Microsoft Dynamics CRM – Plugin Tool Export XSLT

I have been tasked with documenting our Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 plug-ins and workflows, and have created a simple way to visualize the contents exported by the CRM Plugin Registration Tool.

The tool exports details about selected assemblies into XML format. An easy way to create visualizations for XML is to utilize XSLT (XML stylesheets).  I have created a simple XSLT, which results in the exported file looking like the image below:

The nice thing about this is that using basic XSL the contents of the export can be manipulated into a variety of different visual representations. I have chosen a very simple, tabular layout with the items grouped by entity, then sorted by message, order of execution, and finally by the name of the plug-in. The XSL is posted after the break.

In order to get this to work two lines must be added to the beginning of the plugin export XML:

Once that is added, it is then simply a matter of creating the “plugins.xsl” file and viewing the XML in a compatible browser. The XSL file contents can be adjusted for coloring, or to even add images and behavior if so desired. It is a little longer than it needs to be because I have included the style information in the file itself.

XSL Code:

	.
	/



Entity
Order
Message
Plugin
Description
Mode
Stage








			stage stage

				Sync
				Async


			mode mode

				Pre
				Post





			light
			dark



Assembly
Workflow