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{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"DiscussionForumPosting","headline":"tables.create() does not expose primary column logical name, causing CRUD payload confusion","articleBody":"## Summary\r\n\r\nWhen using `tables.create()` to create custom tables and then `dataframe.create()` to populate records, it is unclear what column logical names to use in the record payload. The SDK's `tables.create()` documentation does not specify the resulting logical names that Dataverse assigns, leading to confusion and 400 errors.\r\n\r\n## Problem\r\n\r\nAfter calling `tables.create(\"demo_abc123_Customer\", {\"demo_abc123_Customer_Revenue\": \"money\"})`, the resulting column's **schema name** is `demo_abc123_Customer_Revenue`, but the **logical name** (used in CRUD payloads, `$select`, `$filter`, etc.) is `demo_abc123_customer_revenue` (fully lowercased).\r\n\r\nHowever, the default **primary column** created automatically has schema name `demo_abc123_Name` with logical name `demo_abc123_name` -- NOT `demo_abc123_customer_name`. The prefix for the primary column is the **customization prefix** extracted from the table schema name, not the full table name.\r\n\r\nThis means:\r\n- Custom columns defined by the user: logical name = lowercase of passed schema name (e.g., `demo_abc123_customer_revenue`)\r\n- Default primary column: logical name = `{customization_prefix}_name` (e.g., `demo_abc123_name`)\r\n- There is no documentation or return value from `tables.create()` that tells the user what primary column logical name was created\r\n\r\n## Steps to Reproduce\r\n\r\n```python\r\nfrom PowerPlatform.Dataverse.client import DataverseClient\r\n\r\nwith DataverseClient(url, credential) as client:\r\n    # Step 1: Create table\r\n    result = client.tables.create(\r\n        \"demo_abc123_Customer\",\r\n        {\"demo_abc123_Customer_Revenue\": \"money\"},\r\n    )\r\n\r\n    # Step 2: Try to create a record -- what is the name column called?\r\n    import pandas as pd\r\n    df = pd.DataFrame([{\r\n        \"demo_abc123_Customer_name\": \"Contoso\",  # WRONG - 400 error\r\n        # \"demo_abc123_name\": \"Contoso\",  # CORRECT - but not obvious\r\n        \"demo_abc123_Customer_Revenue\": 5000000,\r\n    }])\r\n    client.dataframe.create(\"demo_abc123_Customer\", df)\r\n    # Error: Invalid property 'demo_abc123_customer_name'\r\n```\r\n\r\n## Expected Behavior\r\n\r\nEither:\r\n1. **`tables.create()` should return the primary column logical name** in its response (the `TableInfo` already has `columns_created` but it doesn't include the auto-created primary column)\r\n2. **Documentation should clearly state** that the primary column logical name follows the pattern `{customization_prefix}_name` where the prefix is extracted from the table schema name\r\n3. **Consider adding a `primary_column_name` field** to the `TableInfo` return type\r\n\r\n## Actual Behavior\r\n\r\n- `tables.create()` returns `TableInfo` with `columns_created` listing only explicitly defined columns, not the auto-created primary name column\r\n- No documentation explains the primary column naming convention\r\n- Users have to query entity metadata (`EntityDefinitions`) to discover the primary column logical name\r\n\r\n## Related Issues\r\n\r\n- #76 (Better data type specification) -- related to column definition UX\r\n- #77 (@odata.bind problem with same column and table names) -- related to column naming confusion\r\n\r\n## Context\r\n\r\nDiscovered while building the pro-dev quick start example (`examples/advanced/prodev_quick_start.py`) which creates 4 custom tables and populates them via `client.dataframe.create()`. The example could not reliably construct record payloads because the primary column logical name was not discoverable from the SDK.\r\n\r\n## Suggested Fix\r\n\r\n1. Include the primary column logical name in `TableInfo.columns_created` (or a new `primary_column` field)\r\n2. Add a note in `tables.create()` docstring explaining: \"The default primary column logical name is `{prefix}_name` where `{prefix}` is the customization prefix from the table schema name\"\r\n3. Consider a `tables.get_columns(table_name)` convenience method that returns column metadata including logical names\r\n","author":{"url":"https://github.com/saurabhrb","@type":"Person","name":"saurabhrb"},"datePublished":"2026-03-17T16:33:46.000Z","interactionStatistic":{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":"https://schema.org/CommentAction","userInteractionCount":2},"url":"https://github.com/148/PowerPlatform-DataverseClient-Python/issues/148"}