Register Plugin using Plugin Registration tool step by step | Dynamics CRM 2016

In this article on Dynamics CRM 2016 I will explain how to register Plugins using Plugin registration tool step by step. In the last article we discussed about developing a simple plugin. Once you have completed developing your plugin the next step is register to register the plugin DLL with Dynamics CRM application.

Plugin Registration in Dynamics CRM 2016

Plugin registration is the process of integrating your plugin code with Dynamics CRM server so that you can extend the standard behavior of CRM application. Once you compiled your plugin code in Visual Studio editor you will get the assembly file( pluginname.dll). This assembly can be integrated with CRM application in different ways.

Different ways to Register Plugin with Dynamics CRM 2016

Using Tools: There exists some free tools using which you can register plugins. The most common one is Plugin Registration tool developed Dynamics CRM community. We will explain how to Plugin registration tool in this article
Using Solution: Yes you add the plugin assembly and plugin steps into a solution and register in the target CRM environment.  Programmatically: Writing code you can register your plugin with CRM application.

Plugin Registration Tool

• It can be used to register plug-ins and custom workflow activities with Microsoft Dynamics CRM.
• Plug-ins and custom workflow activities can only be registered in the sandbox (isolation mode) of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online.

Here we have attached a video which talks about the entire process of registering a plugin assembly with Dynamics CRM 2016 application.

Start Customizing Dynamics CRM 2016 | An intro to out-of-the-box customization

Intro to Customizing Dynamics CRM 2016

The last webinar conducted by Dynamics CRM Developers Group – Hyderabad was focused on Customizing Dynamics CRM 2016.  In the 1 hour 15 minutes got an opportunity to talk about out-of-the-box customization on the Dynamics CRM 2016 application such as customizing User Interface, Entities, Business Rules and Dashboards.

Agenda of the session is given below.

• Introduction To Customizing Dynamics CRM 2016
• Customizing CRM User Interface
• Customizing Entities and Fields
• Managing Relationships
• Customizing Forms
• Business Rules
• Customizing Views
• Customizing Charts and Dashboards

Introduction to Customization

Dynamics CRM provides a flexible platform using which we can extend the functionality of CRM as per business requirements.

Out-of-the-Box(OOB) Customization:

• Entity Customization – GUI based Customization
• Processes ( Workflows and Dialogs)

Code based Customization

• Plugins
• Custom workflow activities.
• Web Services

Privileges required for customization

System Administrator and System Customizer security roles give you the permissions you need to customize your CRM deployment.

What is Metadata?

Metadata means “data about data” and it defines the structure of the data stored in the system.
When you customize Microsoft Dynamics CRM using the customization tools in the application, you’re adding or updating the metadata or data used by features that depend on the metadata.
So you can add new features to CRM without breaking your system. Should be able to apply an update rollup or upgrade to the latest version and enjoy the best new features.

Supported Vs Unsupported Customization:

Supported Customization:

• APIs and Best code practices mentioned in CRM SDK.
• Codes which won’t break during upgrading CRM system.

Ex: Customization using CRM GUI Customizations tools : Customizing forms, Views, Charts etc.

Un-supported Customization:

• Un-supported customization might when you do code base customization on Dynamics CRM.
• Unsupported by Microsoft support Team
• It may break while upgrading CRM system

Ex: Interacting with the web application DOM elements using JavaScript, Retrieving/updating data directly from database tables, Changing the database tables, stored procedures, or views.

Customize Dynamics CRM 2016 User Interface

• You can enhance CRM User Interface using themes.
• The theme colours are applied globally throughout the application.

You can enhance the following visual elements in the UI:

• Change product logos and navigation colours to create product branding
• Adjust accent colours, such as hover or selection colours
• Provide entity-specific colouring

To customize your theme you need to navigate to Settings – > Customizations -> Themes

Customize Dynamics CRM 2016 User Interface

What can you change in CRM themes?

• Logo
• Logo tooltip
• Navigation bar color
• Navigation bar shelf color
• Header color
• Global link color
• Selected link effect
• Hover link effect
• Process control color
• Default entity color
• Default custom entity color
• Control shade
• Control border

Create And Edit Entities

Entities define the types of records that business users can use in a Microsoft Dynamics CRM organization.

In the CRM web application, you can edit existing System entities and also create, and delete custom entities.

To customize an entity navigate to Settings -> Customizations-> Customize the system -> Entity_Name

Required Fields of an Entity

Display Name
This is the singular name for the entity that will be shown in CRM.

Plural Name
This is the plural name for the entity that will be shown in CRM.

Name
This field is pre-populated based on the display name you enter. It includes the solution publisher customization prefix.

Ownership
You can choose either user or team-owned or organization owned.

Edit An Existing Entity

Create A Custom Entity

• In additional the existing system entities users with required privileges can create new entities in CRM System.
• User with System Admin and system customizer roles can create custom entities.
• Before going to create a new entity developer should make sure that any of the existing entities can support the particular business logic.

New Entity Form

Demo : Create And Edit An Entity
Book entity. Define a book entity in the system. The entity should have the following attributes:
Book title
ISBN
Publish year
Check in / check out status
Check-out date
Check-out contact
Planned check-in date
Cover price
Book category: Drop down of the following (literature, art, science, text book, engineering)

Create An Activity Entity in Dynamics CRM 2016

To create an activity entity, select Define as an activity entity before you save the entity.

Under Areas that display this entity, select areas available in the navigation bar you want this entity to be available from

Primary Field: Each custom entity has a primary field. This is defined in the Primary Field tab. You must locate this field in the entity fields.

Understanding Entity Views

A view is a saved query which shows the subset of records of an entity as per pre-specified conditions.

Each entity in CRM comes with a set of System Views by default.
CRM users can create more custom views in the system.
Only users with System admin or cutomizer role can create/edit organization views.
Example: My Active Account View

Types of Views

There are 3 main types of views: public, system, and personal.
 
Public Views. Comes with the application. Custom views created at the organization level are also public views. One of these public views can be defined as a default view.
 
System Views. Similar to Public views and are created by CRM on installation. System Views include Associated View, Advanced Find View, Lookup View and Quick Find View.
 
Personal Views. Users can create their own views using the Advanced Find tool and save them as personal views.

Customize Views

We can customize the View Name, columns names, add or remove columns, update filtering criteria etc.

To create or updated Public and System Views:
Go to Settings -> Customizations -> Entity_Name -> Views

Personal views can be created from the Command Bar itself.

New personal views can be created for your business requirement and the ownership will be at organization level. Existing views can be edited too.
Customize Views



Create a Custom View


Enter Details:

• View Name
• Description
• Create a Custom View

Configure an Entity view

• Edit filtering Criteria
• Add Columns
• Configure Sorting
• Change Properties
• Remove

Create a Personal View

Very similar to how we create Public Views

Steps:

• Give a name and description
• Edit Filtering Criteria
• Add/Edit Columns

Create a Personal View

Edit Filter Criteria
Add Criteria Clauses
Use Group AND, Group OR to combine Clauses


Add Columns
Add New Columns
Edit Existing Columns
Edit Columns properties

Basics of Entity Charts

A chart is a graphic representation of data from multiple records of an entity.

Charts are integrated with grids in the web application. They are built from the query on the data.

When a view is updated for the data, the associated charts also get updated automatically.
Settings -> Customizations -> Entity_Name-> Charts

Example: Leads by Rating

‘Leads by Rating’ chart displays the graphical representation of leads View based on Rating.

Types of Charts

There are 2 types of charts: system and personal.

System Charts. System charts can only be created by users with System Administrator or System Customizer roles. These charts are by default visible to all users.

 These charts can be customized by going on to the settings area and customizing the system.

User Charts. Personal charts can only be seen by the users that create them or the ones to whom these charts are shared with. These charts can only be shared if the owner has sharing privileges.

Customize Charts

You can edit exists charts or create new ones.
To customize: Settings – > Customizations ->Default Solution -> Entity_name -> Charts.
Charts can be imported and exported as well as be transferred from one deployment to another.
Charts can be created via CRM views or through coding.

Create A New Chart

Edit A Chart

You can customize the existing charts:

• Display Name
• Legend (Y -axis ) values
• Category ( X-axis) Values
• Chart type
• Update Aggregate functions

Understanding Business Rules

• Business rules are a good alternative to build validations on forms with UI.
• Using business rules system administrators or a power users can create validations without coding skills.
• Jscript cant be replaced by business rules.
• Understanding Business Rules

There are four ways you can view, create, or edit business rules:

1. Solution – > Entity
2. Solution -> Entity-> Field
3. Form Editor -> Business Rules
4. Form Editor -> Field

Scope of Business rules

Uses of Business Rules

• Make a field ‘Business Required’ when the value in another field is changed
• Set the value of a field based on various criteria
• Calculate the value in a field based on the value(s) of other field(s)
• Show an error message when an invalid value is entered
• Show/hide or enable/disable a field depending on the value entered in another field

Create New Business Rules

Can create from Forms as well as Form Fields.
Mention the following:

Scope of Business Rule

Validations
IF..ELSE. ELSE IF loops for Conditions.
Actions – What actions need to be done
Pactise : Set Discount as per Purchase Timeframe

Practise: Set Exchange Rate field as Required
If Status = active
Then ExchangeRate as business Required.
Eles IF Currency doent contain Value
Then show Error Message.

Customizing Dashboards in Dynamics CRM 2016

Understanding Dashboards
Dashboards in Microsoft Dynamics CRM provide an overview of business data ‒ actionable information that’s displayed across the organization.  Use a dashboard to see performance at a glance.

Components of a Dashboard:

• Views
• Charts
• iFrames
• Web Resources – HTML, Silverlight content.

Types of Dashboards

User dashboards:

• A user dashboard can be created by any user in the user’s work area.
• A user dashboard doesn’t have to be published to be visible, but it’s only visible to the person who created it, unless shared with others

System dashboards :

• Is created by a system administrator or customizer in the Settings area.
• A system dashboard must be published to be visible.
• After it’s published, it’s visible to everyone in the organization, unless hidden by the admin or customizer.

Sales Dashboard

Includes
Chart: Leads by Rating
Chart: Lead Conversion Rate
Chart: Sales Pipeline
Chart: Activities By Owner

Out-of-the-box and Custom Dashboards

Dynamics CRM is shipped with out of the box Dashboards which span across sales, marketing and service modules.
In addition to this you can also create custom dashboards.

Some of the Out-of-the-box views

• Sales performance Dashboards
• Sales Activity Dashboard
• Marketing Dashboard
• Customer Service Manager Dashboard

Work with Dashboards

You can do following operations on dashboards:

• You can set frequently used dashboards as default Dashboard.
• You create new Dashboards, modify existing components.
• You deactivate existing Dashboards.
• Create and share your personal dashboards with other users.

Create a Dashboard

Steps in involved in creating a dashboard:

• Choose a dashboard layout
• Provide descriptive name
• Add a chart, view or Iframe.

Choose a Dashboard Layout

Add a Chart to the Dashboard

1. Select the record type for the chart.
2. Select a view that the data in the chart will be based on.
3. Choose the actual chart.
4. Select Add.

Share Your dashboard with Others

Originally Posted on Magnifez blog, an IT service organization. 

Immediate Joiners for Software Engineer/ Tech Lead - 3 to 14 years | MS CRM located at Pune

Dear Candidate,

Elitecore is looking for Software Engineer/ Tech Lead - MS CRM for its Product Dev Team located at Pune.

Immediate Joiners needed.

Company Profile
Elitecore Technologies Pvt. Ltd. is a Carlyle Group investee IT Company headquartered in Ahmedabad, India with over 850+ employees worldwide. Envisioned as Platform for Innovators, it has grown to become a high growth company in IPbased technologies offering business-critical solutions for Telecommunications, Networks Security and Access Gateway markets to clients across 110+ countries.

Founded in 1999; Elitecore"s strong technical credentials and a unique management philosophy makes it one of the fastest-growing Network Security and Telecom solution companies in the world. Elitecore"s CEO, Hemal Patel has been recognized as one of the top 50 powerful persons of Gujarat, India by Zee Business Media and the profiled as Rising Generation by Divya Bhaskar of the Bhaskar Group.

Elitecore"s Cyberoam range of UTM security products have been consistently rated 'Visionary' by global analyst Gartner in its Magic Quadrant for UTM and are currently No.1 in India.
Elitecore"s Telecom Practices division is well known for its innovative OSS/BSS solutions which has presence among 44+ leading telecom operators in the world and was rated 'Cool' by Gartner in its Communications Service Provider Operational and Business Infrastructure, 2012 Report. It also won analyst Frost & Sullivan"s prestigious Price-Performance-Value Leadership Award for its Billing and Charging Solutions.

For more details about the company pls. visit www.elitecore.com

We are expanding our team and are looking for innovators who can contribute to the growth of one of the fastest growing product companies in India.

 The profile requirement is given below. 

Position: Solution Designer/Tech Lead/ Developer - MS CRM
Job Location - Pune and Onsite
Exp Range - 3 to 14 Years

Roles and Responsibilities: 

• 4 - 10 years or more of total IT experience, with a minimum of 8 years of experience in Microsoft technologies
• 4 years or more in MSCRM
• Must have executed at least one large, complex, full-lifecycle implementations of MSCRM for an Enterprise customers, in the capacity of Tech Lead
• (At least one project must be on MSCRM 2011 / 2013) - involving team sizes of more than 20 resources, onsite-offshore model
• Must be thorough and hands-on in at two of the CRM modules - Sales, Service, Marketing
• Must have some experience on MSCRM 2013
• Experience in XRM is a must
• Should have executed integration of MSCRM /XRM with ERP and other legacy systems
• Must have thorough hands-on experience in deployment of MSCRM - including IFD, clustering, performance tuning, etc.
• Should be thorough and hands-on in Microsoft technologies : .NET 4.x, C#, ASP.NET, WWF, WCF, SQL Server, SSIS/SSRS Web Services
• Must have at least 2 years of Onsite experience
• Experience of other CRM products is a plus (though not mandatory)
• Should have led team sizes upwards of 6 - 7 consultants in projects
• Good communication skills - written and oral
• Demonstrable customer handling and management skills

Desired Profile 
Qualification: B.E.
Experience: 6+ year experience

If the profile and the challenges of the growing organization excite you, then please apply along with the required details.
1. Current Company
2. Current Designation
3. Current Salary (Gross Take home)
4. Expected Salary
5. Marital Status
6. Joining Period.
7. Total Experience
8. Area of Expertise

Regards,
Manager HR
Elitecore Technologies Pvt. Ltd.

904, Silicon Tower, Off C.G.Road,
Ahmedabad 380 006, India.
Desk : +91-79-66065606 329
Cell : +91- 9727743597

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Infrastructure Overview

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Infrastructure Overview

In this video( a bit older at the time of MS CRM 2011) gives an overview of Microsoft Dynamics Dynamics CRM. Video explains on how we can implement a Dynamics CRM infrastructure which is high available and scalable.

We can implementing a high available Dynamics CRM environment  by clustering at application server level and load balancing. We can make the environment scalable by fail-over at SQL Server and at SSRS( SQL Server Reporting Server)

Understanding the Structure of CRM 2013 - Microsoft Dynamics CRM

Understanding the Structure of CRM 2013 - Microsoft Dynamics CRM




In this video, learn the overarching structure of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013.

This lesson is designed to help beginners understand Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 and Dynamics CRM Online by learning the user interface and how the application is structured. If you watched "What is Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013?" you learned that this CRM 2013 is not only a CRM application that's designed to work from day one, but also a framework capable of being molded to your business practices. This lesson touches on some navigational features, but focuses primarily on the architecture of the application.

Source: http://www.xrm.com/

MS CRM 2013 - Interview Qestions

I have had posted articles on the interview questions for Microsoft CRM 2011 couple of months back and found out that there is lot number of people looking for MS CRM interview questions online. Now it is the time of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 so I have updated the list and publishing here for version CRM 2013.

As the first release of Dynamics CRM 2013 ( ver 6.0) comes with lot of changes in user Interface, in Dynamics CRM 2013 Service Pack1 (SP1)  version there are considerable changes in the features  as well especially in the service management module. So if an interviewer is keen to check your knowledge on MS CRM 2013 then you can expect some questions from the new service management and service scheduling features added to this version of MS CRM 2013.

Here is the list of MS CRM 2013 interview questions

1. What is the default time period of auto-save in MS CRM 2013 forms?

2. Can you disable auto-save for a particular entity form and if yes, how?

3. What is business Process flows in MS CRM 2013?

4. Have you got a chance to customize business Process flows in MS CRM 2013? If yes, what you tried to achieved using the same?

5. List out the new process types added in MS CRM 2013?

6. Has Microsoft made any chances to the table of MS CRM, and if yes what are those?

7. How to achieve duplication detection in MS CRM 2013?

8. What are the changes in service module brings in MS CRM 2013?

9. What is business rules  and how it is helpful in scripting?

10. What is business rules in MS CRM 2013 and how you can implement the same?

11. If there exists two business rules registered for a single field on form, where business rule 1 set the value of field as X and business rule 2 sets the value of field as Y, then what will be the value of the field?

Read more : Interview questions for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011

I will update the list with more relevant questions as possible!

Hope the questions are useful. Please feel free to let me know your opinion!!

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Interview Questions- Security

Security is an important part of Microsoft Dyanmics CRM administrator day to day activities. Developers who customize and implement the Microsoft CRM also should have a good idea of security model. In any Microsoft CRM technical interview you can expect a couple of security questions. So I have compiled the most important security questions here.

1. Difference between Role based and object based security.

2. What are the 3 different security levels in Microsoft CRM 2011

3. Define Role based, record based and field level security.

4. Define security roles and Field level security?

5. A user in Microsoft CRM have assigned Sales representative role and have Read access for accounts at user level. Later he assigned to a Sales manager role which has write access for accounts at organizations level. What would be the access he will have in effect?

6.  In a sales organization who implemented Microsoft CRM, sales manager wants the sales target and deadline fields disabled for sales executives from all the forms. How to achieve this?

7. Can a Microsoft CRM user apply field level security for a system entity field?

8. How to implement Field level security for a field in an entity form?

9. There exists two business units in an organization, BU1 and BU2. The admin need to give  user of BU1 access to some records that belongs to BU2. What is the best approach to configure the same?

10. Define privileges and access levels?

11. What are the five access level depths that are available for most privileges?

Also Read: Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Interview Questions -1

Enjoy reading!! Feel free to add your comments below.