Angel's Blog

SugarCRM 101: Licensing and Vertical Markets

2012-02-08T07:30:00.000-08:00

gnu.org There are some subtle nuances to non-technical aspects of SugarCRM that have very meaningful implications, but are often not well understood. One such nuance relates to licensing. Conversations relating to the topic usually resemble the following: What is the per user cost of a SugarCRM license? Can one resell a customized version SugarCRM? Is it possible to provide

SugarCRM Cookbook: Adding Leads via SOAP

2012-02-01T09:00:00.000-08:00

bvdservices.com Back in 1996 when I first got my start in the CRM world, I remember how impressed I was by a new feature about to roll out in an upcoming release of our software. It was something called "web import," which allowed web site visitors to enter information on a standard web form and the submitted data would then appear in the CRM system without any further user intervention. It

Database Administration Redux

2012-01-11T22:30:00.000-08:00

Some time ago I wrote a post describing an unorthodox method of leveraging the SugarCRM framework to perform database administration duties. It sounds odd, but it is quite helpful for scenarios where one has severely limited access to the server hosting the SugarCRM instance. While the technique works, its potential dangers make it a bit unattractive. One such danger is that syntax errors in

Thank You!

2012-01-10T14:15:00.000-08:00

Its been a few days, but Happy New Year! As I get back to writing content for this blog in this new year, I want to make sure to thank everyone for their support of it. A big thank you to everyone, all the regular and casual visitors alike. A special thanks to John Mertic (@jmertic), SugarCRM Community Manager, for his continued support of my efforts, regularly syndicating my content and

SugarCRM Tips: Wizard-Less Uploads

2011-11-12T18:00:00.000-08:00

A few days ago an interesting topic came up on the SugarCRM Forums. In short, a user attempting to upgrade their SugarCRM instance ran into a problem in doing so. The problem was the result of a system limitation imposed by the hosting provider, which in turn affected the functionality of the SugarCRM Upgrade Wizard. For those not familiar with this wizard, a step within it requires one

SugarCRM Logic Hooks: Unintended Loops

2011-10-11T00:39:00.000-07:00

There is something intriguing about working with logic hooks. Through their use, one can accomplish quite a bit given that the only real limitation is our ability to write PHP code. For example, we can use a logic hook to modify a value on a record that is being saved. We can also use it to connect to a web service and process data whenever a record is retrieved in SugarCRM. In addition, we

SugarCRM Troubleshooting: Duplicate Column Error

2011-09-29T09:02:00.000-07:00

Some months back an interesting problem was brought to my attention. The problem at hand related to an error that occurred during the Quick Rebuild & Repair process and read as follows: Executing repair query: Query Failed:ALTER TABLE leads_cstm add column my_customField_c char(36) NULL , add column my_customField_c char(36) NULL::MySQL error 1060: Duplicate column name 'my_customField_c'

SugarCRM Troubleshooting: Error Deploying Custom Modules

2011-09-21T23:48:00.000-07:00

SugarCRM administrators that have utilized the Module Builder tool are likely to have run into this scenario on more than one occasion.... A custom module is created and you proceed to click the Deploy button. The deployment process initiates and appears to be working as expected, but suddenly, the following error message is displayed: "An error has occured

Commentary: SugarCRM OnDemand

2011-09-09T05:00:00.000-07:00

The idea of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) is a rather nifty one. As a customer, you pay a set fee on a predefined schedule and in turn, software is quickly made available for your use -- usually within minutes. It eliminates the need and hassle of installing software, maintaining servers, setting up backups, etc., plus the vendor normally provides technical support services as part of the

SugarCRM 101: Non-Commercial vs. Commercial Hosting

2011-09-04T22:00:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I have taken up a subject relating to furthering our understanding of the SugarCRM ecosystem. However, recent conversations I have had have highlighted the need to clarify an important aspect relating to the various editions of SugarCRM that are available on the market and the ability to use the SugarCRM data center (known as Sugar On-Demand) to host them.

CandyWrapper: Attaching Files Programmatically

2011-08-31T04:00:00.000-07:00

A recent question on the SugarCRM Forums served as a reminder of a specific programming need whose steps are not immediately obvious. Before we go any further, let us discuss the scenario so we have a clear understanding of our intended goal. In our example, we will assume we need to attach files to a Lead record using a custom application that we have built. We will focus on the part of the

Product Review: uCertify Preparation Kits

2011-08-29T02:00:00.000-07:00

Anyone that has worked in the IT world for even a short amount of time understands that certification exams are part of the game. Not unexpectedly, I too have had the need to familiarize myself with these exams in order to obtain my various certifications. Recently, the folks at uCertify contacted me in relation to their test preparation kits, and I agreed to give their product a look

SugarCRM 6.3 BETA Now Available

2011-08-16T09:12:00.000-07:00

I meant to comment on this sooner, as the initial release of SugarCRM 6.3 BETA was made available late last week and whenever this happens, a large portion of the community immediately downloads it and installs it. It seems with every release, it is necessary to remind the community at large that BETA releases such as this one are intended for testing purposes ONLY. They should only be

Una Pregunta

2011-08-08T21:05:00.000-07:00

Analizando los países fuentes de los lectores de este blog, he reconocido que dentro la lista de los 10 más populares aparecen unos de poblaciones hispanoparlantes. Por mucho tiempo he deseado traducir el contenido de este blog al Español para facilitar el intercambio de información con uds., pero la verdad es que el tiempo no me lo permite en muchas ocasiones. Pero reconozco la necesidad

SugarCRM Customization: Default Assigned User

2011-08-08T06:00:00.000-07:00

El Bibliomata/Flickr One of the first customizations that I recall applying to the first SugarCRM system I was in charge of was to set the default assigned user on Cases to someone other than the logged in user. This was used as a way to simplify the need for the submitting user to have to select the same assigned user every time a new case was added. That was back in 2005, and using

SugarCRM Customization: Employees Relate Field

2011-08-02T19:48:00.000-07:00

The topic of Employees and Users within the scope of SugarCRM can sometimes be a bit confusing. However, there are a couple of subtle points that help distinguish the two. In a nutshell, Employees are a representation of the various individuals that work at your organization. In some cases (maybe all), those same individuals are also SugarCRM users, but it is not mandatory. Users, on the

Logic Hooks: Truncating Displayed Values

2011-07-27T05:00:00.000-07:00

Sometimes minor customizations to SugarCRM go a long way towards addressing important usability aspects. Something that has come up a couple of times in recent interactions with users is the need to truncate data displayed on a subpanel. At first glance, the reasons why someone would want to do this are not always readily apparent. However, consider the scenario where one uses a text area field

SugarCRM Customization: Workflow Emails with Templates

2011-06-09T06:00:00.000-07:00

Some time ago I posted an article describing the manner in which one can send custom email messages via a logic hook. Since then, several folks have asked if it is possible to leverage the email template system built into SugarCRM for generating the actual message. It is certainly possible and that is exactly what we will cover in this post. To save ourselves some time, we will simply modify

SugarCRM 101: 10 Questions for Hosting Providers

2011-05-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

Photo by ivanpw/Flickr Those evaluating SugarCRM for use in their business may have encountered of information regarding its use through a shared hosting provider such as GoDaddy, 1and1, Hostgator, TMDHosting or any of the various other options available. Due to the extensive amount of hosting providers that are available today, building and maintaining a comprehensive list of all those

SugarCRM Troubleshooting: Formatting Woes

2011-05-13T12:44:00.000-07:00

Does the image below look familiar? It is the default login screen for SugarCRM Community Edition, but as one can see, the formatting is not quite right. This, unfortunately, is a common occurrence and worse yet, it usually occurs immediately following the install process. Fortunately, the solution is rather simple. But before we get into the solution, let us spend just a couple of

Commentary: The Social CRM Quandary

2011-05-03T05:00:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, my friend Jennifer Vides wrote an excellent piece on social media; something she is quite familiar with as she consults on the matter (and other media) from a marketing perspective. Many of the points in her article mirrored my own feelings towards social media. And although it is not my area of focus, there is an ever increasing level of attention towards it from the CRM

CandyWrapper Now On GitHub

2011-05-02T07:30:00.000-07:00

Ever since the initial release of CandyWrapper back in March of 2009, the intention was to make its source code available to the community, to allow them to constructively criticize it, improve or expand upon the work. Things, unfortunately, do not always go according to plan. Although, in this case, it is probably for the best as the time elapsed has allowed for better tools to emerge to

Logic Hooks: OnDemand Installations

2011-04-14T18:30:00.000-07:00

Source: photosteve101/Flickr Say that you developed a cool logic hook and are ready to put it into use on your production instance of SugarCRM. However, you are faced with the challenge of the production instance being hosted on the SugarCRM OnDemand platform. For those of you that are new to the world of logic hooks, the OnDemand environment presents a unique challenge in that

SugarCRM 101: Upgrade Safe? Huh?

2011-04-12T07:05:00.000-07:00

Source: LivingOS/Flickr Lexicons tend to develop around just about any facet of our cultures. At the office, at the gym, at home -- pretty much anywhere. The software world is no different. Users of any software will, over time, develop their own vocabulary to describe features and other aspects of the software. Conversely, software vendors develop their own vocabulary for the same

Commentary: SugarCON 2011

2011-04-08T06:30:00.000-07:00

I had the fortune of attending the annual SugarCRM Partner, User and Developer Conference (SugarCON) in San Francisco this week. Although I missed last year's event, it is very exciting to see how much SugarCRM (company and product) has grown and matured since my initial brush with it back in 2005, or even in comparison to the last time I attended in 2009. I wanted to take a few moments to