We recently blogged about our Top 5 most popular PowerPack Add-ons. As you probably know, PowerObjects’ PowerPack add-ons are designed to quickly and easily provide additional functionality to your Dynamics 365 system, and while the main purpose of each add-on is usually pretty obvious (PowerGlobalSearch allows users to search any entity in their system; PowerOneView allows users to see information in one view, etc.), the name doesn’t always give everything away. Indeed, there are a few features you may not realize exist within our PowerPack add-ons. With that in mind, today’s post is another PowerPack-related Top 5 list, but this one is devoted to the hidden gems – the super-useful functionality that isn’t immediately obvious from the name of the add-on.

So, without further ado… Our Top 5 PowerPack Hidden Gems:

1. PowerGrid: Limiting your search to a single View

Within Dynamics 365, when you go to an Entity and search, you’re searching based on the criteria set up for that Entity’s quick find view. As you know, PowerGrid gives users the ability to inline edit. But did you know it also allows you to search only within the view you select rather than by the system-defined quick find view? Check out the example below:

2. PowerFind: Finding a phone number in any format

Because phone numbers can be formatted so many different ways (dashes, periods, spaces, no spaces), it can be difficult to find a record in Dynamics 365 based only on a phone number, right? Well, not with PowerFind! You already know that PowerFind allows you to search across Contacts, Leads, Accounts, and Campaign Responses in one window, but did you know you can also use it to find a record by entering a phone number in any format? For example, when you search for 548-895-4102, certainly PowerFind will locate the record that matches that exactly, but as shown below, it also finds records containing 548 895 4102 and 5488954102, despite them not being exact matches. Plus, it comes with a handy reading pane, allowing you to glean information about a record without having to open it.

3. PowerOneView: Viewing records in a tree format

PowerOneView is our see-everything-in-one-window add-on, but did you know that you have options for how you view everything? Instead of seeing all of the information about a record in a grid view, you can see it in a tree view, which can be incredibly useful when you’d like to see, for example, which activities are related to the contacts within an account. Check it out:

4. PowerAutoNumber: Autonumbering only when a record is updated

As the name suggests, PowerAutoNumber allows you to automatically generate a sequential number (or random letter, date, time, etc.) when a record is created, but did you know that you can also set it up to function only when a record is updated, as shown below? It does require one extra step of configuration, but it is the perfect solution for certain scenarios. For example, if you want to assign a number to an account only when the opportunity has been won or a quote has been signed, etc.

5. PowerCharge: Accepting payment in any currency

Our credit card processing add-on, PowerCharge, integrates with several different payment gateways to allow you to process credit card transactions without leaving your Dynamics 365 system. But did you know that with the most recent integration to the Stripe payment gateway, you can now select – for each individual credit card – the default currency in which to charge? In the example below, we’ve set the currency for Yvonne McKay’s credit card to the British Pound.

As you can see, the PowerPack add-ons are loaded with hidden functionality beyond their most obvious namesake functions. And this list contains only five our hidden gems… there’s a lot to be discovered! Learn more.

Happy PowerPacking!