How to use nested expands to retrieve related data from the MS CRM API

Microsoft Dynamics 365 stands out as a powerful tool for managing and analyzing data about customers, leads, and other critical business relationships. To harness its full potential, it’s essential to retrieve and work with related data efficiently. This is where nested expands in the MS CRM API come into play. In this article, we’ll explore how to use nested expands to retrieve related data from the MS CRM API.

Nested expands is a powerful feature of the Microsoft CRM API that allows you to retrieve related data in a single query. This can be useful for reducing the number of requests you need to make to the API and for getting a more complete view of your data.

To use nested expands, you simply need to chain together multiple $expand query options. For example, to retrieve the account and contact entities related to a lead, you would use the following query:

GET /api/data/v9.1/leads?$expand=account($expand=contact)

This query will return a list of leads, along with their associated account and contact entities.

You can also use nested expands to retrieve related entities that are themselves related to other entities. For example, to retrieve the account and contact entities related to a lead, and then retrieve the opportunity entities related to the account, you would use the following query:

GET /api/data/v9.1/leads?$expand=account($expand=contact,opportunity)

This query will return a list of leads, along with their associated account, contacts, and opportunity entities.

When using nested expands, it’s important to be aware of the following:

• Nested expands can only be used to retrieve entities that are related to the primary entity in your query.
• You can nest expands up to a depth of 10 levels.
• Nested expands can increase the size and complexity of your query. It’s important to test your queries thoroughly to make sure that they are performant.

Here are some additional tips for using nested expands in MS CRM API queries:

• Use nested expands to reduce the number of requests you need to make to the API.
• Only the nest expands to the depth that you need.
• Test your queries thoroughly to make sure that they are performant.

Examples of nested expands in MS CRM API queries

Here are some examples of nested expands in MS CRM API queries:

Retrieve the account and contact entities related to a lead

GET /api/data/v9.1/leads?$expand=account($expand=contact)

Retrieve the account, contact, and opportunity entities related to a lead

GET /api/data/v9.1/leads?$expand=account($expand=contact,opportunity)

Retrieve the account, contact, and opportunity entities related to a lead, and then retrieve the case entities related to the opportunity

GET /api/data/v9.1/leads?$expand=account($expand=contact,opportunity($expand=case))

Retrieve the account, contact, and opportunity entities related to a lead, and then retrieve the product entities related to the opportunity

GET /api/data/v9.1/leads?$expand=account($expand=contact,opportunity($expand=product))

Use cases for nested expands in MS CRM API queries

Nested expands can be used in a variety of use cases, such as:

• Retrieving all of the related data for a specific entity, such as a lead or opportunity.
• Generating reports that require data from multiple entities.
• Building custom integrations with other systems.

Best Practices for Using Nested Expands

While nested expands offer incredible flexibility, it’s essential to use them judiciously to avoid overloading your API requests and slowing down your system. Here are some best practices:

1. Optimize Your Selects: Always specify which fields you need to retrieve to minimize unnecessary data transfer.
   
   
2. Avoid Deep Nesting: Deeply nested expands can lead to complex and less performant queries. Use them sparingly, and ensure they genuinely add value to your data retrieval.
   
   
3. Test and Monitor: Test the performance of your nested expands in a sandbox environment before deploying them in production. Monitor API response times to identify potential bottlenecks.
   
   
4. Consider Paging: For large datasets, implement paging to retrieve data in smaller chunks to improve query efficiency.

Reference: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-apps/developer/data-platform/webapi/query-data-web-api