Why comparison depth matters

Compare what Dynamics 365 actually is.

ConfigCompare works at configuration-table and Data Entity level, then connects factual Differences and Matches to governance, ownership and action.

Configuration scope

Table depth with business-level Data Entity support.

Tables are the only first-class representation of configuration data in Dynamics 365: views, Data Entities and even forms are curations of some subset of it. Because comparison is grounded in tables, coverage is not limited by what entity design chose to expose.

A field left out of an entity or a form still exists at table level, and still drives application behaviour. ConfigCompare captures from both Tables and Data Entities, so semantic representations and supported export scenarios remain available without becoming the ceiling.

Curated starter catalogue

≈1,930

Total D365 F&SCM tables

≈14,000

≈14% of the table surface - the configuration-relevant areas.

A starting point, not a limit

Most Dynamics 365 tables hold transactional data, so the starter catalogue focuses on the areas that carry configuration - a meaningful baseline in minutes rather than a 14,000-table capture. The catalogue is not fixed: tables can be added through the curated list, manual entry or the form helper, for ISV solutions, bespoke development and customer-specific areas. Scope is a governance decision rather than a technical limit.

200
Curated Data Entities

Business-level semantic representations, compared alongside table-level configuration.

201,000
Records in the reference benchmark

Captured from a Contoso-scale environment spanning 30 legal entities.

46,148
Configurable decisions per legal entity

Individual multi-option settings, not records - the weight of configuration behind a single company.

Catalogue figures are approximate and maintained by D365 F&SCM version.

Approach comparison

Comparison is useful when evidence can be governed.

The distinction is not simply more rows. It is the ability to connect coverage, structural insight and deterministic results to responsibility and control.

Scroll the table sideways to compare both approaches.

Comparison between ConfigCompare configuration-level analysis and an approach limited to Data Entities
CriterionConfigCompare configuration levelEntity-limited approach
Comparison scopeTables and Data Entities within the governed configuration scope.Limited to configuration exposed by the available entity design.
Configuration coverageA curated, extensible catalogue maintained by D365 version and module.Coverage depends on which entities exist and what each entity exposes.
Structural changeMetadata analysis can identify table and column additions, removals, data types, sizes and labels.Underlying application structure outside the entity definition is not visible.
Importance and ownershipRulesets classify results and assign Responsibility at governed levels.Prioritisation and ownership typically require an additional process or tool.
Change governanceConfigTrack links evidence to risk, approvals, tasks and organisational context.Comparison output remains separate from change-governance workflow.
Extending scopeA form helper surfaces source tables so ISV, bespoke and customer areas can be added.New or maintained entities may require development effort.

What the evidence looks like

Down to the field, and down to the structure.

Table and field level Differences answer what changed. Metadata analysis answers whether the application structure itself changed - which entity-limited comparison cannot see.

ConfigCompare - Difference detail
One Difference, fully attributable - the table, the row, the field, both values, and the severity the Ruleset gave it.
ConfigCompare - Difference detail
ConfigCompare - Metadata analysis
Structural change introduced by an update, visible before it reaches business users.
ConfigCompare - Metadata analysis

Structure and data, separately

A table can be structurally identical but hold different data, hold identical data within a changed structure, or differ in both. Reporting the two dimensions separately lets each finding be assessed on its own terms.

Values a person can read

Enumerations and record references are resolved to their human-readable meaning alongside the raw stored value - a stored 0 shown as "No". Table-level evidence stays readable for functional consultants, not only technical staff.

Binary configuration, honestly

Some configuration is stored as binary objects - approval workflows are a common example. A change is detected deterministically by content signature, but the contents are not decoded: ConfigCompare reports that the value differs, not what changed inside it.

Reference-scale evidence

Enterprise-scale configuration without a spreadsheet bottleneck.

In a Contoso-scale reference environment with 30 legal entities, ConfigCompare captured 201,000 configuration records - an average of 46,148 multi-option settings for every legal entity.

Observed reference timing

≈30seconds

Snapshot capture and comparison have each completed in approximately 30 seconds at that reference scale.

Actual timings depend on selected scope, environment performance, infrastructure, concurrency and workload conditions.

See the depth

Compare a configuration question that matters to your organisation.

Explore table-level evidence, Data Entity support, metadata analysis and governance against your own Dynamics estate.

Book a comparison demo