Enable In-App Help in Work 365

Modified on Fri, Oct 24 at 2:53 PM

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)

Open your Work 365 (Dynamics 365 / Dataverse) environment.
Go to Settings → Product → Features.
Under Help features, turn on Enable custom help panes and guided tasks.
Click Save.

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

B) Classic Admin Page (alternative)

Open:
https://yourorg.crm.dynamics.com/main.aspx?settingsonly=true
Navigate to Settings → Administration → System Settings.
In the Set custom help URL / Help features area, enable Enable custom help panes and guided tasks.
Click OK. If prompted, Publish All Customizations.

(Optional) Point Help to Your Own Content

If you host internal documentation/LMS:

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

Best Practices

Practice	Recommendation
Enable early	Turn on in-app help during onboarding to accelerate training.
Customize content	Point to your internal KB/LMS for targeted guidance and policies.
Keep it concise	Short pages, checklists, and GIFs/screens work best.
Measure & iterate	Track questions and add help where users struggle most.
Govern access	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.