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Table Binding

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This is a premium feature. For more details see Premium Edition.

Note

The plugin previously known as Dataverse Integration has been renamed to DataPress.

This change reflects our commitment to enhancing user experience and aligning with our product vision.

All references to Dataverse Integration in the documentation and UI will be updated to DataPress.

Link WordPress pages to Dataverse tables to provide direct access to your organization data.

Introduction​

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Premium feature! This feature is available in the premium extension.

What Table Binding does

  • Links a WordPress post/page to a specific Dataverse table and a current record.
  • Exposes the current record to Twig, forms, views, and other DataPress services.
  • Removes repetitive page‑level scaffolding when you would otherwise run a FetchXML on each page.

Why use it

  • Single‑record pages (e.g., “Invoice View”) selected by a GUID or alternate keys.
  • Forms that update/create the current record without extra configuration.
  • Conditional access to restrict who can view a given table row.

Quick payoff (Twig on a bound page)

<h2>{{ binding.record["name"] }}</h2>
<p>Owner: {{ binding.record["ownerid.name"] }}</p>

Understand table binding​

  • Data in Dataverse is organized in tables (e.g., contacts, leads, invoices).
  • A typical scenario: a WordPress page displays a single record of one table type (e.g., one invoice); which record to show is determined by the URL or custom logic.
  • While you can achieve similar behavior with a FetchXML query, Table Binding:
    • centralizes how the current record is selected;
    • makes the current record available to Twig and forms via a global object;
    • integrates with other plugin features (e.g., views, conditional access).

When table binding is enabled for a WordPress post, a current record object is established.
It contains a Table object with the column values of the bound table row (record). In Twig, the current record is exposed via the global object binding.record. The type of table binding determines how the right record is picked per request.

Types of table binding​

table binding mode

Available options

  • Via GUID in query string
    Reads a GUID from a URL query parameter you choose in binding options.
    Example URL (parameter id):
    https://example.com/sample-page/?id=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000

  • Via alternate key in query string
    Uses the table’s configured alternate key; you provide query parameter names for the key columns.
    Example URL (parameters attr1 and attr2):
    https://example.com/sample-page/?attr1=val1&attr2=val2

  • Via custom code
    Resolve the record programmatically using two WordPress filters:
    integration-cds/binding/custom/target-{$postId} and integration-cds/binding/custom/url-{$postId}
    (where {$postId} is the WordPress post ID of the bound page).

When to use which

  • GUID in query — canonical “record details” pages and predictable URLs.
  • Alternate key — human‑friendly URLs or when integrating with external systems using business keys.
  • Custom code — complex routing rules, SSO scenarios, or non‑URL selection logic.

Conditional access​

In many scenarios, you will want to limit which table rows a user can access (e.g., self‑service portals where users should only see their invoices).

How it works

  • Provide a FetchXML query (it is a Twig template) that determines the relationship between the requested table row and the current visitor.
  • Access is granted if the evaluated query returns at least one row.
  • The template can reference:
    • binding — the current record context,
    • user — the current user context (if User Binding is implemented).

Minimal example (grants access only if the current user’s contact is related to the requested account):

<fetch mapping="logical">
  <entity name="contact">
    <attribute name="contactid" />
    <filter>
      <condition attribute="contactid" operator="eq" value="{{ user.reference.Id }}" />
    </filter>
    <link-entity name="account" from="primarycontactid" to="contactid">
      <filter>
        <condition attribute="accountid" operator="eq" value="{{ binding.reference.Id }}" />
      </filter>
    </link-entity>
  </entity>
</fetch>

Evaluation logic​

Access to the post is allowed if:

  • Binding is not configured, or
  • Binding is configured, and
    • Conditional access is not enabled, or
    • Conditional access is enabled, and
      • The query template is empty (not configured), or
      • The evaluated template becomes empty, or
      • The evaluated query returns a non‑empty collection

Access to the post is not allowed if:

  • Binding is configured, and
    • Conditional access is enabled, and
      • The query template is not empty, and
        • Dataverse connection is not configured, or
        • The evaluated query returns an empty collection, or
        • Query failed

How to use FetchXML template and view

Configure global binding settings​

Open Settings UI → Binding to configure global options.

Choose post types to allow binding​

  • WordPress has built‑in post types (posts, pages), and plugins may add custom post types.
  • Select which post types should be eligible for Table Binding.

Choose default posts for bound Dataverse tables​

  • Several features (including views and the entity_url() Twig filter) may link table references to bound WordPress posts.
  • In WordPress, table binding is a many‑to‑many association. In global settings you can choose the default post for each bound table.
  • Bind a post to a table at least once before it appears in the dropdown.
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Configure Binding Settings for a page

The first time you configure binding, the page selector may be disabled.
In that case:

  1. Go to WordPress and open the page you want to bind.
  2. Click Configure binding and choose the table to take data from.
  3. Return to the Dataverse Admin Area → Binding → Page Binding and select the page name.

Configure post binding​

  1. Open the list for the post type you need (e.g., All Posts, All Pages, or a custom post type).
  2. Hover a post and click Configure Binding → Setup binding.
  3. Choose the table from the dropdown.
  4. Choose how to select the record (see “Types of table binding” above) and set the options.
  5. Click Save.

All bound posts display a small Dynamics 365 logo beside the post title.

Implement custom binding​

If you choose binding via custom code, implement these two filter hooks:

  • integration-cds/binding/custom/target-{$postId}
    Expects: a Table object or NULL.
    Also receives: $target (string) — logical name of the target table.

  • integration-cds/binding/custom/url-{$postId}
    Expects: a string containing a URL to the bound post or NULL.
    Also receives: WP_Post $post and TableReference $ref.
    You should return a URL that displays $ref on the requested bound page.

Implement conditional access​

Enable conditional access on the page by checking the option and pasting a FetchXML query in the textarea.

  • The query is a Twig template; all usual Twig constructs, objects, filters and functions are available.
  • Members of the binding object refer to the current record; members of the user object refer to the current user if User Binding is implemented.

Sample template stub

It grants access only to users which are bound to contacts which in turn belong to the requested Account.

<fetch version="1.0" output-format="xml-platform" mapping="logical" >
  <entity name="contact" >
    <attribute name="emailaddress1" />
    <attribute name="contactid" />
    <filter>
      <condition attribute="contactid" operator="eq" value="{{user.reference.Id}}" />
    </filter>
    <link-entity name="account" from="accountid" to="parentcustomerid" >
      <filter>
        <condition attribute="accountid" operator="eq" value="{{binding.reference.Id}}" />
      </filter>
    </link-entity>
  </entity>
</fetch>

More examples: FetchXML templates

Use table binding on your website​

  • Manage page binding in WordPress Admin → Bindings → Page Binding.
  • You can choose any page for any table; by default, only the contact table is visible.
  • To make additional tables available in the selector:
    1. Create a new page in WordPress.
    2. Click Configure Binding on that page.
    3. Select the Dataverse table you want to bind.
    4. After saving, the table will appear in Bindings → Page Binding.

Information retrieved via table binding is commonly used with forms to update the current record (row).
See Forms documentation for details.

Accessing current record in Twig

{{ binding.record["fullname"] }}

More Twig usage examples

Troubleshooting​

  1. URL looks correct but displays a different record
  • Verify that the page’s binding configuration matches the URL method (GUID vs alternate key).
  1. Access is unexpectedly denied
  • Inspect the evaluated Twig/FetchXML template used for conditional access.
  • Confirm that the template produces a valid query and returns rows.
  • Check Dataverse connection status if the query fails.
  1. Record fields do not display
  • Ensure the column logical names are correct.
  • Confirm that the current user has permission to read the record in Dataverse.