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One of the challenges of using Dynamics CRM in small businesses is that business owner tends to own everything. What did it mean for one of our customers who had Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook installed? The default filter, as you know, is “My Contacts”, i.e. contacts “owned by me”, and she owned all CRM […]
Tip #451: Locking field in business rule can be tricky
Empowering users in Dynamics CRM is great but one needs to be prepared to troubleshoot adventures of a power user. If you have a rule that locks the field when certain conditions are met, beware what happens when this field is editable. That’s right, the last edit will be lost. Why? because locking the field […]
Tip #447: To filter or not to filter – functional view
This seems to be the week of unsupported tips. I know, we said it before: Swim between the flags, and Use filtered views even if you use stored procedures. But what do you do if this particular report’s query is a monstrosity, adding custom indexes don’t help, and any attempt to restructure it just makes […]
Tip #446: How to avoid overwriting audit and duplicate detection flags
tl;dr To avoid overwriting some of the system entities flags for the customers, manually remove those flags from the managed solution files. WARNING! Super-duper unsupported. Some juicy details If you are a Dynamics CRM ISV or an infrastructure group within a large enterprise then, most likely, you distribute one or more managed solutions to your […]
Tip #442: One WSDL to rule them all
WSDL is your best friend when you’re dealing with non .NET clients, e.g. Java, that need to talk to CRM. Historically, it’s always been a 2-step process: Hit https://crm/XRMServices/2011/Organization.svc?wsdl and get a very small file back usually containing the line Hit https://crm/XRMServices/2011/Organization.svc?wsdl=wsdl0 and get a complete file containing full definitions. Starting from CRM 2013 (or, […]
Tip #440: When package deployment fails, blame the internets
As you probably already know, Dynamics CRM has its own “installer” for the solutions, called Package Deployer. The package folder and assembly are usually distributed in the shape of a zip file that needs to be extracted and then used either with Package Deployer executable or installed using PowerShell. As documented. Usually it all goes […]
Tip #436: Business rules rule, OK?
tl;dr Longer Had an awesome Skype conversation with the customer while driving sitting in a parked car with the engine switched off, parking brake applied and keys out of ignition. Here’s my thousand words’ version.
Tip #432: Make your emails look nice, really nice
tl;dr Today’s post is not about CRM at all, it’s about CTRL + 0 combination in Outlook and Word. Go on, try this shortcut when typing your next email or document. Boring details I’m all about style. Not in clothes, in that department I’m hopeless and prefer to delegate. I’m talking about CSS in HTML or styles […]
Tip #431: Avoid Silverlight when living on the Edge
If you ever wondered whether the move of CRM development team under Scott Guthrie is a good idea, now we have the proof. That’s right, details about the support for the upcoming versions of OS, browser and Office have already emerged. Some vigilantes, like Jason “Scintillating” Lattimer, have kept their cool heads and pointed out […]
Tip #427: Making sense out of plugin parameters like a boss
As some of you may know, correcting Joel is one of my hobbies. But being able to add to a Tanguy’s tip takes it to a completely new level. To recall: our challenge is to find all parameters including their types specific to a plugin message. Instead of writing some temporary code only to delete […]