Skip to content
English
Contact us
  • There are no suggestions because the search field is empty.

Enable In-App Help in Work 365

Applies To: Work 365 (Dynamics 365 / Power Platform)
Audience: System Administrators | Implementation Teams | User Enablement Leads

Overview

Work 365 supports custom help panes and guided tasks so users can access contextual help directly inside the app. Turning this on improves adoption and reduces support load by surfacing guidance where people work. You can enable it from the Modern interface or the Classic admin page.

Prerequisites

  • System Administrator (or equivalent) in the target environment

  • Work 365 app installed and accessible

  • Publishing rights (if using Classic settings)

Steps to Enable In-App Help

A) Modern Interface (preferred)

  1. Open your Work 365 (Dynamics 365 / Dataverse) environment.

  2. Go to Settings → Product → Features.

  3. Under Help features, turn on Enable custom help panes and guided tasks.

  4. Click Save.

Result: Users will see contextual help icons (❓) and guided task overlays in supported areas of Work 365.

B) Classic Admin Page (alternative)

  1. Open:
    https://yourorg.crm.dynamics.com/main.aspx?settingsonly=true

  2. Navigate to Settings → Administration → System Settings.

  3. In the Set custom help URL / Help features area, enable Enable custom help panes and guided tasks.

  4. Click OK. If prompted, Publish All Customizations.

(Optional) Point Help to Your Own Content

If you host internal documentation/LMS:

  1. In System Settings → Set custom help URL, add your help site URL (root or entity/page-specific).

  2. Save and publish.

  3. Test a few key pages to confirm the help pane opens your content.

What You Get After Enabling

  • Interactive help panes and guided prompts embedded in Work 365

  • Context-aware help based on the current page/entity

  • Ability to route help to your internal KB/LMS (custom help URL)

Verify It’s Working

  • Open a common page (e.g., Billing Contracts).

  • Click the help icon (❓) on the command bar or try Shift+? to open the help pane.

  • Confirm the pane loads and, if configured, displays your custom content.

Troubleshooting

  • Symptom: Help icon/pane not visible Likely Cause: Feature not enabled at org level Fix: Re-check Settings → Product → Features or System Settings and enable
  • Symptom: Pane opens but content is generic Likely Cause: Custom help URL not set Fix: Add your help URL in System Settings → Set custom help URL
  • Symptom: Changes not appearing Likely Cause: Browser or app cache Fix: Hard refresh (Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+R) or clear cache; republish customizations
  • Symptom: Some areas show no guided tasks Likely Cause: Area not instrumented Fix: Start with key Work 365 pages; add links or content incrementally
  • Symptom: Non-admins can’t see help Likely Cause: App role/permissions Fix: Ensure users have access to the Work 365 app and underlying pages

Best Practices

  • Practice: Enable early Recommendation: Turn on in-app help during onboarding to accelerate training.
  • Practice: Customize content Recommendation: Point to your internal KB/LMS for targeted guidance and policies.
  • Practice: Keep it concise Recommendation: Short pages, checklists, and GIFs/screens work best.
  • Practice: Measure & iterate Recommendation: Track questions and add help where users struggle most.
  • Practice: Govern access Recommendation: Limit who can change org-level settings; document the help URL owner.

Summary

Enabling custom help panes and guided tasks embeds guidance directly within Work 365/Dynamics 365, streamlining onboarding, reducing “how-to” tickets, and boosting adoption. Turn it on in Settings → Product → Features (Modern) or System Settings (Classic), optionally set a custom help URL, then verify on a few core Work 365 pages.