From a record, simply hit the ‘Print Preview Icon’ as shown below:

And hey presto, you’ll get this from the system:

A great and useful way to get that quick snapshot of a record, to see the key info quickly!

‘til next time.

To quote:

You can use workflows to automate many common tasks and processes in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. They can be as simple or as complex as you need them to be, but getting started may seem challenging. You don’t need to be a programmer to create a workflow: you just need to understand your department’s business processes.

Like always, if you’d like some advice on exactly how CSG can assist you implement this powerful feature – give me a shout and will be glad to chat.

‘til next time.

A great feature of Microsoft Dynamics CRM is the ability to run a report on those customers you have neglected … and make contact again before your competitors do.

This great article will step you through the steps to leverage this great feature.

‘til next time.

This article on the Dynamics site gives you a great primer of the 10 key things to know about, from installation, through configuration and usage.

With our vast experience, CSG can assist you with any questions or advice you may require around this – so as always, feel free to drop me a line if you’d like any advice.

‘til next time.

Luckily, help is at hand … as on the dynamics site, a great tutorial exists to step you through your options.

To quote:

Every organization has data stored online about customers, products, leads, contacts, contracts, sales literature, competitors, and more. Perhaps you want to transfer this data to Microsoft Dynamics CRM as part of your initial implementation, or have purchased data after everyone was already using Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Wherever the data comes from, you can automate the process of importing it into Microsoft Dynamics CRM so that no one has to manually enter the data.

Take a look at the article here and if you need any assistance or advice, don’t hesitate to drop me an email.

‘til next time.

On the Dynamics Site there’s a great video tutorial on how you can leverage this tool … to quote:

Learn the steps for running queries in Advanced Find, including entering the criteria, or fields, that will help you filter your search. Also, save your Advanced Find search results as a personal view that you can access any time you want.

If you want text, step by step instructions, you can find that here.

CSG runs all of the Microsoft curriculum for Dynamics CRM – so if you’d like more information, check out our training section.

‘til next time.

The good news is, not very!

Microsoft TechNet has posted an informative video of the steps you need to take to do exactly that – automate the deliver of reports to an email address:

This demo shows how to:

• Configure a shared data source to store credentials (required for subscriptions)
• Configure SSRS for SMTP email delivery
• Create a subscription that delivers reports to a file share
• Create a subscription that delivers reports via email

‘til next time.

he first thing you’ll notice in Windows 7 is the cleaned up desktop (no sidebar!) and the new taskbar at the bottom. I even kinda like the new default wallpaper too.

Firing up Internet Explorer 8 and browsing to a Microsoft CRM website appears pretty much the same as usual.

After you sign in, the activities page and the other pages appear to behave the same as Internet Explorer 7. I clicked around to a few different records but didn’t notice anything different. However after opening a few windows, I did notice that the taskbar is quite different. Instead of adding "rectangles" (for lack of a better word) in the taskbar, Windows 7 simply updates the IE icon. After you add multiple windows, you might notice that Windows 7 adds vertical lines to the right of the IE icon to indicate the multiple windows are open. If you hover over the IE icon, you’ll see a preview of the open browser windows (complete with page titles)! This guy from Wired was really excited about that.

I found that the text on the preview records was too small to read. However it is nice to be able to close individual records through this preview without having to open the browser window (simply click the red X in the upper-right corner of the preview). Also, if you hover your mouse over a preview window it brings that record to the top so that you can read it. I have only played with this new taskbar for a little bit but I think I will actually use it (unlike the Flip 3D feature in Vista which looks great but never gets used).

Right-clicking the IE icon in the taskbar presents you with a Jump List that includes your browsing history which is nice and convenient. You can select previous Web pages and back up from there.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised that Windows 7 and Internet Explorer 8 seemed to handle Microsoft CRM just fine! The only time I was able to get it to act funky was by playing with the compatibility view setting (the button to the right of lock icon in the address bar) and toggling it off and on repeatedly. By doing so, I noticed that the left navigation got screwed up a little, but a quick F5 refresh cleared up the issue immediately.

We have staff internally here running Windows 7 as their day to day operating system, and so far have been very impressed with the speed and stability of the system - so if you’d like to see this in action – drop me an email and we can organise a demonstration.

‘til next time!

Fear not, as the CRM Team Blog has a great solution for you!

Fortunately, I picked up a neat little registry setting trick from former CRM Product Manager Michael Lu. By adding the registry setting OutlookSyncDisableTaskReminders to your client computer (not the server) at HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/MSCRMClient and setting its value to 1, the Outlook client will not create reminders on activities it syncs into Outlook.

This solution won’t work for everyone, but I find that it works pretty well for me.

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious, system-wide problems that may require you to re-install Windows to correct them. Only administrators will have the necessary permissions to perform this modification. Microsoft cannot guarantee that any problems resulting from the use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use the Registry Editor at your own risk.

‘til next time!

The CRM Lady has a great summary of same:

In Microsoft Dynamics CRM there can be a specific difference between the understanding of  "LEAD" versus "PROSPECT"

A lead imported into the leads pool is often considered unqualified and perhaps not even real. This could be a person from a purchased marketing list, a casual meeting, an association member or a bogus entry such as "mickey mouse" from a web form.

The first goal around any given lead is initial qualification. Do they exist, are they worth the potential of engagement?

Within the software Microsoft offers a "leads pool" where once qualified a lead can be marked qualified and closed and then leave this area of the database and be further expanded into Contact, Account and Opportunity.

A prospect on the other hand is or can be a type of contact or account. A prospect represents a company that has the real potential to be a new client. They have passed initial qualifications (as in they actually exist) and they are currently engaged or are worth pursuing for engagement.

Tracking all that happens on a prospect is often done within the Account or Opportunity record. This includes the gathering and documenting of all contacts within this prospect, the projecting and scheduling of activities needed to close this prospect and the historical notes.

‘til next time.