Retrieve table definitions by name or MetadataId
Your applications can adapt to configuration changes by querying the table and column definitions (metadata). When you know one of the key properties of a definition item, you can retrieve definitions using the Web API.
Note
This topic describes retrieving table definitions and other schema entities by name. But you can also use the names when performing other operations to create, update, and delete schema entities.
Retrieve definition items by name
All retrievable definition items have a MetadataId primary key that can be used to retrieve individual items. For definitions that have an alternate key, you can retrieve them by name.
Retrieving definition items by name is easier because you probably already have some reference to the item name in your code. The following table lists the alternate key properties for retrieving such items by name.
| Definition item | Alternate Key | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Entity | LogicalName | GET /api/data/v9.2/EntityDefinitions(LogicalName='account') |
| Attribute | LogicalName | GET /api/data/v9.2/EntityDefinitions(LogicalName='account')/Attributes(LogicalName='emailaddress1') |
| Relationship | SchemaName | GET /api/data/v9.2/RelationshipDefinitions(SchemaName='Account_Tasks') |
| Global Option Set | Name | GET /api/data/v9.2/GlobalOptionSetDefinitions(Name='metric_goaltype') |
Example: Retrieve definition items by name
A common definition item that people want to retrieve are the options configured for a particular attribute. The following example shows how to retrieve the OptionSet and GlobalOptionSet properties of a PicklistAttributeMetadata EntityType.
Note
Expanding both the OptionSet and GlobalOptionSet single-valued navigation properties of PicklistAttributeMetadata EntityType allows you to get the option definition whether the attribute is configured to use global option sets or the 'local' option set within the entity. If it is a 'local' option set, the GlobalOptionSet property will be null as shown below.
If the attribute used a global option set, the GlobalOptionSet property would contain the defined options and the OptionSet property would be null.
Request:
GET [Organization URI]/api/data/v9.2/EntityDefinitions(LogicalName='account')/Attributes(LogicalName='accountcategorycode')/Microsoft.Dynamics.CRM.PicklistAttributeMetadata?$select=LogicalName&$expand=OptionSet($select=Options),GlobalOptionSet($select=Options) HTTP/1.1
OData-MaxVersion: 4.0
OData-Version: 4.0
Accept: application/json
Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8
Response:
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Content-Type: application/json; odata.metadata=minimal
OData-Version: 4.0
{
"@odata.context": "[Organization URI]/api/data/v9.2/$metadata#EntityDefinitions('account')/Attributes/Microsoft.Dynamics.CRM.PicklistAttributeMetadata(LogicalName,OptionSet,GlobalOptionSet,OptionSet(Options),GlobalOptionSet(Options))/$entity",
"LogicalName": "accountcategorycode",
"MetadataId": "118771ca-6fb9-4f60-8fd4-99b6124b63ad",
"OptionSet@odata.context": "[Organization URI]/api/data/v9.2/$metadata#EntityDefinitions('account')/Attributes(118771ca-6fb9-4f60-8fd4-99b6124b63ad)/Microsoft.Dynamics.CRM.PicklistAttributeMetadata/OptionSet(Options)/$entity",
"OptionSet": {
"Options": [{
"Value": 1,
"Label": {
"LocalizedLabels": [{
"Label": "Preferred Customer",
"LanguageCode": 1033,
"IsManaged": true,
"MetadataId": "0bd8a218-2341-db11-898a-0007e9e17ebd",
"HasChanged": null
}],
"UserLocalizedLabel": {
"Label": "Preferred Customer",
"LanguageCode": 1033,
"IsManaged": true,
"MetadataId": "0bd8a218-2341-db11-898a-0007e9e17ebd",
"HasChanged": null
}
},
"Description": {
"LocalizedLabels": [
],
"UserLocalizedLabel": null
},
"Color": null,
"IsManaged": true,
"MetadataId": null,
"HasChanged": null
}, {
"Value": 2,
"Label": {
"LocalizedLabels": [{
"Label": "Standard",
"LanguageCode": 1033,
"IsManaged": true,
"MetadataId": "0dd8a218-2341-db11-898a-0007e9e17ebd",
"HasChanged": null
}],
"UserLocalizedLabel": {
"Label": "Standard",
"LanguageCode": 1033,
"IsManaged": true,
"MetadataId": "0dd8a218-2341-db11-898a-0007e9e17ebd",
"HasChanged": null
}
},
"Description": {
"LocalizedLabels": [
],
"UserLocalizedLabel": null
},
"Color": null,
"IsManaged": true,
"MetadataId": null,
"HasChanged": null
}],
"MetadataId": "b994cdd8-5ce9-4ab9-bdd3-8888ebdb0407"
},
"GlobalOptionSet": null
}
Retrieve definition items by MetadataId
Because the MetadataId is the primary key for definition items, retrieving individual items follows the same pattern used to retrieve business data tables.
| Definition item | Example |
|---|---|
| Entity | GET /api/data/v9.2/EntityDefinitions(<Entity MetadataId>) |
| Attribute | GET /api/data/v9.2/EntityDefinitions(<Entity MetadataId>)/Attributes(<Attribute MetadataId>) |
| Relationship | GET /api/data/v9.2/RelationshipDefinitions(<Relationship MetadataId>) |
| Global Option Set | GET /api/data/v9.2/GlobalOptionSetDefinitions(<OptionSet MetadataId>) |
Example: Retrieve definition items by MetadataId
To achieve the same result as shown in Example: Retrieve definition items by name, you need to perform a series of query operations to get the MetadataId by filtering by the entity LogicalName and then by the attribute LogicalName.
Request:
GET [Organization URI]/api/data/v9.2/EntityDefinitions?$filter=LogicalName%20eq%20'account'&$select=MetadataId HTTP/1.1
OData-MaxVersion: 4.0
OData-Version: 4.0
Accept: application/json
Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8
Response:
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Content-Type: application/json; odata.metadata=minimal
OData-Version: 4.0
{
"@odata.context":"[Organization URI]/api/data/v9.2/$metadata#EntityDefinitions(MetadataId)","value":[
{
"MetadataId":"70816501-edb9-4740-a16c-6a5efbc05d84"
}
]
}
Request:
GET [Organization URI]/api/data/v9.2/EntityDefinitions(70816501-edb9-4740-a16c-6a5efbc05d84)/Attributes?$filter=LogicalName%20eq%20'accountcategorycode'&$select=MetadataId HTTP/1.1
OData-MaxVersion: 4.0
OData-Version: 4.0
Accept: application/json
Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8
Response:
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Content-Type: application/json; odata.metadata=minimal
OData-Version: 4.0
{
"@odata.context": "[Organization URI]/api/data/v9.2/$metadata#EntityDefinitions(70816501-edb9-4740-a16c-6a5efbc05d84)/Attributes(MetadataId)","value":[
{
"@odata.type": "#Microsoft.Dynamics.CRM.PicklistAttributeMetadata",
"MetadataId": "118771ca-6fb9-4f60-8fd4-99b6124b63ad"
}
]
}
Request:
GET [Organization URI]/api/data/v9.2/EntityDefinitions(70816501-edb9-4740-a16c-6a5efbc05d84)/Attributes(118771ca-6fb9-4f60-8fd4-99b6124b63ad)/Microsoft.Dynamics.CRM.PicklistAttributeMetadata?$select=LogicalName&$expand=OptionSet($select=Options),GlobalOptionSet($select=Options) HTTP/1.1
OData-MaxVersion: 4.0
OData-Version: 4.0
Accept: application/json
Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8
Response:
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Content-Type: application/json; odata.metadata=minimal
OData-Version: 4.0
{
"@odata.context": "[Organization URI]/api/data/v9.2/$metadata#EntityDefinitions(70816501-edb9-4740-a16c-6a5efbc05d84)/Attributes/Microsoft.Dynamics.CRM.PicklistAttributeMetadata(LogicalName,OptionSet,GlobalOptionSet,OptionSet(Options),GlobalOptionSet(Options))/$entity",
"LogicalName": "accountcategorycode",
"MetadataId": "118771ca-6fb9-4f60-8fd4-99b6124b63ad",
"OptionSet@odata.context": "[Organization URI]/api/data/v9.2/$metadata#EntityDefinitions(70816501-edb9-4740-a16c-6a5efbc05d84)/Attributes(118771ca-6fb9-4f60-8fd4-99b6124b63ad)/Microsoft.Dynamics.CRM.PicklistAttributeMetadata/OptionSet(Options)/$entity",
"OptionSet": {
"Options": [{
"Value": 1,
"Label": {
"LocalizedLabels": [{
"Label": "Preferred Customer",
"LanguageCode": 1033,
"IsManaged": true,
"MetadataId": "0bd8a218-2341-db11-898a-0007e9e17ebd",
"HasChanged": null
}],
"UserLocalizedLabel": {
"Label": "Preferred Customer",
"LanguageCode": 1033,
"IsManaged": true,
"MetadataId": "0bd8a218-2341-db11-898a-0007e9e17ebd",
"HasChanged": null
}
},
"Description": {
"LocalizedLabels": [
],
"UserLocalizedLabel": null
},
"Color": null,
"IsManaged": true,
"MetadataId": null,
"HasChanged": null
}, {
"Value": 2,
"Label": {
"LocalizedLabels": [{
"Label": "Standard",
"LanguageCode": 1033,
"IsManaged": true,
"MetadataId": "0dd8a218-2341-db11-898a-0007e9e17ebd",
"HasChanged": null
}],
"UserLocalizedLabel": {
"Label": "Standard",
"LanguageCode": 1033,
"IsManaged": true,
"MetadataId": "0dd8a218-2341-db11-898a-0007e9e17ebd",
"HasChanged": null
}
},
"Description": {
"LocalizedLabels": [
],
"UserLocalizedLabel": null
},
"Color": null,
"IsManaged": true,
"MetadataId": null,
"HasChanged": null
}],
"MetadataId": "b994cdd8-5ce9-4ab9-bdd3-8888ebdb0407"
},
"GlobalOptionSet": null
}
See also
Use the Web API with table definitions
Query table definitions using the Web API
Create and update table definitions using the Web API
Create and update table relationships using the Web API
Web API table schema operations sample
Web API table schema operations sample (C#)
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