Afna CRM

Sitemap error because of missing LCID

2010-02-15T21:10:00.001+01:00

I accidentally discovered the following “feature”: All LCID Titles in SubArea must have matching LCID in Group Titles.

Add a group in sitemap, like this:

The sitemap will upload normally and pass all validation, but after switching to language 1060, the error will be shown. The cause is missing LCID 1060 in Group Titles.

The correct XML for this example is:

Problem fixed: Installing Rollup 8 for Data Migration Manager

2010-02-05T10:49:00.001+01:00

I installed a fresh instance of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Data Migration Manager. Then I wanted to apply Rollup 8 to it.

Error: DMClient KB971782 is not found

Resolution: First install Rollup 7 update for DM Client (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=A4893988-7804-4E23-AB58-740441CC696E&displaylang=en) and then you are able to install Rollup 8.

Error: The specified type was not recognized: name='usersettings'

2009-10-23T11:09:00.001+01:00

Simple task: Try to retrieve user settings of a CRM user.

Simple solution:
RetrieveUserSettingsSystemUserRequest request = new RetrieveUserSettingsSystemUserRequest();
request.EntityId = systemUserId;
request.ColumnSet = new AllColumns();

RetrieveUserSettingsSystemUserResponse response= (RetrieveUserSettingsSystemUserResponse)crmService.Execute(request);

NOT!

The specified type was not recognized: name='usersettings', namespace='http://schemas.microsoft.com/crm/2007/WebServices', at <BusinessEntity xmlns='http://schemas.microsoft.com/crm/2006/WebServices'>.

Real solution:

Add the following line: request.ReturnDynamicEntities = true;

Microsoft CRM 4.0 – Applications certification and SQL 2008

2009-09-09T07:27:00.001+01:00

On Microsoft learning page (http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/certification/dynamics-crm-professional.aspx#tab2) it is said that exam 70-431 - Microsoft SQL Server 2005 – Implementation and Maintenance is elective for Microsoft Certified Business Management Solutions Professional – Applications for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 certification.

There is nothing said about SQL 2008 exams on this page.

So I sent an email to Microsoft and here is their response:

Dear Dejan,
Thank you for your email.
We are glad to inform you that the Exam 70-432: TS: Microsoft SQL Server 2008, Implementation and Maintenance can be counted as an elective for Microsoft Certified Business Management Solutions Professional – Applications for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 certification.
As that new exam has been released recently, it has not been added to the certification path yet.
Please note that the update of the Certification Tree has been planned for the end of September 2009.
Then, the exam 70-431 will be visible in the certification path for
Applications for Microsoft Dynamics CRM4.0 certification on the
Microsoft Learning website, as that certification will be uploaded to the Transcripts of all customers who have completed the certification requirements by passing exam 70-432.
We hope that provided information is of assistance.
If you have any further questions please get in touch with us and we will be happy to assist you in any way we can.

Link to custom entity – use of etn instead of etc argument

2009-09-07T09:33:00.002+01:00

If you want to create a direct link to an out-of-a-box entity it is a very simple task: Right-click on one instance (let’s say account) and select “Copy Shortcut”.

Then just just change the GUID in the URL to open desired account. For the Account this URL looks like this: http://SERVER:PORT/OrganizationName/sfa/accts/edit.aspx?id={GUID}

Custom entities

All custom entities have the same URL structure: http://SERVER:PORT/OrganizationName/userdefined/edit.aspx?id={GUID}&etc=EntityTypeCode

Notice the entity type code? This code is created when creating the entity. But for some reason Entity Type Code can be (in most cases) different on every CRM instance. This means that if you are creating a plugin that needs to create a link to the entity, you will have to query metadata to get the code or enter that code in configuration part.

But there is a better way:

Instead of “etc” argument you can use “etn” (Entity Name) in the query string. Then use the logical name of the entity. Logical name is the same on all instances.

http://SERVER:PORT/OrganizationName/userdefined/edit.aspx?id={GUID}&etn=EntityName

http://testsrv:5555/Contoso/userdefined/edit.aspx?id={08B91EBF-525A-DE11-94A6-002354F5ABA2}&etn=new_testentity

Get a list of searchable attributes from database

2009-08-28T13:33:00.003+01:00

(The final solution is at the bottom)

Today my colleague wanted to check which attributes were marked as searchable in a specific entity.

One way to do this is to open each attribute in MSCRM and check if it is marked as searchable. A long way if you have an entity with 220 attributes.

So I went to the database and checked the MetadataSchema.Attribute table. There is a column named DisplayMask. SDK says that display masks are following (ValidForAdvancedFind = Searchable):

Name	Value	Description
None	1	Specifies no restrictions.
ObjectTypeCode	4	Specifies that the attribute is an entity type code. The name of the entity is displayed.
PrimaryName	2	Specifies to display the attribute as the primary name.
RequiredForForm	0x40	Specifies that the attribute must be shown on a form.
RequiredForGrid	0x80	Specifies that the attribute can be shown in a grid view.
ValidForAdvancedFind	8	Specifies that the attribute can be shown on the Advanced Find form. This attribute is shown as Searchable in the UI.
ValidForForm	0x10	Specifies that the attribute can be shown on a form.
ValidForGrid	0x20	Specifies that the attribute can be shown in a grid view.

But the value in the database is 469762048 (this attribute is searchable)! Bitwise comparison fails: 469762048 & 8 = 0 WTF!!!

After some googling and 30 minutes of using reflector if found that the former values are meant to be used only when working with metadata web service, like in this example: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc151072.aspx

Thank you Reflector!

Microsoft.Crm.Platform.Sdk.dll (found it in GAC) contains DisplayMasks enumeration in Microsoft.Crm.Metadata namespace.

This is what the reflector says:

public enum DisplayMasks
{
  ActivityPointerRegardingName = 0x80,
  ActivityRegardingName = 1,
  BitMask = 0x1000,
  DynamicFormatCode = 0x4000,
  None = 0,
  ObjectTypeCode = 0x400,
  PrimaryName = 0x100,
  QueueItemPriority = 0x10,
  QueueItemSender = 0x20,
  QueueItemState = 4,
  QueueItemStatus = 8,
  QueueItemTitle = 2,
  QueueItemToRecipients = 0x40,
  RequiredForForm = 0x20000000,
  RequiredForGrid = 0x40000000,
  ResourcePointerName = 0x200,
  ReturnedTypeCode = 0x800,
  StateCode = 0x2000,
  ValidForAdvancedFind = 0x4000000,
  ValidForForm = 0x8000000,
  ValidForGrid = 0x10000000
}

This means that the ValidForAdvancedFind has value of 0x4000000! I tested it with the previous example and it works! Hooray!

Solution

So the final answer to the problem of this post is:

select * from MetadataSchema.Attribute
where DisplayMask & 0x4000000 > 0 and EntityId = @entityId

Of course you can use all other values as well.

What I haven’t tested yet is whether you can change this mask value directly in the database - definitely not supported by Microsoft :)

Show custom notifications on Microsoft Dynamics CRM - upgrade

2009-07-16T13:26:00.001+01:00

Marco Amoedo created cool javascript function that displays custom warning messages in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0. http://marcoamoedo.com/blog/show-custom-warning-messages-on-microsoft-dynamics-crm/

I liked the idea so much, that I took the script and ~~upgraded~~ pimped it.

What it does?

The function simply adds a notification on top of the form, like in the picture below.

You can add multiple notifications with different icons.

Update or delete previously added notifications or add new ones. This image shows (after Name onChange event) changed error text, updated third notification to info style and a new warning. Compare it with previous picture.

How to use it?

Step 1: Insert this code into form OnLoad event.

     /*============== addNotification function =============

    Adds a message on the top of the entity form using

    the same visual style as Microsoft CRM.

    If function is called more than once,

    the messages are added at the bottom of the list

    If the message with same ID already exists,

    then the message is updated and not added to a list.

    It also supports deleting of previously added notifications.

    Put this function in the OnLoad event,

    so you can use it in all form and field events.

    Parameters:

    message - message to be shown to the user

    messageType - Type of the message: 1 - critical, 2 - info, 3 - warning

    notificationId - ID of the notification (needed for updating purposes)

    Created by:

    Marco Amoedo (http://marcoamoedo.com) - the idea and initial function

    Dejan Dular (http://a-crm.blogspot.com) - upgraded functionality (different icons, updating and deleting notifications)

    =======================================================*/

    addNotification = function(message, messageType, notificationId)

    {

        var notificationsArea = document.getElementById('Notifications');

        if (notificationsArea == null)

        {

            //Don't display message when deleting a notification.

            if (messageType != 4)

            {

                //Sorry. Notifications are not possible on this form.

                //Display a message box instead of notification.

                alert(message);

            }

            return;

        }

        var notificationDIV = document.getElementById('NotificationDiv_' + notificationId);

        //Delete the notification

        if (messageType == 4)

        {

            if (notificationDIV != null)

            {

                //Remove the notification

                notificationsArea.removeChild(notificationDIV);

            }

            return;

        }

        //Get the notification image. The default is info image.

        var notificationImage;

        switch (messageType)

        {

            case 1:

                notificationImage = '/_imgs/error/notif_icn_crit16.png';

                break;

            case 2:

                notificationImage = '/_imgs/error/notif_icn_info16.png';

                break;    

            case 3:

                notificationImage = '/_imgs/error/notif_icn_warn16.png';

                break;    

            default:

                notificationImage = '/_imgs/error/notif_icn_info16.png';

        }

        //Create notification

        var notificationTable = '<TABLE cellSpacing="0" cellPadding="0"><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign="top"><IMG class="ms-crm-Lookup-Item" alt="" src="' + notificationImage + '" /></TD><TD><SPAN>' + message +'</SPAN></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>';

        //Check if the notification with same ID already exists

        if (notificationDIV == null)

        {    

            //Create a new notification

            var notificationHTML = '<DIV class="Notification" ID="NotificationDiv_' + notificationId + '">' + notificationTable + '</DIV>';

            notificationsArea.innerHTML += notificationHTML;

            notificationsArea.style.display = 'block';

        }

        else

        {

            //Update the notification.

            notificationDIV.innerHTML = notificationTable;

        }

    }

    /*============= END addNotification function ===========*/

Step 2: Run the following function when there is a need for a notification.

addNotification(string message, int messageType, string notificationId)

Parameters:

message – Notification message displayed

messageType – Type of the notification (the icon) (1 – critical, 2 – info, 3 – warning, 4 – delete the notification)

notificationId – Any string that identifies specific notification. If a function is called later with existing notificationId, the notification will be updated. Otherwise a new notification is added at the bottom of the list. If you want to delete a specific notification, just set messageType = 4 and use correct notificationId.

Thanks again to Marco Amoedo.

Originally published by Dejan Dular

Reindex whole database

2009-03-27T08:46:00.001+01:00

EXEC sp_MSforeachtable @command1="print '?' DBCC DBREINDEX ('?', ' ', 80)"
GO

Button that starts a workflow

2008-07-02T09:02:00.002+01:00

My client wanted to have a button that starts a specific workflow on the form. So after analyzing some javascript I ended with this code:

var a = new Array(crmFormSubmit.crmFormSubmitId.value);
var sIds = crmFormSubmit.crmFormSubmitId.value+";";
var sEntityTypeCode = "10004"; //Replace this with your entity type code
var sWorkflowId = "{BE7E47C0-2452-4F44-8CCA-425B83A7A8FB}"; //Replace this with your actual workflow ID
var iWindowPosX = 500; //Modal dialog position X
var iWindowPosY = 200; //Modal dialog position Y

var oResult = openStdDlg(prependOrgName("/_grid/cmds/dlg_runworkflow.aspx")+"?iObjType=" + CrmEncodeDecode.CrmUrlEncode(sEntityTypeCode) + "&iTotal=" +
CrmEncodeDecode.CrmUrlEncode(a.length) + "&wfId=" + CrmEncodeDecode.CrmUrlEncode(sWorkflowId)+ "&sIds=" + CrmEncodeDecode.CrmUrlEncode(sIds) , a, iWindowPosX, iWindowPosY);

Of course this is not supported by Microsoft. You use it at your own risk.

Generic SQL error

2008-06-09T12:50:00.002+01:00

WOW! I'm sooooo happy when I receive such deterministic errors.

After saving an account, this message popped up. And you guessed it - it appeared just SOMETIMES!

After a little of SQL profiling i found the reason:
I extended the account's address1_line1 field from 50 to 100 characters. After saving the account, CRM automatically creates/updates also the customeraddress entity.

Solution:
Extend the customeraddress entity, extend attribute line1, match the length to length of the account address line.

Cool SQL query that deletes the duplicates

2008-05-30T07:17:00.003+01:00

Found this on Sql Server Central:

CREATE TABLE #new(ID INT NULL, KeyValue VARCHAR(2))
INSERT INTO #new(ID, KeyValue) VALUES (1,'aa')
INSERT INTO #new(ID, KeyValue) VALUES (2,'bb')
INSERT INTO #new(ID, KeyValue) VALUES (1,'aa')
INSERT INTO #new(ID, KeyValue) VALUES (1,'aa')

SELECT * FROM #new;

Now let's delete the duplicates. The semicolon at the beginning is recommended if you are not using it after every SQL sentence. This tells the parser to begin with new statement. Without it you will probably get a syntax error.

;WITH Numbered AS (SELECT RowNo=ROW_NUMBER() OVER (PARTITION BY ID ORDER BY ID), ID, KeyValue FROM #new) DELETE FROM Numbered where RowNo>1;

SELECT * FROM #new;

Cleanup...

DROP TABLE #new;

Snippet for CRM workflow activity parameter

2008-03-03T10:12:00.002+01:00

If you are writing custom workflow activities for workflows in CRM 4.0 you will find this snippet handy.

Copy the code below into a new file and name it CRMParameter.snippet. Save the file into Visual Studio 2005\Code Snippets\Visual C#\My Code Snippets folder. It works in VS2008 too.
The shortcut for the snippet is cwp.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<CodeSnippets xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/VisualStudio/2005/CodeSnippet">
<CodeSnippet Format="1.0.0">
   <Header>
     <Title>CRM workflow property snippet</Title>
     <Shortcut>cwp</Shortcut>
     <Description>Code snippet for crm property </Description>
     <Author>Dejan Dular</Author>
     <SnippetTypes>
       <SnippetType>Expansion</SnippetType>
     </SnippetTypes>
   </Header>
 <Snippet>
     <Declarations>
       <Literal>
         <ID>PropertyInputOutputType</ID>
         <ToolTip>Input/output property</ToolTip>
         <Default>CrmInput</Default>
       </Literal>
       <Literal>
         <ID>PropertyDisplayName</ID>
         <ToolTip>Property display name</ToolTip>
         <Default>Display Name</Default>
       </Literal>
       <Literal>
         <ID>PropertyName</ID>
         <ToolTip>Property Name</ToolTip>
         <Default>name</Default>
       </Literal>
       <Literal>
         <ID>Type</ID>
         <ToolTip>Property Type</ToolTip>
         <Default>string</Default>
       </Literal>
       <Literal>
         <ID>Class</ID>
         <ToolTip>Class</ToolTip>
         <Default>ClassName</Default>
       </Literal>
     </Declarations>
     <Code Language="csharp">
<![CDATA[#region $PropertyDisplayName$
[$PropertyInputOutputType$("$PropertyDisplayName$")]
public $Type$ $PropertyName$
{
   get { return ($Type$)base.GetValue($PropertyName$Property); }
   set { base.SetValue($PropertyName$Property, value); }
}
public static DependencyProperty $PropertyName$Property = DependencyProperty.Register("$PropertyName$", typeof($Type$), typeof($Class$));
#endregion
$end$]]>
     </Code>
   </Snippet>
 </CodeSnippet>
</CodeSnippets>

Error at decimal field display format (4.0)

2008-02-28T09:51:00.007+01:00

When upgrading a German version of CRM 3.0 to version 4.0, a strange thing happened. All decimal, float or money fields behaved very strange.

Example: User enters a value 2. After clicking save button, the number changes to 200.00 and then immediately to 20.000.00.

Then I noticed that a decimal separator and a thousands separator were the same. Therefore I checked organization settings where everything looked fine.

The problem lied in user settings where both separators were set to dot (.)

SOLUTION:
Change must be made for each user. Set the decimal separator to comma (,).
Update the CRM database to affect all users: UPDATE UserSettingsBase SET DecimalSymbol = ','

.NET Compiler bug? (Update)

2008-01-02T12:47:00.000+01:00

I have a typed DataTable (called FactTable) that gets data from a table in SQL server where a Date field can be null.

So I have created a System.Nullable variable in my code:
Datetime? emailDate;

And a typed DataRow from my DataTable:
MyDataSet.FactRow factRow = factTable.Rows[0];

Why does this NOT WORK:
emailDate = factRow.IsEmailDateNull() ? null : factRow.EmailDate;

But this works:
if (factRow.IsEmailDateNull())
emailDate = null;
else
emailDate = factRow.EmailDate;

Compiler error is: Type of conditional expression cannot be determined because there is no implicit conversion between '' and 'System.DateTime'

Remember: My variable is nullable!!!

Update:
David defined this problem as a feature. But aren't both examples the same? Isn't this just a compile thing to convert from the first example to the second one?
I think it has to do something with nullable types, because with string or byte[] it works like a charm:
string title = factRow.IsTitleNull() ? null : factRow.Title;
byte[] picture = factRow.IsPictureNull() ? null : factRow.Picutre;

Integration of Google maps / Live maps into CRM 3.0, 4.0

2007-12-14T12:39:00.002+01:00

I usually don't write about third party solutions, but this one is getting its place in my blog.

A fellow CRM blogger Wolter Kreun from the Netherlands is developing a freeware plugin (Can it be true? A free and very useful plugin for CRM!!!) that fully integrates Google Maps into Microsoft CRM. Soon it will support MS Live maps.

Haven't tried it, but as far as I have seen on the videos it ROCKS!

EDIT (05. oct. 2009): I just have been informed that the link provided below does not work anymore. But you can use similar integration with virtual earth at: http://www.crmwatcher.com/2006/11/virtual-earth-3d-maps-integration-in.html

So chop chop guys and click on this link: http://mscrmgooglemaps.blogspot.com/

Computer playing random music

2007-11-28T06:53:00.000+01:00

Another post that has absolutely nothing to do with CRM. I just gotta share this.

On channel 9 I found this link to the Microsoft's KB article:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;261186

I'm really thinking of installing Windows 95 and crashing the CUP fan. :)

BigInteger

2007-11-22T07:51:00.001+01:00

I just have to share this. There is a new type of number in .NET Framework 3.5 called BigInteger [System.Numeric.BigInteger]. What is so cool here? Now you don't have to write special code to work with really really really big numbers. This type is infinite, as big as you want (until you run out of memory).

Workflow Changes in CRM 4.0

2007-11-15T10:17:00.001+01:00

Today I'm going to compare CRM 3.0 and CRM 4.0 workflows:

The web interface is much better designed than the previous one. As I wrote in my previous post, you have more space for description and you can add notes and attach files to the workflows. Moreover you can add a comment to every step of the workflow.

I will say it again. Major improvement was on the workflows in this version. Good job CRM team.

Major change has been made is at the basic workflow properties. No more sales process. Now workflow equals sales process. You can select multiple triggering events for a single workflow. These events are:

Create
Status change
Assign
Attribute change (update)
Delete

Also you can set if this workflow can be run on demand (manually) and / or as a child workflow. For the update, you must choose which attributes trigger the workflow.

Actions are now called steps. So let's take a look at the actions ... uh err ... steps.

~~Create Activity~~ => Create Record - Not only activities. You can create any entity you want. Set their properties in a form.

Send E-mail - This action stays. Again more flexible, again a form for new email opens. Templates stay - of course.
~~Create Note~~ => Create Record - Note is actually an entity.
Update ~~entity~~ record - Of course, this action stays. In version 3.0 you could update only one attribute, in version 4.0 a form opens and you update any attribute you want.
Change status - Not only you can change status to a fixed value, now you can set it to a status of a related entity and even to a status of a previously created task.
Assign ~~entity~~ record - Again a major improvement here. Not just to the Manager, User or Queue. You can use any dynamic value of related entities. And there's more: You can assign related records as well. This means that you can reassign previously created task to a different user or a queue.
~~Post URL~~ - This action was deprecated in version 3.0. There are several reasons I won't talk about them here. No more Post URL for you guys.
~~Run Subprocess~~ => Start Child Workflow - Still here of course, but with improvements. You can start a workflow on any related entities.
Stop Workflow - Previously you could define what to do with sub-workflows, but in this version you can just stop it and set the status of the workflow to Completed or Canceled. This is kinda logical, since you are starting subworkflows asynchronously and for other entities.
~~Call assembly~~ - What happened to this guy? It is not in the list anymore... Can anyone help me with this? Can you call an external assembly from the workflow?

Some changes have been made on conditions as well:

Check condition - This has been divided into three sub-elements: Check condition (if), Conditional branch (else if) and Default action (else). You can add as many else-ifs as you want. And of course you can check the values from related entities as well.
Wait for timer - This has been mover to general wait conditions group.
Wait condition - As before you can wait for changes in an entity or created activities. Now you can also check related entities. What is more. You can create more wait conditions, that are similar to the if - else if conditions. This is condition is called Parallel Wait Branch. Now you can wait for different conditions to appear and then execute the first one that is met. The others are ignored.
Timers - Create a wait condition and select Workflow - Timeout. You can use dynamic values as well.

Stages - There is no more difference between Sales process and Workflow rules. You can insert stages into normal workflows as well, although they are not displayed in the entity's status bar.

In Sales processes you can actually look at the workflows that are running on a specific entity and see where they are or what they are waiting for. Notice the green circle.

The same workflow status is available of you open a workflow from the list of workflows in the Settings area and open the workflow list. Every workflow has a list of all instances that were started. Just open an instance and see the status.

This post has been written solely on my own discovery of CRM 4.0 CTP3. I'm just writing what I discovered. Maybe I missed something. Maybe it is important. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Super duper CRM 4.0 workflows

2007-11-13T13:25:00.001+01:00

I must say I'm pleased. A lot has been done on the workflows since version 3.

First of all workflows are now administered in a web client. This had to be done because of CRM Live. But I must say that workflow management is much easier and better.

File attachments - now you can attach a file to the workflow. I like it! Now I can attach a Visio diagram to the workflow, maybe some other documentation. There is a lot more space for description. And yes. There are notes too.
Availability - You can set the workflow to be run on demand, as well as a sub-workflow.
Triggering events - Now workflows support also Delete and Update events. On the Update event you can choose the actual fields that trigger the workflow.
Wait for ... otherwise wait for - Did you ever want to branch the workflow based on a condition. Now you can use so called "Paralel Wait Branch" and choose different wait conditions and run the first rule that matches.
List of workflows - Open one workflow and see status of all workflows (of this type) that were started.

More on workflows later. Now I have to go home.

CRM 4.0 - 4 hours after first 5 minutes

2007-11-08T11:31:00.001+01:00

To be clear first: I still think that version 4 is a good improvement and it really is what version 3 ought to be.

This is a list of impressions after 4 hours of playing with new features:

Many-to-many relationships: Yeah! Finally! Yeah! No more "custom connecting relationships". Relationship editor now divides the relationships in 3 groups: 1-to-many, many-to-1 and many-to-many. Great for entities with a lot of relationships. What is missing are attributes on relations. And I couldn't find a way to start a workflow after assigning a many-to-many relationships. Is it really not possible or did I just miss it? I heard that version 5 will dealt with it.

System-to-system relationships: Yeah again! And not only that! You can have more relationships with the same entity.

Self-referential relationship: Yeah again! You can relate entity to itself.

Multi tenant support: From developers point view I thought it was different. I thought that you could manage two sites at once, but as it seems that multi tenant is almost no different than installing another version of CRM. Sites have different metadata, data, ... I admit that it is practical if you want to host CRM for others, but in my case it is almost the same as before. Oh. Another thing that is better: You can have only one login for multiple organizations. Good post about this if from Mr Dave.

Reporting architecture: Because CRM went from intranet to Internet, there is no direct access to the SQL Report server. This eases up the configuration of the servers because of the impersonation things. Now the CRM server requests the report from the SRS directly with CRMAppPool credentials (e.g. NetworkService) The SQL Report server has add-in called CRM data connector which supports use of filtered views. Then the intermediate report is sent to the CRM server, that displays the report to the user. Now it is a CRM server, who actually allows viewing the report to the user. In version 3 this was a SRS thing. A good post about this is here.

Advanced find: You can actually display columns from related entities! Now you can, let's say, see a phone number of the primary contact in the account list. Way to go!

Mail merge: Finally you don't need outlook to perform a mail merge.

Duplicate checking: I'll say better than nothing, but it could be better :) You can define fields that are checked if there is a duplicate. You can say how many first or last letters define a duplicate and that's it. MS could actually implement some additional methods. Soundex is actually implemented in SQL server (but it is not very good). In my applications I use the following methods: Double metaphone (sounds-like algorithm better that Soundex) and Levenstein distance (detects typos). Yes. I know that you could implement it by yourself, but hey! Why not get it out of the box? First you could run a double metaphone check and then do a Levenstein difference on the results.

Import data wizard: Now supports most record types. Good thing is that it automatically maps picklist values with display values. No need to know the actual values of the picklist options. You can reuse mappings - a good thing if you have a constant import process in your company. Duplicate detection works when you are importing things. And you get an email when the job ends.

Typing in lookup field: Now this is a neat feature. Now you can type in a value in a lookup field. After losing focus, the value is checked and if the value is OK, it becomes underlined, otherwise it turns to RED. Great functionality.

CRM 4.0 - first 5 minutes

2007-11-07T11:26:00.001+01:00

I finally had time to take a look at it. The CTP version. Virtual PC image is almost 8GB big and needs slightly more than 1GB of RAM.

Just a quick look for 5 minutes - I'm satisfied.

Workflows are now designed in web client, they support update (you can choose columns) and delete actions.

Duplicate detection - not perfect, but still better than nothing.

User interface - better looking, but still some icons missing

Multiple languages - Cool feature for exporting and importing the published field names, attribute values, ... for translation purposes

Web services - Now you can download WSDL from web client. I'm not sure if this is really useful feature. Or is it?

Will write more later.

Update: David stressed a good point about downloading WSDL in comments: CRM Live

Black Google saves energy?

2007-07-30T10:10:00.001+01:00

Are web pages with black backgrounds really better for the environment?

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/05/black_google_sa.php

Adding a reference to external .js file in your form

2007-06-29T14:44:00.001+01:00

This code creates a new script element and inserts it into the head of the HTML document that defines the form:

st = document.createElement("<script src='http://<server>/<site>/<filename>.js' language='JavaScript'>");
h = document.getElementsByTagName('head');
h[0].insertAdjacentElement('beforeEnd',st);

Using this method to reference an external script in a production environment is unsupported because it introduces several areas for concern:

Transportability
External Site
Doesn't work offline
Future Upgrade issues
Possible Timing issues
Poor programming practice

How to set user's home page?

2007-06-27T14:33:00.001+01:00

I got a request that all users of CRM must have their first page set to announcements.

Of course I could write a mail to all users requesting them to change their page in settings page to announcements, but this is a no no way.

So I searched the SQL database and found a user settings table in _MSCRM database. Just set the HomepageSubarea of the table UserSettingsBase to the value 'nav_news'.

So if you want to set announcements as a home page for all users just run the query:

UPDATE [UserSettingsBase] SET [HomepageSubarea] = 'nav_news', [HomepageArea] = 'Home'

Although it works in my installation, this is not a supported change, so you are doing it at your own risk. Do backup the database before messing with it. Just in case.

Renaming a (Customizable) Entity

2007-06-27T10:08:00.001+01:00

Just changing the entity display name is not enough. There are more places where the name must be changed to fulfill customer's experience.

Areas that Need to be Changed:

Entity Name
Entity Form Labels
Entity View Names
Entity Attribute Display Names
System Messages
On-line Help Content
Reports

Some Areas Cannot be Changed

Platform error messages and messages that are displayed in Trace or the Event Log. These messages cannot be edited.
Strings added to the ISV configuration file.
User Manager component of the Microsoft CRM Deployment
Manager tool. These strings cannot be edited.
Environment Diagnostics Wizard. These strings cannot be edited.

Basically changing the entity's name is a seven step process:

Step 1: Change Entity Name.
In the Entity Definition section, change the Name and Plural Name
to the new name.

Step 2: Edit Entity Forms and Views to Display the New Entity
Names.
Change Form Labels and View Names.

Step 3: Change Attribute Display Names for the Entity that is
Renamed.
Use Customize Entities tool to change attribute display names associated with renamed entity. This will update any other parts of the application that uses these attributes, such as View headings.

Step 4: Customize Messages and Strings Associated with
Entity that is Renamed.
Use the Customize Entities tool to customize messages and strings associated with the renamed entity.

Step 5: Publish Changes.
The Name of the entity in the Navigation Pane may not respond to the changes. The information in the SiteMap is cached on the browser. Users may need to press F5 to see the changes.

Step 6: Edit affected help Content to Display the New Entity
Name.
Manually edit entity names in help content and re-deploy the help content.

Step 7: Modify Affected Reports to Display the New Entity
Name.
Manually modify entity names in reports and re-deploy the modified reports.

Yay! I passed the exam!

2007-06-26T15:15:00.000+01:00

Today I sucessfully passed the Microsoft exam called CRM 3.0 Applications.

The exam number is: CRM-30-423

How to debug callouts?

2007-06-04T15:06:00.001+01:00

First, here are two points, that I would like to express:

I want to debug callouts directly and not with log files.
.NET 2.0 rulez

What now? Callouts use .NET 1.1 and just forget about remote debugging or something like that.

Why not create callouts that use some web service? If you have it installed on the same machine, then you can easily use impersonation etc.

So here's how I do it: I develop a web service that uses CRM web services, test it with normal win32 application and then just insert those 2 lines of code in callouts that call my web service. Use of dynamic entities is very very strongly recommended. You can serialize and deserialize them easily and if the structure of CRM entity model changes, you don't have to worry. Even callouts can have config files.

Web service is running in .NET 2.0 environment and I can debug it freely!

This is how I do it. What about you?

How to set or change the owner of the dynamic entity

2007-05-18T09:48:00.001+01:00

First things first: The user has to have the rights to change the owner of the entity. I had some problems with the code from SDK. You can find it on two places, but only one works.

If you want to create an entity with the other owner first create the owner:

Owner owner = new Owner();
owner.type = EntityName.systemuser.ToString();
owner.Value = newEntityOwnerId;

Then add the owner to the dynamic entity properties array together with other properties and execute the request:

//Create dynamic entity
DynamicEntity entity = new DynamicEntity();
entity.Name = entityName;
entity.Properties = properties;

//Create request
TargetCreateDynamic myTarget = new TargetCreateDynamic();
myTarget.Entity = entity;
CreateRequest create = new CreateRequest();
create.Target = myTarget;

//Execute the request
CreateResponse response = (CreateResponse)_crmService.Execute(create);

In the response object you have the ID of the newly created entity.

If you just want to assign (change) the owner of the use this code:

// Create the SecurityPrincipal object.
SecurityPrincipal assignee = new SecurityPrincipal();

// Set the properties of the SecurityPrincipal object.'
// PrincipalId is a GUID that identifies the user or team 
// that will own this record.
assignee.PrincipalId = userId;

// Create the target object for the request.
TargetOwnedDynamic target = new TargetOwnedDynamic();

// Set the properties of the target object'.
// EntityId is a GUID that identifies the dynamic entity
// Entity name is the name of the dynamic entity
// that is being assigned to the user.
target.EntityId = dynamicEntityId;
target.EntityName = dynamicEntityName;

// Create the request object.
AssignRequest assign = new AssignRequest();

// Set the properties of the request object.'
assign.Assignee = assignee;
assign.Target = target;

// Execute the request.
AssignResponse assignResponse = (AssignResponse)_crmService.Execute(assign);

Dates in CRM Queries

2007-03-19T16:29:00.001+01:00

It's pretty simple to build query expressions from CRM web service. Until you get to dates. You have lots of different ConditionOperator types like On, OnOrAfter, OnOrBefore, ThisWeek, Last7Days etc. But what about the values?

The problem is that you can't add a DateTime object to the values array of the ConditionExpression. If you do you'll most likely get the super duper error "Server was unable to process request". And what is more! The exception data reveals us the intriguing reason: "Invalid argument." DOH!

You have to pass the DateTime as string and parse it with "s" parameter. This is language-neutral and the CRM Server should be able to parse it regardless of the regional settings.

Solution:

ConditionExpression condition = new ConditionExpression();
condition.AttributeName = "new_duedate";
condition.Operator = ConditionOperator.OnOrAfter;
condition.Values = new string[] { DateTime.Now.ToString("s") };

AND YES! IT IS FINALLY SNOWING OUTSIDE!!!!!

How to copy an annotation

2007-03-13T16:00:00.001+01:00

To copy notes wit or without attachments I have prepared this snippet.

//Copy attributes
annotation newAnnotation = new annotation();
newAnnotation.langid = sourceAnnotation.langid;
newAnnotation.notetext = sourceAnnotation.notetext;
newAnnotation.subject = sourceAnnotation.subject;
newAnnotation.objecttypecode = new EntityNameReference();
newAnnotation.objecttypecode.Value = destinationEntityName;

//Set the destination entity ID
newAnnotation.objectid = new Lookup();
newAnnotation.objectid.type = destinationEntityName;
newAnnotation.objectid.Value = destinationEntityId;

//Create annotation
Guid newAnnotationId = _crmService.Create(newAnnotation);
if (sourceAnnotation.isdocument.Value)
{
byte[] data = GetAnnotationAttachment(sourceAnnotation.annotationid.Value);
string base64data = System.Convert.ToBase64String(data);
AddAttachment(newAnnotationId, base64data, sourceAnnotation.mimetype, sourceAnnotation.filename);
}

The code for GetAnnotationAttachment is here.

The code for AddAttachment is here.

How to add an attachment

2007-03-13T15:58:00.001+01:00

To upload an attachment I have prepared the following function:

private void AddAttachment(Guid parentAnntotationId, string attachmentBase64Data, string mimeType, string attachmentFileName)
{
UploadFromBase64DataAnnotationRequest upload = new UploadFromBase64DataAnnotationRequest();
upload.AnnotationId = parentAnntotationId;
upload.FileName = attachmentFileName;
upload.MimeType = mimeType;
upload.Base64Data = attachmentBase64Data;

_crmService.Execute(upload);
}

How to get mime type? Previous post

Finding the file's mime type (MimeType)

2007-03-13T15:54:00.001+01:00

I was looking for this for some time now. Simple, but beautiful solution:

public string GetMimeType(byte[] fileBytes)
{
try
{
ContentInfo info = new ContentInfo(fileBytes);
return info.ContentType.Value;
}
catch
{
return "application/octet-stream";
}
}

How to get (download) an attachment

2007-03-13T15:36:00.001+01:00

If you want to get an attachment from a note, then you have to get it using HTTP call. The following function returns an array of bytes that can be saved into a stream or you can convert it to Base64String (System.Convert.ToBase64String(myBytes)) if you want to save it again in CRM.

private byte[] GetAnnotationAttachment(Guid annotationId)
{
Guid attachid = annotationId;
int objecttypecode = 5; //Annotation attachment OTC
string url = _serverUrl + "Activities/Attachment/download.aspx?AttachmentType=" + objecttypecode.ToString() + "&AttachmentId=" + attachid.ToString();
System.Net.WebClient myWebClient = new System.Net.WebClient();
myWebClient.Credentials = System.Net.CredentialCache.DefaultNetworkCredentials;
return myWebClient.DownloadData(url);
}

HTTP status 401: Unauthorized error

2007-03-12T16:18:00.001+01:00

I wrote some callouts that use CRM web service for reading some additional data.

Man I was furious! On the test system it worked, on the production I got the 401 unauthorized error.

I Goggled a bit and then I tried the simplest solution:

Comment out the code: crmWebService.PreAuthenticate = true;

And it worked!

Guess what? This code was copied from Microsoft CRM 3.0 SDK.

Callout setting files

2007-03-12T09:59:00.001+01:00

I created a callout, but I wanted to have an additional XML settings file that can be changed on live system without restarting all necessary services.

You have two options:

You can hardcode the full path to the file (bad solution)
You can read the file from the "running folder"

The default running folder is:
%windows install folder%/system32/inetsrv.

So put your XML file in this folder and read it from the callout using:

XmlDocument settings = new XmlDocument();
settings.Load(Path.GetFullPath("CalloutSettings.xml"));

That's it folks!

Optimizing the Performance of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 White Paper

2007-01-11T21:04:00.000+01:00

Yesterday Microsoft published a white paper that describes how to optimize the performance of your CRM 3.0 system.

This white paper discusses how to optimize the performance of your Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 system. You’ll learn how re-indexing, de-fragmenting, and regularly maintaining your databases can increase the speed with which Microsoft Dynamics CRM accesses your data. The white paper includes more advanced techniques as well, such as improving report performance, configuring Microsoft SQL Server, and optimizing Microsoft Internet Information Services and the .NET Framework. You’ll find complete SQL scripts that you can copy and use immediately. Finally, you’ll find links to additional information and resources, such as performance enhancements, security updates, Knowledge Base articles, and related Microsoft Dynamics CRM documentation.

Best Practices for Better Performance from Your Custom Code

2007-01-09T21:32:00.000+01:00

I found this article in the official Microsoft Dynamics CRM Team Blog:

It points out some things you should keep in mind when creating a custom code.

http://blogs.msdn.com/crm/archive/2007/01/09/best-practices-for-better-performance-from-your-custom-code.aspx

How to change status of the dynamic entity?

2006-12-20T16:06:00.000+01:00

This feature is not well documented, so I decided to describe it here:

//Create a request object
SetStateDynamicEntityRequest stateRequest = new SetStateDynamicEntityRequest();
//Use string and not integer value for state. (For Lead use "Qualified" and not 2)
stateRequest.State = newState;
stateRequest.Status = newStatus;

//Create an instance of the entity
Moniker m = new Moniker();
m.Id = entityId;
m.Name = myDynamicEntity.Name;

//Set the state. Well... set the entity.
stateRequest.Entity = m;

//Send the request
SetStateDynamicEntityResponse res = (SetStateDynamicEntityResponse)_crmService.Execute(stateRequest);

Pretty simple, huh?

For a complete list of state and status values take a look in the SDK. You should find an enumeration for every built-in entity state together with allowed status reasons.
The name should be State Enumeration (LeadState Enumeration). Custom entities state is "Active" or "Inactive".

Of course you can use strong typed entities: (but I prefer dynamic ones)

lead myLead = new lead();
Status statusCode = new Status();
statusCode.Value = 3;
myLead.statecode = LeadState.Qualified;
myLead.statuscode = statusCode;

CRM on PlayStation Portable

2006-12-07T11:18:00.000+01:00

Now you can tell your boss that you use your PSP for work and not for fun.

Free XML tools you need

2006-11-24T09:09:00.000+01:00

XML Notepad 2007

Three days ago Microsoft released a new version of XML Notepad. They fixed the bug in Vista installation and added some new features. Tree View is synchronized with Node Text View for quick editing of node names and values, drag/drop support for easy manipulation of the tree, instant XML schema validation and more.

Get it here:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=72d6aa49-787d-4118-ba5f-4f30fe913628&DisplayLang=en

XPath Builder

Another great free app is the XPath Builder. It allows you to quickly create XPaths, and display results. Intellisense supported!!!

http://www.bubasoft.net/xpathbuilder/Xpathbuilder2.aspx

Creating many to many relationships

2006-11-21T09:17:00.000+01:00

OK. Don't be too excited. As I said in previous posts, custom many-to-many relationships are not possible, but there is a way to create "quasi" m:n relationships.

My idea was to create a many-to-many relationship in a way it is done in a standard SQL server. If you want to connect two entities with this type of relationship, you have to create a connecting entity.
Actually this is not so bad at all. The connecting entity can provide us with additional info about the relation.
The form will have two additional tabs with IFRAME objects, where the related object forms will be displayed. You can see the results in these two pictures

I want to create a solution that is supported by CRM SDK, so it can be upgraded to next versions of Microsoft CRM.

PLOT
We have two entities, a Contact and a custom entity Car. The Car entity represents a company car that we rent to our customers. We want to create a many-to-many relationship (a contract) between Car and Contact entities. In the relationship we want to store some additional info, let's say the contract number.

SOLUTION

Entities
At first we have to create a connecting relationship. I will name it "Contact car". The primary attribute is the contract number.

The Car entity's primary attribute is the license plate number, the Contact's primary attribute is full name, so we won't have a problem identifying the objects in the views.

Relationships
Create two many-to-one relationships in the "Contact car" entity. I decided to create a parental relationship with Contact and "Referential, restrict delete" with Car. Restrict delete is important, otherwise you can lose data when deleting a car. Well... You can decide your own logic here.

Forms
First add both lookup fields to the form (Car and Contact). Then add two tabs to the Contact car form named Car and Contact. Add an IFRAME in each tab. Name them IFRAME_Car and IFRAME_Contact. Set the URL to about:blank.
Now let's go to scripts:
You'll need Car entity type code, which you can find in http://serverName/sdk/list.aspx

Form onLoad
On each load of the page, a related entity must be displayed in the IFRAME:

var contactLookupItem = new Array;
contactLookupItem = crmForm.all.new_contactid.DataValue;

if (contactLookupItem && contactLookupItem[0] != null)
{
var sCustUrl = "http://ServerName/sfa/conts/edit.aspx?ID=" + contactLookupItem[0].id;
document.all.IFRAME_Contact.src = sCustUrl;
}

var carLookupItem = new Array;
carLookupItem = crmForm.all.new_carid.DataValue;

if (carLookupItem && carLookupItem[0] != null)
{
var sCarUrl = "http://ServerName/userdefined/edit.aspx?id=" + carLookupItem[0].id + "&etc=CarEntityTypeCode";
alert("REdirecting..." + sCarUrl);
document.all.IFRAME_Car.src = sCarUrl;
}

We have to change the forms if lookup fields change:

Car lookup field onChange

var oField = event.srcElement;

var carLookupItem = new Array;
carLookupItem = oField.DataValue;

if (carLookupItem && carLookupItem[0] != null)
{
var sCarUrl = "http://ServerName/userdefined/edit.aspx?id=" + carLookupItem[0].id + "&etc=EntityTypeCode";
document.all.IFRAME_Car.src = sCarUrl;
}

Contact lookup field onChange

var oField = event.srcElement;

var contactLookupItem = new Array;
contactLookupItem = oField.DataValue;

if (contactLookupItem && contactLookupItem[0] != null)
{
var sContactUrl = "http://ServerName/sfa/conts/edit.aspx?ID=" + contactLookupItem[0].id;
document.all.IFRAME_Car.src = sCarUrl;
}

Views
Update all Contact car views to display Car and Contact lookup, so users can quickly identify the records.

This is it. I can't say it's GREAT solution, but it's still better than nothing. Users can see Contact's an Car's data in the same form. They can even change them, using the buttons in the IFRAME.

You could hide the buttons in the IFRAME forms or disable the form (document.all.IFRAME_Car.document.body.disabled = true;), but I haven't found a supported way to do this.

Custom entity limitations

2006-11-17T08:40:00.000+01:00

This is a summary from the book Working with Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0.

A list what you can't do with custom entities:

You cannot create many-to-many relationships between entities. Well... you cannot create many-to-many relationships at all
You can not merge two custom entities together
Export and import is possible only by using some third party tool. Microsoft CRM Data Migration Framework does not support custom entities
The Microsoft CRM system entities include a relationship to Customer in which users can select an Account or a Contact. For custom entities, you can specify a relationship with the Account entity and the Contact entity, but you cannot create a relationship to the composite Customer entity (in which users can select an Account or a Contact on a single lookup).
Only one parent relationship per custom entity is allowed
Custom entities don't appear in an entity rollup
Organization-owned custom entities can't participate in Microsoft CRM workflow
You cannot create a custom relationship between an entity and itself
You could not create relationships in such a way that a form has two or more lookups that connect to the same custom entity.
Custom entities cannot have a parental relationship behavior to system entities

How to change duration or time picklist values

2006-11-16T10:40:00.000+01:00

In previous post I suggested tweaking the form in the onLoad method to change the values of the duration or time picklist.

Values are stored in a table that looks like this:
<TABLE>
<TBODY>
<TR><TD val=""></TD></TR>
<TR><TD val="1 minute">1 minute</TD></TR>
<TR><TD val="2 minutes">2 minutes</TD></TR>
...
</TBODY>
</TABLE>

All you need is to change the table values so here's an example of the onLoad script that deletes all values from phone duration field and adds two new - 11 and 22 minutes to the list.
Of course you can decide to delete only the vales you want or just add new values.

//Get the duration field
var oDuration = document.getElementById("actualdurationminutesSelect");

//Get the values table. The values table is the second table
var oTable = oDuration.getElementsByTagName("TABLE")[1];

//Get the table TBODY element
var oTbody = oTable.firstChild;

var childs = oTbody.childNodes;

//Delete all values
for(var i=childs.length; i-- ; i>= 0)
{
oTbody.removeChild(childs(i));
}

//Create TR and TD elements
var oTr = document.createElement("TR");
var oTd = document.createElement("TD");

oTd.innerText = "11 minutes"; //Set value

var oValue = document.createAttribute("val"); //Create attribute node
oValue.value = "11 minutes"; //Set value of the attribute

//Add elements to the table
oTd.attributes.setNamedItem(oValue);
oTr.appendChild(oTd);
oTbody.appendChild(oTr);

//Repeat...
oTr = document.createElement("TR");
oTd = document.createElement("TD");

oTd.innerText = "22 minutes"; //Set display value

var oValue = document.createAttribute("val");
oValue.value = "22 minutes";

oTd.attributes.setNamedItem(oValue);
oTr.appendChild(oTd);
oTbody.appendChild(oTr);

Picklist hell

2006-11-16T09:13:00.000+01:00

Here are three main problems with picklists developers should be aware of:

Deleting values from a picklist
Mapping picklists
Picklists as duration or time fields

1. Deleting values from a picklist
When you are deleting values from a picklist be aware that the value will be deleted also from all records that contain the deleted value. You will loose data. Fortunately CRM 3.0 warns you before you attempt to do this.

2. Mapping picklists
Value type of a picklist is integer. Every time you add a value to the picklist, CRM automatically assigns integer values. You cannot edit these values since they are read-only. So if you have two mapped picklists be sure to enter both picklists in the same order. If you made a mistake, delete the values from both picklists and add them again in the same order.

Wouldn't it be nice to have some sort of "global" picklists that can be used in different entities and edited on one place?

3. Picklists as duration or time fields
You can not add values to duration or date time fields. Users can click in the field and enter the value themselves. The database stores the duration in whole minutes, so 14,25 minutes will be stored as 14 minutes.

You can tweak the lists in onLoad script to add or delete values.

Search in lookup views

2006-11-15T10:46:00.000+01:00

I've noticed users have problems searching custom fields in lookup views. Actually it does not have anything with custom fields.

In a lookup view search is performed only on columns displayed in the view. Even if you add a column to "Find columns" list, you still have to add it to "Displayed columns" list.

So if you want to find a Contact by his, let's say, birth date, you have to modify Contact's lookup view to display birth date and add the birth date column to "Find columns" list.

Creating new attributes -Take a moment and think again

2006-11-14T08:43:00.000+01:00

Imagine you just discovered that you make an appointment with Mr Smith mostly on Mondays, Mrs Brown prefers Wednesdays etc.

So you decide to put a picklist in the Contact form. You create a new attribute and name it new_PreferredAppointmentDay containing all days in a week. Problem solved!

Not exactly!

Everything looks great until you want to use mail merge in Outlook to make an appointment with Mr Smith on his preferred day. What happened to my custom attributes? Where is new_PreferredAppointmentDay?

You cannot include custom attributes as Mail Merge fields.
Take a look at the attributes list in the Contact entity. You will find the attribute named preferredappointmentdaycode.

1. Take a close look at the predefined attributes in an entity

Microsoft created about 15.000 attributes right out of the box. And they are there for you to use them. They are accessible through mail merge in Outlook and they save you the time you need to create custom attributes.
Custom attributes are accessed through filtered views, so you can use them in other applications when you connect directly to the database, but not in Outlook mail merge.

You can access the list of all entities and their attributes also with metadata browser on http://crmServer/sdk/list.aspx

2. Create new attributes with care

When creating new attribute it is really important to enter a description of the attribute. At least put your name and date in. Do try to enter a purpose for adding the attribute.
The name of the attribute should be short, but descriptive. For god's sake do not name it new_att1! The name must not be too long, otherwise you'll get lost in SQL queries.

3. Limitations when modifying an attribute

Maximum length - You cannot increase maximum length of the nvarchar or ntext field. You can decrease it, but not increase. So think again when setting the limit of the text field length.
Picklist values - When you delete a value from picklist you can permanently loose your data. Microsoft CRM automatically deletes the picklist value from all records that used this value. Those records will display blank picklist.

So what is this "Afna" thing all about?

2006-11-13T11:53:00.000+01:00

I ran into MS CRM 3.0 about six months ago and immediately I got addicted to it. Really simple interface for the end-users and flexible design for developers.

Microsoft really did it's best to create a really useful out of a box platform that can be used in most companies almost (and I mean it) immediately. All basic entities, attributes and relationships are prepared for the "first use".

The slogan for CRM 3.0 should be MS CRM 3.0 - Just add data.

Meanwhile I developed an application that imports data from any SQL database to CRM. I really suggest that you take a look at Michael Hohne's site (http://www.stunnware.com/crm2) and the newsgroups:

Currently I am reading a great book from MS press: Working with Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0. (link to Amazon).
I already went through all CRM at my own, had three day training, went deep into the database and CRM metadata, but this book still gives me new things and what is more important - very useful tips.

I took a glance at Microsoft CRM 3 For Dummies. (link to Amazon). Not disappointed, but not for developers. Nice to read if you really don't know what CRM really is.

I still owe you an explanation of the word "Afna". In my language we use it to describe the @ sign. But originally it means a person who is acting funny, usually making a fool of himself. So a play of words.