Hello Everyone,

Considering that lots of organizations with huge volumes of transactional data can exceed Excel’s 1Million row limit, it might be a good idea to enable Copilot for Finance to use datasets loaded in PowerPivot, which do not have the 1 Million limit per dataset, to perform the reconciliation.

You thoughts are appreciated on this.

​Hello Everyone, Considering that lots of organizations with huge volumes of transactional data can exceed Excel’s 1Million row limit, it might be a good idea to enable Copilot for Finance to use datasets loaded in PowerPivot, which do not have the 1 Million limit per dataset, to perform the reconciliation. You thoughts are appreciated on this.  Read More

​

Background

Sometimes, we need to use same Logic App Standard bundle across different environments to make sure the workflows have same behaviors.

For example, we have DEV, UAT and PROD environment and would like to keep the PROD environment always to use the same bundle during the development. With default configurations (AzureFunctionsJobHost__extensionBundle__version = [1.*, 2.0.0) ), the backend will always upgrade to last bundle version which might cause unexpected behaviors across environments.

In order to avoid this kind of issues, we can ping a specific public bundle for all the environments to maintain same behavior.

Consideration

Normally, we only need to modify AzureFunctionsJobHost__extensionBundle__version in environment variables to fallback to previous bundle version. But it is not a long-term resolution since old bundles might be removed from backend instances.

So the following instruction introduce how to configure a public bundle as a special version for long-term usage.

Configuration Steps

1. All the installed bundles can be found in Kudu: C:Program Files (x86)FuncExtensionBundlesMicrosoft.Azure.Functions.ExtensionBundle.Workflows, we can check in workflow overview page for current using bundle version in lower environment (eg: dev, UAT) and download the specific bundle.

2. Once we have the bundle files, it will be better to use a special version number, for example 1.99.99, so we need to modify the version number in bundle.json (root folder of downloaded files). 

The sample content is following：

        {“id”:”Microsoft.Azure.Functions.ExtensionBundle.Workflows”,”version”:”1.99.99“}

After the modification, compress all files as zip and be aware of that we don’t need root folder in zip.

3. To ping the bundle, we need to upload modified zip file into Logic App Standard file share (home), if you don’t use private bundle before, you need to create path in Kudu like following: homedataFunctionsExtensionBundlesMicrosoft.Azure.Functions.ExtensionBundle.Workflows[version number (for example 1.99.99)].

Then drag and drop zip in Kudu, it will auto-unzip the file and upload to the folder which normally need to take ~10 minutes.

The folder structure should be like following after uploading:

4. Change AzureFunctionsJobHost__extensionBundle__version in Environment Variables from [1.*, 2.0.0) to the version you specified, rg: [1.99.99]. Once you apply the changes, Logic App Standard will restart itself, once runtime rebooted, we can open any workflows to verify the bundle version (sometimes, a force refresh required to clear cache via using Ctrl + F5).

​Microsoft Tech Community – Latest Blogs –Read More 

Hi,

Is this a bug and anyone else with this? (Running latest version of Teams: 24277.3504.3180.7017)

Issue: I have custom content types (document templates) so when clicking the “New” button under Files in Teams we can use our document templates. It works fine however when in a sub folder then my custom templates are not there and I only see the default ones. This works when in SharePoint and the issue is isolated to teams. Have tested on multiple teams with the same behavior. See screenshots.

Root folder (General) – my templates are there:

Sub folder – my templates are missing:

​Hi, Is this a bug and anyone else with this? (Running latest version of Teams: 24277.3504.3180.7017) Issue: I have custom content types (document templates) so when clicking the “New” button under Files in Teams we can use our document templates. It works fine however when in a sub folder then my custom templates are not there and I only see the default ones. This works when in SharePoint and the issue is isolated to teams. Have tested on multiple teams with the same behavior. See screenshots. Root folder (General) – my templates are there: Sub folder – my templates are missing:   Read More

​

Clarification regarding the URL change

Hi , I noticed the shift from the old URL format to the new URL format for old Office 365 Connectors.
After the transition to new URL format in O365 connectors it looks like this :
New URL format for 0365 connectors  : https://companyadmin.webhook.office.com/...

In new MS teams  workflows the URL format is this : 
https://prod-256.westus.logic.azure.com:443/workflows/…

We want to differentiate between the  O365 connector URLs and  new MS Teams Workflow URLs
currently if we observe the URLs we can see that for 0365 connectors we have webhook term in the URL  and for new MS Teams Workflow URLswe have workflows term in the URL . So that we can use MessageCard or AdaptiveCard accordingly in the mean time for O365 connector and MS Teams Workflows respectively.

Can we rely on this logic to differentiate between the O365 connector URLs and new MS Teams Workflow URLs .

Will this pattern of using “webhook” for old connectors and “workflows” for new MS Teams Workflow URLs continue to be followed in the future, allowing us to differentiate between legacy and new integrations?

Regarding the MessageCard support in new MS Teams Workflows

In this doc. it is mentioned that 
We are currently developing a method for webhooks in the Workflow app to support the following scenarios and will share more details before March 30, 2025.

Could you provide a specific ETA or date for when MessageCard support in the Workflow app will be fully available? We understand more details are expected by March 30, 2025, but we’re looking for a clearer timeline.

​Clarification regarding the URL changeHi , I noticed the shift from the old URL format to the new URL format for old Office 365 Connectors.After the transition to new URL format in O365 connectors it looks like this :New URL format for 0365 connectors  : https://companyadmin.webhook.office.com/…In new MS teams  workflows the URL format is this : https://prod-256.westus.logic.azure.com:443/workflows/…We want to differentiate between the  O365 connector URLs and  new MS Teams Workflow URLscurrently if we observe the URLs we can see that for 0365 connectors we have webhook term in the URL  and for new MS Teams Workflow URLswe have workflows term in the URL . So that we can use MessageCard or AdaptiveCard accordingly in the mean time for O365 connector and MS Teams Workflows respectively.Can we rely on this logic to differentiate between the O365 connector URLs and new MS Teams Workflow URLs .Will this pattern of using “webhook” for old connectors and “workflows” for new MS Teams Workflow URLs continue to be followed in the future, allowing us to differentiate between legacy and new integrations?Regarding the MessageCard support in new MS Teams WorkflowsIn this doc. it is mentioned that We are currently developing a method for webhooks in the Workflow app to support the following scenarios and will share more details before March 30, 2025.Could you provide a specific ETA or date for when MessageCard support in the Workflow app will be fully available? We understand more details are expected by March 30, 2025, but we’re looking for a clearer timeline.   Read More

​

Hi 🙂 After I updated excel/office365 existing files in excel with a live connection (but also new) are no longer working. All permissions are unchanged so I cant really figure out what is causing this.. The option for “Users can work with semantic models in Excel using a live connection” is also enabled for the entire organization. Are there any other users experiencing these same challenges? or is this issue “local” for us?

When I try to export a new file:

When I open an existing file:

​Hi 🙂 After I updated excel/office365 existing files in excel with a live connection (but also new) are no longer working. All permissions are unchanged so I cant really figure out what is causing this.. The option for “Users can work with semantic models in Excel using a live connection” is also enabled for the entire organization. Are there any other users experiencing these same challenges? or is this issue “local” for us? When I try to export a new file: When I open an existing file:    Read More

​

hello, we tried to use Town Halls and see that every attandee can see chat but noone can write there anything. Chat availiable only for presenters. Why is it so? 

​hello, we tried to use Town Halls and see that every attandee can see chat but noone can write there anything. Chat availiable only for presenters. Why is it so?   Read More

​

Hello,

our customer has a little unique setup.

They`ve 10 mailboxes and one “main mailbox” where everyone has access to,

We have a forwarding rule from every user mailbox to the main mailbox, where more rules sort those incoming mails into folders for each user.

So if user1[at]customer.com gets an e-mail, it gets forwarded to main[at]customer.com and within main it gets sorted to user1’s folder. Thats working even if the user1 is in TO or CC

The only circumstance this setting doesn’t work is, if the mail goes TO user1[at]customer.com and CC user2[at]customer.com. In this situation the mail is only received once and sorted to one of those folders. In message trace i get a drop (“250 2.1.5 RESOLVER.FWD.Forwarded; recipient forwarded”)

Any ideas how we can fix that issue?

Thanks in advance

​Hello, our customer has a little unique setup.They`ve 10 mailboxes and one “main mailbox” where everyone has access to, We have a forwarding rule from every user mailbox to the main mailbox, where more rules sort those incoming mails into folders for each user. So if user1[at]customer.com gets an e-mail, it gets forwarded to main[at]customer.com and within main it gets sorted to user1’s folder. Thats working even if the user1 is in TO or CC The only circumstance this setting doesn’t work is, if the mail goes TO user1[at]customer.com and CC user2[at]customer.com. In this situation the mail is only received once and sorted to one of those folders. In message trace i get a drop (“250 2.1.5 RESOLVER.FWD.Forwarded; recipient forwarded”) Any ideas how we can fix that issue? Thanks in advance  Read More

​

As a software developer, you’re always seeking ways to build scalable, high-performance applications. Azure Cosmos DB for MongoDB offers the flexibility of MongoDB with the reliability and global reach of Azure. In this blog, we’ll explore how to integrate Azure Cosmos DB for MongoDB with your ASP.NET Core application, walking through the key steps for setting up a simple API to perform CRUD operations. By leveraging this powerful combination, you can streamline your development process and unlock new possibilities for your data-driven projects. 

In our previous blog, we delved into the capabilities of azure cosmos DB for MongoDB using Open MongoDB shell in Azure portal. I highly recommend checking it out to understand the fundamentals.

Topics Covered 

Creating an ASP.NET Core Web Application 
Connecting to Azure Cosmos DB for MongoDB 
Performing CRUD Operations on data 
Testing our API with REST Client in Visual Studio Code   

Prerequisites 

To achieve this goal, ensure you have the following: 

Azure Account with Subscriptions: Make sure you have an active Azure account with the necessary subscriptions. 

Foundations of Azure Cosmos DB: Review the foundational concepts of Azure Cosmos DB, also discussed in our earlier blog. 

Understanding of Azure Cosmos DB For MongoDB: Familiarize yourself with what Azure Cosmos DB for MongoDB is, as covered in our previous blog. 

Development Environment: Use Visual Studio Code or Visual Studio as your Integrated Development Environment (IDE). I will be using Visual Studio Code. 

.NET SDK: Install the .NET SDK to develop and run your ASP.NET Core applications. 

Creating an ASP.NET Core Web Application 

An ASP.NET Core web application is a high-performance, cross-platform framework for building modern, cloud-ready web applications and services.  

To verify that you have .NET SDK installed, open your terminal and run the following command. 

dotnet –version

I will be using .NET 8: 

To create an ASP.NET Core web application, start by running the following commands in your terminal. These will generate a new Web API project and open it in Visual Studio Code, a lightweight and versatile code editor. 

dotnet new webapi –use-controllers -o LibraryWebApi

cd LibraryWebApi

code .

Now that our project is set up, the next step is to install the MongoDB.Driver package, which provides the necessary tools to interact with a MongoDB database. 

The MongoDB.Driver package is an official MongoDB client library for .NET, offering support for connecting, querying, and managing data in MongoDB databases seamlessly within your ASP.NET Core application. 

To install the package from NuGet, open the integrated terminal in your project folder and run the following command: 

dotnet add package MongoDB.Driver

This will add the MongoDB driver to your project, allowing us to integrate MongoDB operations in our application.  The package will be added to LibraryWebApi.csproj 

Azure Cosmos DB for MongoDB is a fully managed NoSQL, relational, and vector database designed for modern app development. Known for its low-latency and high-performance capabilities, Azure Cosmos DB for MongoDB enables fast response times. When using it, you can interact with it as if it were a standard MongoDB database, making it easy to integrate into your existing MongoDB-based applications. 

In this blog, we’ll demonstrate how to create a simple library web API with CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) operations using Azure Cosmos DB for MongoDB. 

Setting up Models 

To get started, let’s define our data models. In your solution explorer, at the root of your project, create a Models folder. We’ll begin by adding an Author class that will represent the collection of authors in our database. 

Creating the Author Model 

Inside the Models folder, add a file named Author.cs and include the following code:

using System;

using MongoDB.Bson;

using MongoDB.Bson.Serialization.Attributes;

namespace LibraryWebApi.Models;

public class Author

{
[BsonId]

[BsonRepresentation(BsonType.ObjectId)]

public string? Id { get; set; }

[BsonElement(“Name”)]

public required string Name { get; set; }

[BsonElement(“Bio”)]

public required string Bio { get; set; }

}

This Author class will map to the Authors collection in MongoDB. The Id field is represented as a MongoDB object ID, and the other properties (Name and Bio) represent the fields for each author. 

b. Creating the Book Model 

Next, add another file in the Models folder named Book.cs. This will represent a collection of books in the database. Here’s the code for the Book class: 

using System;

using MongoDB.Bson;

using MongoDB.Bson.Serialization.Attributes;

namespace LibraryWebApi.Models;

public class Book

{

[BsonId]

[BsonRepresentation(BsonType.ObjectId)]

public string? Id { get; set; }

[BsonElement(“Title”)]

public required string Title { get; set; }

[BsonElement(“PublishedYear”)]

public DateOnly PublishedYear { get; set; }

[BsonElement(“AuthorId”)]

[BsonRepresentation(BsonType.ObjectId)]

public required string AuthorId { get; set; }

}

The Book class has properties for Title, PublishedYear, and an AuthorId field, which links each book to an author in the Authors collection using a MongoDB object ID. 

This is how your file structure should be organized in Visual Studio Code: 

Next, you’ll need to create an Azure Cosmos DB resource in the Azure portal. For detailed steps on how to provision Azure Cosmos DB for MongoDB (VCore), refer to the blog post I mentioned earlier. It provides a step-by-step guide to help you set up the resource. Visit the blog here. 

I created a cluster named cosmos-mongodb. To connect your application to the newly created resource, go to the settings and retrieve the connection string. You will use this string to establish a connection between your application and the database. 

NOTE: Keep your connection string confidential—never expose it in public repositories or share it openly. 

In your appsettings.json file, add the connection string you copied from your Azure Cosmos DB resource along with the name of the database you want to create. For this example, we will use LibraryDB, which will automatically be created when the application starts. 

Below is an example setup for the appsettings.json: 

{
“ConnectionStrings”: {

“MongoDB”: “mongodb+srv://<admin>:<password>@cosmos-mongodb.mongocluster.cosmos.azure.com/?tls=true&authMechanism=SCRAM-SHA-256&retrywrites=false&maxIdleTimeMS=120000”

},

“MongoDB”: {

“DatabaseName”: “LibraryDB”

},

“Logging”: {

“LogLevel”: {

“Default”: “Information”,

“Microsoft.AspNetCore”: “Warning”

}

},

“AllowedHosts”: “*”

}

Now that we have the connection string set up, the next step is to create a DbContext to handle interactions with the database. 

Inside the Models folder, create a new folder called DbContext. 
In the DbContext folder, add a file named MongoDbContext.cs. 

The MongoDbContext class will manage database interactions and provide access to the collections of Books and Authors. Copy the code below and paste in the MongoDbContext.cs. 

using System;
using MongoDB.Driver;
namespace LibraryWebApi.Models.DbContext;
public class MongoDbContext
{
private readonly IMongoDatabase _database; // used to interact with the database

public MongoDbContext(IConfiguration configuration)

{
var client = new MongoClient(configuration.GetConnectionString(“MongoDB”)); //connect to the database

_database = client.GetDatabase(configuration[“MongoDB:DatabaseName”]);

}

public IMongoCollection<Book> Books => _database.GetCollection<Book>(“Books”);

public IMongoCollection<Author> Authors => _database.GetCollection<Author>(“Authors”);

}

This should be the project structure and how files should be: 

Next, we need to set up the Singleton pattern in Program.cs, which serves as the entry point of the application. The Singleton pattern registers the MongoDbContext class with the dependency injection container, ensuring that only one instance of this class is created and shared across the entire application. This approach is crucial for maintaining a consistent connection to the database and managing data integrity. 

To register the MongoDbContext as a singleton service, add the following line of code: 

builder.Services.AddSingleton<MongoDbContext>();

Additionally, we need to configure JSON serialization options to prevent the default camel casing during serialization (the conversion of objects to JSON). You can achieve this by modifying the controller settings as follows: 

builder.Services.AddControllers()
.AddJsonOptions(
options =>options.JsonSerializerOptions.PropertyNamingPolicy = null);

This configuration will ensure that property names in the JSON output match the original casing in your C# models. 

Performing CRUD Operations on data 

Next, we will create the controllers necessary for performing CRUD operations on the Books and Authors collections. To do this, create two files: AuthorsController.cs and BooksController.cs, and then add the following code to each file. 

AuthorsController.cs File 

using System;

using LibraryWebApi.Models;

using LibraryWebApi.Models.DbContext;

using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc;

using MongoDB.Driver;
namespace LibraryWebApi.Controllers;

[ApiController]

[Route(“api/[controller]”)]
public class AuthorsController : ControllerBase
{
private readonly MongoDbContext _context;
public AuthorsController(MongoDbContext context) //passing the context to the controller

{
_context = context;

}

[HttpGet]
public async Task<ActionResult<IEnumerable<Author>>> GetAuthors()

{
var authors = await _context.Authors.Find(author => true).ToListAsync();
return Ok(authors);
}

[HttpGet(“{id}”)]

public async Task<ActionResult<Author>> GetAuthor(string id)

{
var author = await _context.Authors.Find(author => author.Id == id).FirstOrDefaultAsync();

if (author == null)

{
return NotFound();
}

return Ok(author);
}

[HttpPost]

public async Task<IActionResult> CreateAuthor(Author author)

{
await _context.Authors.InsertOneAsync(author);
return CreatedAtAction(nameof(GetAuthor), new { id = author.Id }, author);

}

[HttpPut(“{id}”)]

public async Task<IActionResult> UpdateAuthor(string id, Author updatedAuthor)

{
var authorToUpdate = await _context.Authors.Find(author => author.Id == id).FirstOrDefaultAsync();

if (authorToUpdate is null)

{
return NotFound();
}
updatedAuthor.Id = authorToUpdate.Id;
await _context.Authors.ReplaceOneAsync(author => author.Id == id, updatedAuthor);

return NoContent();
}

[HttpDelete(“{id}”)]

public async Task<IActionResult> DeleteAuthor(string id)

{
var result = await _context.Authors.DeleteOneAsync(author => author.Id == id);

if (result.IsAcknowledged && result.DeletedCount > 0)

{
return NoContent();
}
return NotFound();
}
}

b. BooksController.cs File 

using System;

using LibraryWebApi.Models;

using LibraryWebApi.Models.DbContext;

using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc;

using MongoDB.Driver;

namespace LibraryWebApi.Controllers;
[Route(“api/[controller]”)]

[ApiController]

public class BooksController : ControllerBase

{
public readonly MongoDbContext _context;
public BooksController(MongoDbContext context)

{
_context = context;

}

[HttpGet]
public async Task<ActionResult<IEnumerable<Book>>> GetBooks()

{
var books = await _context.Books.Find(book => true).ToListAsync();
return Ok(books);

}

[HttpGet(“{id}”)]

public async Task<ActionResult<Book>> GetBook(string id)

{
var book = await _context.Books.Find(book => book.Id == id).FirstOrDefaultAsync();
if (book == null)
{
return NotFound();
}
return Ok(book);
}

[HttpPost]

public async Task<IActionResult> CreateBook(Book book)

{
await _context.Books.InsertOneAsync(book);

return CreatedAtAction(nameof(GetBook), new { id = book.Id }, book);
}
[HttpPut(“{id}”)]

public async Task<IActionResult> UpdateBook(string id, Book updatedBook)

{
var bookToUpdate = await _context.Books.Find(book => book.Id == id).FirstOrDefaultAsync();

if (bookToUpdate is null)

{
return NotFound();
}
updatedBook.Id = bookToUpdate.Id;

await _context.Books.ReplaceOneAsync(book => book.Id == id, updatedBook);

return NoContent();
}

[HttpDelete(“{id}”)]

public async Task<IActionResult> DeleteBook(string id)

{
var result = await _context.Books.DeleteOneAsync(book => book.Id == id);

if (result.IsAcknowledged && result.DeletedCount > 0)

{
return NoContent();
}

return NotFound();
}
}

Now build the project to ensure that it can build successfully without any issue. In your terminal execute the following command.  

dotnet build

After a successful build, execute the following command in your terminal to run your application. 

dotnet run

Your API will run on localhost, and you can launch it in your browser to start testing your application. I recommend enabling Hot Reload, which automatically restarts your API whenever you make changes to your files. Additionally, you can trust HTTPS certificates to run your API securely over HTTPS. These options are optional and can be adjusted based on your preferences. 

Create a new file and name it louchSettings.json. 
Insert the following code into the file: 

NOTE: The port number where your Api will run might not be the same as mine. 

{
“profiles”: {

“https”: {

“commandName”: “Project”,

“dotnetRunMessages”: true,

“launchBrowser”: true,

“applicationUrl”: “https://localhost:71992”,

“environmentVariables”: {

“ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT”: “Development”

},

“hotReloadEnabled”: true

}

}

}

With this set-in place, you can run your application with the following command: 

dotnet watch run –launch-profile https

Testing our API with REST Client in Visual Studio Code     

It’s time to test your API! I recommend using the REST Client extension, which you can install in Visual Studio Code. This extension is efficient because it allows you to test your endpoints directly within your editor, eliminating the need to switch to an external tool. 

Create Author: 

2. Get All Authors: 

3. Get one Author 

4. Update an Author:  

5. Delete Author 

The same applies to Books Collection: 

Let’s return to the Azure portal to verify that our database, collections, and data have been successfully stored. Log in to the Azure portal, navigate to the resource you created, and click on Quick Start (Preview) to access the MongoShell. 

Open the Mongoshell and, when prompted, enter the password you set up for the cluster. 

To see available databases, run this command:  

show dbs

To use the available database:

Use LibraryDB

To see all collections in the database:

show collections

To see data in a collection:

db.Authors.find().pretty()

db.Books.find().pretty()

 This is the result I got after executing the commands above: 

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog!

In this post, we successfully explored how to connect Azure Cosmos DB for MongoDB to an ASP.NET web application through a small project. I encourage you to build on the skills you’ve gained here and add even more features to your applications. I hope you found this learning experience enjoyable and inspiring. Happy coding!

Read More 

Create a web API with ASP.NET Core and MongoDB 

Query documents in Azure Cosmos DB for MongoDB using .NET 

Manage a document in Azure Cosmos DB for MongoDB using .NET 

Get started with Azure Cosmos DB for MongoDB using JavaScript 

Get started with Azure Cosmos DB for MongoDB and Python 

Comparing MongoDB Atlas and Azure Cosmos DB for MongoDB 

Azure Cosmos DB Developer Specialty 

​Microsoft Tech Community – Latest Blogs –Read More 

Workspace in Edge is great!

Can I mark a workspace as activated, and when I click on a URL in another application, Edge opens the URL in the activated workspace?”

​Workspace in Edge is great!Can I mark a workspace as activated, and when I click on a URL in another application, Edge opens the URL in the activated workspace?”  Read More

​