CRM Analytics Packaging Considerations

Keep these considerations in mind when using packages to distribute CRM Analytics to other Salesforce users and organizations.

Use managed packages to distribute CRM Analytics

Packages come in two forms: managed and unmanaged. CRM Analytics supports managed packages, which must be created from a Developer Edition org. If you use unmanaged packages to distribute CRM Analytics, keep in mind that you can’t change or upgrade components. To learn more, see Use Managed Packages to Develop Your AppExchange Solution.

Deploy packages from namespaced orgs to namespaced orgs

If a source org has a namespace prefix, use a namespaced org as the destination org for the package. Deploying from a namespaced org to a non-namespaced org such as a scratch or developer org can cause issues. Installed packages use the source namespace and aren’t affected. To learn more, see Namespaces.

Avoid manually packaging individual datasets, dataflows, and other assets

Use app templates to manage analytics assets. App templates make it easy to manage asset references and the unique org IDs, names, and schemas that make up a dataset.

Avoid removing assets from packages

Removing an asset such as a lens or dataset from a managed package can cause deployment errors. If you try to delete an asset from a managed package and receive an access error, removing the asset isn’t recommended. Removing items from a managed package can cause packaging upgrade issues. For example, if you delete a folder from a subscriber org, upgrading the package can fail.

Understand dataset and dataflow dependencies in packages

• Datasets and dataflows are independent and must be manually added to a package.
• Datasets from managed packages can’t be used in dashboards as a connected data source.
• Invalid schema overrides and unsupported parameters are removed when adding a dataflow to a package. Also, comments in JSON are removed, and node ordering can change.
• Source and security predicates aren't included in a package when adding a dataflow to a package.
• Datasets are linked to recipes. To package a recipe, create a dataset with the recipe. Then, add the related dataflow to the package along with the recipe.

Understand dashboard behavior in packages

• Saved dashboard views aren’t included in packages.
• Distributing dashboards manually using JSON isn't supported.

Understand XMD files in packages

Master user XMD files are automatically added to and updated for datasets when you edit the file. To learn more, see Use the Metadata API for CRM Analytics Assets and User XMD.

Refresh placeholder datasets

Placeholder datasets created in developer or sandbox orgs can include metadata only. To explore and query placeholder data, refresh datasets. To learn more, see Repopulate Placeholder Datasets.