or IFRAME that you want to remove.

      Note: If a section or field is locked by default, it cannot be removed. If you have locked the section or field, you must unlock it before removing it. More information: Edit form field properties, Edit a section

   3. On the Home tab, in the Edit group, click Remove.
   4. In the confirmation message, click OK.

   Enable or disable the Form Assistant.

   1. In the Navigation Pane, click Service, and then click Cases.
   2. On the Customize tab, in the Design group, click Form.
   3. On the Home tab, in the Form group, click Form Properties.
   4. In the Form Properties dialog box, click the Display tab.
   5. In the Form Assistant section, select or clear the Expanded by default check box.
7. You can edit the properties for parts of the form.

   Edit form properties.

   Edit form field properties.

   Edit tab properties.

   1. Click the tab you would like to edit. Then, on the Home tab, click Change Properties. The Tab Properties dialog box opens.
   2. On the Display tab, enter a unique name in Name.
   3. On the Formatting tab, specify whether you would like the tab to have one or two columns.
   4. On the Events tab, you can add and edit form libraries and the TabStateChange event, which indicates when the tab is expanded or collapsed. More information: Add or edit event scripts for fields and forms
   5. Click OK.

   Edit section properties.

8. You can add event scripts. More information: Add or edit event scripts for fields and forms
9. Assign roles for the new form to determine which security roles will be able to view it:

   Assign a security role to a form.

   1. On the Home tab, in the Form group, click Assign Roles.
   2. In the Assign Roles dialog box, select the security roles to which this form will be available. More information: Controlling Data Access
   3. To make this the fallback form A form, with a form type Main, that displays for any user with read access for an entity but does not have an explicitly assigned form or forms., select the Enabled for fallback check box.

      At least one form per entity must be a fallback form, the form that is displayed to a user when no other form is available for that user's security role.

   4. Click OK.
10. Preview how the main form will appear and how events will function:
    1. On the Home tab, click Preview, and then select Create Form, Update Form, or Read-Only Form.
    2. To close the Preview form, on the File menu, click Close.
11. When you finish editing the form, click Save As. Enter a name for the form, and then click OK.
12. When your customizations are complete, publish them:
    • To publish customizations for only the component that you are currently editing, on the Home tab, in the Save group, click Publish.
    • To publish customizations for all unpublished components at one time, click Publish All Customizations.

Notes

• You cannot apply a requirement level A setting that determines whether users must enter data. For example, when the requirement level of a field is set to Business Required, users will be unable to save the record without entering data in that field. The field will also appear in the Quick Create form. to a field through a form. You apply requirement level constraints directly to the field.
• If you delete a field from a form, make sure the field is not required by other components or custom scripts. For example, the Opportunity form requires the Price List field to determine the pricing to use when adding a product to that opportunity. Removing the Price List field prevents adding a new product to an opportunity.
• Any time you change user interface elements or implement form scripts for an entity, you must publish changes to apply them. Any customizations that change the data schema of Microsoft Dynamics CRM such as custom entities, relationships, or fields are applied immediately.
• You cannot modify the visual style of forms, such as the font style, font size, or colors used in the form using the form editor. Modification of the Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) pages in the Web application or style properties of the form through scripts is not supported.