Topic: ‘Dynamics CRM’

Are you interested in learning how to create new record types or new fields in CRM Online? Check out this post on the MSCRM Team Blog by Veera Bansal – it describes how to utilize the Import Data Wizard inside of CRM Online to create new record type and new fields in the system. This enhanced feature of the Import Utility is explained in more detail in the November 2009 Service Update for CRM Online. Click here to view a previous post on this information.

Microsoft has just released Update Rollup 8 for download. Click here to download it from the Microsoft Download Center. If you want to read the respective knowledgebase article, click here to go to the Microsoft Support article.

There’s an interesting post on the MSCRM Team Blog by Inna Agranov that verbalizes how to pre-filter your data in CRM, allowing you to query results much quicker. The post also contains a link to another article, located in the MSDN library. It describes in more detail how to filter CRM reports through SQL Reporting Services.

Click here to go to the Team Blog and read the post, or click here to go directly to the MSDN article.

Microsoft has a blog post on their MSCRM Team Blog that provides information towards importing more than one entity type (in this case, both Accounts and Contacts). The post contains numerous screenshots, which allows for a higher level of understanding towards the process flow to follow.

For the most part, I try to steer people away from renaming fields directly from the form POV. This usually creates a more disorganized environment (and believe me, disorganized environments are my “nails on a chalkboard.”). If javascript is desired on the form sometime down the road, the code is usually difficult to understand and read if schema names do not accurately reflect the purpose of the code. Additionally, and most importantly, the information will be nearly impossible to understand from an Advanced Find POV (searching for SSN information by selecting Anniversary seems strange to me…). However, sometimes this comes in handy, and is almost beneficial from a form cleanliness standpoint. So I like to go by a certain “A or B” rule when renaming fields. This helps the environment I’m working on stay user-friendly and organized.

Situation A: I have a new field I want to put on the form, but I have fields on the form that I don’t use. Should I recycle a field or create a new one?

Solution A: Remove the unused field from the form, and CREATE A NEW FIELD. This will reduce the amount of confusion down the road, and it also leaves open the possibility of using that particular field sometime in the future. Business processes change, and the existing fields in the system may become useful sometime down the road. Always leave this possibility open by creating new fields for new needs.

Situation B: I have 4 different fields with the exact same name, let’s say Monthly Fee. I want them all to say “Monthly Fee” on the form, but I want to be able to run AF queries off of each of these data points.

Solution B: From an Advanced Find standpoint, it will be difficult to know which Monthly Fee field you’re selecting. If you’re looking for a specific one, they would need to be renamed to something else. When encountering this situation, I RENAME the field from the FORM LEVEL. I make sure each field name is unique from the attribute level (e.g. when I’m creating the fields, before saving them), and input an attribute name like Monthly Fee (Q1). Inside of the field properties on the form, there is a Display Name area. Rename the field here. Doing this keeps the form  clean (no parentheses), and keeps Advanced Find searchable.

Here’s a rough example:

FIELD 1: Monthly Fee would be the display name on the form, but the attribute’s true display name would be Monthly Fee (Q1)

FIELD 2: Monthly Fee would be the display name on the form, but the attribute’s true display name would be Monthly Fee (Q2)

FIELD 3: Monthly Fee would be the display name on the form, but the attribute’s true display name would be Monthly Fee (Q3)

FIELD 4: Monthly Fee would be the display name on the form, but the attribute’s true display name would be Monthly Fee (Q4)

The best way to accomplish the above example would be to plan for it – map it out before you create it. This will be much easier than fixing something that’s already built (mostly from a confusion standpoint rather than a time standpoint). However, if you already have an environment in place where this is an issue, the best way to do it would be to follow this process flow:

1. Rename the fields from the ATTRIBUTE level to a unique name (do this on all of the fields in question before moving onto step 2).

2. Rename the fields from the FORM level to a uniform name.

Do you want to learn more about driving results in the CRM social intelligence world? Then click here check out a new webinar that we are offering on December 9th. Mark Corley from InsideView will be speaking about a product, called SalesView, that transforms your CRM environment into a prospect data competitive advantage. We use this tool internally, and it provides priceless insight into the business of each of our existing and potential clients.

Definitely check it out – it will be an extremely informative webinar. What are some key benefits of SalesView?

• Improve high-end selling through connections to C-level executives
• Improve volume-selling through reduced pre-call preparation time and increased call readiness
• Turn cold calls into “warm” calls by tapping into your social and business connections
• Increase selling opportunities with alerts on key business events
• Leverage social “buzz” to gauge prospect priorities and buying propensity

I was checking out the MSCRM Team Blog today, and I found a new post surrounding the CRM Data Connector. It includes information about what the Data Connector is, how it’s used, and a common issue that can emerge when utilizing the connector – definitely an informative read. Access it on the MSCRM Team Blog site by clicking here.

Putting a button at the top of a CRM form is not always the most efficient.  In some cases, multiple buttons are needed and subsequently need to be placed in locations throughout the form.  Below is standard JavaScript that can be placed onLoad of a form to create a button that is displayed in the form.  As you look through the script, you will see comments that will help you build your button and provide the function that you need.

/*In entity attributes, create a field (new_button) that is a type nvarchar*/
/*Add the attribute to the form, in the location where you would like your button to display.*/
/*In the onLoad events, copy and paste the script below.  Be sure to substitute the (new_button) field with the field that you have created. */
/*hides the free text field of the attribute*/

crmForm.all.new_button_d.style.visibility = ‘hidden’; 

/* Replaces the Attribute description with an image.  The image that is displayed in the script can be seen below. */
/* The button image can be changed by changing the extension. */
/* Also defined in the function are the button actions.  In this example we have given the button an “onclick” action.  OnClick, we are going to launch an alert that says “hello”. */

if (crmForm.all.new_button != null)
{
var field = crmForm.all.new_button_c;

var html = “<table border=’0′ cellspacing=’0′ cellpadding=’0′><tr><img width=’32′ height=’32′ style=’cursor:hand’ src=’/_imgs/ico_16_1039_associated.gif’ alt=’Click button’ onclick=’Button_OnClick()’ /></tr></table>”;

field.innerHTML = html;
}
Button_OnClick = function()
{

/*Instead of launching an alert, you could change the format of the form, create a SOAP function or launch a program.*/

alert(”hello”);
}

Ever wonder when it’s best to use direct email or a quick campaign for email? This short post will help you know when one is more efficient over the other. I’ve also created a small chart that compares what can be accomplished (and what can’t be accomplished) when using each form.

Direct Email functionality is used when there’s a template that you want to use to send the email (the main difference between this type of email and a QC email). You can use the Advanced Find feature to search for a large amount of potential receivers. This lets you create a personalized view that you can use to send direct email. After you complete and save the Advanced Find view, it’s only a few clicks until you’ve completed the direct email process.

A Quick Campaign is a campaign where there is only one activity to be done (only emails will be sent out, only phone calls will be made, etc.). It’s done using a Quick Campaign Wizard, and is really easy to create. Just highlight all the Leads, Accounts, Contacts, etc. that you want to be emailed, and then click Create Quick Campaign on your Actions menu above the listview. It pretty much takes about one minute to complete, so it’s pretty simple. However, if you use the Quick Campaign Wizard, you cannot use an email template. Also with QCs, you can capture response data if you want to track the responses of the people who received the email.

Here’s a simple comparison breakdown between Direct Mail and Quick Campaigns:

I absolutely love using calculation javascript – it ends up being worth the time and effort it takes to place it inside of the system. It’s amazing to think about the total amount of time you save by utilizing this custom functionality. However, the most difficult part of generating a collection of calculation code is coming up with the actual formula and making sure it calculates out correctly.

I recently read a blog by Mitch Milam on the Microsoft CRM team blog that was completely inspiring. He has generated a simple collection of calculations that will generate a final ROI amount for you. While there’s no code on the actual blog, the calculation javascript is simple and well known. As long as you place Mitch’s concept behind the javascript, it should be relatively simple to piece together.

Click here to view Mitch’s calculation concept on the MS CRM team blog.

This concept is extremely powerful from a decision-making standpoint. Your return on investment can illustrate many things – are you spending the money you’re spending NOW in the right places? Are you going to be putting your money where the best return actually lies? These decisions cannot be made without viewing your ROI. And being able to plug in a few numbers and see the final piece to the puzzle is just fantastic.