Microsoft Dynamics CRM Developer's Guide

MS CRM 2011 - Form Assistant

2011-02-04T16:56:00.000-08:00

As we know that form assistant has been removed from MS CRM 2011 release. But it is available for very few special usages (such as Case and Service Activity).

MS CRM 2011 - Email Templates for Custom Entity not supported.

2011-02-04T16:51:00.000-08:00

Adding the templates for the custom entity is not yet supported in the current 2011 release.

No BizTalk Adapter for CRM 2011

2011-01-18T23:37:00.000-08:00

Recently, I got to know that there will be No Biztalk adapter for 2011.

The reason behind this is BizTalk Adapter for CRM 4.0 is being deprecated in favor of enabling the OOB BizTalk WCF adapter to work with CRM 2011's WCF endpoint for On-premised and IFD deployments.

Dynamics CRM 2011 server is 64-bit only.

2011-01-18T23:29:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to share this:

Dynamics CRM 2011 server is 64-bit only.

CRM 2011 client for Outlook is available in both 32 bit and 64 bit versions.

Windows XP SP3 supports CRM Online 2011 client for Outlook

2011-01-14T09:31:00.000-08:00

You can have CRM Online 2011 Client for Outlook installed on Windows XP. But you should have SP3 installed on your system.

Loop through all elements on a CRM Form

2011-01-11T04:42:00.000-08:00

Sometime we require to set all attributes on a form to disabled or checking which attribute has been changed.

To achieve this, you need to loop through each attribute of the CRM form. Below is the code snippet :

var iLen = crmForm.all.length;

for (i = 0; i < iLen; i++)
{
   o = crmForm.all[i];   switch (o.tagName)
   {
      case "INPUT":
      case "SELECT":
      case "TEXTAREA":
      case "IMG":
      case "IFRAME":
      if (o.id != "leadqualitycode")
      {
            o.disabled = true;
      }
      break;

      default:
            break;
   }
}

The above code will set all attributes to disabled.

Prevent CRM from saving a record.

2011-01-11T04:33:00.000-08:00

The OnSave event is fired when a user presses the Save or Save and Close button on the form. The event is fired whether the data in the form has been modified or not.

Validating data is a common reason to use the OnSave event. The OnSave event can cancel the save operation before it is sent back to the server. To cancel the save operation, the script should return false as shown in the following code.

event.returnValue = false;

The SDK helps in this situation. Look at the following page for more information. MSDN SDK: OnSave Event

Quickest way to detect if internet connection is available.

2011-01-10T20:29:00.000-08:00

Today I came across of this article on Microsoft site:

Ping Class:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.net.networkinformation.ping.aspx

Very useful class to Allows an application to determine whether a remote computer is accessible over the network.

Hide ISV Button.

2011-01-06T04:50:00.000-08:00

I needed to hide a button that I added to my form using the ISV.config file. IN ISV file you can specify the button to be display in create / update mode. You can have only one tag per entity.

Here is the requirement:
I have to display 5 ISV button in the form. Out of which 4 to be displayed in both Create and Update mode. But there is one button which has to be displayed only in Update Mode. If you use below XML line in ISV.config file

It will display all button in both mode. But there is no provision where i can specify some of the button in create and update mode.
So I've to hide the button using Client side scripting on Load of the form.

Below is the fucntion which hides the button:
// HIDE ISV Button
function HideISVButton(strButtonToolTip){
   var tag = document.getElementsByTagName("LI");
   for(x = 0; x < tag.length; x++)
   {
      if(tag[x].getAttribute("title") == strButtonToolTip)
      {
         button = document.getElementById(tag[x].getAttribute("id"));
         if(button != null)
            button.style.display = "none";
         x = tag.length;
      }
   }
}

// Call the function to hide the button:
HideISVButton("Click this button to Line Activate");

The above code loops through all objects on the webpage with a tag name of "LI" looking for one that has a title of ‘Click this button to Line Activate’ which is specified in the ISV.Config file. Once the code finds the correct ToolTip of a button, it gets hidden.

Online Demonstration of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Lead Capture

2011-01-06T04:14:00.000-08:00

Today I found a very good link for Online Demonstration of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Lead Capture

Please click here to watch the video.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Release Candidate (RC) Announcement

2010-12-14T21:01:00.000-08:00

The Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Release Candidate (RC) is now available for download from the Microsoft Download Center. As with the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Beta, the Release Candidate is available for anyone to download, and will be available until the RTM release.

This release represents the combined efforts and feedback from customers, partners and Microsoft teams working on the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Beta so thank you for all of you involved in this process.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Server Release Candidate 05.00.9688.34
Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 for Microsoft Office Outlook 05.00.9688.32
Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Language Pack (41 Languages)
Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Report Authoring Extension
Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 E-mail Router
Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 List Component for Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010

Enjoy RC !!!

To view and refresh data, Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook must be installed

2010-10-20T07:06:00.000-07:00

When trying to export data from CRM to a dynamic pivot table you receive the following message: “To view and refresh data, Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook must be installed”, although the CRM Outlook client has already been installed and CRM is added to the Trusted Sites.

To resolve this issue follow the steps below.

1. Click on the cell which contains the message “To view and…”

2. Click on Connections [from DATA Tab]
It will open a Connection Window.

3. Click on Refresh [from Connection Window]

Now, the data will appear in the data sheet.

Happy import / export !!!!!

MS CRM 2011 Beta - CallerOrigin in Plugins is no more !!!

2010-10-20T03:29:00.000-07:00

CallerOrigin has been removed in CRM 2011 Beta.

According to Experts, since the CRM 4 implementation was neither extensible nor reliable\secure. The recommendation is to not rely on caller origin when you extend business logic in the server (since it is easy for a client to spoof this data)

If you absolutely need it and can guarantee \ do not care about spoofing, create a custom field and pass additional origin info from the client.

Please note that we have a new property isOfflinePlayback in PluginContext to identify if a plugin was triggered as part of the Offline Playback.

Please have a look at the IExecutionContext. It has below properties:1. IsExecutingOffline
2. IsOfflinePlayback

For more information you can see in the CRM 2011 Beta Sdk. Topic = "IExecutionContext Members "

Hope it helps.

MS CRM 2011 Beta - Number of Tabs = 100

2010-10-20T03:18:00.000-07:00

In MS CRM 4.0, there is a limit of 8 tabs for every entity.

According to CRM 2011 SDK, "Each form can include up to 100 tabs. Tabs are a vertical stack separating the body of the form. Tabs may be expanded or collapsed. Navigation links below the form selector provide access to tabs. The body of the form will scroll to display the selected tab."

MS CRM 2011 Beta - You have already imported and upgraded this organization and cannot perform this operation again.

2010-09-21T21:58:00.000-07:00

This is new in MS CRM 2011.

You will receive the above error in MS CRM 2011 when you try to import an Organization of MS CRM 4.0.

This is because in CRM 2011, you cannot import the same CRM 4 org more than once into a CRM 2011 deployment. The Organization GUID will not change. This is by design.

Hope this helps.

MS CRM 2011 Beta - DeletionStateCode - No longer available.

2010-09-21T21:38:00.000-07:00

Finally it's time to say good bye "DeletionStateCode" attribute. The attribute has been removed from all entities.

Now, it is hard delete. If a record is deleted, it would be removed from the entity table.

Happy purging !!!!

MS CRM 2011 Beta - Ribbon Example [Grid / Form / Subgrid] Example.

2010-09-16T07:19:00.000-07:00

I've started playing with Ribbons in MS CRM 2011 Beta.

Attached the code which creates below:
1. Custom Tabs
2. Custom Multiple Groups
3. Multiple Buttons in each group.
4. Pass values from Button click to Javascript.

Please download the code from the below link.
http://uploading.com/files/37d8f425/customizations_WorkingCopy_WithGrid_AndForm.zip/

Hope this will help. Please let me know if you help.

MS CRM 2011 Beta - Product Keys

2010-09-15T04:06:00.000-07:00

Here are the Product Keys for MS CRM 2011 Beta.

The following product keys are available for this release:
•Microsoft Dynamics CRM Workgroup (5 CAL limit):
FF2JM-QX9PG-HXT8M-MMHXG-4MF32

•Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server (no CAL limit):
4FDTK-3HYV2-D9CCJ-4MF9Q-QJ32X

Important
•Although the application may display a 90-day trial period, these trial product keys will expire after 270 days.
•Microsoft Dynamics CRM Professional edition is no longer available with Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011.

MS CRM 2011 Beta - Error adding user on On-Premise

2010-09-14T21:29:00.000-07:00

You may get the following error when trying to add a user to an on-premise organisaion in MS CRM 2011 Beta.

Errors:
1. You do not have the necessary permissions to change the domain logon name for this user. The following user was not added: ....
2. An error has occurred

As of now the resolution is an IISRESET on the CRM Server.
1.) Open the CMD window (Run as Administrator) on the CRM Server
2.) type iisreset, then Enter.

Hope this helps.

MS CRM 2011 Beta - Invalid User Authorization

2010-09-14T12:31:00.000-07:00

You might see below [Invalid User Authorization] error when trying to access / connect to Online CRM 2011.

The work around is, sign out of the currenyly logged in Windows Live ID from all other browser sessions. Once you signout, try to access your Online CRM, now it will prompt for Sign in details.

As of now Online CRM 2011 can't handle this. Hope this will be resolved in RTM by Microsoft.

Hope this helps.

MS CRM 2011 Beta - The NetworkCredentials provided were unable to create a Kerberos credential.

2010-09-13T21:19:00.000-07:00

You might get the below error when trying to create a token for MS CRM 2011 Beta organisaion :

The application terminated with an error.
The token provider cannot get tokens for target 'http://192.168.1.99/XRMServices/2011/Discovery.svc'.

The NetworkCredentials provided were unable to create a Kerberos credential, see inner exception for details.

This is quite possible when you CRM is on Domain A, and you are trying to create a token from Domain B.

it's not going to work in beta currently. I believe there is an open bug for this. Hope it will get resolve in RTM.

See more information on the same:
Troubleshooting authentication problems with the Beta releases

Install MS CRM 2011 Beta on Windows 2008 SP2 or Windows 2008 R2?

2010-09-13T01:44:00.000-07:00

I think everybody is consfuse when choosing the Operating System. So here are the facts:

1. You can choose either Windows 2008 SP2 or Windows 2008 R2.

2. But When usingWindows 2008 R2 you need to consider especially this one:
Import organization fails with Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 organization database when running on Windows Server 2008 R2.

To work around this issue, install Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Server on a computer that is running the original release of Windows Server 2008, and then try the import organization operation again.

Say Hello to the World of Dynamics CRM 2011 Beta version

2010-09-09T21:52:00.000-07:00

Today, the Microsoft Dynamics CRM team has reached a key milestone as it releases the beta of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011, for both cloud-based and on-premises deployments.

Available for download and testing in eight languages (English, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Spanish and Chinese) and 36 markets, this release marks the first global public beta for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online.

Additionally, beta for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 on-premises is available in 40 markets in eight languages.

Please see the below links for:
Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Beta - On-Premise Download link
Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Beta - Online and On-Premise Download link

Hope you enjoy the links.

Declare Global Access Level functions in MS CRM Form.

2010-08-26T02:16:00.000-07:00

Global functions in MS CRM Form.

The way CRM adds the javascript to the page, any function defined in the onload event will only have a local scope and can only be called from within the same onload event. However, if you put the function on the window object, then it should have global scope:
window.MyCustomFunction = function() { ... }

And then you should be able to call the function from an onchange event.

Ex:
// function name = MyCustomFunction
window.MyCustomFunction = function() {
alert("My Global Level Function");
}

1. Go to MS CRM -> Customisations -> Customise Entity -> Choose Entity -> Form and View
2. Go to OnLoad()
3. Put the above fucntion onLoad() // Should be first statment.
4. Go to OnSave()
5. Call this function, MyCustomFunction();
6. When you try to save the entity record this fucntion will get executed.

Hope you enjoy this tip.

A simple definition of Windows Azure

2010-08-11T02:54:00.000-07:00

Here is an interesting video that’s informative as well. It’s Friday evening after all , so chill out and enjoy this really nice & simple video that Steve Marx created to explain “What is Windows Azure?” with simple terms and hand drawn sketches.

Now that was a great, wasn’t it. Hope you like this video.

Support for COUNT(DISTINCT) in Fetch XML queries

2010-07-19T21:44:00.000-07:00

Please see the crm post for more details on Aggregate functions supported by MS CRM 4.

MS CRM Social Networking Workflow DateTime Format Error.

2010-07-18T21:31:00.000-07:00

The accelerator code as supplied does not correctly parse Twitter timestamps. DateTime.ParseExact breaks on the odd time zone value, which in (GMT/UK) comes from twitter with the value "+0000".

DateTime.ParseExact can use a format string of "z", "zz", or "zzz", corresponding to "+0", "+00" or "+00:00" respectively, none of which match the Twitter format.

You need to change the code in teh BuildDynEntity() method, in msa_datapump.cs, as follows:

case "CrmDateTimeProperty":
//Twitter timestamps contain odd timezone specifier "+0000" that doesn;t work
// well with DateTime.ParseExact().
CrmDateTimeProperty crmDateTimeProperty = new CrmDateTimeProperty();
CrmDateTime crmDateTimeValue = new CrmDateTime();
DateTimeOffset parsedDateTime = DateTimeOffset.ParseExact(CRMAttrValue, "ddd MMM dd HH:mm:ss zzz yyyy", null);
DateTime localDateTime = new DateTime(parsedDateTime.Ticks, DateTimeKind.Local);
crmDateTimeProperty.Value = CrmDateTime.FromUser(localDateTime);
crmDateTimeProperty.Name = CRMAttrName;
crmEntity.Properties.Add(crmDateTimeProperty);
break;

Save / Complile / Build the assembly.
Register the assembly using plug-in registration tool.
Restart the Microsoft Crm Async Service.

Start Creating the Twitter User. Now the workflow won't failed (i mean it will not be on the Waiting state anymore !!!).

Hope this will resolves the issue.

MS CRM Social Networking Workflow Error (Twitter-Get External Updates / Missing Attributes)

2010-07-18T21:02:00.000-07:00

Recently I've installed MS Social Networking Accelerator for MS CRM 4. The installation is very simple, it will get installed very easily. Once you installed and run you will encounter the Workflow errors:

Basically the MSA_snStatus Entity Customisation has some bugs. It does not include the below three attributes: You need to manually create those three attributes.

Open MS CRM App -> Go to Settings -> Go to Customisations -> Customise Entity -> Open MSA_snStatus entity -> Go to Attributes (left hand navigation panel)

Step 1. Add new attribute
Step 2. Specify attribute Display name = Contributors
Step 3. Specify attribute name = msa_snContributors [make sure your application default prefix is msa]
Step 4: datatype = nVarChar
Step 5: specify length = 200
Step 6: Save and clsoe

Repeat the same steps for below attributes:
2. MSA_snCoordinates attribute [Display name = Coordinates / nVarchar / 200]
3. MSA_snPlace attribute [Display name = Place / nVarchar / 200]

Save and Publish the entity.
Reload the MS CRM Application.

Start Creating the Twitter User. Now the workflow won't failed (i mean it will not be on the Waiting state anymore !!!).

Hope this will resolve the issue.

xRM - Many Applications, One Platform

2010-07-12T22:53:00.000-07:00

xRM - Many Applications, One Platform

SharePoint Products and Technologies: 2010 (Technical Preview) Developer Documentation

2010-07-11T23:56:00.000-07:00

Sharepoint 2010 VPC Image would be available soon. Till then you should download Sharepoint 2010 Technical Documentation.

Sharepoint 2010 developer documentation contains details about
How to Customizing the Ribbon in Windows SharePoint Services "14". The Ribbon is now included in the user interface for Windows SharePoint Services “14” and Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010.

This developer tutorial for sharepoint 2010 describes how developers extend it using a combination of XML and ECMAScript (JavaScript, JScript).

Customizations to the Ribbon in the included example are created using the Feature infrastructure, and can be deployed using a solution package (.wsp file). This tutorial for sharepoint 2010 is provided in both PDF and XPS format.

This compiled help (.chm) file contains reference topics focusing on types and members that are called by other Microsoft applications. This reference does not reflect the entirety of the SharePoint Products and Technologies 2010 managed object model.

The full SharePoint Products and Technologies 2010 SDK will accompany the public release of SharePoint 2010.
Download Sharepoint 2010 Technical Documentation

MS CRM Rollup 11 Known Issue (ISV config)

2010-06-13T22:08:00.000-07:00

After installing UR11 one cannot find the menus which were added in ISV config.

Workaround until SE fix (TBD):
Add regkey [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\MSCRMClient] "InitToolbarForO14"=dword:00000001

Passing / Sharing Data Between Plug-ins

2010-06-07T22:23:00.000-07:00

The message pipeline model provides for a PropertyBag of custom data values in the execution context that is passed through the pipeline and shared among registered plug-ins. This collection of data can be used by different plug-ins to communicate information between plug-ins and enable chain processing where data processed by one plug-in can be processed by the next plug-in in the sequence and so on. This feature is especially useful in pricing engine scenarios where multiple pricing plug-ins pass data between one another to calculate the total price for a sales order or invoice. Another potential use for this feature is to communicate information between a plug-in registered for a pre-event and a plug-in registered for a post-event.

The name of the parameter that is used for passing information between plug-ins is SharedVariables. This is a collection of System.Object. A common type of object that is used to fill the collection is DynamicEntity. At run time, plug-ins can add, read, or modify properties in the SharedVariables property bag. This provides a method of information communication among plug-ins.

Note Only types that are XML serializable should be placed in SharedVariables. All types derived from BusinessEntity are XML serializable.

The following code example shows how to use SharedVariables to pass data from a pre-event registered plug-in to a post-event registered plug-in.

Example
[C#]
using System;
using Microsoft.Crm.Sdk;
using Microsoft.Crm.SdkTypeProxy;

public class AccountSetStatePreHandler : IPlugin
{
public void Execute(IPluginExecutionContext context)
{
// Create or retrieve some data that will be needed by the post event
// handler. You could run a query, create an entity, or perform a calculation.
//In this sample, the data to be passed to the post plug-in is
// represented by a GUID.
Guid contact = new Guid("{74882D5C-381A-4863-A5B9-B8604615C2D0}");

// Pass the data to the post event handler in an execution context shared
// variable named PrimaryContact.
context.SharedVariables.Properties.Add(
new PropertyBagEntry("PrimaryContact", (Object)contact.ToString()));
// Alternate code: context.SharedVariables["PrimaryContact"] = contact.ToString();
}
}

Writing the Plug-in Constructor

2010-06-07T22:19:00.000-07:00

The Microsoft Dynamics CRM platform has special support for a plug-in constructor that accepts two string parameters. If you write a constructor for your plug-in that accepts two string parameters, you can pass any two strings of information to the plug-in at run time. The following code shows these two parameters.

Example

[C#]
using System;
using Microsoft.Crm.Sdk;
using Microsoft.Crm.SdkTypeProxy;

namespace CustomPlugin
{
public class ContactCreate: IPlugin
{
public ContactCreate(string unsecure, string secure)
{
// Do something with the parameter strings.
}

public void Execute(IPluginExecutionContext context)
{
// Do something here.
}
}
}

The first string parameter of the constructor contains public (unsecure) information. The second string parameter contains non-public (secure) information. However, the secure string is not passed to a plug-in that executes while offline.

The information that is passed to the plug-in constructor in these two strings is specified when the plug-in is registered with Microsoft Dynamics CRM. When you use the PluginRegistration tool to register a plug-in, you can enter the secure and unsecure information in the Secure Configuration and Unsecure Configuration fields provided in the Register New Step form. The PluginDeveloper tool only supports the unsecure string through its CustomConfiguration attribute of the Step tag in the register.xml input file.

Debugging a Plug-in

2010-06-07T22:11:00.000-07:00

The following steps describe how to debug a plug-in.

1. Deploy the plug-in assembly.
Copy the assembly to the standard plug-in folder on the server: \Server\bin\assembly. If there is another copy of the assembly at the same location and you cannot overwrite that copy because it is locked by Microsoft Dynamics CRM, run the iisreset program in a command window to free the assembly.

2. Register the plug-in on the desired stage of the event execution pipeline. Register the plug-in assembly on the server using on-disk deployment.
Tip It is possible to debug a database deployed plug-in. The compiled plug-in assembly's .pdb file must be copied to the server's \Server\bin\assembly folder and IIS must then be restarted. After debugging has been completed, you must remove the .pdb file and reset IIS to prevent the w3wp.exe process from consuming additional memory.

Generally, you do not want to register your plug-in in the event execution pipeline until the plug-in assembly is available on the Microsoft Dynamics CRM server. If someone else is using Microsoft Dynamics CRM on the server, and you have registered the plug-in in but have not yet deployed the assembly, the person running Microsoft Dynamics CRM receives an error if the system tries to execute the missing plug-in.

3. Configure the debugger.
Set a breakpoint in your plug-in code. For an online plug-in, attach the debugger to the w3wp.exe process on the Microsoft Dynamics CRM server. For an offline plug-in, attach the debugger to the Microsoft.Crm.Application.Hoster.exe process. For asynchronous registered plug-ins (or workflow assemblies) attach to the CrmAsyncService.exe process. If there are multiple processes running for the same executable file, attach the debugger to all of them because you do not know which process runs your custom code.

4. Test the plug-in.
Run the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Web application, or other custom application that uses the SDK, and perform whatever action is required to cause the plug-in to execute. For example, if a plug-in is registered for an account creation event, create a new account.

5. Debug your plug-in code.
Make any needed changes to your code so that it performs as you want. If the code is changed, compile the code into an assembly and repeat step numbers 1, 3, and 4 in this procedure as necessary. However, if you change the plug-in assembly version number, you must unregister the earlier version of the assembly and register the new version.

6. Register the plug-in in the database.
After the edit/compile/deploy/test/debug cycle for your plug-in has been completed, unregister the (on-disk) plug-in assembly and then reregister the plug-in in the Microsoft Dynamics CRM database.

Create a CrmService proxy for plug-ins that execute in the child pipeline.

2010-06-07T21:33:00.000-07:00

We always come across creating a CrmService Proxy for plug-ins that execute in the child pipeline. In a Child pipeline, you must instantiate the CrmService or MetadataService manually. We just need to check the InvocationSource Property (Child = 1, Parent = 0) of the IPluginExecutionContext. Pass the InvocationSource Property value to the below method.

Below is very simple code which creates a proxy.
[C#]
/// The execution context that was passed to the plug-in's Execute method.
/// Set to True to use impersonation.
/// A CrmServce instance.
private CrmService CreateCrmService(IPluginExecutionContext context, Boolean flag)
{

CrmAuthenticationToken authToken = new CrmAuthenticationToken();
authToken.AuthenticationType = 0;
authToken.OrganizationName = context.OrganizationName;

// Include support for impersonation.
if (flag)
authToken.CallerId = context.UserId;
else
authToken.CallerId = context.InitiatingUserId;

CrmService service = new CrmService();
service.CrmAuthenticationTokenValue = authToken;
service.UseDefaultCredentials = true;

// Include support for infinite loop detection.
CorrelationToken corToken = new CorrelationToken();
corToken.CorrelationId = context.CorrelationId;
corToken.CorrelationUpdatedTime = context.CorrelationUpdatedTime;
corToken.Depth = context.Depth;

RegistryKey regkey = Registry.LocalMachine.OpenSubKey("SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\MSCRM");

service.Url = String.Concat(regkey.GetValue("ServerUrl").ToString(), "/2007/crmservice.asmx");
service.CorrelationTokenValue = corToken;

return service;
}

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Adapter for Microsoft Dynamics GP 10.0 Partner Resource Kit

2009-12-01T22:55:00.000-08:00

You can download the kit from below links:

For Partners: https://mbs.microsoft.com/partnersource/partneressentials/partnerreadiness/resourcing/MDCRMGPAdapter.htm

For Existing Customers: https://mbs.microsoft.com/customersource/worldwide/us/productinformation/factsheets/MDCRMGPAdapter

Using Reflection to Get and Set values of Properties

2009-11-14T23:25:00.000-08:00

The assembly that is generated for .Net Framework has metadata that describes the structure of the assembly and its classes. By using reflection we can investigate the structure of classes and the data that assembly holds dynamically at runtime.

You can dynamically get/set values from/to properties of object. #

Get value

foreach (PropertyInfo info in myObject.GetType().GetProperties())
{
if (info.CanRead)
object o = info.GetValue(myObject, null);
}

Set value

object myValue = "Any_Value";
if (info.CanWrite)
this.info.SetValue(myObject, myValue, null);

It's very helpful and easy to use. Isn't is ?

SyncToy 2.1 Available for Download

2009-11-11T20:32:00.000-08:00

How many times have you tried to copy a huge number of files only to accidently hit space or escape cancelling the transfer and you don't want to re-start from scratch? Well there's a better way to sync files between directories and drives, SyncToy. You might remember this from the XP PowerToys days, the ease of use makes it a very popular download.

SyncToy 2.1 has just been released to the Microsoft Download center. SyncToy 2.1 is a free application that synchronizes files and folders between locations. Typical uses include sharing files, such as photos, with other computers and creating backup copies of files and folders.

SyncToy2.1 is powered by the latest synchronization engine from Microsoft Sync Framework 2.0 and provides better performance and robustness. The new features and improvements included in SyncToy 2.1 release are:
Better Performance: The speed of file copy operations is significantly increased across the board.
Improved Robustness: Much more resilient to transient network and file system errors, and better error reporting that pinpoints which file the sync failed on in case there’s a fatal error that stops the sync.

Folder pair configuration backup: Folder pair configuration is automatically backed up under %localappdata%\microsoft\synctoy\2.0. You can replace SyncTopDirPairs.bin with the backup copy to resolve the last saved configuration.

Bug Fixes:
o Fixed the data corruption issue when using SyncToy with NAS drives.
o Fixed the bug that prevented uploading files to SharePoint when using SyncToy 2.0.
o Fixed bugs that prevented delete changes from being synchronized when sync option was set to “Echo”.

SyncToy 2.1 is now available for download from: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=C26EFA36-98E0-4EE9-A7C5-98D0592D8C52&displaylang=en.

Use Temp Table in SQL SERVER 2005 Reporting Services

2009-11-04T04:37:00.001-08:00

I was working on 2005 SSRS to generate a reprot which required a use of Temporary Tables in the dataset. But unfortunately SSRS 2005 doesn't support it. 2008 supports both Table Datatype and Temp Tables.

To resolve the issue we can use Table DataType. Below is the example:

DECLARE @TempTable TABLE (
ID INT,
DOJ DATETIME,
NameVarchar(100)
)

INSERT INTO @TempTable VALUES(1, GETDATE(), 'Ranjit');
INSERT INTO @TempTable VALUES(2, GETDATE(), 'Ranjitsingh');

SELECT * FROM @TempTable
This way you can resolve the Temp table issues by using Table Datatype.

PostBack in ASP.Net showModalDialog opens a new window

2009-11-04T04:21:00.000-08:00

When working with Modal Dialog Windows in ASP.Net you have experience that postback opens up a new window. This behavior is by default.

I was using window.showModalDialog() to open a ASPX Page from the parent page using JavaScript. But whenever the postback happens in the modal window during a button click or dropdown value changes, it would spawn off a new window.

You can change the behaviour by just including below tag line in the <head> of the modal window (that is aspx page).
<base target="_self">

I hope this would help you resolving the problem.

Missing ASP.NET and ASP.NET Web Service Project Templates

2009-11-04T04:15:00.000-08:00

Missing ASP.NET and ASP.NET Web Service Project Templates?

You are at the right place to solve your problem. Just visit the below link and dlwonload the .msi file.
http://download.microsoft.com/download/9/0/6/906064ce-0bd1-4328-af40-49dca1aef87c/WebApplicationProjectSetup.msi

After instalation ASP.NET web aplication template and WebService appears in New Project Promt .

Isn't it simple solution?

eService Accelerator for CRM Online - Video

2009-08-28T02:17:00.000-07:00

Its a very good video for eService Accelerator for CRM. You can find it here.

Update Rollup 6 for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 (KB 970148)

2009-08-28T02:06:00.000-07:00

Microsoft has release rollup 6for CRM 4. KB952858 can be downloaded here.

This is a tested, cumulative set of updates for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0. It includes performance enhancements that are packaged together for easy deployment.

Please note that if you have customized Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Help files, back up your customized files before you install this update !!!

Overview
Microsoft has released Update Rollup 6 for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Server, Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Microsoft Office Outlook, Microsoft Dynamics CRM Data Migration Manager, Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Language Pack, and Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 E-mail Router.

For more information about this release, see Microsoft Knowledge Base article 970148:
Update Rollup 6 is available for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0

To maintain parity between the application components of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0, this update rollup includes packages for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Server, Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook, Microsoft Dynamics CRM Data Migration Manager, Microsoft Dynamics CRM Language Packs, and Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 E-mail Router.

New Visual Studio Templates for MS CRM

2009-08-11T20:14:00.000-07:00

The CRM SDK version 4.0.9 included three Visual Studio templates to help speed up your CRM-related development efforts:

Available Templates

Plug-in
Workflow activity
CRM Add-on web page

The templates may be found in the visualstudiotemplates folder when you unzip the SDK package.
Each template has an accompanying readme.doc file with instructions for installation and usage notes.

Installation
Installation is fairly straightforward, just perform these steps:

1) Navigate to the Visual Studio Folder:
%Documents and Settings%\Visual Studio 2008\Templates\ProjectTemplates\Visual C#

2) Create a folder called CRM.

3) Copy each of the three template’s .zip file to the CRM folder.

The templates should now be installed and ready to use.

RollUp 5 release for MS CRM 4.0

2009-07-16T07:22:00.000-07:00

Microsoft has release rollup 5for CRM 4. KB952858 can be downloaded here.

This is a tested, cumulative set of updates for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0. It includes performance enhancements that are packaged together for easy deployment.

Please note that if you have customized Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Help files, back up your customized files before you install this update !!!

Crystal Report 4.6 - Error 20540; Missing or out of date Export DLL

2009-07-13T00:51:00.000-07:00

I was happen to install Crystal Report 4.6. for one of my project. As soon as I call the Crystal Report via VB 6.0 Code, i got the below error -

Calling a report from an application using the Crystal Report Control (Crystl32.ocx) version 4.6 results in one of the following:
- not all of the export options are available - error 20540; Missing or out of date Export DLL.

If you are getting the same error as above please follow the below steps to resolve the issue:
Solution
Seagate Crystal Reports version 4.6 installs the Crystal export DLLs into the
\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\Common\Tools\REPORTS directory, rather than putting them in a Windows\Crystal, or Windows\system directory

This does not create a problem conducting an export from the Crystal Reports Designer,
From a Microsoft Visual Basic application, the export DLLs are not found.

Workaround:There are two ways around this:

1. Add the \Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\Common\Tools\REPORTS directory to your Path statement so that the operating system searches that directory for needed DLLs.

2. Copy the export DLLs to the Windows\system directory. The export DLLs are the u2*.dll files.
Reference : Crystal Care Technical Support. http://support.crystaldecisions.com/

Isn't it easy !!! Happy Development.

System.IO.FileNotFoundException: The Web application could not be found.

2009-06-23T02:27:00.000-07:00

If you are getting the above error when performing some operation in you Web Service / Web Appliation with Sharepoint server. You can resolve this by adding the Sharepoint application pool in you custom Web Service / Web Appliation :

In the IIS, you need to open the property page of the Web Service / Web Appliation that you host. under "Home Directory" Tab, you can chose the appliction pool. make sure that your sharepoint web appliction and your webservice sharing the same application pool name.

To interact with a SharePoint Server from out side the SharePoint web server it self, you need to write a SharePoint web service. SharePoint web services are nothing bur regular web service, only difference is that they are configured into the SharePoiint site configurations. And from inside the Web service you can do whatever possible with the Object model.

To get the SPSite instance from inside the web service, you even dont need to specify domain names, ip etc. Just doing the following you can have an instance of SPSite

SPSite siteCollection = SPControl.GetContextSite(HttpContext.Current); OR
SPWeb subSite = SPControl.GetContextWeb(HttpContext.Current);

After creating and deploying a web service into the SharePoint you can talk to the web service from anywhere of the world and the web service will actually make use of object model to talk to SharePoint.

Could not verify the version of Microsoft Dynamics CRM - VPC 2009 Error

2009-06-23T02:13:00.000-07:00

I download the MS CRM VPC 2009 and did the windows update. When I reboot the system the MS CRM Web Application was not getting loaded.

I confirm that all the MS SQL SERVER and MS CRM services are running. Finally I check the Event Log and found the below error:
Could not verify the version of Microsoft Dynamics CRM at http://crm/Contoso.
The remote name could not be resolved: 'crm'

To resolve this issue, simply add the entry in HOST file.
Browse "C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc\" and open the HOSTS file in notepad and add the below entry at the end of the file :
127.0.0.1 crm

Save and close the file.
Refresh you browser.... Here your MS CRM app will get loaded....

Microsoft Dynamics CRM SDK Version 4.0.9 Released

2009-06-13T01:10:00.000-07:00

Download this new version of the SDK or view it on MSDN.

This release provides continuing support for the on-premise user and new information for online users.

The following are some highlights. For a complete list of changes, see the Release History on the first page.
Server-to-Server Authentication Sample. This sample shows how to authenticate and impersonate the logged-on user in a server-to-server scenario with Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online.
Metadata Browser - Over 100 pages from the metadata browser have been incorporated into the SDK so that Online users have access to this information.

Visual Studio Templates. Added three new Microsoft Visual Studio template projects for you to use to start your projects: CRM Web page, plug-in, and custom workflow activity. For more information, see List of Samples in the SDK Download.

Dependent Picklist Sample - This sample shows how to make the options available in a picklist field dependent on the selected option of another picklist. It supports chaining several picklist fields together. This sample also includes best practices for defining functions in the OnLoad event and reusing them in other form events.

Updated WSDLS for CRM Online. Added new properties available only on Online and a new Discovery service method that retrieves the logged-on user's ID in Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online.
Delete Async Records Sample - This sample shows how to remove completed records from the async table.

KB Article Topics - added topics that describe knowledge base article states, how to create, publish and remove the articles, and how to search for published knowledge base articles in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Updated Visual Studio projects to work for both VS 2005 and VS2008.
Updated support information for plug-in and workflow assembly backwards compatibility.
More sample code updates and miscellaneous bug fixes.

Cheers !!!!!

How to UnRegister .NET Windows Service ?

2009-05-30T01:10:00.000-07:00

Use the below script to unregister a windows Service.

Step 1: Create a batch file (eg., UnRegister.bat) and put it in the same foler where your windows service executable file resides).

Step 2: Copy the below script and paste it in above "UnRegister.bat" file.

@ECHO OFF

REM The following directory is for .NET 2.0
set DOTNETFX2=%SystemRoot%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727
set PATH=%PATH%;%DOTNETFX2%

echo UnInstalling WindowsService...
echo ---------------------------------------------------
net stop WINDOWS_SERVICE_NAME
InstallUtil /u WINDOWS_SERVICE.EXE
echo ---------------------------------------------------
pause
echo Done.

Step 3: Replace your windows Service executable file with "WINDOWS_SERVICE_NAME" and "WINDOWS_SERVICE.EXE" string.

Step 4: Save -> Exit from the file. Now the batch file is reay to uninstall the windows service. Just double click the "UnRegister.bat" file.

How to Register .NET Windows Service ?

2009-05-30T00:57:00.000-07:00

Registering a Windows Service is always a challenge .

I personally prefer to write / use a script. Below is a script which will install a Windows Service and start it once its installed properly. By default it will set the Mode "Automatic When windows OS starts".

Step 1: Create a batch file (eg., Register.bat) and put it in the same foler where your windows service executable file resides).

Step 2: Copy the below script and paste it in above "Register.bat" file.

@ECHO OFF

REM The following directory is for .NET 2.0
set DOTNETFX2=%SystemRoot%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727
set PATH=%PATH%;%DOTNETFX2%

echo Installing WindowsService...
echo ---------------------------------------------------
InstallUtil /i WINDOWS_SERVICE_NAME
net start WINDOWS_SERVICE.EXE
echo ---------------------------------------------------
pause
echo Done.

Step 3: Replace your windows Service executable file with "WINDOWS_SERVICE_NAME" and "WINDOWS_SERVICE.EXE" string.

Step 4: Save -> Exit from the file.
Now the batch file is reay to install the windows service. Just double click the "Register.bat" file.

Isn't it very easy !!!!

RollUp 4 release for MS CRM 4.0

2009-05-18T21:16:00.000-07:00

Microsoft has release rollup 4 for CRM 4. KB952858 can be downloaded here.

This is a tested, cumulative set of updates for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0. It includes performance enhancements that are packaged together for easy deployment.

Please note that if you have customized Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Help files, back up your customized files before you install this update !!!

Invalid Action - The selected action was not valid.

2009-05-17T00:30:00.000-07:00

I download new MS CRM VPC (April 2009), When I browse the MS CRM Default organization (contoso)I discovered that we were receiving a very descriptive "Invalid Action: The selected action was not valid" error message.

Then, I checked the system's Application Event Log. LOL, I found the following error message:
Source: Current active key (KeyType : CrmWRPCTokenKey) is expired. This can indicate that a key is not being regenerated properly. Current Active Key : CrmKey(Id:e1a5b215-d01e-de11-9d16-0003ffd0167c, ScaleGroupId:00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000, KeyType:CrmWRPCTokenKey, Expired:True, ValidOn:04/01/2009 15:16:36, ExpiresOn:05/04/2009 15:16:36, CreatedOn:04/01/2009 15:16:36, CreatedBy:NT AUTHORITY\NETWORK SERVICE. Key Setting :

Fortunately, this problem was easily solved by running services.msc and starting the Microsoft CRM Asynchronous Processing Service.

Always look into Event Log messages for quick error resolutions (MS, Pls give more info, dont just put the kb link :( )

Read a Text File Line by Line using C#

2009-05-16T14:08:00.000-07:00

Here is the sample code:

string file_name = @"c:\list.txt";
System.IO.StreamReader ObjReader = new System.IO.StreamReader(file_name);
do
{
MessageBox.Show(ObjReader.ReadLine());
} while (ObjReader.Peek() != -1);

Happy Programming !!!!

Recover Corrupt SQL Server Database

2009-05-16T10:37:00.000-07:00

This is quiet common while working on VPC (MS CRM VPC) that when the VPC gets close abnormally.

When you restart the VPC and try to open MS CRM Web you will see some SQL SERVER (Database Corrupt) related error. When you open SQL Server Enterprises studio and we will observe that the database is in SUSPEND mode. And this is due to the VPC gets close abnormally.

But still you can recover the DATABASE. Use the below set of SQL Statement .

EXEC sp_resetstatus 'MicrosoftCRM_MSCRM';
ALTER DATABASE MicrosoftCRM_MSCRM SET EMERGENCY

DBCC checkdb('MicrosoftCRM_MSCRM')
ALTER DATABASE MicrosoftCRM_MSCRM SET SINGLE_USER WITH ROLLBACK IMMEDIATE

DBCC CheckDB ('MicrosoftCRM_MSCRM', REPAIR_ALLOW_DATA_LOSS)
ALTER DATABASE MicrosoftCRM_MSCRM SET MULTI_USER

MicrosoftCRM_MSCRM is database name (for example purpose). When you use this script to recover the database replace MicrosoftCRM_MSCRM with your database name.

Enjoy. Happy recovering corrupt SQL Server Database.

IsNullOrEmptyOrNoValue() - Extension of IsNullOrEmpty()

2009-05-16T00:24:00.000-07:00

public static bool IsNullOrEmptyOrNoValue(string strValue)
{
return (string.IsNullOrEmpty(strValue) ? true : (string.IsNullOrEmpty(strValue.Trim()) ? true : false));
}

Parameters
value
Type: System.String
A String reference.

Return Value
Type: SystemBoolean

true if the value parameter is a null reference (Nothing in Visual Basic) or an empty string (""); or the trim value is empty otherwise, false.

Remarks
IsNullOrEmpty is a convenience method that enables you to simultaneously test whether a String is a null reference (Nothing in Visual Basic) or its value is Empty or the trim value is empty.

IIS Log File Location

2009-05-16T00:15:00.000-07:00

Here is the solution.

Location of IIS log files:

Windows Xp:
C:\WINDOWS\system32\Logfiles\W3SVC1

Windows NT/2000:
C:\WINNT\system32\Logfiles\W3SVC1

Visual Studio 6 Error - Cannot find file ACMBOOT.EXE (or one of its components).

2009-05-16T00:10:00.000-07:00

I was happen to install Visual Studio 6.0 for one of my project. As soon as Run the Professional Edition i got the below error -

Cannot find file ACMBOOT.EXE (or one of its components). Check to ensure the path and filename are correct and that all required libraries are available.

If you are getting the same error as above please follow the below steps to resolve the issue:

1. make a copy of your installation cd in your hard drive
2. make a copy of the setup/VS98ENT.STF and name it acmsetup.STF
3. copy entire content of setup/ to previous folder (the one that has acmboot.exe file)
4. run acmsetup.exe instead of setup (the one that's on the same path as acmboot.exe)
5. voala, that's it, your visual studio 6.0 will be installed.

Isn't it easy !!! Happy Development.

Retrieve Multiple Dynamic Entity Records Example

2009-04-28T04:10:00.000-07:00

Example:

try

BusinessEntityCollection retrieved = RetreiveMultipleEntityDetails(entityName.Trim().ToLower(), new string[] { filterColumn }, new string[] { filterValue }, null);            if (retrieved != null)                  return (DynamicEntity)retrieved.BusinessEntities[0];            return null;      }

Function:

public BusinessEntityCollection RetreiveMultipleEntityDetails(string entityName, string[] filterColumns, string[] filterValues, string[] ColumnList)

RetrieveMultipleResponse retrieved = new RetrieveMultipleResponse();

try

/// Create the query object.

QueryByAttribute query = new QueryByAttribute();

query.EntityName = entityName.Trim().ToLower();

if (ColumnList == null)

query.ColumnSet = new AllColumns();

else

ColumnSet columns = new ColumnSet();

columns.Attributes = ColumnList;

query.ColumnSet = columns;

query.Attributes = filterColumns;

query.Values = filterValues;

RetrieveMultipleRequest retrieve = new RetrieveMultipleRequest();

retrieve.Query = query;

retrieve.ReturnDynamicEntities = true;

retrieved = (RetrieveMultipleResponse)Service.Execute(retrieve);

if (retrieved != null)

return retrieved.BusinessEntityCollection;                return null;

#region Exception Handling

catch (System.Web.Services.Protocols.SoapException ex)

throw new Exception(ex.Detail.InnerText);

catch (Exception ex)

throw new Exception(ex.Message);

#endregion Exception Handling

Get detailed error of Waiting Workflows

2009-04-10T07:19:00.000-07:00

If an error occoured during the Workflow execution, and you want to see the detailed error of waiting workflow you just need to simply follow the below steps:

In the web client goto the 'System jobs' in the settings area
Click "Advanced find"
Click "Edit Columns"
Click "Add Columns"
Select the columns "Error Code" and "Message"
Click "OK" twice
Click "Find" this will execute the query and bring up the workflows which have executed. If the workflow ran into an error the error code and message column will contain details.

Note that in case of an exception the message is the same as that logged in the trace files (if enabled)

You can save this query, this will make it available in the View list.

Unable to Create / Update record for Business Closure.

2009-03-26T01:35:00.000-07:00

First, you have to assign the below role (Update Business Closures) to the user.

Second, you have to assign another set of roles to the user:

Go to Service Management tab -> assign Calender entities (Create, Read, Write) roles.

Save and Close Roles record.
Refresh the Business Closures entity record page(http://SERVER:PORT/Organisation_Name/tools/business/business.aspx?pid=02)

Isn't it simple !!!!!

Declaration of Custom Workflow Input / Output Parameters

2009-03-25T23:32:00.000-07:00

Eveyone struggle to declare the Custom workflow input / output parameters in the custom workflow activity. So here is the solution for it.

The following sample shows how to use each of the types found in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Input Parameter Declaration: (Click on the datatype to see the declaration)

Boolean

DateTime

Decimal

Float

Lookup

Money

Number

Picklist

Status

String

Output Parameter Declaration: (Click on the datatype to see the declaration)

Lookup

Hope this will help you in declaring the Custom workflow activity I/O parameters.

Global Javascript Functions in MS CRM 4.0

2009-03-25T23:25:00.000-07:00

Global functions provide information about the client application and whether the user is working online.

The following table shows the available global functions.

IsOnline : Checks whether the client application for which this page is rendered is online or offline.

IsOutlookClient :Checks whether the form is shown on either Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Microsoft Office Outlook or Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Microsoft Office Outlook with Offline Access.

IsOutlookLaptopClient : Checks whether the form is shown on Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook with Offline Access.

IsOutlookWorkstationClient : Checks whether the form is shown on Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook.

GenerateAuthenticationHeader : Returns a string that represents a correctly formed Microsoft Dynamics CRM authentication header used when making Web service calls with Microsoft Dynamics CRM Web services.

PrependOrgName : Prepends the organization name to the specified path.

Global Javascript Variables in MS CRM 4.0

2009-03-25T23:20:00.000-07:00

Global variables provide information about the Microsoft Dynamics CRM deployment and options chose by the user. Below Global variables you can use in ISV, Event Scripts of forms and across all CRM Web Pages.

The following table shows the available global variables.

SERVER_URL : Provides a string that represents the base server URL. When a user is offline, the SERVER_URL points to the local Microsoft Dynamics CRM Web services.

USER_LANGUAGE_CODE : Provides an LCID value that represents the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Language Pack that the user has selected.

ORG_LANGUAGE_CODE : Provides an LCID value that represents the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Language Pack that is the base language for the organization.

ORG_UNIQUE_NAME : Provides the unique text value of the organizations name.

Example
This script displays the values of these global variables.
alert("SERVER_URL="+SERVER_URL );
alert("USER_LANGUAGE_CODE="+USER_LANGUAGE_CODE);
alert("ORG_LANGUAGE_CODE="+ORG_LANGUAGE_CODE);
alert("ORG_UNIQUE_NAME="+ORG_UNIQUE_NAME);

There is an error in xml document (Row, column)

2009-03-25T23:04:00.000-07:00

Are you getting this error When Calling retrieve(), retrieveMultiple() ..... and so on CRM Methods ?

The solution is very simple:
remove the existing CRM Web services and Add them again (CrmService, Discovery, Metadata).
Recompile and Run your application.

Get Dynamic Entity Primary Attribute Guid Example

2009-02-18T04:33:00.000-08:00

Example by CrmSdk

public Guid GetDynamicEntityPrimaryAttributeGuid(DynamicEntity entity)

    if (entity != null)

        string strPrimaryKeyAttributeName = entity.Name.ToLower() + "id";

        return ((Microsoft.Crm.Sdk.Key)entity.Properties[strPrimaryKeyAttributeName]).Value;

    return Guid.Empty;

Example by Web Service

public Guid GetDynamicEntityPrimaryAttributeGuid(DynamicEntity entity)

    if (entity != null)

        string strPrimaryKeyAttributeName = entity.Name.ToLower() + "id";

        for (int i = 0; i < entity.Properties.Length; i++)

            if (entity.Properties[i].Name.ToLower() == strPrimaryKeyAttributeName)

                KeyProperty property = (KeyProperty)entity.Properties[i];

                return property.Value.Value;

    return Guid.Empty;

Create Dynamic Entity Record Example

2009-02-18T03:19:00.000-08:00

StringProperty firstname = new StringProperty();

firstname.Name = "firstname";

firstname.Value = "Ranjit";

StringProperty lastname = new StringProperty();

lastname.Name = "lastname";

lastname.Value = "Singh";

// Create the DynamicEntity object.

DynamicEntity contactEntity = new DynamicEntity();

// Set the name of the entity type.

contactEntity.Name = EntityName.contact.ToString();

// Set the properties of the contact.

contactEntity.Properties = new Property[] {firstname, lastname};

// Create the target.

TargetCreateDynamic targetCreate = new TargetCreateDynamic();

targetCreate.Entity = contactEntity;

// Create the request object.

CreateRequest create = new CreateRequest();

// Set the properties of the request object.

create.Target = targetCreate;

// Execute the request.

CreateResponse created = (CreateResponse) service.Execute(create);

Working with FetchXml()

2009-02-16T01:07:00.000-08:00

Fetch is a proprietary query language that is used in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. It is based on a schema that describes the capabilities of the language. The FetchXML language supports similar query capabilities as query expression. It is used primarily as a serialized form of query expression, used to save a query as a user owned saved view in the userquery entity or as an organization owned view in the savedquery entity. A FetchXML query can be executed by using the Fetch method. There are also messages to convert between query expression and FetchXML.

Generally, the RetrieveMultiple method performs faster than the Fetch method because it does not have to parse the query.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 supports a new attribute on the link-entity node called visible. Setting visible to false will hide the linked entity in the advanced find user interface. It will still participate in the execution of the query and will return the appropriate results.

The following table lists the messages that work with the FetchXml language.

ExecuteFetch -> Executes a query.
FetchXmlToQueryExpression -> Converts from FetchXML to query expression.
QueryExpressionToFetchXml -> Converts from query expression to FetchXML.
ValidateSavedQuery -> Validates a saved query (view).

NOTE:
Notice that in either case, the privileges of the logged on user will affect the set of records returned. The Fetch method only retrieves records for which the logged on user has read access.

By default FetchXml returns MAX of 5000 records.

Dynamic Entity Add Attribute Helper Methods

2009-02-16T00:54:00.000-08:00

Examples: Calling the below methods:

string strDaysAttributeName = "cap_actualeffortdays";

string strHoursAttributeName = "cap_actualefforthours";

if (ObjProject.Properties.Contains(strDaysAttributeName))

    ((CrmNumber)ObjProject.Properties[strDaysAttributeName]).Value = iDays;

else

    CrmHelper.AddNumberProperty(ObjProject, strDaysAttributeName, iDays);

if (ObjProject.Properties.Contains(strHoursAttributeName))

    ((CrmNumber)ObjProject.Properties[strHoursAttributeName]).Value = iHours;

else

    CrmHelper.AddNumberProperty(ObjProject, strHoursAttributeName, iHours);

public static void AddStringProperty(DynamicEntity entity, string strColumnName, string DefaultValue)

    #region If Column attribute not in entity Collection

        if (!entity.Properties.Contains(strColumnName))

            StringProperty AttributeContactID = new StringProperty();

            AttributeContactID.Name = strColumnName;

            AttributeContactID.Value = DefaultValue;

    #endregion If Column attribute not in entity Collection

public static void AddNumberProperty(DynamicEntity entity, string strColumnName, int DefaultValue)

    #region If Column attribute not in entity Collection

        if (!entity.Properties.Contains(strColumnName))

            CrmNumberProperty AttributeID = new CrmNumberProperty();

            AttributeID.Name = strColumnName;

            AttributeID.Value = new CrmNumber(DefaultValue);

    #endregion If Column attribute not in entity Collection

Update Dynamic Entity Record Example

2009-02-16T00:49:00.000-08:00

public static bool UpdateDynamicEntity(ICrmService Service, DynamicEntity entityName)

try

    // Create the update target.

    TargetUpdateDynamic updateDynamic = new TargetUpdateDynamic();

    // Set the properties of the target.

    updateDynamic.Entity = entityName;

    //   Create the update request object.

    UpdateRequest update = new UpdateRequest();

    //   Set request properties.

    update.Target = updateDynamic;

    //   Execute the request.

    UpdateResponse updated = (UpdateResponse)Service.Execute(update);

    return true;

catch (System.Web.Services.Protocols.SoapException ex)

    return false;

catch (Exception ex)

    return false;

Retrieve Dynamic Entity Records Example

2009-02-16T00:25:00.000-08:00

DynamicEntity ObjProject = GetDynamicEntity(crmService, "new_timesheet", new Guid("{21CCFA77-FFF8-DD11-AE96-0003FFD751E0}"));

public static DynamicEntity GetDynamicEntity(ICrmService crmService, string strEntityName, Guid EntityGuid)
{
try
            {
#region Retrieve Entity Record Dynamically

// Create the retrieve target.
                TargetRetrieveDynamic targetRetrieve = new TargetRetrieveDynamic();

// Set the properties of the target.
                targetRetrieve.EntityName = strEntityName;
targetRetrieve.EntityId = EntityGuid;

// Create the request object.
                RetrieveRequest retrieve = new RetrieveRequest();

// Set the properties of the request object.
                retrieve.Target = targetRetrieve;
retrieve.ColumnSet = new AllColumns();

// Indicate that the BusinessEntity should be retrieved as a DynamicEntity.
                retrieve.ReturnDynamicEntities = true;

// Execute the request.
                RetrieveResponse retrieved = (RetrieveResponse)crmService.Execute(retrieve);

// Extract the DynamicEntity from the request.
                DynamicEntity entity = (DynamicEntity)retrieved.BusinessEntity;
return entity;

#endregion
            }
catch (System.Web.Services.Protocols.SoapException ex)
{
throw new System.Exception(ex.Detail.InnerText);
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
throw new System.Exception(ex.Message);
}
}

Working with Dynamic Entity

2009-02-15T23:49:00.000-08:00

The DynamicEntity feature lets you generically access the data in any attribute on any entity in the system. In order to develop against the Microsoft CRM SDK, you must generate and consume a WSDL during code compilation. Because you must do this against a specific instance of the application, the only entities available are the core set included in the initial installation of Microsoft CRM. The WSDL does contain entity and attribute customizations but it is recommended that your code works with a clean installation. See Using the Microsoft CRM WebServices.

The DynamicEntity class is also used in plug-ins / callouts so that your callout code can work generically with any attribute on any entity without a re-compile.

The DynamicEntity class does not provide a name-base indexer, however, you can write your own. A simple approach to this problem is to loop through the dynamic entities property bag until you find the appropriate property.

Update Rollup 2 for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 is available

2009-01-20T09:02:00.000-08:00

Microsoft has release update rollup 2for CRM 4. KB959419 can be downloaded here.

This upate is for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Server, Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Microsoft Office Outlook, and Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 E-mail Router.

Please note that if you have customized Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Help files, back up your customized files before you install this update !!!

Read and assign Owner attribute value to another owner attribute.

2009-01-19T09:08:00.000-08:00

When it come to copying Owner attribute value aand assinging it to another owner attribute in CRM Form, its not just like a simple textbox value (where u can directly assing .DataValue property to the another attribute)

Have a look at the below code, which Reads and assign Owner attribute value to another owner attribute on CRM Form.

// Get hold of Owner and default it to the Commission Owner 1
var oOwner = new Array();
oOwner = null;
oOwner = crmForm.all.ownerid.DataValue;

//Create an array to set as the DataValue for the Owner control.
var lookupData = new Array();
var oCommissionOwnerOne = new Object();

if (oOwner[0] != null)
{
// Set the id, typename, and name properties to the object.
oCommissionOwnerOne.id = oOwner[0].id;
oCommissionOwnerOne.typename = oOwner[0].typename;
oCommissionOwnerOne.name = oOwner[0].name;

// Add the object to the array.
lookupData[0] = oCommissionOwnerOne;

// Set the value of the lookup field to the value of the array.
crmForm.all.new_commissionmarginownerone.DataValue = lookupData;
}

Happy copying (and Coding too) !!!!

Working with Form Fields using Javascript

2009-01-10T04:33:00.000-08:00

Common Properties and Methods available with all Fields Type:

Working with All MS CRM Data types using Javascript:

Supported Entities for Workflow

2009-01-09T11:49:00.000-08:00

The following entities can be used to start the messages that trigger the workflow execution.

Entity name
1. account
2. appointment
3. businessunit
4. campaign
5. campaignactivity
6. campaignresponse
7. competitor
8. constraintbasedgroup
9. contact
10. contract
11. contractdetail
12. contracttemplate
13. customeraddress
14. customeropportunityrole
15. customerrelationship
16. discount
17. discounttype
18. email
19. equipment
20. fax
21. incident
22. invoice
23. invoicedetail
24. kbarticle
25. kbarticlecomment
26. kbarticletemplate
27. lead
28. letter
29. list
30. mailmergetemplate
31. opportunity
32. opportunityproduct
33. phonecall
34. pricelevel
35. product
36. productpricelevel
37. queue
38. quote
39. quotedetail
40. relationshiprole
41. report
42. salesliterature
43. salesliteratureitem
44. salesorder
45. salesorderdetail
46. service
47. serviceappointment
48. site
49. subject
50. systemuser
51. task
52. team
53. template
54. territory
55. transactioncurrency

MS CRM 5 – Secure Code on the Server - OnLive

2008-12-17T23:28:00.000-08:00

Click here to watch the Video

In this one we chat about how to write custom code in Dynamics CRM and have that run securely in the various deployment models available including on-premises, partner-hosted and even in CRM Online.

The current version of CRM allows code on the server (for plug-ins or workflows) and that code runs in full trust. That’s the primary reason why server code is not allowed on Dynamics CRM Online where you’re sharing the server with many other tenants.

There are a number of different areas where you might need to write custom code on the server; for instance, custom workflows, custom web apps, plug-ins. It’s not hard to allow that sort of thing. Where it gets tricky is allowing developers to do that in ways that don’t compromise security and performance.

List Web Part for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0

2008-12-17T23:25:00.000-08:00

Overview
The List Web Part for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 provides a way to view and update Microsoft Dynamics CRM records using a Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 SP1 or Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 SP1 Web site. Microsoft Dynamics CRM users can create shared or personal List Web Parts of Microsoft Dynamics CRM records from a SharePoint Web site, open records in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 from the List Web Part, and create connected List Web Parts.

You can download it from Microsoft website. Click here to download

Using New CrmDeploymentService CRM 4.0.

2008-12-09T22:22:00.000-08:00

We have a new webservice in CRM 4.0 i.e. CrmDeploymentService
This is the end-point for this web service
http:///mscrmservices/2007/crmdeploymentservice.asmx

Using CrmDeploymentService we can do the following:
Create/Delete/Disable/Enable/Update/Set Default an organization etc.

There are two types of Microsoft Dynamics CRM deployment entities: Organization and Server. The Deployment SDK provides programmatic access for manipulating the Organization entity. It does not currently enable you to write code against the Server entity for actions such as enabling and disabling a Microsoft Dynamics CRM server.

We have a separate sdk for the Deployement. We can download the sdk at the following location
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=2874D878-E28D-4530-A185-4DEE1FCDD12E&displaylang=en

When working with the Deployment SDK, you should be familiar with software development practices in general and Microsoft Visual C# or Microsoft Visual Basic coding practices in particular. In addition, you should be familiar with using Web services and have access to a suitable development environment.

When using the Deployment SDK, it is helpful to have the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Software Development Kit (SDK) available as a reference.

The Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 SDK is the primary development resource for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 and is a guide for developers writing server-side code, custom business logic, plug-ins, integration modules, custom workflow modules, and more. The SDK provides an architectural overview of Microsoft Dynamics CRM, the entity model, security model, Web services, and sample code.

Some basic examples of using the service

// Create an instance of CrmDeploymentService

CrmDeploymentService myDeployService = new CrmDeploymentService();

myDeployService.Credentials = System.Net.CredentialCache.DefaultCredentials;

myDeployService.Url = ” valid url”;

// To retrieve server license type information

RetrieveLicenseRequest myLicRequest = new RetrieveLicenseRequest();

RetrieveLicenseResponse myLicResponse = (RetrieveLicenseResponse)myDeployService.Execute(myLicRequest);

MessageBox.Show(“License Type “ + myLicResponse.LicenseType.ToString());

// To get the organization information

RetrieveAllRequest myRetriveAllRequest = new RetrieveAllRequest();

// only organization is supported ( other is Server)

myRetriveAllRequest.EntityName = EntityName.Organization;

RetrieveAllResponse myRetriveAllResponse = (RetrieveAllResponse)myDeployService.Execute(myRetriveAllRequest);

foreach(DeploymentEntity myEntity in myRetriveAllResponse.Entities)

Organization myOrganization = (Organization)myEntity;

MessageBox.Show(myOrganization.FriendlyName);

MessageBox.Show(myOrganization.Id.ToString());

MessageBox.Show(myOrganization.UniqueName);

//// To disable an organization

SetStateOrganizationRequest myOrgSetStateRequest = new SetStateOrganizationRequest();

myOrgSetStateRequest.EntityName = EntityName.Organization;

myOrgSetStateRequest.Id = new Guid(“4c7fc991-0a41-dd11-bfd9-001d7d22e1af”);

myOrgSetStateRequest.State = OrganizationState.Disabled;

SetStateOrganizationResponse myOrgSetStateResponse =(SetStateOrganizationResponse) myDeployService.Execute(myOrgSetStateRequest);

Error message when you log on to any organization in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0: "The specified organization is disabled"

2008-12-08T21:37:00.000-08:00

Consider the following scenario. You create two organizations in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0. Then, you disable the default organization. In this scenario, when you log on to any organization in Microsoft Dynamics CRM, you receive the following error message:
Error: The specified organization is disabled

This problem occurs because a valid default organization does not exist in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

To resolve this problem, use one of the following methods.

Method 1: Enable the default organization

Start -> Programs -> Microsoft Dynamics CRM -> Deployment Manager.
Click Organizations, right-click the default organization, and then click Enable.
Reset Internet Information Services (IIS). To do this, Start -> Run, type iisreset, and then click OK.

Method 2: Set another organization as the default organization

Start -> Programs -> Microsoft Dynamics CRM -> Deployment Manager.
Click Organizations, right-click an organization, and then click Set as Default Organization.
Reset Internet Information Services (IIS). To do this, Start -> Run, type iisreset, and then click OK.

RollUp 1 release for MS CRM 4.0

2008-12-03T23:41:00.000-08:00

Microsoft has release rollup 1 for CRM 4. KB952858 can be downloaded here.

This upate is for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Server, Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Microsoft Office Outlook, and Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 E-mail Router.

Please note that if you have customized Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Help files, back up your customized files before you install this update !!!

MS CRM 4.0 upgrade issues list.

2008-12-03T23:11:00.000-08:00

When upgrading MS CRM 3.0 to CRM 4.0, please follow the below chekclist to avoid failures:

1. Any Un supported customization will not upgrade

2. Any 3rd party tool will not upgrade like C360 components etc. It will give you trouble so first remove that and check your vendor for upgradeable version for CRM 4.0, I am sure they are upgrading it.

3. Any Connector like GP Connector, Biztalk Adapter will not upgrade

4. CRM Mobile Express 3.0 will not upgrade

5. CRM Accelerator for Seible will not supported to upgrade.

6. Sharepoint list webpart will not upgrade

7. Datamigration Pack will not upgrade

8. Your custom calls or code will not upgrade, you have to rebuild your code using new crm services, atleast you have to use crm discovery as it is multi-organizational system.

9. CRM Outlook Client will not upgrade

10. Any custom code for outlook will not upgrade

11. CRM Callouts need to modify and register with Plugin Register tool

12. Your code web to lead or web to contact need to modify by using CRM Discovery Service and updation manually

13. Any Code will not upgrade by MS CRM 4.0, you have to do all configuration manually.

14. Assembly written for workflow will not upgrade and link, you have to again link with it

Standard CRM Reports will be upgraded and link will automatically build with new CRM SRS connection. but following types of reports will not upgrade

The Reports has been modified to use expressions for linking will not upgrade.
The Report has been modified to use stored procedures will not upgrade.
Reports that use information about workflow, such as sales pipeline report etc will not upgrade.

Happy MS CRM 4.0 Upgrade.

Increase Attachment size in MS CRM 4.0

2008-12-03T22:54:00.000-08:00

By default, MS CRM 4.0 file attachment size is 5 MB.
Below are the steps to increase the default size to 10 MB.

1. Open the web.config of MS CRM

2. Locate httpRuntime the key within the element and change the values to the following: httpRuntime executionTimeout = "9999"
maxRequestLength = "10240"

3. Locate httpRuntime the key within the element of the element, and change it to the following: httpRuntime maxRequestLength = "10240"

save the web.config and restart IIS.

Integration of MS CRM (4.0) Online with SharePoint

2008-11-22T05:22:00.000-08:00

Lot of people now a day’s talking about Integration of MS CRM (4.0) Online with SharePoint 2007.
Before we start thinking of Integration of MS CRM (4.0) Online with SharePoint we should be aware of the below restrictions of MS CRM Online.

Restriction(s) of MS CRM Online 4.0 hosted by MSFT

Plug-ins:
Plug-ins allow you to augment the Microsoft Dynamics CRM business logic with your own code, for both online and offline applications. These extensions can also be used for integration to external systems. In the previous version, this feature was known as callouts.

Extensions	On-Premise	Hosted	Online
Plug-ins	Yes	Partner specific	No

Workflow:
Call out to external systems from your workflow rules. Create custom workflow activities that can be used by your workflow rules. In the previous version, this feature was known as workflow .NET assemblies.

Extensions	On-Premise	Hosted	Online
Declarative workflows using workflow tools in Web application	Yes	Yes	Yes
Custom workflow activities (.NET Assemblies)	Yes	Partner specific	No

The Probable solution would be:

1) Use standard/OOB workflows of MS CRM 4.0 Online and send out an email messages with the formatted message in the message body with all (or required) Values (Inserted / Updated / and record GUID in case of Deletion).

2) Add custom JavaScript in “OnSave()” event of the Entity, MS CRM forms where you can call out the web services (say using XmlHttpRequest / JSON) and there are chances that you will face the cross-domain Web service calls issues.

You can overcome the issue by hosting the “Internet Facing Web Services on your server” but that should be available over internet so that you can communicate CRM with exposed Web Service Server.

One more thing, I would like to share that “MS provides Partner Hosted Solutions”, you can go with it, but you have to pay (please correct me if I’m wrong), as it is paid service, I guess!!!!!

What's New in MS CRM 5.0

2008-11-22T05:09:00.000-08:00

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

MS CRM 5.0 is currently on schedule to ship as part of the Office14 Wave (most likely sometime in 2010), and the team is only part way through the development cycle, having just completed Milestone 1 (M1). Even so, there is already much to get excited about. Here is a list of "features" that were discussed:

New Features For End Users
1. Enhanced Navigation
2. Single Page Forms
3. Data Filtering
4. In-line Visualizations
5. Team Ownership
6. Native SharePoint Integration
7. Unstructured Relationships

New Features For Administrators
1. Flexible Form Layout
2. Filtered Lookups
3. Form Headers & Footers
4. Solution Management
5. Multiple Option Sets
6. Drag & Drop Form Editor
7. Audit

New Features For Developers
1. Custom Code Sandbox
2. Plug-In Transaction Support
3. Automatic Plug-In Profiling

As you can see there is a lot to look forward to in CRM5, and I hope you are as excited as I am that the team has chosen to share this information early on.

Disclaimer: These postings are provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights. The content of this site are my own personal opinions and do not represent my employer's view in anyway. In addition, my thoughts and opinions often change, and as a weblog is intended to provide a semi-permanent, point in time snapshot, you should not consider out of date posts to reflect my current thoughts and opinions.

Assign Values to MS CRM attribute Types

2008-11-15T19:05:00.000-08:00

Microsoft Dynamics CRM contains a set of attribute type classes used to define the attributes for each entity. These classes are specified in the following table.

Examples

The following sample shows you how to instantiate and set the value of each data type.

// Set up the CRM Service.

CrmAuthenticationToken token = new CrmAuthenticationToken();
token.AuthenticationType = 0;
token.OrganizationName = "AdventureWorksCycle";


CrmService service = new CrmService();
service.Url = ""http://<servername>:<port>/mscrmservices/2007/crmservice.asmx";
service.CrmAuthenticationTokenValue = token;
service.Credentials = System.Net.CredentialCache.DefaultCredentials;

CrmBoolean boolean = new CrmBoolean();
boolean.Value = true;

CrmDateTime dateTime = new CrmDateTime();
dateTime.Value = "2006/5/27T17:00:00";

CrmDecimal dec = new CrmDecimal();
dec.Value = (decimal)10.1;

CrmFloat f = new CrmFloat();
f.Value = (float)10.1;

CrmMoney money = new CrmMoney();
money.Value = (decimal)10.00;

CrmNumber number = new CrmNumber();
number.Value = 10;

Lookup lookup = new Lookup();
lookup.Value = user.UserId;
lookup.type = EntityName.systemuser.ToString();

Owner owner = new Owner();
owner.type = EntityName.systemuser.ToString();
owner.Value = user.UserId;

Picklist list = new Picklist();
list.Value = 1;

Status status = new Status();
status.Value = 1;

EntityNameReference reference = new EntityNameReference();
reference.Value = EntityName.systemuser.ToString();

Key key = new Key();
key.Value = user.UserId;

Working with ASP.NET Request URL Properties.

2008-10-10T08:00:00.000-07:00

Let assume below is the Web URL:
http://localhost:5555/ISV/Customizations/Default.aspx?orgname=microsoftcrm

HttpRequest path and URL properties:
Request.ApplicationPath:	/ISV
Request.CurrentExecutionFilePath:	/ISV/Customizations/Default.aspx
Request.FilePath:	/ISV/Customizations/Default.aspx
Request.Path:	/ISV/Customizations/Default.aspx
Request.PathInfo:
Request.PhysicalApplicationPath:	D:\Inetpub\wwwroot\ISV\Customizations\
Request.QueryString:	/ISV/Customizations/Default.aspx?orgname=microsoftcrm
Request.Url.AbsolutePath:	/ISV/Customizations/Default.aspx
Request.Url.AbsoluteUri:	http://localhost:5555/ISV/Customizations/Default.aspx?orgname=microsoftcrm
Request.Url.Fragment:
Request.Url.Host:	localhost
Request.Url.Authority:	localhost:5555
Request.Url.LocalPath:	/ISV/Customizations/Default.aspx
Request.Url.PathAndQuery:	/ISV/Customizations/Default.aspx?orgname=microsoftcrm
Request.Url.Port:	5555
Request.Url.Query:	?orgname=microsoftcrm
Request.Url.Scheme:	http
Request.Url.Segments:	/ISV/Customizations/Default.aspx

Hope this post is useful for all you !!!!

Check Number of notes attached to a Crm Record.

2008-09-24T11:30:00.000-07:00

Write below code on save of the entity.

var CRM_FORM_TYPE_CREATE = 1;

if (crmForm.FormType == CRM_FORM_TYPE_CREATE)

    var obj=document.frames(”notescontrol”).document;

    var textarea=obj.getElementsByTagName(’TEXTAREA’);

    if (textarea.length < 1)

        alert (”please eneter somenotes”);

        // Cancel the save

        event.returnValue = false;

CRM Form Types

2008-09-24T11:26:00.000-07:00

Is the user creating a new record?
crmForm.FormType == 1

Is the user updating an existing record
crmForm.FormType ==2

Is the user unable to update this record?
crmForm.FormType == 3

Is this record deactivated?
crmForm.FormType == 4

Is the user using the Quick Create form?
crmForm.FormType == 5

Is the user using the Bulk Edit form?
crmForm.FormType == 6

What is the unique ID for this record?
= crmForm.ObjectId

What type of record is this?
= crmForm.ObjectTypeCode

What type of record is this (Entity Name)?
= crmForm.ObjectTypeName

Is the user using the Outlook Client?
crmForm.IsForOutlookClient==true

Is the user using the Outlook Light Client?
crmForm.IsForOutlookLightClient == true

Is the user working On line?
crmForm.IsOnline==true

Have any fields in this form been changed?
crmForm.IsDirty==true

Hide all Tabs on CRM Form

2008-09-24T05:28:00.001-07:00

//Below is the javascript code, which will hide all tabs on CRM form.

document.getElementById("crmTabBar").style.display = "none";

//If you want to hide a specific tab, use below code:

document.getElementById("tab0Tab").style.display = "none";

//Here "tab0Tab" is first tab on the Crm Form.

How to attach onClose event to MS CRM Entity.

2008-09-23T01:49:00.000-07:00

When you work with CRM Forms, if you want to capture / attach a onClose() Event, just use below javascript code.

window.onunload = function() {
    //add code here
}

Delete / DisAssociate Many to Many Relationship Record.

2008-09-23T01:39:00.000-07:00

When you say DisAssocaiating a Many to Many Relationship Record, then you usually deattach the record, you won't delete the record.

Below function will DisAssocaiate a record. Here, you need to pass three parameter values
Parent Entity Guid,
Child Entity Guid, and
Relationship Name.

public bool DisassociateManyToManyEntityRecords(Moniker Moniker1, Moniker Moniker2, string strEntityRelationshipName)
{
    try
    {
        // Create a request.
        DisassociateEntitiesRequest request = new DisassociateEntitiesRequest();

        // Assign the request a moniker for both entities that need to be disassociated.
        request.Moniker1 = Moniker1;
        request.Moniker2 = Moniker2;

        // Set the relationship name that associates the two entities.
        request.RelationshipName = strEntityRelationshipName.Trim();

        // Execute the request.
        DisassociateEntitiesResponse response = (DisassociateEntitiesResponse)Service.Execute(request);

        return true;
    }

    catch (SoapException ex)
    {
        return false;
    }
}

Retrieve Associated Many to Many Relationship Records.

2008-09-23T01:15:00.000-07:00

In our last post we have seen "Creating Records for Many to Many Relationship in MS CRM".

Now how do you retrieve the (many to many) records ?

Its Very Easy .... :) I'm serious.... See below function........

Lets assume, we have "Hotel Reservation" and "Guest" Entity. We have many to many relationship between Guest and HotelReservation Entity.

Below function will return the list of Hotel Reservations (Guids) for the Guest.

public List GetAllAssocaitedRecords(Guid GuestGuid)

    string strEntityRelationshipName = "Specify Relationship Name";

    List ObjHotelReservationGuids = new List();

    string fetchXml = @"<fetch mapping=""logical""> <entity name=""@HotelReservationContactRelation"">

                            <all-attributes />

                            <filter>

                                <condition attribute=""contactid"" operator=""eq"" value =""@GuestGuid"" />

                            </filter>

                            </entity>

                        </fetch>";

    fetchXml = fetchXml.Replace("@GuestGuid", GuestGuid.ToString());

    fetchXml = fetchXml.Replace("@HotelReservationContactRelation", strEntityRelationshipName );

    string strResult = Service.Fetch(fetchXml);

    XmlDocument xmlDoc = new XmlDocument(); xmlDoc.LoadXml(strResult);

    XmlNodeList nodeList = xmlDoc.SelectNodes("resultset/result");

    if (nodeList.Count > 0)

        foreach (XmlNode xmlNode in nodeList)

            ObjHotelReservationGuids.Add(new Guid(xmlNode.SelectSingleNode("neuguest_hotelreservationid").InnerText));

    return ObjHotelReservationGuids;

Happy Coding !!!!!

Creating Records for Many to Many Relationship in MS CRM

2008-09-11T02:49:00.000-07:00

Have you ever created Many to Many Relationship in MS CRM 4.0 ?

Use AssociateEntitiesRequest Class (CrmService)
Contains the data needed to add a link between two entity instances in a many-to-many relationship.
When you create Many to Many Relationship between two entities (system / Custom), MS CRM 4.0 creates New Table in MS CRM database. The name would be the "Relationship name" which you specified while creating Many to Many relationship.

Now, how do u associate a record to Entities?

Let's say, You have One "Entity: Contact" and other "Entity: New_CustomEntity".

Step 1: Create the record for first "Entity: Contact" (you will get a GUID for this record)

Step 2: Create the record for Second "Entity: New_CustomEntity" (you will get a GUID for this record)

Step 3: When you create Many to Many Relationship between two entities, you will specify "Relationship name" Eg: Contact_New_CustomEntity_ManyToMany

Step 4: Call below method and pass both the Entity Information with Relationship name. For more info see below example.

// Code Create Moniker for first Entity: Contact
Moniker Moniker1 = new Moniker();
Moniker1.Id = new Guid("SPECIFY GUID For the record");
Moniker1.Name = EntityName.contact.ToString();

// Code Create Moniker for second Entity: New_CustomEntity
Moniker Moniker2 = new Moniker();
Moniker2.Id = new Guid("SPECIFY GUID For the record");
Moniker2.Name = EntityName.New_CustomEntity.ToString();

string strManyToManyRelationshipName = "Contact_New_CustomEntity_ManyToMany";

if (ObjCrmHelper.AssociateManyToManyEntityRecords(Moniker1, Moniker2, strManyToManyRelationshipName))
    MessageBox.Show("Associated Entities Record.");
else
    MessageBox.Show("Error Occoured.");

//Method which will associate the records.
public bool AssociateManyToManyEntityRecords(Moniker Moniker1, Moniker Moniker2, string strEntityRelationshipName)
{
    try
    {
        // Create an AssociateEntities request.
        AssociateEntitiesRequest request = new AssociateEntitiesRequest();

        // Set the ID of Moniker1 to the ID of the lead.
        request.Moniker1 = Moniker1;

        // Set the ID of Moniker2 to the ID of the contact.
        request.Moniker2 = Moniker2;

        // Set the relationship name to associate on.
        request.RelationshipName = strEntityRelationshipName;

        // Execute the request.
        Service.Execute(request);

        return true;
    }

    catch (SoapException ex)
    {
        return false;
    }

/******************/
Happy Coding !!!!!!

Create and Send Email Activity

2008-08-21T08:08:00.000-07:00

You can easily craete and send an email activity in MS CRM 3.0 / 4.0.

If you experience "MS CRM 4.0: Generic SQL error 0x80044150" error, Please enable the impersonation in the web.config:

Here is the simple code to Create and Send Email Activity:

public bool CreateAndSendEmail(Lookup EmailFrom, Lookup EmailTo, string EmailSubject, string EmailDescription, Lookup RegardingObject)

try

        #region Create Email Object

            email ObjEmail = new email();

            if(EmailFrom != null)

                activityparty ObjFrom = new activityparty();

                ObjFrom.partyid = EmailFrom;

                ObjEmail.from = new activityparty[] { ObjFrom };

            activityparty ObjTo = new activityparty();

            ObjTo.partyid = EmailTo;

            ObjEmail.to = new activityparty[] { ObjTo };

            // Assign Subject

            ObjEmail.subject = EmailSubject;

            // Assign Description

            ObjEmail.description = EmailDescription;

            CrmSdk.CrmBoolean direction = new CrmSdk.CrmBoolean();

            direction.Value = true;

            ObjEmail.directioncode = direction;

            //Regarding Case

            if(RegardingObject != null)

                ObjEmail.regardingobjectid = RegardingObject;

            //Create Email

try

                Guid EmailGuid = Service.Create(ObjEmail);

                // Create a SendEmail request.

                SendEmailRequest emailRequest = new SendEmailRequest();

                emailRequest.EmailId = EmailGuid;

                emailRequest.TrackingToken = "";

                emailRequest.IssueSend = true;

                // Send the email message.

                SendEmailResponse emailResponse = (SendEmailResponse)Service.Execute(emailRequest);

                return true;

            catch (SoapException)

                return false;

        #endregion Create Email Object

    catch (SoapException)

        return false;

Hope you find this code helpful.
Happy Coding.

Working with Null Values in MS CRM

2008-08-12T05:18:00.001-07:00

When you update an entity instance there is a mechanism you can use to differentiate the absence of a value from a null value. To set an attribute value to null you must set both IsNull and IsNullSpecified to true. For attributes of type String, you must assign the value to String.Empty. This same mechanism is used when you create a query to find a null value.

Another option is to use the type helper code available in Microsoft.Crm.Sdk assembly and in the CRMHelpers classes.

Example

The following code example shows you how to create null instances of the various Microsoft Dynamics CRM attribute types.

CrmBoolean boolean = new CrmBoolean();

boolean.IsNull = true;

boolean.IsNullSpecified = true;

CrmDecimal dec = new CrmDecimal();

dec.IsNull = true;

dec.IsNullSpecified = true;

CrmFloat f = new CrmFloat();

f.IsNull = true;

f.IsNullSpecified = true;

CrmMoney money = new CrmMoney();

money.IsNull = true;

money.IsNullSpecified = true;

CrmNumber number = new CrmNumber();

number.IsNull = true;

number.IsNullSpecified = true;

Lookup lookup = new Lookup();

lookup.IsNull = true;

lookup.IsNullSpecified = true;

PickList list = new PickList();

list.IsNull = true;

list.IsNullSpecified = true;

Status status = new StatusV();

status.IsNull = true;

status.IsNullSpecified = true;

Owner owner = new Owner();

owner.IsNull = true;

owner.IsNullSpecified = true;

Example

The following code example shows you how to create null instances of the various Microsoft Dynamics CRM attribute types using the type helper classes.

CrmBoolean boolean = CrmBoolean.Null;

CrmDecimal dec = CrmDecimal.Null;

CrmFloat flt = CrmFloat.Null;

CrmMoney money = CrmMoney.Null;

CrmNumber number = CrmNumber.Null;

Lookup lookup = Lookup.Null;

Picklist list = Picklist.Null;

Status status = Status.Null;

Owner owner = Owner.Null;

Set Default Value to a Lookup Attribute using JavaScript

2008-08-12T01:35:00.000-07:00

Below Example will set the Default Primary Contact ID for Account Entity.

if(crmForm.all.primarycontactid.DataValue == null)
{
        //Create an array to set as the DataValue for the lookup control.
        var lookupData = new Array();

       //Create an Object add to the array.
        var lookupItem= new Object();

       //Set the id, typename, and name properties to the object.
        lookupItem.id = 'SPECIFY GUID of an Entity';
        lookupItem.typename = 'SPECIFY Entity Name';
        lookupItem.name = 'SPECIFY Attribute DISPLAY Value';

       // Add the object to the array.
          lookupData[0] = lookupItem;

      // Set the value of the lookup field to the value of the array.
        crmForm.all.primarycontactid.DataValue = lookupData;

Create Note and Assign to a Entity.

2008-08-07T00:17:00.000-07:00

Sample code which will create a note and attach to the specified Entity (Specify Entity Name and GUID of the Entity Record)

CrmService service = GetCrmService("http://192.168.150.221:5555", "ORGANIZATION", "USERNAME", "PASSWORD", "DOMAIN");

annotation note = new annotation();

note.subject = "NOTE SUBJECT";

note.filename = @"schema.xsd";

note.mimetype = "text/html";

string encodedData = string.Empty;

using (FileStream fs = new FileStream(@"c:\schema.xsd", FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read))

byte[] byteData = new byte[fs.Length];

fs.Read(byteData, 0, byteData.Length);

encodedData = System.Convert.ToBase64String(byteData);

note.documentbody = encodedData;

note.objectid = new Lookup();

note.objectid.type = "SPECIFY ENTITY_NAME";

note.objectid.Value = new Guid("F27A627B-DF1A-DD11-AEA5-0003FF90FBC7");

note.objecttypecode = new EntityNameReference();

note.objecttypecode.Value = "SPECIFY ENTITY_NAME";

Guid annotationId = service.Create(note);

---- HERE you can Initialize CRM SERVICE Object.....

public static CrmService GetCrmService(string crmServerUrl, string organizationName, string userName, string password, string domain)

    // Get the CRM Users appointments

    // Setup the Authentication Token

    CrmAuthenticationToken token = new CrmAuthenticationToken();

    token.OrganizationName = organizationName;

    CrmService service = new CrmService();

    if (crmServerUrl != null &&

    crmServerUrl.Length > 0)

        UriBuilder builder = new UriBuilder(crmServerUrl);

        builder.Path = "//MSCRMServices//2007//CrmService.asmx";

        service.Url = builder.Uri.ToString();

    service.Credentials = new System.Net.NetworkCredential(userName, password, domain);

    service.CrmAuthenticationTokenValue = token;

    return service;

Happy Coding....

WampServer 2.0 Port Configuration

2008-07-27T01:03:00.000-07:00

Configure WampServer 2.0 on different (change port from 80 to 81)

I assume your server Configuration:
Apache Version: 2.2.
PHP Version: 5.2.6

Now that you have WampServer 2.0 installed, you'll want to use it along side with other servers such as IIS. This is easily done by changing the port that WampServer 2.0 listens to. I suggest changing the port from 80 to 81.

Use Notepad or WordPad to open the files below.

Open the httpd.conf file for the Apache server. On my machine, it's located here C:\wamp\bin\apache\apache2.2.8\conf\httpd.conf
Do a search for "Listen 80" and replace it with "Listen 81".
Save and close the file.

Open the wampmanager.tpl file. On my machine, it's located here: C:\wamp\wampmanager.tpl
Do a search for "http://localhost/" and replace it with "http://localhost:81/" (There are three total).
Do a search for "${w_testPort80}" and replace it with "${w_testPort81}".
Save and close the file.

Open the testPort.php file. On my machine, it's located here: C:\wamp\scripts\testPort.php
Do a search for "80" and replace it with "81" (There are three total).
Save and close the file.

Open the english.lang file. On my machine, it's located here: C:\wamp\lang\english.lang
Do a search for "$w_testPort80 = 'Test Port 80';" and replace it with "$w_testPort81 = 'Test Port 81';".
Save and close the file.

Right click on the WampServer icon and click on "Exit".
Restart your WampServer.

Congratulations! You have now changed your WampServer 2.0 to port 81. All of your links (localhost, phpMyAdmin, SQLiteManager) are configured to the new port and you can even test port 81 by going to the Apache Services.
If you found this helpful (or if you didn't), please let me know.

Generate MS CRM Entity Schema.

2008-02-14T08:14:00.000-08:00

Hi,
"GenerateEntitySchema" tool generates a MS CRM Entity Schema.
Example "account": it generates the schema for all the attributes including (picklist values).
Have a look at this tool. (See screenshot)

you can download Generate MS CRM Entity Schema from http://www.codeplex.com/GenerateEntitySchema

As I'm working on this tool i'll release the source code soon.

All feedbacks are most welcome. !!!

Happy MS CRM Development.