A Lebanese MSCRM Blog

CCA, Lync and Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011

2011-12-14T16:33:00.002+02:00

I am sharing with you a bit of what we are currently working on at Dynamic Objects.

In a nutshell, we're using the Customer care accelerator and integrating it with Lync and CRM 2011.

you can watch the screencast full screen here.

Cheers,
M.G

Update Rollup 5 fo CRM 2011 released

2011-10-27T12:19:00.000+03:00

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Update Rollup 5 was released this week, You can download the Update Rollup here and the KB article here.

Update rollup 5 brings new enhancements to CRM 2011 including social feeds, support for lookups in dialogs and much more. Note that Update Rollup 5 cannot be uninstalled, so be sure to back up your system before applying the rollup. Update Rollup 6 is to be delivered in January 2012.

Happy Update.

Cheers,
M.G

CRM 2011 Outlook Configuration error: The request for security token could not be satisfied because authentication failed

2011-10-07T17:37:00.002+03:00

I ran across an unusual error while configuring CRM 2011 for outlook on a computer not running on the same domain as the CRM server. The configuration wizard just wouldn't connect to the deployment. The client config logs ( located at %localappdata%\Microsoft\MSCRM\Logs\Crm50ClientConfig.txt) showed the below error message:

Error| Error connecting to URL: http://crmserver:port/XRMServices/2011/Discovery.svc

Exception: System.ServiceModel.Security.SecurityNegotiationException: The caller was not authenticated by the service.

---> System.ServiceModel.FaultException: The request for security token could not be satisfied because authentication failed.

at System.ServiceModel.Security.SecurityUtils.ThrowIfNegotiationFault(Message message, EndpointAddress target) at System.ServiceModel.Security.SspiNegotiationTokenProvider.GetNextOutgoingMessageBody(Message incomingMessage, SspiNegotiationTokenProviderState sspiState)

--- End of inner exception stack trace ---

The error shows that the client is unable to connect to the discrovery service eventhough i was able to connect to the service when trying to access it through Internet explorer on the same machine!

After spending a couple of hours troubleshooting and trying various scenarios on the client machine i started digging up a bit on the server side i found out that the CRMappPool and the CrmDeploymentServiceAppPool were running in the context of the administrator of the domain.

I was able to configure outlook to connect successfully to the deployment by configuring both application pools to run under the "LocalSystem" identity as shown in the screenshot below.

Cheers,
M.G

Update Rollup 4 for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Released

2011-09-26T15:31:00.000+03:00

Update Rollup 4 for CRM 2011 was released last week, You can download the Update Rollup here and the KB article here.

CRM 2011 SMS Solution Released

2011-08-01T16:47:00.000+03:00

We have been working over the past month on our own SMS solution for CRM 2011.
The solution works with CRM 2011 Online, partner-hosted and on premise.
The SMS solution integrates with KalaSMS to send SMS messages to contacts and leads.

The solution provides the following features:

Send Individual SMS to contacts and leads.
Send Bulk SMS to dynamic and static marketing lists.
Send Individual SMS from a CRM 2011 workflow.
Send Bulk SMS from a CRM 2011 workflow.

Download and test drive the solution by going to Dynamic Objects solutions page.

Finally a Big thank you to Dynamic Objects Team for making this happen.

Cheers,
M.G

Update Rollup 3 for CRM 2011 Released

2011-07-30T09:50:00.000+03:00

It seems it's CRM update month :) Update Rollup 3 for CRM 2011 was released this week, You can download the Update Rollup here and the KB article here.

Cheers,
M.G

Update Rollup 18 for CRM 4.0 Released

2011-07-30T09:47:00.000+03:00

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Update Rollup 18 has been released.

You can download the update here and access the KB Article here.

Happy Update !!

Cheers,
M.G

CRM 2011 Basic Database Maintenance & Backup

2011-06-27T19:26:00.003+03:00

Creating a proper Database maintenance plan is essential in any CRM environment, it will ensure that your system can be recovered in case of any outages and you will ensure that you are getting the best performance out of it. In case you are not familiar with how to create a maintenance plan in Microsoft SQL please check this video. I will be listing below what to include in your maintenance plan.

Databases you should include in your maintenance plan

The MSCRM_CONFIG database.
Each Organization_MSCRM database you have in your deployment.
The SQL Reporting Services databases: ReportServer and ReportServerTempDB.
The master and system Databases.

Tasks you should include in your maintenance plan

Check Database Integrity
Shrink Database
Reorganize Index
Rebuild Index
Update Statistics
Backup Database (Full)
Maintenance Cleanup Task

In a nutshell, Indexes are one of the ways that SQL server quicly locates information stored in a database table so it is important that indexes are updated to take into account new records or records that have been removed. SQL server also maintains statistics on each database to help it calculate the most efficient way to perform queries and other functions. Updating statistics will improve your SQL Server's efficiency.

Important Note

Keep in mind that the maintenance plan impacts your CRM server performance so you need to schedule or launch the plan during off-peak usage hours.

Cheers,
M.G

Bulk Lead Conversion in CRM 2011

2011-06-20T15:14:00.000+03:00

CRM 2011 comes with a new cool feature that allows you to convert multiple leads at the same time. This is pretty handy especially when you have multiple individuals you want to qualify to contacts or you need to disqualify multiple leads.
The procedure is pretty simple, you just select the leads you want to convert and press the "Qualify" button on the ribbon as you see in the picture below.

Cheers,
M.G

Update Rollup 2 for CRM 2011 Released

2011-06-03T11:27:00.000+03:00

Update Rollup 2 for CRM 2011 was released yesterday, You can download the Update Rollup here and the KB article here. Update Rollup 2 will be available on Windows Update on June 28. Note that Update Rollup 2 is a cumulative update that includes all the fixes that are also included in Update Rollup 1.

Happy Update !!

Cheers,
M.G

Microsoft's Brad Wilson on the Future of CRM

2011-05-27T13:07:00.002+03:00

Read this interesting quick interview with Brad Wilson. Brad is currently leading the global product management and marketing for Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Accessing Deployment Manager Logs in CRM 2011

2011-05-20T15:37:00.000+03:00

In some cases you need to track the changes that were made in CRM 2011 deployment manager. Microsoft Dynamics CRM keeps a detailed log file of all actions taken in the deployemnt manager everytime you access the CRM deployment manager.

The logs are placed in C:\users\%username%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\MSCRM\Logs\crm50dmsnapin."Date".txt

I believe the same applies with CRM 4.0 - Sample screenshot below:

Cheers,
M.G

Update Rollup 17 for CRM 4.0 Released

2011-05-11T09:03:00.000+03:00

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Update Rollup 17 was released on Thursday May 5th, 2011.

The build number of the update rollup packages for the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 server is 04.00.7333.3414

You can download the update here and access the KB Article here.

Happy Update !!

Cheers,
M.G

Reordering Sections of a Record in CRM 2011 outlook Client

2011-04-19T10:42:00.003+03:00

I just noticed a very nice feature in the CRM 2011 outlook client which allows you to reorder sections of a record form when you preview it in the reading pane.

The changes also persist across the entity and across outlook sessions.

You can check the small screen cast below for more details. CRM 2011 is sooo Coolll !

Click Here to watch the Video full Screen.

Cheers,
M.G

Global Option Sets (Picklists) in CRM 2011

2011-04-18T19:19:00.000+03:00

A new cool and much needed feature in CRM 2011 is the ability to create Global pick lists (now referred to as option sets in CRM 2011).

For example, in case you worked with CRM 4.0 Leads and Accounts you would remember the industry pick list field which designates the type of industry in which the person or company operates and the hassle involved with updating each pick list in each entity to maintain conformity and mappings between them.

Now with Global Option Sets, you can create a global option set and reference it from any entity and when you need to add or edit values you just need to edit the global option set. I have compiled a small screen cast that shows you how to create a global option set in CRM 2011 that contains a list of countries and how to reference it from any entity, I used the account entity as an example but you can do the same with any entity.

Click Here to watch the Video full Screen.

CRM 2011 Update Rollup 1 Released

2011-04-12T10:24:00.000+03:00

Update Rollup 1 for Dynamics CRM 2011 was released last week and contains a number of fixes for stability and performance especially for the outlook client.

You can download CRM2011 UR1 here and access the KB article here.

Happy update !

Cheers,
M.G

Update Rollup 16 for CRM 4.0 Released

2011-03-14T15:06:00.000+02:00

Away from the hype created by the final release of CRM 2011, CRM 4.0 is getting its share of attention with the release of UR 16 which is now available for download. The update adds support for IE 9 and fixes some synchronization issues with the outlook client as well as other improvements and fixes highlited in the KB Article.

You can download the update binaries here.

Cheers,
M.G

IFD for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011

2011-03-04T09:52:00.000+02:00

Check this cool video provided by the CRM Team on how to Configure IFD with Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011.

Cheers,

M.G

Enabling The CRM 2011 Outlook Offline Client without internet connection

2011-02-17T09:29:00.000+02:00

I had an unusual case today ( usual if you work in Lebanon with the bad internet connection we face on rainy days) while enabling the offline capability for a CRM 2011 client running on windows 7 ultimate X86 machine.

When you enable offline capability the wizard automatically connects you to the internet to download SQL 2008 express which is about 62 MB and in case the internet connection is slow or not even working, the configuration will fail.

Going through the CRM logs (access the logs by running the following command: %localappdata%\Microsoft\MSCRM) I quickly noticed the issue as you see in the picture below, clearly the wizard had created a temporary directory where the download will be placed as "SQLEXPR_1033.EXE" and the configuration was failing because the wizard was unable to complete the download.

Since i already have the binaries for SQL 2008 express downloaded previously (download file name is "SQLEXPR32_x86_ENU.exe") I renamed the file to "SQLEXPR_1033.EXE" as listed in the log and copied it to the temp directory.
When i ran the offline configuration again, the components were installed successfully and the outlook client had the offline capability enabled.

Cheers,
M.G

CRM 2011 Released to Manufacturing

2011-02-17T08:22:00.000+02:00

Microsoft Released yesterday the RTM version of CRM 2011, which means CRM 2011 is now available for on premise and partner hosted environment. The SDK and the implementation guide were also updated this week. You can download the CRM 2011 Server, the CRM 2011 SDK, & the CRM 2011 Implementation Guide.

Cheers,

M.G

Dynamic Marketing Lists in CRM 2011

2011-01-31T13:28:00.000+02:00

A really cool and much needed enhancement in CRM 2011 is the ability to create dynamic marketing lists when it was only possible to create static lists in CRM 4.0. When creating a marketing list, just set the type to dynamic and build your query and the marketing list will get automatically updated when new records that meet the query are created/updated.

Another cool feature is the ability to create a static list from a dynamic list by pressing the "Copy to Static" button and a static list containing the dynamic list members at the time is created for you...how cool is that :)

When upgrading from CRM 4.0 to CRM 2011 all marketing lists will be created as static in CRM 2011.

Cheers,
M.G

Currency Enhancements in CRM 2011

2011-01-30T17:29:00.000+02:00

Let's have a look at currency enhancements in CRM 2011:

Creating Custom Currencies
You have the option to create and define a custom currency in case the currency you are looking for does not exist in the currency list.

Currency Precision
You can now define precision per currency, thus each currency created in the system can have its own currency precision.

Furthermore, when creating currency related attributes the user can define the precision that this field will follow and can choose either "pricing decimal precision" which means that the attribute will follow the precision set in the pricing decimal precision, or choose "currency precision" which means that the attribute will follow the precision set in the currency record and finally the user can set a value from 0 to 4.

Same as CRM 4.0, you can set the pricing decimal precision in the system settings area.

Cheers,

M.G

Importing Data in CRM 2011

2011-01-22T07:44:00.000+02:00

One of the enhancements to the import wizard in CRM 2011 is the ability to create data maps on the fly during the import process when back in CRM 4.0 the user had to create the data map and then associate it with an entity before starting the import process (unless automatic mapping was used).

The following screen cast shows you the full import process of a sample csv file into the lead entity.

Click Here to watch the Video full Screen.

Cheers,
M.G

Enabling/Disabling the Get Started Pane in CRM 2011

2011-01-18T16:21:00.000+02:00

The "Get Started Pane" is a really handy feature introduced for newbies in CRM 2011.
The pane provides the user with entity related information and help content.

For example on the quotes entity you'll find help content about the sales cycle, printing quotes as well as creating custom views and even watch a video about working with quotes which is really cool and important if you are getting to know the software.

On another hand, as you see the pane consumes a lot of space on your screen and if you are already familiar with the features you'll not find it really handy. You can still choose to hide/show the pane if you do not wish to disable it by pressing the show/hide pane button you see in the screenshot below.

If you want to disable the pane, all you have to do is go to File then Options and uncheck the "show Get Started Pane on all lists".

and Voila ... No panes are displayed anymore when you access your CRM entities.

Cheers,
M.G

Update Rollup 15 for CRM 4.0 Released

2011-01-14T11:20:00.000+02:00

Update rollup 15 for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 has been released just a week before the official launch for CRM 2011 taking place next Thursday.
You can access the roll up bits Here and the KB article Here.

Happy Update.

Cheers,
M.G