Why the plug-in tracing service cannot display a validation message on the form

PL-400 By islever Editorial Last updated Sep 25, 2026

Create a Dataverse plug-in

Short answer

B The tracing service writes to the Plugin Trace Log for diagnostics; it does not display a message to the user on the form, so it cannot meet the goal.

Question

Note: This question is part of a series of questions that present the same scenario. Each question in the series contains a unique solution that might meet the stated goals. Some question sets might have more than one correct solution, while others might not have a correct solution. After you answer a question in this section, you will NOT be able to return to it. As a result, these questions will not appear in the review screen. A company requires custom validation when users save form records that use a synchronous plug-in. If validation fails, a message that explains how to resolve the issue must be displayed on the form to the user. You need to implement the custom validation. Solution: Use the tracing service to log the message. Does the solution meet the goal?

Yes
No Correct Answer

Key Takeaways

The tracing service is for developers/administrators troubleshooting plug-in execution via the Plugin Trace Log, not for end-user communication. User-facing validation messages come exclusively from throwing an exception in a synchronous plug-in.

A synchronous plug-in must show a resolution message on the form when validation fails. The tracing service (ITracingService.Trace) only writes diagnostic text to the Plugin Trace Log; it is invisible to the user, so it cannot satisfy the requirement. The message must be raised as an InvalidPluginExecutionException.

Common mistake: Confusing tracing (diagnostic logging) with user notification. Trace output never reaches the form; only an InvalidPluginExecutionException message is presented to the user.

Expert Analysis

Why the Answer Is Correct

The ITracingService writes messages to the Plugin Trace Log for diagnostic purposes and is not displayed to the user in the form. Logging the validation message via tracing therefore does not meet the goal of showing it to the user on validation failure.

Why the Other Options Are Wrong

The alternative A (Yes) is incorrect because tracing is not a UI channel. The supported way to show the message is to throw an InvalidPluginExecutionException, whose text the platform renders on the form.

Community Comment Notes

Juan0414 (likes=1) links the logging/tracing documentation. SKIPSKIPPERSON (likes=1) notes the plug-in would throw an exception before the trace is surfaced, reinforcing that tracing does not display to the user.

Official Reference

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-apps/developer/data-platform/logging-tracing

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Community Votes

100%

100% of anonymous learners picked answer B. Votes are pick records left by other test-takers — they are not the verified answer.

Discussion 3 contributions

Compiled from public community threads and reader submissions, lightly edited for clarity. Handles and vote tallies are shown as recorded, and comments reflect the views of individual contributors.

From public community threads 3

Juan0414 👍 1 Answered B

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-apps/developer/data-platform/logging-tracing
SKIPSKIPPERSON 👍 1 Answered B

Plugin would throw an exception before trace end
KkyaNite 👍 2 Answered B

ChatGTP says it's No

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