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IMPORTANT INFORMATION

This blog is deprecated since July 2020.The articles below are no longer maintained and might contain outdated information. 
You can find the most acutal and relevenat information in our Knowledge Base at support.mscrm-addons.com

News.mscrm-addons.com Blog

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Hello and welcome to our blog! What can we do for you? Are you looking for further technical information or step-by-step instructions to our products? Or would you like to read the latest news on mscrm-addons? Please feel free to browse our blog for detailed information and to share our posts!


Join us at D365UG/CRMUG Summit 2017 in Nashville!

What are your plans October 10-13, 2017? We are proud Gold Sponsor of D365UG/CRMUG Summit Nashville, one of the most engaging conferences in the industry. As a Gold Sponsor, we excited to share this experience with YOU this October in Nashville, TN as we squeeze every last bit of functionality out of the products and get you the ROI you want and deserve. 

Why YOU should attend
D365UG/CRMUG Summit is THE go-to conference bringing together industry experts, software development vendors, and everyday users to discuss important issues, trends, product updates, customer pain points, and genuine solutions. The value of D365UG/CRMUG Summit is endless! Here are a few more reasons why you should attend:

  • Geek out over great content: There’s no better instructor than an actual Microsoft Dynamics 365 or Dynamics CRM user. Receive deep level technical training in a focused environment on Dynamics CRM functions and entities that you can utilize 365 days a year.
  • Meet & network with your user group buddies: D365UG/CRMUG Summit provides countless opportunities to create lasting relationships by connecting and networking with your Dynamics 365 & CRM peers.
  • Learn from your seriously smart peers: Learn from and connect with Dynamics 365 & CRM experts and MVPs on a personal basis.
  • Evaluate and test solutions: Understand third party solutions and learn what they can do for your industry or organization.

 

CRMUG Summit provides an inviting and aspirational professional haven for thousands of users. The conference activates a rich grassroots community of peers and experts and provides an unmatched training experience, where users can trust the quality of knowledge exchanged.

Click here to discover more about CRMUG Summit 2017!

 At mscrm-addons.com, our goal is to help you become successful, both as an organization and individually. This is why we have chosen to sponsor CRMUG Summit 2017 and encourage you to make plans to attend this conference. Invest in your career and register today!

What can you expect from our team at CRMUG Summit 2017?

  • Gain profound insight into all our products
  • Learn more about document automation in Dynamics 365 with DocumentsCorePack
  • Receive useful tips, e.g. how to create a Word template in less than 25 minutes!
  • Get a glimpse of how easy it can be to connect your phone system with Dynamics 365 via TelephoneIntegration
  • Simplify your internal handling of activities and e-Mails and find out how to navigate in 365 like a pro!

 

We will be happy to expand the limits of Dynamics 365 with YOU! See you soon at BOOTH #352!

That’s it! We appreciate your feedback about our News. Please share your thoughts by sending an email to office@mscrm-addons.com !

 

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PowerSearch for Dynamics 365 - Extended Features

This article outlines how you can activate extended features of PowerSearch.
Steps described here can be necessary after installing PowerSearch from Microsoft AppSource or after a manual solution import.


Warning messages or notifications

If you get one of the underneath warning messages or notifications it is an indicator that the “PowerSearchPluginExtension” solution is not installed.

 

 
Figure 1: Message from webpage 

Please follow these steps to install it:
  • Download solutions and extract the zip file (Download Link):
   
  • Open Dynamics 365 -> Settings -> Solutions -> hit “Import”
  • In the popping up dialog select the “PowerSearchPluginExtension.zip” and follow the wizard.

After refreshing the Dynamics 365 page the functionality should be available.


Missing PowerSearch button

The [POWERSEARCH]-button is not available in the global Dynamics 365 menu.
 

This is the case if the „PowerSearchPluginGlobalButton” solution is missing in your organization.

Please follow these steps to install it:
  • Download solutions and extract the zip file (Download Link):
   
  • Open Dynamics 365 -> Settings -> Solutions -> hit “Import”
  • In the popping up dialog select the “PowerSearchPluginGlobalButton.zip” and follow the wizard.

After refreshing the Dynamics 365 page the functionality should be available.


Support
In case of any questions or problems please do not hesitate to contact our support: Support Link

 

That’s it! We appreciate your feedback! Please share your thoughts by sending an email to support@mscrm-addons.com.


ActivityTools for Dynamics 365 - Extended Features

This article outlines how you can activate extended features of ActivityTools.
Steps described here can be necessary after installing ActivityTools from Microsoft AppSource or after an update to a newer version of AT.

 

1. Warning dialog after hitting a button on the ActivityTools UI (e.g. “NEW ACTIVITY” or “CLOSE”)


Figure 1: Message from webpage
 
This dialog appears if the “ActivityToolsPluginExtension” Dynamics 365 solution is missing. 
Please follow these steps to install it:
  • Download solutions and extract the zip file (Download Link): 

   

(Please note: These solutions are compatible with the ActiviyTools Version on AppSource (2020.1). If you have downloaded ActivityTools from our Website, take the solutions from the download package instead)

  • Open Dynamics 365 -> Settings -> Solutions -> hit “Import”
  • In the popping up dialog select the “ActivityToolsPluginExtension.zip” and follow the wizard.

After refreshing the Dynamics 365 page the functionality should be available.


2. Dynamics 365 Notification through ActivityTools OnLoad script (extend Social Pane)


Figure 2: AT notification OnLoad script
 
First, ensure that the “ActivityToolsPluginExtension” solution is installed. Please see Point 1 “Warning dialog  ...” (one chapter above).
Then use the new from onLoad script (ptm_ActivityTools/Extension/js/onload.js) instead of the existing one:

  
Figure 3: Form properties 

 


Save and publish the form and it will work again.


3. Missing demo forms for account and contact entity

 
Figure 4: AT Demo

Do be able to use the ActivityTools demo form you need the “ActivityToolsPluginDemo” solution.

Please follow these steps to install it:
  • Download solutions and extract the zip file (Download Link):

    

(Please note: These solutions are compatible with the ActiviyTools Version on AppSource (2020.1). If you have downloaded ActivityTools from our Website, take the solutions from the download package instead)

  • Open Dynamics 365 -> Settings -> Solutions -> hit “Import”
  • In the popping up dialog select the “ActivityToolsPluginDemo.zip” and follow the wizard.

Thereafter the forms will be available for account and contact.
PLEASE NOTE: These demo forms are for demo purpose only! Do not install them for a use in production!

   

Support
In case of any questions or problems please do not hesitate to contact our support: Support Link

 That’s it! We appreciate your feedback! Please share your thoughts by sending an email to support@mscrm-addons.com.


How to create a SettingsKey manually in MS Dynamics 365

Sometimes you may be asked to create a new settingskey for one of our products - for example, if we develop a customization for you or if a special configuration is needed, etc. 

To do so, please follow the six easy steps below. 

Addons: AutoMerge, DocumentsCorePack, TelephoneIntegration 

Step-by-step: How to create a SettingsKey manually in MS CRM 2016 or MS Dynamics 365

1. Open your Dynamics 365 in your Browser. 

2. Go to Settings within the Dynamics 365 navigation.  


4. Open the product record for which you need to create a new settingskey for with a double click on it.

 

 

 

Please note: If the new key is intended for a client application like DocumentsCorePack or TelephoneIntegration, you need to restart the Client application.

Otherwise, the setting will not be applied to the Client.

That’s it! We appreciate your feedback! Please share your thoughts by sending an email to support@mscrm-addons.com.



 


Advanced Settings "CreateActivitiesFor" in MS Dynamics 365

This feature extends the existing CreateActivitiesFor-property of DocumentsCorePack. This blog article covers the configuration, an example and the technical details of this feature. 

The configuration options allow template editors to define 

  • Recipient 
  • Regarding
  • Save Location  

of activities based on a template independently. For further information on DocumentsCorePack Template Designer, please have a look at the documentation. 

Configuration

The configuration requires a proper configuration of the DocumentsCorePack Server and you need to understand the fundamental MS Dynamics 365 (CRM) capabilities. 

To access the Advanced Settings, open an existing template or generate a new one. Then navigate to www.mscrm-addons.com , click on the [Insert MailMerge Fields]-button , open the Advanced Template Settings  and click on CreateActivitiesFor .

 Please note: Per default, only the "Recipient"-tab is displayed. You have to check the "Enable Advanced Settings"-checkbox (highlighted in red), if you want all three tabs to be shown. 

After enabling the Advanced Settings-checkbox, you can select the the RecipientRegarding and the Save Location for your template The options, which can be selected for each area, are displayed in a tree view. You can insert the required relation by clicking on the nodes  "Primary Contact (Contact)" and by double clicking on the correct option  "Contact" in this case  . 

 

The configuration is set for an Account Template and has the following effects:

  •  The Recipient of the generated activity will be the primary contact of the parent account of the Account Template. 
  •  The Regarding will be set to the Account directly.
  •  And the generated document will be saved to the configured location for the parent account of the Account Template. 

The example below shows the outcome of the configuration for this Account Template in more in detail.​

Example 

 The account mscrm-addons.com Corp ❶ with the parent account ptm EDV-Systeme  has a primary contact named Michael Dohr .

After saving this template, you can continue to create a document, either directly from Word by using the [Select Data]-button or by using the [Print in Word]-button within CRM.  Once done so, you get a merged document. 


In case of further document processing, you can use the [CreateCRMActivity]-button and e.g. generate a letter activity  and add the document to your SharePoint .
This process saves our generated document in the folder of the account (ptm EDV-Systeme) and defines the regarding to the account(mscrm-addons.com Corp). 
The recipient is the primary contact of the parent account of the account (Michael Dohr). 

Technical details

The third option (Save Location) also works for DocumentsCorePack ServerBased.

The option to define the Regarding and the Recipient are not available in DocumentsCorePack ServerBased as they can be set directly within the workflow.

The options effect the Create Activity-, the Save as...- as well as the Send as PDF-functionality of the DocumentsCorePack Client.

The outcome when selecting the Create Activity-functionality is described in the above example.

The outcome when selecting the Send as PDF-functionality is the same. 

When you select the Save as...-functionality, the recipient and the regarding-property are ignored. It only saves the generated document to the proper location that is configured with the DocumentsCorePack Server Configuration.​

That’s it! We appreciate your feedback! Please share your thoughts by sending an email to support@mscrm-addons.com.

 
 

 


How to upgrade your AttachmentExtractor Online Service license?

Our AttachmentExtractor (AE) Online Service Configuration allows users to configure AE easily online. For further information on how to configure AE Online, please have a look at our AE Online Configuration video.  

The minute your AttachmentExtractor (AE) license is invalid, it is recommended to check your license status and to react properly. This article outlines

  • how to view the license state of your service and
  • how to upgrade your license online.

 

A) How to view the license state of your AttachmentExtractor Online Service?

  1) Go to our website www.mscrm-addons.com and enter your credentials. 

 

 

2) Once registered, click on the [My Account]-button in the right upper corner.  

 

3) Now click on the my cloud services-section in order to get an overview on your subscriptions.

 

4) You are redirected to the window below, where you can select between DocumentsCorePack and AttachmentExtractor. After choosing AttachmentExtractor, please mark your service and click on the [View and Install License]-button.

 

 5) The license information window appears. A red cross always signalizes that a license is invalid. There are numerous reasons for an invalid license. 

In this example, the reason why, is that the user owns less site licenses than he actually needs. To overcome this issue, the user has to upgrade the license.

 

B) How to upgrade an AE Online license?

1) Please log in to your account on our website and open the Account Overview. Next, click on the [Modify package size]-button.

Figure 1: Modify your package 

2) Now you are redirected to the UpgradeSubscription-section. Please click on the [Upgrade]-button in the right lower corner. 

 

That’s it! We appreciate your feedback! Please share your thoughts by sending an email to support@mscrm-addons.com!

 

 


AttachmentExtractor Online Service Configuration

We have all been there. Working with Microsoft Dynamics 365 (CRM) is really great, but sometimes, the data storage costs go through the roof. And yes, saving data in Microsoft Dynamics 365 can be cost-intensive. Consequently, we solved this problem by creating AttachmentExtractor.

This blog article outlines how easy it is to setup the AttachmentExtractor Online Service Configuration. Additionally please also find our video tutorial for AttachmentExtractor that shows how to start the AE Online Configuration, here

The main advantages of the AttachmentExtractor Online Service are:
- There is no need for a local server anymore.
- All AttachmentExtractor features are available
- The configuration is easy
- The service is hosted and updated by our support team

Please follow the below step-by-step tutorial in order to start an AttachmentExtractor Online Service properly.

Step 1: Open the Online Configuration Service

One possible way to start a new AttachmentExtractor Online Service Configuration is via our website www.mscrm-addons.com. On our website, please navigate to Products, select AttachmentExtractor and then, click on the Configure Service button.

Figure 1: Open the Online Configuration Service

Next, login or register to mscrm-addons.com.

Figure 2: Login or register to mscrm-addons.com

 

The registration is quick and free. Once logged in, you will

- have access to all our free 14-days trial versions
- be able to request full support on all trial versions
- be allowed to purchase licenses
- receive our newsletter
- be able to upgrade free trial versions to licensed products

So – if you haven’t registered yet – it’s worth a try!

Step 2: The Online Configuration window

Once you have logged in, you will be provided with the Online Configuration window. 

Please note: If you have already configured a service, you get an overview of your hosted service(s) 

 If there is no service configured,  you can setup a service with a click on the [Add]-button .

Figure 3: Online Configuration window

Figure 4: Create a new AE Service

 

 

As soon as your organization appears in the Available Organizations section , click on the [Verify Connection & Save Profile]-button .

Verify your connection and save your profileFigure 6: Verify your connection and save your profile

 

Now the following window appears. It is important that you do not close this window or navigate away. 

Verify connectivity and permissionsFigure 7: Verify connectivity and permissions

You are now back on the same window as before. This window supports you creating a new service.

Create new AttachmentExtractor Online ServiceFigure 8: Create new AttachmentExtractor Online Service

Service Name
Please enter your service name here. But choose wise, because the name cannot be changed anymore         

AttachmentExtractor Instance
Please select on which instance the AttachmentExtractor Service should run. The instance with the highest bandwidth is automatically selected for you. 

SharePoint Integration
Please choose, if you would like to use the CRM integrated SharePoint or a specific SharePoint. If you want to use a specific SharePoint, you must enter a SharePoint path, which means you must enter a SharePoint URL that includes the library.

Storage Option for Entities without Document Management enabled
Entities without document management may be stored daily or weekly on a specific SP library. Else, you may decide which entities not to extract. 

SharePoint Credentials
Please insert the credentials of a SharePoint user with administrative access to your configured SharePoint here.

Extract
Using the drop-down menu of this option, allows you to decide what you would like to extract with AttachmentExtractor. Please select all options or only some of these options. The available options are:
           - Email Attachments
            - Note Attachments
            - Email Body
            - Note Body 


Please note: This section also allows you to configure an email or note subfolder, where your extracted emails or notes will be saved. 

Data processing
Please
specify if you only want to copy your attachments to SharePoint or if you want to extract them completely. Once extracted files will be replaced with a .url file which points to the extracted file on SharePoint. However, if you click on the [Extract – Replace data in CRM]-button, you will receive a warning. Please read it carefully, check the corresponding checkbox and select whether you want to copy or extract the files by clicking on the corresponding button. 

Figure 9: AttachmentExtractor Service Setup Warning

 

Minimum Attachment Size Filter
Please insert the minimum size a file should have in order to be extracted by your AttachmentExtractor Service here.

Only extract attachments older than
If you only want to extract attachments older than a certain amount of time, you can specify this here.

Show Advanced Options
A click on this button expands some options for the advanced configuration.

Please note: If you feel that the configuration so far satisfies your needs, you can save your service now with a click on the [Save Service]-button in the right lower corner and proceed with Step 6. But of course, the service can as well be configured on an advanced level, which can be done in the Advanced Configuration-section. This optional part of the configuration will be explained below.


Step 4: Set the Advanced Options (optional)

With a click on the [Show Advanced Options]-button, the settings of your new service can be refined.

Figure 10: Advanced Configuration Options

 

Enable debugging
In case of any issues during the extraction, we would recommend you to enable debugging by selecting this option. The log files will be available for download as soon as the service is saved. 

Stop service on critical errors
If you select this option, the service will automatically stop if a critical error occurs. This option is activated by default. 

Create SharePoint attributes
Enabling this option will create SharePoint attributes for transferred files.

❹ New folder per
Please select if new folders should be created on a weekly or a daily basis here. This option only applies to CRM Integrated SharePoint. 

Blacklist or Whitelist
Please decide whether you would like to use a black- or a whitelist here. Entities on the blacklist will NOT be extracted, while entities on the whitelist will be extracted.

❻ Notify on service changes 
Select this option in order to get an eMail every time there is a service change.           

❼ Skip solution import
If you select this option, the setup will assume that you have already imported all solutions that are necessary for the creation of an AttachmentExtractor service. If any solution is missing, the creation of the new service will fail.

❽ Skip role assignment
If you select this option, you will either have to create a custom role covering the required rights or you will have to manually assign the security roles. 

❾ Server Version
This field informs you about the current AttachmentExtractor version on your instance. 

Step 5: Save your service
No matter how detailed you have configured your service, please click on the [Save Service]-button in the right lower corner in order to proceed. 

Click on the [OK]-button in the window that appears now.

Figure 11: AttachmentExtractor Service Setup

 

Please note: Do not close the following window or navigate away as long as the serivce is saved. Instead, have a break and enjoy some coffee or tea.

Figure 12: Saving the service

 

Step 6: Service Configuration Completed

As soon as the service configuration is completed, you will be informed about the next steps you can take. Click on the License Status-option in order to check your license status. Please read the instructions carefully and click on the [OK]-button in order to proceed.

Figure 13: Service Configuration Completed

 

Step 7: Start your service

Congratulation! You have finished the configuration of your service. You are now redirected to the service configuration overview. Using the buttons at the end of the service overview, you can define which steps you would like to take next. Please find a brief description of the buttons below.

Figure 14: Configuration buttons

 

The [Add service]-button
Simply click on the [Add]-button (+) in order to create a new AttachmentExtractor Service. 

Please click on the [Configure Service]-button (monkey wrench) in order to modify the DocumentsCorePack Service settings. A double click on the service you would like to modify has the same effect. 

❷ The [View & Install License]-button
Click this button in order to check your license state or to install a new license.

❸ The [View Service Logs]-button
A click on this button will provide you with an overview of the latest event log entries for your service. Double-click a certain row in order to see details. 

❹ The [View Version Info]-button
Click this button in order to receive information on your CRM version and the AttachmentExtractor version.

❺ The [Play Service]-button
Click on this button in order to start your service. 

❻ The [Stop Service]-button
Click on this button in order to stop your service.

❼ The [View Progress & history]-button
A click on this button will provide you with an overview of the extraction progress and failed extractions.

❽ The [Reset extraction]-button
Click on this button in order to reset all previous extractions.

The [Move Service]-button and 
A click on this button enables yout to move the service to another instance.       

The [Delete Service]-button  
With a click on the Garbage bin, you have the possibility to delete a services.


Please note, that this step will delete the service configuration and the AttachmentExtractor Service, but it will NOT delete the CRM solutions referring to AttachmentExtractor. These solutions must be deleted manually.



That’s it! We appreciate your feedback! Please share your thoughts by sending an email to
support@mscrm-addons.com.


How do I configure navigation buttons to system views with SmartBar?

With version 2016.112 we introduce some major features for SmartBar, which allow an easier handling of multiple views and a smoother handling of count/color based buttons. For further information on how to add a range to color-coded buttons, have a look at this article

 

Add Multiple Views button

With version 2016.112 or higher, it is possible to move the same entity button more than once to the 'current on site'-section in the SmartBar settings. This allows you to rename the button and to add a specific view to it. This makes it possible for you to, e.g. create an "Activities - ALL"-button next to an "Activites - Closed"-button. 

 

To add a specific view to your button, you can simply edit an Entity Button (with a click on the [Gear icon]-button) and select a view from the Specific View-field, as highlighted on the below screenshot. This feature is available on both - metro and standard styling. 

 

This example will result in a button that only counts and shows your Closed Activities.

That’s it! We appreciate your feedback! Please share your thoughts by sending an email to support@mscrm-addons.com.

How to upgrade your DocumentsCorePack Online Service license?

The minute your DocumentsCorePack (DCP) license is invalid, it is recommended to check your license status and to react properly. This article outlines

  • how to view the license state of your service and
  • how to upgrade your license online.

 

A) How to view the license state of your DCP Online Service?

1) Follow the below link and enter your username and password.
http://www.mscrm-addons.com/language/en-US/LoginPage?returnurl=/language/en-US/Products/MS-CRM-2013/DocumentsCorePack/Cloud-Service-Configuration

Figure 1: Login to mscrm-addons.com

2) Once registered, click on the [My Account]-button in the right upper corner.  

3) Now click on the my cloud services-section in order to get an overview on your subscriptions.

Figure 3: My Cloud Services 

4) You are redirected to the DocumentsCorePack Online Configuration. Please mark your service and click on the [View and Install License]-button.

Figure 4: DCP Online Configuration

5) The license information window appears. A red cross always signalizes that a license is invalid. There are numerous reasons for an invalid license.
In this example, the reason why is that the user owns less site licenses than he actually needs. To overcome this issue, the user has to upgrade the license.

Figure 5: License information overview 

B) How to upgrade a DCP Online license?

1) Please log in to your account on our website and open the Account Overview. Next, click on the [Modify package size]-button.

Figure 1: Modify your package 

2) Now you are redirected to the UpgradeSubscription-section. Please click on the [Upgrade]-button in the right lower corner. 

That’s it! We appreciate your feedback! Please share your thoughts by sending an email to support@mscrm-addons.com!


How do I set a color-code range for SmartBar buttons?

With version 2016.112 we introduce some major features for SmartBar, which allow a smoother handling of count/color based buttons and an easier handling of multiple views. For further information on how to add navigation buttons to system views, have a look at this article

 

Count/colour based buttons

With version 2016.112 or higher, it is possible to color code SmartBar buttons and to set a range on SmartBar buttons. 

The result looks like this. You may add as many buttons as you wish. However, the button's range must be set in an ascending order.