XrmToolSuite.ErdGenerator 1.2026.7.11

🗺 ERD Generator

An XrmToolBox plugin that generates Dataverse entity-relationship diagrams from live metadata. Scope by all tables / solution / publisher, pick tables, choose a column-display level, filter (custom-only / managed-only), preview the Mermaid output, and export to eight formats. Read-only — it reads metadata and never modifies schema.

Features

The SDK-free ERD model, emitters, and the ErdModel.Apply filter are UI-free and unit-tested; the live metadata collector, PNG (GDI+) and PDF (MigraDoc-GDI) renderers are manual-tested.

Exports

Eight formats, all run off the UI thread:

• Mermaid erDiagram
• PlantUML
• SVG (hand-written; colours custom table headers distinctly)
• PNG (GDI+ raster)
• PDF (native, via the MigraDoc/PdfSharp-GDI chain)
• HTML (self-contained; embeds the SVG)
• Markdown (embeds a mermaid erDiagram block)
• JSON (the structured ERD model, written indented / pretty-printed)

Help & Support

A Help button (right of the toolbar) opens a Help & Support dialog with Documentation, Report an issue, and a support link, each opened via Process.Start. The control implements IHelpPlugin and IGitHubPlugin, so XrmToolBox's own tool-menu links resolve to the same GitHub project (kkora/XrmToolSuite).

Build & install

On the machine that runs XrmToolBox, build straight into the Plugins folder:

dotnet build src\Tools\XrmToolSuite.ErdGenerator\XrmToolSuite.ErdGenerator.csproj -c Release -p:DeployToXTB=true

Restart XrmToolBox and open ERD Generator.

This tool is not single-DLL: it ships the native-PDF (PdfSharp/MigraDoc-GDI) export dependency chain — the tool DLL plus its five -gdi PdfSharp/MigraDoc DLLs — flat in the Plugins root (never a subfolder), or XrmToolBox silently drops it from the Tools list. The one-step build above copies the whole chain for you.

See ./DEPLOYMENT.md for manual-install steps and troubleshooting, and the suite-wide Deployment_Guide_XrmToolBox.md for the full DLL list and export-tool guidance.

Usage

1. Connect to your Dataverse environment (System Customizer or higher recommended).
2. Choose a scope — all tables, a solution, or a publisher — and load the table list.
3. Check the tables to include, pick a column-display level, and set any custom/managed or relationship-type filters.
4. Review the live Mermaid preview.
5. Export to any of the eight formats.

Notes & limitations

• Read-only: the tool reads metadata only and never modifies schema.
• The ERD model, emitters and filter stay UI-free and SDK-free, and degrade missing metadata to notes rather than failing.
• Lookup columns to tables outside the selected set are listed and marked but not drawn as edges.
• PNG (GDI+) and PDF (MigraDoc-GDI) rendering is only verifiable in a live Windows/XrmToolBox session and is pending manual sign-off.