Dynamics Developer

Work and Best about CRM Systems

2017-12-20T08:34:00.000-05:00

Most CRM Systems:

Picking a CRM system is the most difficult part of all, for me at least, reason being they are all designed by people with sales careers to increase sales.

To get other advantages out of CRM is costly solution for the reason of having Developers to make customized solution to meet specific needs. Certain out of the functions make it easy for developers to introduce new features though.

The most if we need to get out of CRM Depends on how nice user interface is for Web/Mobile Applications and how efficiently that was written by developer to interact with CRM, which will eventually gives end user better experience with CRM, which in turn sales and that will eventually help with revenue.

Most of the times, need to have portal website to integrate with CRM, to allow external users to interact with CRM, So if Portal website sucks, CRM sucks too or vice versa

All this information is based on personal opinion and may differ from person to person.

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Custom Reports for Microsoft Dynamics 365

2017-12-01T19:09:00.000-05:00

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Reports are based on Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services and provides the same set of features.

The report definition, both data and layout, of Microsoft Dynamics 365 reports are contained in an .rdl file and the content of this file are based on the Microsoft SQL server report definition language specification.

There are many out of the box reports available and you can create and deploy custom reports as well. Custom reports are of types:

SQL Based:

This reports used SQL queries to retrive the data from filtered view
All the default reports are SQL based reports
You can't deploy SQL based reports to Dynamics 365 online

FetchXML Based:

This uses FetchXML to retrive data
You can deploy this on both on Dynamics 365 on-premise and online
All the reports created using Report Wizard are FetchXML based

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What Is Ransomware and How Do You Protect Yourself?

2017-11-17T13:36:00.000-05:00

What is Ransomware?

In General Definition, it's a malicious software that crawl through your computer files in all drives and encrypts each file and make it useless unless you pay some specific amount of money to unlock it. It can spread in networks as well if you're connect in.

Who's at Risk?

Almost anyone, who uses internet....

Prevention Steps?

Nothing really, as of now, which is totally secure. But the best bet would be Backup and Backup!

How to protect yourself?

From the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre:

Avoid opening email attachments from unknown sources

Ensure your anti-virus software is active and up-to-date

Schedule Scan and remove existing malware

Keep your operating system and software up-to-date

Make regular backups of important files

Be vigilant against clicking on links or attachments within emails

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Dynamics CRM Javascript Code Snippets

2017-11-03T18:54:00.000-04:00

In this post, I'm going to post some JavaScript code snippets, this might be helpful while customize the CRM. Should work for all versions!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Get the GUID of the lookup field:

var obj1 = Xrm.Page.getAttribute("schemanameoflookupfield");
alert("" +obj1.getValue()[0].id);

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Get the value of the picklist:

var obj = Xrm.Page.getAttribute("schemanameofpicklistfield");
alert("" + obj.getValue());

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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MB2-712 - Security Model

2017-10-20T13:35:00.000-04:00

Security is a core part of dynamics CRM system to ensure, which users/team can access what information. This is also useful to restrict sensitive information.

Business units are the base for the security mode, role is then defined within the business unit. Each user or team will be assigned a business unit and one or more roles. this combination of entities provided base for the Dynamics CRM security model.

With the security model, you can control what actions users can including new, update, delete share or append on records. furthermore, this also allow to define access to part of the user interface, which includes forms, field security, dashboard etc etc....

Security roles define the access level which will be granted to users or teams. User or team can have one or more security roles and the sum of all privileges will become the security access for the user/team. Meaning, security roles are additive.

Roles are created at business unit level. the simple roles which will be applied to everyone in the organization will be assigned to this business unit and then child business units have more roles to it, which will allow more restrictive access but only at specific level and not everyone in the organization. The roles are inherited from parent to child.

When changing the business unit of a user the associated security roles are removed. the user will not have access to CRM until a new role is assigned. It is also worth note that, when you share a record, you are not giving any more access than what they currently have.

In security model, when setting up roles, if the entity is user owned then it support all the variations of security like none, user, business unit, parent:child business unit and organization, but when entity have organization owned, it will have either none or organization option to select.

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MB2-712 - Teams - Team Types

2017-10-12T13:16:00.000-04:00

There are two types of team within CRM:

Owner Teams
Access Teams

Owner Teams:-

This team have members and the team can own records.

An owner team has a finite number of members at any point in time. Owner teams are useful when reporting on the team as a whole is required. Each owner team is associated with a business unit.

They will need to be assigned a security role from that business unit. but the member of the team do not have to belong to the same business unit.

Access Teams:-

This team is a special type which gives record sharing capabilities. this is mostly used to share individual records.

You need to enable entity for access team, and then you can create access team template in security settings. then you can add sub-grid on entity. You can have more then one access team template for each entity.

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MB2-712 - Security - Business Units and Users

2017-10-06T18:30:00.000-04:00

Business units allows to define the structure of the organisation.

Users, teams and security roles will be linked to business units and make them a fundamental building block in the security model for Dynamics CRM.

Important things to know about BU:

Root BU can be renamed but cannot be deleted, disabled or moved to have a parent BU

Name of the root BU is default to the organisation name when system is first time deployed and can be changed

Child BU have parent which will be root BU or another child business unit

Parent business unit for new child BU will default to root BU

Child BU can be renamed, disabled and deleted (only after disabled)

Child BU can be moved under new parent and doing this will also move all users under

Any users in business unit will lose access to system if BU is disabled

When creating a user in on premise CRM, the username will be Domain-name\Username from active directory and with Office 365, you need to assign a CRM licence from admin area.

When creating a User, BU is a mandatory field and will default to root BU. To access CRM, each user must have at-least one security role assigned to it.

with on premise, you can add multiple users at the same time. when you select New multiple users, you have to select BU and security roles and each user will then have same roles and business units and you have to select access type for those users.

You can add users from Active directory, which works well when more number of users needs to be added. all users created will have same business unit and roles, so if there are multiple BU or need to assign different security roles, then you need to do this process multiple times to achieve what's needed.

User cannot be deleted, but can be disabled. With on premise, you can disable user and for online CRM, you have to remove their licence.

If you move user BU, and if it has more records created, then might take longer to update all and if user is moved from one to another BU, all security roles will be removed and user must be assigned with new security roles to continue access CRM system.

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MB2-712 - Security - Overview

2017-09-30T14:29:00.000-04:00

This is the on going post in a series I wanted to create for the MB2-712 certification, while preparing for the same.

Secruity will be the next section in Configure Microsoft Dynamics CRM portion.

The Security area gives access to following:

Users: Manage users and associate them with business units / teams / roles and assign licenses

Teams: Define teams and also associate with security roles

Security Roles: This will let you define what access will be provided to teams and users. Roles are created and then one or more are associated with each user / team

Business Units: This is one of the main components in the Dynamics security model. this defines the structure of the organisation

Field Security Profiles: This is used to define specific access rights on individual fields are assigned

Hierarchy Security: This supports a security model based on someone's hierarchy. this can either relate to the manager they have defined in their user for example

Access Team Templates: This supports dynamic record sharing. With the members of an access team being given privileges on specific records based on the access team template

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MB2-712 - Configure CRM - Data Management and Auditing

2017-09-28T12:06:00.000-04:00

This is the on going post in a series I wanted to create for the MB2-712 certification, while preparing for the same.

Data Management:

This section has many things including duplicate detection rules, import data etc..

Duplicate detect rules allows you to define rules that are run as records are created. this helps prevent duplicates before it's inserted into database

Duplicate detection jobs allows to setup and use the rules to review the current data to identity duplicates in existing database

Sample data is an another option which useful for testing and while demo CRM solution to potential customers. you can enable/disable this as and when needed

Another noted feature of CRM is the ability to import data from another systems. This also let you see the status of the current import or audit the past import information

The Data map option allow you to create a map to make import easier or you can create a blank template to make this process easier

Auditing:

This can be defines at System/global Level or entity level or field level.

At a system level, you can enable auditing and define which areas to audit. This includes, keeping track of user login/logout!!!

One it's enabled, you can define on which entities and within entities, if not complete entity, which fields you want to be audited.

The Audit settings allows to see and manage the audit logs.

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MB2-712 - Configure CRM - Business and Document Management

2017-09-28T03:00:00.000-04:00

This is the on going post in a series I wanted to create for the MB2-712 certification, while preparing for the same.

Business Management:

You can define fiscal year settings, business closure dates, define queues and many other options including record creation rules. Many options are used by the service scheduling module of CRM such as facilities/equipment, services etc.

Record creation and update rules allow you to configure when records are automatically created within CRM. For example, you might want to create a case when new email on specific inbox is received....

Exchange rates related to multiple currencies are also defines in business management.

Document Management:

This allows to configure SharePoint and One Drive for business integration.

For SharePoint integration, there are two types of architectures, that exists:

Client side integration typically used in an on-premise scenario and require installation of a SharePoint list components

Server based integration which doesn't require the list component. it's recommended to use this when possible

Note: SharePoint integration also supports integration with some of the other office 365 products such as one-note.

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MB2-712 - Configure CRM - CRM Administration

2017-09-26T16:50:00.000-04:00

This is the on going post in a series I wanted to create for the MB2-712 certification, while preparing for the same.

The administration area in the settings gives various options including but not limited to:

Auto-Numbering to define how cases and other entities should be assigned unique numbers

There are 8 entities in CRM enabled for Auto numbering:

Campaigns
Quotes
Orders
Invoices
Contracts
Cases
Articles
Knowledge Articles

Languages lets you install language packs when working in a multilingual organization

Collaboration options like Yammer and social engagement configuration

Note: If you enable Yammer you cannot disable it. Yammer replace the CRM out of the box posts/wall functionality permanently.

System setting is also an important option which gives access to a lot of settings which are important for the system behavior. This includes, email processing default currency, enable auto save, Skype integration etc.

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MB2-712 - Licensing of CRM

2017-09-24T15:03:00.000-04:00

This is the on going post in a series I wanted to create for the MB2-712 certification, while preparing for the same.

The concept of these licenses is common between CRM on premise and CRM online.

Essential: this is for light-weight users who only access custom applications. They can work with CRM activities and custom entities but do not interact with system entities found in sales, marketing or service modules.

Basic: this is an entry level license. Each Basic License includes read / write access to CRM activities, contacts, leads, accounts and cases in addition to custom CRM entities and personal dashboards. Basic licenses only provide read only access to sales opportunity records.

Professional: this is the recommend license for sales teams and anyone needing full CRM functionality. It provides full access to sales, service and marketing. Includes additional capabilities such as Unified Service Desk and FieldOne.

Enterprise: this is offers the full range of capabilities provided by the professional license. Also includes access to Microsoft Dynamics Marketing, Parature, and extended social engagement capabilities.

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MB2-712 : Overview and Architecture of CRM

2017-09-22T15:05:00.000-04:00

This is the on going post in a series I wanted to create for the MB2-712 certification, while preparing for the same.

As mentioned in previous posts, the customization and configuration certification seems to be one that developers tend to target, however it is also a useful for CRM functional consultants and Business Analysts.

I will continue to post more as i go.

CRM is built around the three core modules of sales, marketing and service. CRM really is about managing interactions with customers in order to better serve them. This might include following up on leads, progressing sales opportunities. Or it might be extended into servicing the customer by using cases to resolve the multitude of problems they might face or escalate to whoever need to be.

CRM is built on the Microsoft XRM framework. This framework can be used to extend CRM beyond its out of the box sales, service and marketing modules. It lets you extend CRM but maintains core components for handling security, workflows, reporting etc. So regardless of how you extend CRM the core concepts of how the entities are created, their relationship to each other and how CRM is configured remains the same.

CRM Architecture:

Deployment options include CRM online and On-premise.It is important to understand that an on premise deployment requires an architecture that can support it. That means several technologies come into including SQL Server, SQL reporting services, Internet Information Services (IIS), Active Directory, Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS) Microsoft SharePoint, Microsoft Exchange and Azure. Some of these components are optional for on-premise, whereas some like SQLServer are prerequisites.

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Dynamically update field with value of correct data type in CRM Plugin

2017-09-21T11:37:00.000-04:00

To continue, follow other two posts related to update fields as linked below using CRM Plugin,

Update field with value of correct data type in CRM Plugin

Update Lookup field from CRM Plugin

This will be extension/replacement for the same to make it dynamics to work with any data type.

In this post, we will use Entity metadata to determine the Data type of the field:

"serviceObject" : Service Object
"entityName" : Entity Schema Name
"fieldName" : Field Schema Name
"newValue" : New value for the field

public object getDataTypeSpecificValue(IOrganizationService serviceObject, string entityName, string fieldName, string newValue)
{
object returnValue = "";

//Entity Request
RetrieveEntityRequest entityRequest = new RetrieveEntityRequest();
entityRequest.EntityFilters = EntityFilters.All;
entityRequest.LogicalName = entityName;

//Entity Response
RetrieveEntityResponse entityResponse = (RetrieveEntityResponse)serviceObject.Execute(entityRequest);

//Entity Metadata
EntityMetadata entityMetadata = entityResponse.EntityMetadata;

foreach (var item in entityMetadata.Attributes)
{
if (item.LogicalName.ToString().Equals(fieldName))
{
switch (item.AttributeType.Value.ToString())
{
case "Money":
returnValue = new Money(Convert.ToDecimal(newValue));
break;
case "Decimal":
returnValue = Convert.ToDecimal(newValue);
break;
case "Boolean":
returnValue = Convert.ToBoolean(newValue);
break;
case "Integer":
returnValue = Convert.ToInt32(newValue);
break;
case "Picklist":
returnValue = new OptionSetValue(Convert.ToInt32(newValue));
break;
default:
break;
}
}
}
return returnValue;
}

You can add more datatype cases as needed. this is just an example of how you can do this and then you can manage to use this for your specific case.

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Update field with value of correct data type in CRM Plugin

2017-09-14T12:26:00.000-04:00

I have recently came across a situation where need to update a field with correct datatype in my CRM Plugin.

Example:
Entity entity = new Entity();
entity = service.Retrieve("new_entityname", new Guid(guid), new ColumnSet(true));
This line could be one of options later in this post:
service.Update(entity);

Where,
guid = guid of the Entity
new_fieldName = schema name of field
new_entityname = schema name of Entity
newValue = string value of the field

The 3rd line in above example could be one of below depending on data type, or you can add a switch statement to work with all.

Money:
entity["new_fieldName"] = new Money(Convert.ToDecimal(newValue));

Decimal:
entity["new_fieldName"] = Convert.ToDecimal(newValue);

Boolean:
entity["new_fieldName"] = Convert.ToBoolean(newValue);

String:
entity["new_fieldName"] = newValue;

Integer:
entity["new_fieldName"] = Convert.ToInt32(newValue);

Picklist:
entity["new_fieldName"] = new OptionSetValue(Convert.ToInt32(newValue));

Questions/comments/suggestions? please put it in comments below post for further discussion!!!

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Update Lookup field from CRM Plugin

2017-09-12T13:57:00.000-04:00

I have recently came across a situation where need to update a lookup field in my CRM Plugin.

I had found two ways, kind of similar, which will does the things.

For CRM Lookup field, when accessing from Plugin, is a Entity Reference so need to create an object of that with guid and update the entity with that object will does the trick.

Example:1:

Entity entity = new Entity();
entity = service.Retrieve("new_entityname", new Guid(guid), new ColumnSet(true));
entity["new_fieldName"] = new EntityReference("new_status", statusId);
service.Update(entity);

Example:2:

Entity entity = new Entity("new_entityname",guid);
entity["new_fieldName"] = new EntityReference("new_status", statusId);
service.Update(entity);

Where,
guid = guid of the Entity
new_fieldName = schema name of field
new_entityname = schema name of Entity
new_status = schema name of lookup field
statusId = guid of the lookup field record

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Deprecation of Dynamics 365 for Outlook

2017-09-08T13:55:00.000-04:00

Microsoft recently announced that Dynamics 365 for Outlook will be deprecated with the July 2017 update for Dynamics 365. This means the feature will be removed from future major releases.

The Outlook add-in will continue to work and is fully supported until it is officially removed. However, no new functionality will be invested in the add-in.

After removal, the Outlook add-in will no longer work. The add-in is deprecated with the upcoming July 2017 update for Dynamics 365 (online), which is a major release with version 9.0

The add-in will be removed with version 10.0, which will be the first major release after the July 2017 release of version 9. The removal applies for versions 10.0 and all after.

Microsoft will continue to support the add-in for versions earlier than 10.0 until the Dynamics 365 version itself is no longer supported.

Questions/comments/suggestions? please put it in comments below post for further discussion!!!

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Dynamics CRM Workflows: Difference between wait condition and Process timeout

2017-09-05T12:40:00.001-04:00

Wait Condition

A Wait Condition tells the workflow to wait until some specific action has occurred, such as a field changing or updating to a specific value.

This is useful for situations in which you need to wait for something to be done, rather than wait a specific amount of time.

You can add a Wait Condition to a workflow by selecting Add Step > Wait Condition > add condition check here.

For example, if you want trigger something when status of the application change or similar action which needs user input, then you should be able to use wait condition.

Process Timeout

A Process Timeout tells the workflow to wait for a specific amount of time or until a specific date.

This is useful for situations in which you need to wait for a specific amount of time.

You can include a Process Timeout in a workflow by selecting Add Step > Wait Condition > Select timeout.

For example, you want to send an automated email after 2 days of the registration to remind to update all the contact information, then you can use timeout.

Questions/comments/suggestions? please put it in comments below post for further discussion!!!

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Activate/Deactivate Entity in Dynamics CRM without Plugin or Javascript

2017-08-30T16:32:00.000-04:00

Hello readers!

Recently i came across an issue where i need to activate/deactivate the record based on some conditions.

I did bit of search on web to see if there is any simple way except writing JavaScript or Plugin and came up with nothing.

I tried doing by Business rule to change the status to "Inactive" however that doesn't actually deactivate the record, it just change the status of the record to "Inactive".

Then i tried creating a Workflow, first to run as a background process, which we usually do, and that kind of resolve the issue, but not as needed.

I came as a following solution after all of this:

Add a new Process as a Workflow
Make sure to add that as an on demand rather then run in background, i will explain the reason later in this post.
Make this to run on change of specific field/as needed for your business requirement.
Then add your condition to check before you activate/deactivate the record
then add update record step where you change the "Status" field to "Inactive".
Make sure to save and activate the workflow

Now, the reason i ask to create this as on demand rather then run in background is because, if you select to run in background, it is possible that while the workflow is running in background, someone can change the field on the record before it actually gets deactivated.

Questions/comments/suggestions? please put it in comments below post for further discussion!!!

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Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2016 / Microsoft Dynamics 365 - Updates and Downloads

2017-08-11T16:48:00.000-04:00

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2016 / Microsoft Dynamics 365 - Updates and Download URL's are available as below:

CRM 2016 / Dynamics 365 Update #	Release date – Microsoft Update	Download URL	Build number
0.1	3/14/2016	Download	8.0.1.79
1.0	6/24/2016	Download	8.1.0.359
1.0 Outlook Client re-release	12/2/2016	Download	8.1.0.371 packages for Outlook Client (32-and 64-bit) ONLY re-released
Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2016 Service Pack 1.1 (on-premises	NA	Download	8.1.1.1005
2.0 (December 2016 Update for Dynamics 365)	3/28/2017	Download	8.2.0.749
Microsoft Dynamics 365 (on-premises) Update 2.1	6/15/2017	Download	8.2.1.176
Bing Maps AJAX Upgrade for Dynamics 365	NA	Download	8.2.1.342 - only Server package available

Questions/comments/suggestions? please put it in comments below post for further discussion!!!

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MB2-712 - Introduction

2017-08-01T18:40:00.000-04:00

This is the first post in a series I wanted to create for the MB2-712 certification, while preparing for the same.

The customization and configuration certification seems to be one that developers tend to target, however it is also a useful for CRM functional consultants and Business Analysts.

The skills measured are split into four sections:

Configure CRM

Covers elements such as configuring email but also has a key focus on the security model

Manage and implement CRM entities, entity relationships and field

Tests your knowledge of CRM entity creation and configuration. And also newer features like rollup field and hierarchical data views

Create and manage CRM, forms, views and visualisations

This section does focus on the presentation of data in forms, views, charts etc. But will also cover managed and unmanaged solutions

Implement business rules, work flows and business processes

Will cover business rules, workflows, dialogs, CRM actions and business process flows

I will continue to post more as i go into details.

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GP 2016 R2 – Power BI on Homepage for Web Client

2017-07-27T21:26:00.000-04:00

The most powerful new feature in GP 2016 allows Power BI reports to be displayed on the homepage for quick detail summary about business performance.

The new HTML5 Web Client in GP 2016 allows improved access through the cloud as well.

Dynamics GP 2016 R2 had put this together for the first time. Power BI on the homepage was previously only available for desktop version of GP only and now GP 2016 R2 feature enables this on the Web Client!

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Dynamics GP 2016 - Power BI Reports and Dashboard Integration Prerequisites

2017-07-22T21:28:00.000-04:00

With the release of Dynamics GP 2016, many features have been introduced including Power BI integration with Dynamics GP which is most important features along with the HTML5 and OData Services.

In this post, I am going to share the prerequisites to configure the Power BI with Dynamics GP:

Prerequisites:

Office 365 Account to access Power BI
At least one Power BI site with at least a report or dashboard
Dynamics GP 2016 desktop client

More steps on configuring Power BI will be posted soon...

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Dynamics GPSC+ Release Date

2017-07-14T21:17:00.000-04:00

Hello Dynamics GP Community,

As promised, our first ever dynamics GP product, Dynamics GP security configuration+ will be released on Thursday February 1, 2018.

As of now, we are confirming to release this for Dynamics GP 2013, Dynamics GP 2015 and Dynamics GP 2016, supported with all service packs. We will try to also accommodate the release for Dynamics GP 10 and Dynamics GP 2010 for this utility, however, no promises at this time.

Learn more about Dynamics GPSC+

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