How to change the BPM library for a demo environment

When you deploy a new Dynamics 365 F&O environment via LCS, there is an option to provide which BPM library should be used as the Getting started library. When the Dynamics 365 application is opened in the Trial mode, it will display all linked task recordings for a trial tour. What to do if you forgot to link a library or if you have to change it? In this post, you will learn how to change it without redeploying a completely new environment.

BPM libraries

When you mention BPM libraries in LCS, I have to think of task guides. However Microsoft had the idea to use a business management approach for implementations, the BPM tool in LCS seems to be not widely accepted. I have seen several customers using it in an alternative way to have a structure for storing task guides. This would be helpful for testing and user guidance to complete their tasks in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations. Storing task guides in LCS seems to be the most popular feature, based on my discussions with customers and partners.

From the start, when we still talked about the code name “AX7”, Microsoft invested heavily in new task recording options which allowed a playback, compared to the options in AX 2012. The task recording can be saved and re-used to playback and guide users. When you want to playback a recording, you can open the LCS library and get a tree view of the BPM. When the process contains a task guide, you can open it, as visible on the next screenshot. Otherwise the OK button is inactive.

For demo purposes, Microsoft made an additional section available on the default dashboard, called Getting started. On demo or development environments, you can open this section by adding another parameter on the URL or open the Trial experience from the LCS environment page. The URL parameter to be added is: &mode=trial. I have written a blog about the Trial mode in the past. When you deploy a time-limited trial via Get Started | Microsoft Dynamics 365, the trial mode parameter is added by default.

There is one other pre-requisite… When deploying your own environment via LCS, you have to specify the BPM library under the Advanced settings on the Customize solution assets page. You can choose from the list of libraries linked to the LCS project. You can use some default libraries provided by Microsoft or you can use your own created BPM library containing e.g. task guides for an ISV solution or customization.

Change BPM library

When you deployed your Dynamics 365 environment via LCS, you might have overlooked the option to link a library or the wrong one was selected. Maybe, you decide later that you would like to have another library. The setting is not maintained in a table of Microsoft Dynamics 365, so initially, you would think to delete the environment and create a new one from scratch. There is one option to change it without re-deploying an environment. Before you start, you would need to get the ID of the BPM library. You can find this number by browsing on LCS to the BPM. The last part of the URL is the ID you need as the link for the LCS library.

You need to have access to the VM. This is possible for demo and development environments. Self-service environments don’t have direct access to a VM. You can find the VM details and login accounts on the LCS environment page.

When you have access to the VM, you need to open a utility to edit XML files. The setting for the library is maintained in the web.config file which is located on the service volume, directory AosService > WebRoot. When you open your editing app, you have to open it using administrator elevated rights (right-click, Run as administrator). I’m using Notepad for this purpose. When you have opened the web.config file, there are multiple settings related to LCS configuration. The key containing the library is called LCS.GettingStartedLibrary. You can change the value for this key.

When you added your new ID in the configuration file, you can save the record and directly open the Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations trial experience. There is no need to reset the services to have this change effective.

Now your required Getting started section would be displaying the task guides included in your chosen BPM library.

There is more…

The list with task guides might be lengthy and there is no filter option to limit the number of task guides. To focus on a certain topic, you can use the browser search function. It will mention the number of hits and you can loop through the search results and check which task guide you want to open.

I do hope you liked this post and will add value for you in your daily work as a professional. If you have related questions or feedback, don’t hesitate to use the Comment feature below.


That’s all for now. Till next time!