RapidStart App Removal
Uninstalling RapidStart Apps or Addons
If you would like to remove a RapidStart App, these are the instructions. Note that if you have not started using the environment, it may be faster to just delete or reset it. If you need to retain the environment, follow these steps.
The first thing to understand is the difference between an App and an Addon. “Apps” are independent from one another, for example RapidStart CRM Plus and RapidStart Project for Dataverse are independent apps. You can remove one or the other or both in any order. They do not depend on each other.
“Addons”, like RapidStart Time Sheets Addon are dependent on RapidStart CRM Plus. You can remove the RapidStart Time Sheets Addon, but in order to remove RapidStart CRM Plus, you would need to remove the RapidStart Time Sheets Addon first. This concept is called “dependency”. Where one solution becomes dependent on another previously existing solution.
If you have not made any customizations, or if you are not sure if customizations have been made, you can proceed to Step 1 and attempt a normal removal.
If you have made customizations to any RapidStart apps or addons, dependencies were likely created. Those dependencies will need to be removed before you can remove the app or addon. In this case, you will need to perform Step 2 before removal.
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Explanation of Microsoft's Solutioning System
Microsoft’s Power Platform and Dynamics 365 which is also built on it, use the concept of “solutions” to package and manage changes and customizations you make to your environment. These solutions can include a wide variety of components, such as entities, fields, forms, views, plugins, workflows, and many others.
A dependency arises when one component depends on another component to work. For instance, a workflow that updates a field on an entity has a dependency on that field and entity. If the entity or field is deleted, the workflow will not work correctly. The same principle applies to other types of dependencies, such as those between plugins, custom entities, and more.
The purpose of not being able to remove a solution due to dependencies is to maintain the integrity and functionality of your environment. If you were able to remove a solution that other components depend on, those components might stop working correctly, which could disrupt your business operations. This could also lead to data inconsistencies and system errors.
By preventing you from removing a solution that has dependencies, Microsoft helps you avoid these problems. If you attempt to delete a solution that has dependencies, the platform will show you a list of the dependencies, which can be helpful in determining what impact the removal might have. You would then need to either remove the dependencies before you can remove the solution, or reconsider the removal if the dependencies are necessary for your operations.
This strict handling of dependencies is a common practice in software and systems development, aimed at preserving the functionality and stability of the system.
Note: This is a feature of Microsoft’s “solutioning” system, it is not something created by RapidStart.
Step 1. Solution Removal.
Start by going to the Power Apps Portal at https://make.powerapps.com/. There are actually a couple of places where you can remove apps, but we prefer this one as the error messaging seems more complete.
Confirm that you are in the desired environment. Select the solution you wish to remove. Select Delete. Removal will begin, and if no dependencies exist, removal will complete shortly.
Step 2. Dependency Removal Prior to Solution Removal
If Step 1 failed, it was most likely due to dependencies that have been created.
If you followed our guidance on customizing, locating and removing these dependencies will be simple. Unfortunately, there is more than one way to customize and some methods will make locating and removing dependencies more challenging. We’ll assume that you did follow our guidance.
The fastest way to narrow the list of dependencies that are keeping any solution from uninstalling is to attempt to uninstall it as outlined in Step 1. The error will include a reference to any dependencies and provide a list of the specific ones preventing removal.
Clicking on “View Dependencies”, will open the following list.
In the list above we can see four things that are preventing the removal. On the right we can see they are all related to an Entity Relationship. In this case, we had created a custom “Products” table in our “My Customizations” solution. We added a relationship for our Products table to the RapidStart CRM Opportunity table, which has created a dependency. In order to remove RapidStart CRM, we will first need to remove this Entity Relationship dependency.
We have opened our My Customizations solution, and our Products table, its relationships, and identified the relationship to the RapidStart Opportunity. We select it and remove it from the environment. We are now able to go back and successfully remove RapidStart CRM.
This is a simple example. Only one Entity Relationship dependency had been created, and it was created following our guidance in a “My Customizations” solution making it easy to locate. Depending on what and how you may have customized, you could have many dependencies. If you did not follow our guidance, it may take some effort to locate them. Be aware this can be a challenge for experienced professionals also.