How to add an icon to a D365 segment template

As a D365 Marketing user, have you ever wondered why segment templates you created do not have icons like the system provided segment templates?

List view of segment templates — Find the imposter!

Although we can use filters, naming conventions and descriptions to locate the template we need, a visual hint is always good to have. Several clients and community members have asked about how to add custom icons to user created segment templates so I am going to demonstrate the simple steps to enable custom icons in this article.

Conceptual aside - the icon image we see on a segment template record is stored in an "Image" column of "Segment Template" table, named "Icon".

A table can have multiple image columns but only one can be dedicated as a "Primary Image Column". In a normal table (without further customization), the picture stored in the primary image column will be the icon shown on a record. The tables without a primary image column will not have this icon on the table form.

Contact form — Primary image column shown on the main form

On the segment template table, the image stored in primary image column will be shown directly on the segment templates list view, tile view and main form.

Now to the actual process. I mentioned steps, but it is actually one step - simply left click on the icon on the main form and a dialog will pop up for you to view or edit the image. It is so simple that this step did not even cross my mind. Previously, I was under the assumption that the primary image column would have to be added to the main form for users to modify. However, Megan told me about the simple approach which made me rethink about solutioning for any requirements or challenges - there always might be an out-of-box approach to look for before thinking about a customized solution.

Change the icon — A simple click and you can change the icon

Voila! Now you have the ability to add visuals to help other users understand what your segment template does. Just remember that any "Image" column data can only be populated after a record is saved, not when a record is being created.

Some additional words for the adventurous type of people: being able to add more visuals is fantastic, but the image column should be used sparingly since it will eat up the allocated file storage within an environment if a lot of tables are configured to have image columns. Only use the image column when it is necessary and make sure you set a reasonable max image size when creating an image column. Otherwise, always use less expensive solutions such as SharePoint integration.