Microsoft Dynamics CRM & Microsoft CRM Online Blog Help How To

 

The resolution for this is to run the "Update" program again as administrator "Run as administrator".  Administrative rights on your PC are required to install the update.

The cause of this issue was due to the "Currency" field not present in the view.  Our Advanced Find views above for both Microsoft CRM v4.0 On-Premise and CRM Online are working properly after adding the "Currency" field from the Primary Contact!

How does Microsoft Dynamics CRM treats time zone?  All date/time entries are recorded as Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) at the database level based on the Microsoft CRM Server's time clock.  Upon the date/time data entry or display, Microsoft CRM will factor in the CRM User's Time Zone setting and accordingly adjust it based on the GMT's value.

You can access your Time Zone setting via Microsoft CRM Web Client >> Tools menu >> Options >> General tab:



Note: If the "Set the time zone you are in" does not appear - close both the Microsoft CRM Web Client and Microsoft CRM Outlook Client.  Then re-open only the Microsoft CRM Web Client.  Having both the Microsoft CRM Web Client and Microsoft CRM Outlook Client open - the  "Set the time zone you are in" will not display

If you are using the Microsoft CRM Outlook Client - the Time Zone setting will be automatically set for you based on your Windows Time Zone setting:




Here is a scenario to better describe this:

It is 10AM on April 22nd and CRM User One's Time Zone setting is the Pacific Time (-8 GMT).  If CRM User One created a CRM Contact record - the created date is 4/22 6PM (GMT) on the Microsoft CRM database.  When CRM User One views this contact record in his Microsoft CRM Client, it will display 4/22 10AM because Microsoft CRM will display it based on CRM User One's Time Zone setting.

Another CRM User (CRM User Two) has his Time Zone setting at Eastern Time (-5 GMT), if CRM User Two was viewing CRM User One's contact record created above, the created date will be displayed as 4/22 1PM (vs. 4/22 10AM for CRM User One).

Here is an interesting question that comes up:

What happens if due to the Time Zone, it is the next day? 

The answer is that Microsoft CRM will display the date respective to the Microsoft CRM User's Time Zone setting.   If CRM User One (Pacific Time zone) created another CRM contact record at 11PM on April 22nd, that record's created date will be shown as 2AM April 23rd (vs April 22nd) if viewed by CRM User Two (Eastern Time zone).  Be sure to take this into account when designing your CRM processes.

Here is a blog with more insight into Microsoft CRM Time Zone:  
http://blogs.msdn.com/crm/archive/2007/05/22/date-time-values-in-microsoft-dynamics-crm.aspx

I'd built numerous Microsoft CRM Workflows since Microsoft CRM v1.0.  In my mind - Microsoft CRM Workflow would be the ideal design approach to use if it can meet the automation requirement.  During a recent Microsoft CRM System Administrator training, I had an opportunity to discuss about the Microsoft Workflow Scope and Security settings.  Here are the details:

Under the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Security Role, Customization tab, there is a "Workflow" entity to set security privileges on.  This setting controls the Workflow privileges for CRM Users assigned to this security role.  For example - if the user can only "Read" Workflow (1/4 filled circle) - then the user can only view Workflow(s) where the user is the "owner" of the Workflow(s).  This impacts the "On Demand" Workflows that are available to the user - the user can only manually run Workflow(s) that he or she can view.  From a security perspective, a Workflow record (Workflow Rule) behaves like any other CRM record.



What about "Automatic Workflows Scope"?  The funny thing is that this also behaves like a security setting - the scope setting is tied to the Workflow's owner.  For example - if the Automatic Workflow scope is "User" - only the CRM records owned by the Workflow's Owner will be triggered if it meets the Workflow's automatic condition.  If the setting is "Organization" - any CRM records could trigger the Workflow if they meet the Workflow's automatic condition.



The primary difference between an "On demand" setting vs. "Automatic" workflows is that "On demand" is performed by the CRM user that manually invoked the workflow vs. "Automatic" where it is the Workflow's Owner performing the action upon triggered.  Either way, the Microsoft CRM security privileges are enforced.

Note: Be sure that the published CRM Workflows’ owners (CRM users) accounts are enabled and have the proper security privileges to carry out the automatic workflow processes.  If the workflow's owner is disabled or does not have the sufficient security privileges then the workflow will encounter access error upon automatic triggered.

A creative approach to setup a Microsoft CRM Workflow so that it is only available and/or triggered automatically for selected CRM users is to properly configure the Workflow's Scope and Security based on the above understanding.  We can also leverage the Microsoft CRM Record Sharing function to share the Workflow to each of the selected CRM users or to the CRM team that consists of the selected CRM users:



 

• If your PC is running on a 64 bit OS (Windows 7 64 bit or Vista 64 bit), there are two versions of the Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) - a 32 bit and a 64 bit.  Be sure to set both's "Delete browsing history on exit" setting to disable

• If you are encountering repeated login prompt for Microsoft CRM 4.0 (On-Premise) - check this Microsoft Support KB 892666: You are prompted for your user name and password when you open Microsoft CRM or when you open Microsoft CRM client for Microsoft Office Outlook  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/892666

• Login to the PC as a user with the "Local Administrator" rights
• Uninstalling the "Offline Access" setup takes more effort and attention (besure you don't delete another SQL Server database)
• To check if the Microsoft CRM Outlook Client is setup with Offline Access - click on the "CRM" icon on the Microsoft CRM Outlook Tool Bar.

Update Rollup 7 is a prerequisite for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 for Microsoft Office Outlook and Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Data Migration Manager (DMM).  So go ahead and install Update Rollup 7 for the Microsoft CRM Outlook Client first and then apply the latest Update Rollup.

Often times, a Microsoft Dynamics CRM user would like to know the total record count of a View listing or an Advanced Find query result.  However, the view shows the number of records listed on each page only with a maximum of 250 records at a time.  So how does a user obtain the Total Record Count (more than 250 records) in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 or CRM Online using out of the box methods?

Here are two approaches:

Export to Excel - from any view, click Export Data to Excel.  Then either scroll to the very bottom of the Excel to find out the total rows count or use the Excel function ROWS(array).  Note: There is a 10,000 (10K) records export download default limit - check this Microsoft KB to update the 10K Excel Export limit for Microsoft CRM On Premise - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/911395

OR

Report Wizard - use the built-in Microsoft CRM Report Wizard to create a report to display the record count.  This report is then available in the corresponding CRM entity's view or form record.  Plus, it supports filtering (like Advanced Find) to drill down on the record counts dynamically.  I prefer this approach in most cases – it is simple and flexible.  Also, there is no records count limit

Here are the steps to create a Contact Total Count Report in Microsoft CRM 4.0 or CRM Online:

1. Create a new custom attribute "Total Count" type "nvarChar".  This field is not going to be use for any data storage - just for grouping the contacts together to easily display the total count.  Alternatively, you can use an existing "nvarChar" attribute that is not being used for storing any data

2. Create a new Report.  CRM Client >> Workplace >> Report >> click "New"

When accessing Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 or Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, you may come across this Internet Explorer (IE) Security Warning message "Do you want to view only the webpage content that was delivered securely?":



This is mainly due to some CRM customization such as an IFrame accessing the web via HTTP while you are login to the Microsoft CRM client via HTTPS.

The options are:

1. Click on the "Yes" button to continue.  This security warning message will appear next time

2. Update the CRM customization so that it access the web using HTTPS.  This may not be possible depending on the customization

3. Set the IE security setting to "Enable" for "Display mixed content" vs "Prompt" (default).  This is probably the most practical option

To set this option, perform the following steps:

• From the IE browser >> Tools menu >> Internet Options >> Security tab >> select the zone "Trusted" >> click on "Custom" button
  
• Select the "Enable" setting for "Display mixed content" under the "Miscellaneous" section

Note: To ensure the CRM customization's content belongs in the IE's "Trusted" security zone, add all the related site(s) to the "Trusted" security zone.

That should resolve it.  Enjoy.

Microsoft MVP Global Summits have always been fun and educational events - the 2010 Summit was no exception.  As of 2/20/2010, there are 38 Microsoft Dynamics CRM MVPs worldwide.  I had been awarded the Microsoft CRM MVP since 2006 - it certainly has been my privilege and honor to be among this talented and entertaining crowd.  My most enjoyable part of the Summit was the Breakout Sessions for Microsoft Dynamics CRM (of course) - I had an awesome time catching-up with other Microsoft CRM MVPs and Microsoft CRM team members.  You folks are the best!

Here is a group photo taken at this year's Summit:

Somthing to think about if your business is implementing Microsoft CRM:

• Do you have access to the proper Microsoft CRM talent (A Players) to ensure your Microsoft CRM implementation success?
  
• Do you have access to the resources that live and breath Microsoft CRM?  Resources that know where Microsoft CRM is likely headed so they can suggest the best Microsoft CRM design for your company?  Resources that have access to Microsoft CRM MVPs and members of the Microsoft CRM team to bounce design ideas?