mscrm-addons.com - Blog

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This blog is deprecated since July 2020.The articles below are no longer maintained and might contain outdated information.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

rss

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!


How to configure an Onpremise Service with CRM Online

This article outlines how to create a SettingsKey manually.
It is specifically designed to use Dynamics 365 online and to run the Service for DCP-Serverbased onpremise.
To configure a service properly for such a scenario you have to create an additional settings key.

To get knowledge how to create a SettingsKey manually in general, please click here.

Please open your Dynamics 365 in your Browser. 

Navigate to Settings -> MSCRM-ADDONS -> Products.
Open the Link to DocumentsCorePack and AutoMerge and display all records associated with this view (Button on the right side, next to the "+")

Please also deactivate the LBConfig Setting, if you are not using LoadBalancing. 

After clicking the button, you can see a list of all settingskeys.
By clicking the [ADD NEW MSCRM-ADDONS.com Settingkeys]-button you can create a new settingskey. 

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

How to purge temporary data files

Every time a document is created in Microsoft Dynamics CRM, a corresponding temp is created by the system. This step consumes a lot of database storage. This article provides step by step instructions on how to

A) find the correct temporary data files and how to
B) create a workflow that purges the temporary data files automatically

A) How to find the correct temporary data files

Step 1
Click on the [Advanced find]-button in order to open the Advanced find.

Figure 1: Open Advanced Find

 

Step 2
Open the Drop-Down-Menu next to the Look for:-field and select
MSCRM-ADDONS.com User/Temp Settings.
Click on the blue and underlined Select-fields in order to modify your search options equal to figure 2. Please notice that these are OR-criteria. 

Figure 2: Specify criteria  

Please select the following criteria (combine with OR-statement):

Name begins with AM_Doc
Name Equals DCPConcatenatedDocument
Name Equals SharePoint Doc converted
Name Equals SharePoint Template 
Name Equals DCPSaveToSharePoint 
Value Begins With print:?id=
Value Begins With fetch:<fetch
Value Begins With <DSSetting

Step 3 
Click on the [Results]-button in the Advanced Find-tab and…

Figure 3: Get results

 

Step 4
… be prepared to receive your results. Now you have two options. You can manage your temp data manually every day (which could be a little exhausting) or you create a workflow (which is explained below in part B)). 

B) How to create a workflow that purges the temporary data files automatically

Step 1
Open the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Settings and click on Data Management in the extension.

Figure 4: Open Data Management

 

Step 2
Please click on Bulk Record Deletion in the next window that opens.

Figure 5: Open Bulk Record Deletion

Step 3
Click on the [New]-button in the left upper corner.

Figure 6: Create new bulk record deletion

Step 4
The workflow wizard window opens. Click on the [Next]-button in order to proceed:

Figure 7: Workflow wizard

 

The wizard helps you to define your deletion criteria for your workflow. Open the Drop-Down-Menu next to the Look for-field and select
MSCRM-ADDONS.com User/Temp Settings
Click on the blue and underlined Select-fields in order to modify your search options. Please select the same criteria you have selected in Step 2. 
Please select the following criteria:

Name begins with AM_Doc
Name Equals DCPConcatenatedDocument
Name Equals SharePoint Doc converted
Name Equals SharePoint Template 
Name Equals DCPSaveToSharePoint
Value Begins With print:?id=
Value Begins With fetch:<fetch
Value Begins With <DSSetting

Step 5
In the next window, you can select your preferred scheduling and notification options. Decide when and how often the workflow should start, name it properly and set a notification (optional). Click on the [Next]-button in order to proceed.  

Figure 8: Select preferred scheduling and notification options

Step 6
The next window provides you with an overview of your settings. If you are fine with them, click on the [Submit]-button. Congratulations! You have just created a workflow! Smile 

If you want to change your settings, simply click on the [Back]- or the [Cancel]-button in order to cancel the workflow.  
Figure 9: Finalize workflow

 

Step 7
To modify your created workflows, simply set the My Bulk Deletion System Jobs in the [VIEW:] and find all your workflows listed.
9_bearbeitet
Figure 10: Modify workflow

Clicking on NEW will create a new workflow.
Clicking on PRINT will print the list.
Clicking on EXPORT TO EXCEL will export the selected data to Excel.
And clicking on the MORE ACTIONS dropdown menu provides you – surprisingly – with more actions like shown above. You can set a view as the default view, modify the recurrence and cancel, resume, postpone or pause your workflow.

 

Additional: How to delete the MSCRM-ADDONS.com Debug records

Setup another Bulk Deletion Job, this time for the MSCRM-ADDONS.com Debug entity:

Again, the wizard helps you to define your deletion criteria for your workflow. Open the Drop-Down-Menu next to the Look for-field and select MSCRM-ADDONS.com Debug.

This time you do not have to setup any special parameters as the Debug table does not contain any sensitive data. Setup the scheduling options again and submit your workflow, like you can see it below. 

 

 

Additional: How to delete the MSCRM-ADDONS.com  AutoMerge-Working-Items

Setup another Bulk Deletion Job, this time for the MSCRM-ADDONS.com AutoMergeWorkingItems entity:

Again, the wizard helps you to define your deletion criteria for your workflow. Open the Drop-Down-Menu next to the Look for-field and select MSCRM-ADDONS.com AutoMergeWorkingItems.

Setup the following parameters:

Status: Equals  =  Inactive
CreatedOn: Older Than X Days  =  7

 

 

Setup the scheduling options again and submit your workflow, like you can see it below.

 


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


How to open the fields.xml settings in Dynamics 365?

This article outlines how to open the fields.xml Settings.

The fields.xml Settings are server-side Dynamics 365-Settings.
There are 2 ways to open the Settings.

 

1)

This tab focuses on the advanced functionalities of the TelephoneIntegration Configuration.
Use it to view, copy and send the fields XML for support purposes.​

Navigate to Settings > MSCRM-ADDONS >  TelephoneIntegration in Dynamics 365. 

 MSCRM-ADDONS overview

 

When GetStarted-page of TelephoneIntegration opens, please switch to the Advanced-Tab.

 

To view the Field.xml-settings, select the [Show]-button

 TI Advanced Settings

 

The Fields.xml-window opens and displays the Settings-Code, highlighted in yellow in the figure below.
Now you can copy this text for example to send it to our Support-Team.

 Fields XML

Please note: Do not change the value manually.
Instead, use the TelephoneIntegration Server Configuration Tool in order to change the value.

To close the window, please click the [Cancel]-button.

 

If you have not received the desired result, please try the other way:​

2)

Navigate to Settings > MSCRM-ADDONS > Products > TelephoneIntegration in Dynamics 365. 

Then open the SettingKeys.  

 

There, you will find the fields.xml value.

Please note: Do not change the value manually.
Instead, use the TelephoneIntegration Server Configuration Tool in order to change the value.

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



DocumentsCorePack Online Service Configuration

This blog article outlines how easy it is to set up the DocumentsCorePack Online Service Configuration. Additionally please also find our video tutorial for DocumentsCorePack that shows how to start the DCP Online Configuration, here

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

Step 1: Open the Online Configuration Service
One possible way to start a new DocumentsCorePack Online Service Configuration is via our website www.mscrm-addons.com. On our website, please navigate to ❶ Products, select DocumentsCorePack and then, click on the  [Configure Service]-button.

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
  • 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 set up a service with a click on the [Add]-button .

 

 

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

 

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

 

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

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

❸ SharePoint Integration
Please select if you want to enable CRM integrated SharePoint, which allows DocumentsCorePack to connect to SharePoint and upload documents. Once you enable this option, two fields appear where you have to enter your SharePoint credentials. 

Show Advanced Options (Optional)
A click on this button, allows you to refine the settings of your new service.  More information about this options can be found in the corresponding documentation on page 19. 

Next, 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 (see figure below).

 

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

 

Step 3: 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.

 

Step 4: Watch your service running
Congratulation! You have finished the configuration of your service. You are now redirected to the service configuration overview. The DocumentsCorePack service is already running. 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 DocumentsCorePack buttons in the corresponding documentation at page 10. 

 

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

 



 


Heartbeat service restart behaviour

This blog article outlines how the heartbeat service restart behaviour works in case that Dynamics 365 is not available for some reason. For example, there is an update: after the update Dynamics 365 will work as usual, but not our services - they will stop. Therefore we provide the heartbeat service. 

The heartbeat service is verifying every service available in the WatchedConfigurations registry key. It runs every 5 minutes and verifies each service is in “Running” state.

Not running services are checked for 20 times every  5 minutes. If the service has still not been restarted after those 100 minutes, the heartbeat service will check and try to restart this service every 50 minutes for a total of 24 hours monitoring time of a particular service.

If a service still has failed to start after those 24 hours, the heartbeat service will stop trying to restart this service. 

Any service with the “AlwaysRestartService“ flag set will never be removed from the watched configurations, regardless of its state. 

 

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


How to activate per User Licensing in Dynamics 365

This article outlines how to activate a per User License in Dynamics 365 for ActivityTools, GroupCalendar, PowerSearch, SmartBar and TelephoneIntegration.

For DocumentsCorePack the first steps are the same. Please follow the link when you will be asked for.

When using “per User” licensing, it is mandatory to enable all users that should be licensed within Dynamics 365. Licenses for TelephoneIntegration are always per User. It is also possible to have per User licenses for ActivityTools, GroupCalendar, PowerSearch and SmartBar.
This example concerns the TelephoneIntegration license.

To check the license after installing via the License Manager please go to CRM->Settings->MSCRM-ADDONS-Tab.
Now choose the Addon you want to check the License for. In this case, we select TelephoneIntegration.

If you want to select DocumentsCorePack, please click here.

 

When the Get Started-page of TelephoneIntegration opens, please navigate to the Licensing-Tab. It often occurs, that after installing the license via the License Manager a window appears that looks like in the figure below: 

 

After installing the new license, the access is denied. This is due to the fact, that the user, that is running the license manager (usually an admin) itself is not a licensed user at this point. Click on the [Activate Users]-button to enable specific users.


In the window below, you can select the users, that should be licensed within Dynamics 365. 

 

After enabling users to use our addon, the red cross is gone, and the user account has changed due to the number of activated users. As you can see below, there are three of ten users enabled to use TelephoneIntegration.

 


How to activate a per User License in Dynamics 365 for
 DocumentsCorePack

Here we select DocumentsCorePack.

 

Licenses for DocumentsCorePack-ClientBased are usually per User.
It is also possible to have per User licenses for DocumentsCorePack_ServerBased (from Small to Enterprise package).

 

When the Get Started-page of DocumentsCorePack opens, please choose, if you want to activate Client license or Server license and go to the accordingly tab.
It often occurs, that after installing the license via the License Manager a window appears that looks like in the figure below:

 

After installing the new license, the access is denied. This is due to the fact, that the user, that is running the license manager (usually an admin) itself is not a licensed user at this point. Click on the [Activate Users]-button to enable specific users.
In the window below, you can select the users, that should be licensed within Dynamics 365. 

 

After enabling users to use our addon, the red cross is gone, and the user account has changed due to the number of activated users. As you can see below, there are three of ten users enabled to use TelephoneIntegration.

 

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


How to shorten an alias (Alias is longer than 128 characters)

This article outlines how to shorten an alias in DocumentsCorePack-TemplateDesigner when an error message appears that says: "Alias is longer than 128 characters"

Should you get an error that your alias is longer than 128 characters, please do the following steps.
Please note that the 128 character limitation is not from our side but is a standard limitation from CRM.

Open your relationships by editing them using the pencil symbol and navigate to fetchXML:

 

In the FetchXML View search for the long alias names that need to be shortened due to the character limitation from Dynamics 365:

 

Give it a short, descriptive name, only change the alias tag:

 

Switch back to the Designer View and click OK.

 

Afterward, it is necessary to reinsert all fields from that relationship.

 

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

 


How to build Multilevel-Relationships

In this example we build a Multilevel-Relationship from Quote > Quote Line (Quote Product) > Product. This might be needed as the Quote Product inherits the name of the parent product. Here you can see a simplified illustration of the structure in CRM: 
Structure of a Quote in Dynamics 365
Figure 1: Structure of a Quote-Product relationship in Dynamics 365

To get the values for the product we first need to resolve the relationship from Quote to Quote Line (Quote Product) and select the desired fields. This is a 1:N (one to many) relationship
Quote to Quote Line realtionship 1:N Figure 2: Quote to Quote Line realtionship 1:N 

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



How to add fields from the current user

This article outlines how to add fields from the current / executing user to a Template.

❶ Click on “Insert MailMerge Fields”

Figure 1: Insert MailMerge Fields

 

❷ Navigate to “Additional” and select “User Info” in the DropDown-Menu for “Add Relationship / Entity”

 

❸ You have now added a new relationship to the “User” record, which presents fields from the current user /executing user

 

 

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


Generate app password when using Office 365 connection type

This blog article describes how to proceed if you turned on multi-factor authentification and you are using apps that connect you to your Office 365 account. 

If you turn on multi-factor authentification you can still use the Office 365 connection type, but you need to generate for this user an app-password. An app password is a code that gives an app or device permission to access your Office 365 account. For example, if you're using Outlook 2016 or earlier with Office 365, you will need to create an app password.

Please follow the steps in the corresponding article from Microsoft about how to create an app password for Office 365.  

If you do not want to use an app password you should use the recommended way and use the Server2Server connection type when setting up our service. For more information about how to set up a service have a look the corresponding videos on our YouTube Channel: 

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