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Using C# 4.0's Dynamic Features in Dynamics CRM

I recently attended Twin Cities Code Camp 8.0 . One of the speakers, Aaron Erickson , spoke on some of the new C# 4.0 features. He showed how you could use the dynamic keyword to reference properties that may or may not exist during run-time. As opposed...

Published 04-25-2010 2:33 PM by Andrew Zimmer

Filed under: CRM 4.0, DynamicEntity, C# 4.0

Locking Down Opportunity Customer Lookup to Accounts Only

By default, customer fields are open to accounts, contacts, and sometime leads. A common request is to lock down a customer field to a particular entity type or set of entity types. For example, you may want to lock down the customer field on opportunity...

Published 04-18-2010 8:31 PM by Andrew Zimmer

Filed under: JavaScript, CRM 4.0

Another Options for Referencing External Assemblies from Plugins

As programmers, we are always taught to reuse code. Follow the DRY principal they say (Don't Repeat Yourself). In .Net development code re-use is a snap; That is, unless you are coding in CRM plugins or custom workflow assemblies. Your code may needs...

Published 03-27-2010 9:57 AM by Andrew Zimmer

Filed under: CRM 4.0, crm plugins, referencing external assemblies

Collapsible Forms in CRM 4.0 - Defaulting to Collapsed

I recently discovered a new blog by Microsoft MVP, Marco Amoeda, http://marcoamoedo.com/blog/ . It is quickly becoming one of my favorites. In one posts he shows how to add collapsible forms in CRM 4.0, a feature that isn't available out-of-the-box...

Published 03-14-2010 2:54 PM by Andrew Zimmer

Filed under: JavaScript, CRM 4.0, JScript

CRM Essential Webinar - Using the SDK to Optimize CRM Forms

This past Wednesday, Bill Goergen and I gave a webinar on using the SDK to optimize the CRM form. The webinar is available for download. Download Webinar CRM Essentials Webinar Series Short sessions packed with relevant and exciting topics in Microsoft...

Published 03-06-2010 9:59 AM by Andrew Zimmer

Filed under: JavaScript, CRM 4.0, form scripting

Environment-Aware Custom Workflow Configuration

One of the major pains with custom workflows is storing configuration information, especially configuration data that is specific to the environment dev/stage/production. There are a couple options: Use a custom entity to store configuration information...

Published 03-01-2010 6:31 AM by Andrew Zimmer

Filed under: CRM 4.0, url generator, custom workflow

Caching and Form XML in CRM 4.0

Determining if a field is on the form and not read only. One of the coolest things about the CRM metadata is the Form XML. You can inspect pretty much anything within the CRM form. While writing the Quick Edit page , I needed to disable a field in my...

Published 02-21-2010 1:40 PM by Andrew Zimmer

Filed under: CRM 4.0, Caching, RetrieveTimestampResponse, RetrieveFormXmlResponse

CRM 4.0 Quick Edit Page in Silverlight

Click for a video demo on YouTube Working on CRM extensions, I spend a lot time finding ways to make users more productive in CRM. Sometimes its providing more information within one screen. Other times its writing a plugin to eliminate a few clicks....

Published 02-21-2010 1:37 PM by Andrew Zimmer

Filed under: CRM 4.0, Silverlight, quick edit

Available Plugin Messages for a Given Entity in CRM 4.0

When I get an unusual plugin request from one of our business analysts, the first thing I ask myself is, "Do they have a message I can hijack?" With the plugin registration tool, you specify your message first and then the second field filters...

Published 02-15-2010 7:00 AM by Andrew Zimmer

Filed under: CRM 4.0, Plugins, messages

Status Codes when Deactivating Records in CRM 4.0

When deactivating a record in CRM you need to specify a state code and a status code. Here is the code to deativate a custom entity. For system entities there are specific objects for each entity, i.e. SetStateOpportunityRequest. SetStateDynamicEntityRequest...

Published 02-08-2010 7:11 AM by Andrew Zimmer

Filed under: CRM 4.0, Plugins, SDK, deactivate

An Argument for Asynchronous Plugins in CRM 4.0

One of the least used platform extensions is the asynchronous plugin. When people think of a process that needs to update the database that needs to run in the background, people think custom workflow. As a CRM developer, I consider the asynchronous plugin...

Published 02-01-2010 6:41 AM by Andrew Zimmer

Filed under: CRM 4.0, Plugins, asynchronous plugins

Plugin Best Practices in CRM 4.0

When it comes to writing plugins, there are three driving factors. · Quality - If you don't follow best practices you will find defects in production. The defects are usually challenging to troubleshoot. · Performance - You are working...

Published 01-25-2010 5:56 AM by Andrew Zimmer

Filed under: CRM 4.0, Plugins, Workflows, Plugin Best Practices

Silverlight Applications in CRM 4.0

Click for a video demo on YouTube Over Christmas break I tackled a little technology by the name of Silverlight. I built three basic applications that are aimed at doing the following to augment the features already available in CRM. Provide users with...

Published 01-21-2010 5:57 AM by Andrew Zimmer

Filed under: CRM 4.0, hierarchy, drag and drop, account hierarchy, crm global search, crm Silverlight, crm org chart

CRM 4.0 - Displaying a Related Entity in an IFRAME - Slightly Improved

When I say slightly improved, let me emphasize the word slightly... ... The code that displays related entities in an IFRAME has been around for quite a while. For the sake of not reinventing the wheel, here it is: http://robscrm.blogspot.com/2007/11...

Published 01-14-2010 9:47 PM by Andrew Zimmer

Filed under: JavaScript, CRM 4.0, JScript

Using Custom Dialogs in CRM 4.0 with Offline Client and CRM Online Support

When you think of CRM Online or clients that use the Offline Client, you may think that custom forms are off limits, at least without a lot of deployment hastles. I wanted to show a simple JScript snippet that can help provide more user-friendly forms...

Published 12-22-2009 6:41 AM by Andrew Zimmer

Filed under: JavaScript, CRM 4.0, CRM Offline Client, JScript, CRM Online

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