Auto Save in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement (CE) can be useful, but there are many business cases where it becomes a problem.

You may need to block auto save when:

• A Canvas App or dialog is collecting additional data

• Auto-save triggers Power Automate flows too early

• Required fields are not yet filled

• You want to force users to save manually

• Background saves cause inconsistent or incomplete updates

In such situations, blocking auto save across the form—or only under specific conditions—can prevent unwanted logic from running prematurely.

Why Auto Save Can Cause Problems

Dynamics CE automatically performs a save every 30 seconds and during certain background operations.
This can cause issues like:

• Power Automate flows firing without required data

• Incomplete values (like file names) passed to plugins

• Business rules executing too early

• Canvas App dialogs submitting half-filled records

To avoid these issues, you can stop auto-save using JavaScript.

JavaScript Code to Block Auto Save

Here is the core script:

function blockAutoSave(eContext) {
    var saveEvent = eContext.getEventArgs();
    if (saveEvent.getSaveMode() === 70 || saveEvent.getSaveMode() === 2) {
        // autosave or background save
        saveEvent.preventDefault();
    }
}

Three Ways to Use This Script

Dynamics CE gives you complete flexibility depending on your scenario.

Option 1: Block Auto Save Permanently for the Form

Attach only the function blockAutoSave to the form’s On Save event.

This will:

• Block auto-save for the entire form

• Allow manual Save to work normally

Steps:

1. Open the Form Editor

2. Go to Form Properties

3. Add your JS Web Resource

4. Add event handler under "On Save":

   • Function name: blockAutoSave

   • Check Pass execution context

5. Publish

This option is ideal when an entity should never auto-save (e.g., Cases, custom entities with complex logic).

Option 2: Block Auto Save Only in Specific Scenarios

You can call:

formContext.data.entity.addOnSave(blockAutoSave);

This allows you to block auto save only when needed, for example:

• When your Canvas App dialog is open

• When required fields are empty

• When a specific flag or checkbox is true

• When the user executes a ribbon button action

This gives you more control because you decide when auto save should be blocked.

Option 3: Dynamically Add or Remove the Auto-Save Blocker

You can also enable or disable the blocker during runtime based on conditions.

Add the blocker

formContext.data.entity.addOnSave(blockAutoSave);

Remove the blocker

formContext.data.entity.removeOnSave(blockAutoSave);

⚠ Important

The function reference must be exactly the same.
This works:

formContext.data.entity.removeOnSave(blockAutoSave);

This does NOT work:

formContext.data.entity.removeOnSave(function(e){ ... }); // new function reference

Example: Enable or Disable Auto-Save Based on a Field Value

function onLoad(eContext) {
    var formContext = eContext.getFormContext();
    var isBlockingEnabled = formContext.getAttribute("new_enableblock").getValue();

    if (isBlockingEnabled === true) {
        // Block auto-save
        formContext.data.entity.addOnSave(blockAutoSave);
    } else {
        // Allow auto-save
        formContext.data.entity.removeOnSave(blockAutoSave);
    }
}

function blockAutoSave(eContext) {
    var saveEvent = eContext.getEventArgs();
    if (saveEvent.getSaveMode() === 70 || saveEvent.getSaveMode() === 2) {
        saveEvent.preventDefault();
    }
}

This is extremely useful when you want fine-grained control.

SaveMode Values Used in This Script

Dynamics 365 CE uses different Save Modes to indicate why a save was triggered. When your JavaScript OnSave event handler executes, you can inspect the Save Mode to decide what should happen.

Below are the relevant codes used when blocking auto save:

Why These Two Save Modes Are Blocked

These two modes—2 (Auto Save) and 70 (Background Save)—are the ones that Dynamics triggers without the user manually clicking Save, Save & Close, or Save & New.

Blocking them ensures that:

• Unfinished or partial data does not get saved

• Power Automate or plugin logic is not triggered prematurely

• Canvas App dialogs or additional UI components can work safely without the system trying to commit changes

• Users maintain control of when the record is saved

What Is Not Blocked

Your script does not block:

• Manual Save (Save Mode 1)

• Save & Close

• Save & New

• Script-triggered save operations (unless you explicitly check for them)

This ensures that users can still save the form normally—only auto or background saves are prevented.

By filtering only on Save Modes 2 and 70, the script provides protection from unwanted auto-saves while still allowing users to save intentionally.
This approach keeps the system predictable, prevents accidental triggers, and gives full control back to the user or your custom logic.

Step-by-Step Setup

1. Create a JavaScript Web Resource

• Go to Advanced Settings → Customizations → Solutions

• Add a new JS Web Resource

• Paste the script

• Save and publish

2. Add the Script to Your Form

Depending on which option you choose, attach:

• Only the function (blockAutoSave)

• Or call addOnSave() dynamically

• Or add/remove the event based on conditions

Conclusion

With a small amount of JavaScript, you gain full control over how data is saved in Microsoft Dynamics 365 CE.

You now have three powerful techniques:

1. Block auto save permanently for the entire form

2. Block auto save only in specific scenarios

3. Add or remove the auto-save blocker dynamically, based on real-time conditions

This prevents accidental triggers, incomplete data saves, and unwanted flows—keeping your system stable and predictable.