News.mscrm-addons.com Blog

How to configure unscheduled fetches in GroupCalendar

Thu, 13 Oct 2016 15:54:20 GMT

Since version 6.16 and higher of GroupCalendar for Microsoft Dynamics CRM, our add-on provides its users with the possibility to configure unscheduled activities in the GANTT view. This article outlines how to customize unscheduled activities properly.
Please note that basic knowledge of FetchXML is required if you want to configure these GroupCalendars’ settings. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact our support via support@mscrm-addons.com.

Basic information

First of all, you have to access GroupCalendar. To do so, please enter your CRM and click on Workplace > GroupCalendar. At the right side, you are provided with a drop-down menu that displays all/my unscheduled service activities or all/my unscheduled appointments (depending on which tab you use). Please note: In this example, we use the Service Activities-tab only, but the information applies as well to the Appointments-tab.

Figure 1: All & My unscheduled service activities in Microsoft Dynamics CRM

Per default, users can select between

All unscheduled service activities and
My unscheduled service activities

But of course, there is a possibility to customize these settings. Users can – for example – add other users and/or user combinations to the default unscheduled service activities, for example:

User A unscheduled service activities
User B unscheduled service activities
User C and D unscheduled service activities

Besides, also the search attributes can be defined.
For example: You could define unscheduled service activities as all service activities, that are marked yellow or blue.
Please note: This setting is a global one. But you could as well specify user-specific settings. In this case, you would first have to create the

UnscheduledFetch_appointment_USERID

settingskey. For further information on how to create a settingskey, please click here. Once the settingskey has been created, you can proceed as below shown.

So while user A would receive all yellow service activities, user B would receive all blue service activities as a result in GroupCalendar.

How to customize unscheduled fetches

Please note that basic knowledge of FetchXML is required if you want to configure these GroupCalendars’ settings. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact our support via support@mscrm-addons.com.

Anyway, to customize unscheduled fetches, navigate to Settings > MSCRM-ADDONS.com Products and open the products with a double click.

Figure 2: Settings > MSCRM-ADDONS.com Products

Now you are provided with an overview of all products installed. Please click on GroupCalendar in order to open the settings.

Figure 3: Open GroupCalendar

Next, look for Unscheduled Fetch* in the search-field. Thanks to the placeholder *, you do not have to search for the two solutions.

Figure 4: Look for Unscheduled Fetch*

However, basically both Unscheduled Fetch entries must be customized. Figure 5 shows how such a customization could look like.

Figure 5: Example for customization

Your work starts when it comes to the FetchXML –file. Please find an explanation of the fetch below.

Figure 6: Example Fetch

If you want to add a new filter, simply create a new configuration node with a corresponding name and FetchXML. Then, customize the so added fetch and save it.

Please refresh your Browser before you continue to work with your new settings.

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

(Blog still being reviewed)

Post-upgrade Steps for GroupCalendar Online

Thu, 27 Nov 2014 13:43:00 GMT

This article outlines the upgrade steps for GroupCalendar Online for MS CRM 2015. Please note: It only applies to GroupCalendar online!

Requirements: GroupCalendar (GC) Online for MS CRM 2015

After the upgrade of GroupCalendar to CRM 2015, it is highly recommended to perform the following steps to ensure full compatibility.

Please download the following CRM Solutions
- MSCRMADDONScomGeneral.zip (447.98 kb)
- GroupCalendarServerCore.zip (7.40 kb)
To install the solutions, please open your CRM and navigate to Settings > Solutions.

Figure 1: Settings > Solutions
In the All Solutions section, click on the [Import]-button in order to proceed and import them into your CRM system.

Figure 2: Import solutions
Follow the steps in the wizard to import the solutions. Please note: It is very important to upload the solutions in the order displayed in step 1.
After all solutions have been updated, please clear your Browser Cache and the Cookies. To do this, hit [CTRL]+[SHIFT]+[DEL] (works in every browser) and select the option that the Cache and Cookies should be deleted.

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

How to add GroupCalendar to a specific ribbon location?

Fri, 22 Aug 2014 12:09:00 GMT

This blog article explains how to add GroupCalendar to a specific ribbon location with XRM Tools.

Requirements: GroupCalendar for MS CRM

Please note: Make sure that you run the XRM Tools as administrator!

1) Connect with your CRM-system.

Figure 1: CRM-connection window.

2) Select the SiteMap Editor

Figure 2: Select SiteMap Editor

3) Now, click on the [Load Sitemap]-button in order to load your current CRM Sitemap.

Figure 3: Load SiteMap

4) In the next window, select the location where you want to store GroupCalendar in your CRM ribbon.

Figure 4: ToolBox-window

5) Next, select the ptm-WebApplicationPreloaderGroupCalendar webresource.

Figure 5: Select webresource

Once selected, please add the titles shown in figure 6, 7 and 8.

Figure 6: Add titles

Figure 7: Add titles I

Figure 8: Add titles II

6) Now all you have to do is to click on the [SiteMap]-button and to refresh your Browser in order to see the changes in CRM.

Figure 9: Update your SiteMap

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

How to install GroupCalendar for MS CRM Online

Thu, 03 Jul 2014 12:43:00 GMT

This blog article outlines how to install GroupCalendar for MS CRM Online.

Requirements: GroupCalendar for MS CRM Online

If you have purchased GroupCalendar, please follow the instructions below. Please note: after everything is set up and running DO NOT disable the user!

How to install GroupCalendar via AppSource

1) To open AppSource, navigate to https://appsource.microsoft.com/en-us/.

Figure 1: AppSource - find the right app

2) Please look for GroupCalendar in the Search field and click on the [Try]-button in the Group Calendar result box.

Figure 2: AppSource - look for GroupCalendar

3) Agree to the Group Calendars terms and conditions and click on the [Continue]-button.

Figure 3: AppSource - Agree to Terms and Conditions

4) You will be asked to sign in to Microsoft AppSource.

Figure 4: AppSource - Sign in

5) Once logged in, please add the application by agreeing to the terms and conditions and clicking on the
[I Agree]-button if you want to proceed.

Figure 5: AppSource - Add GroupCalendar Application

You are redirected to the CRM Online Administration panel. Here, you get an overview of all your installations.

Figure 6: AppSource - Administration panel

Please note: Because the CRM Online Administration panel does not refresh itself automatically, you have to refresh the window from time to time.

However, as soon as GroupCalendar installed, its status will be changed to Installed (see figure 7).

Figure 7: AppSource - GroupCalendar Installed

Now open CRM Online and click on Workplace > MyWork > GroupCalendar. The so opened window provides you with the information required to activate GroupCalendar.

Figure 8: Open GroupCalendar

Please follow the steps displayed in Figure 10 (Open the CRM Settings > MSCRM-ADDONS > GroupCalendar).
You are then provided with the GroupCalendar Getting Started surface. Please scroll down to the GroupCalendar Trial Request
section and enter your credentials there.

Figure 9: GroupCalendar trial request

As soon as you have finished, click on the [Register]-button and you will receive your 30-days trial version.

Additionally, you could also change the CRM access role in the office 365 portal. (this is optional).
To do so, simply click on roles and change the settings.

Figure 10: Change the CRM acess role in the office 365 portal.

If you have decided to change the roles, you must also change the user settings as shown in figure 11.

Figure 11: Set sign-in status to 'allowed' in office 365

Please note: Make sure that the user possesses the following roles:
- mscrm-addons general security role
- MSCRMAddonsAzureService
- MSCRM-ADDONS.com GCAutoUpdate

Please open the GroupCalendar Service User (Settings > Administration > Users) and set the MSCRMAddons service user to non-interactive access mode (to do so, please follow this blog article).
If the user is still counted by CRM dynamics licensing after being set to non-interactive, simply remove the CRM license from this user in the Office 365 Portal.

Now once again, open GroupCalendar in CRM (Workplace > My Work) and verify that everything works fine.

Enjoy GroupCalendar for CRM Online experience!

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

GroupCalendar Online 2013 post-upgrade Steps

Mon, 04 Nov 2013 16:07:00 GMT

Please note: This article applies only to GroupCalendar ONLINE!

After we have finished upgrading your GroupCalendar to CRM 2013, it is highly recommended to perform the following steps to ensure full compatibility.

Please download the following CRM Solutions and import them into your CRM system in the following order
- MSCRMADDONScomGeneral.zip (460.43 kb)
- GroupCalendarServerCore.zip (6.19 kb)
To install the solutions, please open your CRM and navigate to Settings –> Solutions and click on “Import”

Figure 1: CRM Solution Import
Select the files in the above order and follow the steps in the wizard to import the solutions.
After all solutions have been updated, please clear the browser cache and the cookies. To do this, hit CTRL+SHIFT+DEL (works in all browsers) and select that the cache and cookies should be deleted.

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

How to upgrade GroupCalendar for MS CRM 2011 to 2013

Fri, 04 Oct 2013 13:18:00 GMT

This article will show you how to prepare GroupCalendar on-premise and online for MS CRM 2011 for an update of your CRM system to 2013!

First of all, make sure that you have a valid addon-license for MS CRM 2013. NOTE: your actual GroupCalendar for MS CRM 2011 license is not valid for 2013. If you have a valid support contract, then you can order a new CRM 2013 license for free. For more information please contact our support-team

1) What to do before you upgrade your MS CRM system to 2013
IMPORTANT: in order to upgrade GroupCalendar on-premise for MS CRM 2011 to 2013, the current GroupCalendar version has to be 5.61 or higher! You can download and install the latest version from our download area at www.mscrm-addons.com.

To verify the current GroupCalendar version, start “Configuration – GroupCalendar for MS CRM 2011” from the start menu.

Figure 1: Verfiy GroupCalendar version

Following window appears:

Figure 2: Current GroupCalendar version number

2) Now you are ready to upgrade your MS CRM system to 2013
Once you have finished upgrading MS CRM 2011 to MS CRM 2013 you have to download the latest GroupCalendar for MS CRM 2013 version. With the installation of GroupCalendar for MS CRM 2013 the addon is updated automatically and ready to use for MS CRM 2013. All your settings are of course the same as before! For more information please read our GroupCalendar Installation Guide.

3. Install the new license for GroupCalendar on premise and IFD
The GroucCalendar on premise and IFD for MS CRM 2013 need a new license. Please contact support@mscrm-addons.com to get your new license and install it with the LicenseManager.

4. How to upgrade GroupCalendar online for MS CRM 2011 to 2013
Before you upgrade your MS CRM system to 2013, please consider following:

As soon as you have scheduled an appointment with Microsoft regarding the upgrade, please contact our support team and let us know. We will prepare the proper Windows Azure Server. After you have been successfully upgraded, please contact us so that we can upgrade your GroupCalendar to the CRM 2013 version. All your settings are of course the same as before.

To ensure fully compatibility of your GroupCalendar online, please follow the post-update steps described in this article.

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

How to change the default pinned/unpinned status of the GroupCalendar side pane

Mon, 08 Jul 2013 10:21:00 GMT

The GroupCalendar side pane (which holds the view settings etc.) is per default unpinned. With a manual user-based setting it is possible to change the default behavior so that the GroupCalendar is opened with a pinned side pane.

To do so, please open the Advanced Find.

Figure 1: Advanced Find

Select the entity MSCRM-ADDONS.com User/Temp Settings.

Figure 2: Select entity

Then click on Results. From there, you have the option New MSCRM-ADDONS.com User/Temp Settings.

Figure 3: Result

In this dialog, you can create a new user/temp setting. Please make sure that the NAME is OverviewPinned_[USERGUID].

[USERGUID] is the unique user ID of the CRM user for which you are configuring this setting. The GUID must entered without the brackets, i.e. OverviewPinned_0a19dcc6-b470-e011-b77f-00155dc8ae09

The VALUE could be either true (for pinned) or false (for unpinned).

Figure 4: Set value for user/temp setting

Hereafter, please restart all browser windows to clear the session cache.

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

Installing GroupCalendar and ActivityTools in an IFD/Claims-Based-Environment

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 20:09:00 GMT

This blog article will walk you through the required steps on how to install GroupCalendar and ActivityTools in a claims-based environment.

This article is valid for GroupCalendar for CRM 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2016 but only for CRM 2013 and older versions of ActivityTools. From CRM 2015 onwards ActivityTools does not have to be configured for IFD anymore!

The steps are the same for both products, so instead of an explicit product name, we will use the term the addon in this guide.

The IFD configuration for the GroupCalendar is as follows:

IFD-Tool -> Download Link you must have a login on our web site
For installing GroupCalendar you need at least version 5.12 from our Download Section
For installing ActivityTools you need at least version 5.13 from our Download Section

Before you start the installation, make sure that MS CRM is working correctly in IFD/Claims-Mode, including your ADFS, which should be installed correctly and configured to work with MS CRM.

More details on how to configure MSCRM for IFD/Claims can be found in the Microsoft Guide Configuring Claims-based Authentication for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Download

The following system configuration is the base for our guide.
Your setup will differ in these URLs, make sure you are replacing the URLs with your own URLs when following the guide.

Internal Url used to access Microsoft Dynamics CRM:
https://internalcrm.rc1ifd.ptm-edv.at

External Url used to access Microsoft Dynamics CRM:
https://[orgname].rc1ifd.ptm-edv.at

AD FS Server:
https://win2008domain.ptm-edv.at

The addon itself also requires a dns name:

https://activitytoolsserver.rc1ifd.ptm-edv.at (for ActivityTools)

https://groupcalendarserver.rc1ifd.ptm-edv.at (for GroupCalendar)

Basic installation/configuration of the addon:

Install the addon on the CRM Server.
You will be asked for the Logon Information. Fill in the internal IFD name of your CRM. In our case it is internalcrm.rc1ifd.ptm-edv.at
Now select the organization on which you want to install the addon and click on the [OK]-button.

Figure 1: Connection dialog
After the installation has finished, you have to open the IIS ( inetmgr.exe ) and go to Sites > the addon WebSite. Right click the ActivityToolsserver or GroupCalendarserver - WebSite and select Edit Bindings...

Figure 2: Select Edit Bindings...

On the Bindings, click on the [Add...]-button and select in the Add Site Binding the type https.
You also have to specify the port. In our example we use 4446

Figure 3: Add Bindings

With that we have made the website available for https. Now click on the [OK]-button.
Reselect the addon website and double click on the Authentication-item in the right side details pane.
Verify that the options Anonymous and ASP.Net Impersonation settings are enabled. ( Anonymous must be disabled with non IFD systems).
The addon URL must be added to your DNS Server.
Your DNS-Servers have to resolve the activitytoolsserver.[your-domain] or groupcalendarserver.[yourdomain] names correctly. That means, they should resolve it with the same IP-address your CRM Server has.
Please note: IF you are have an external DNS, make sure that both external and internal DNS are able to resolve the URL.
Extract the IFD-Tool (.zip-File), that you have downloaded before and execute the IFDSetupWizard.exe.
Follow the steps in the IFD Setup carefully.
Open your CRM in Internet Explorer and go to Settings > MSCRM-ADDONS.com Products > Open the addon. In the MSCRM-ADDONS.com Products form, select the MSCRM-ADDONS.com Settingskeys and search for the WebApplicationPort entry.

Figure 4: mscrm-addons.com Settingskeys
Open the WebApplicationPort and replace the existing KeyValue with the following:
[httpsPort]|[httpPort]|[claimsbased]|[addonname]|[debugging]

e.g.:
4446|5557|true|activitytoolsserver|false

We have finished the configuration of the CRM part and now need to configure the AD FS.

Please logon your AD FS Server and start AD FS 2.0 Management.
On the Actions menu located in the right column, click Add Relying Party Trust.
In the Add Relying Party Trust Wizard, click on the [Start]-button.
On the Select Data Source page, click on Import data about the relying party published online or on a local network, and then type in the URL to locate the federationmetadata.xml file.

This federation metadata is created with the IFD-Tool on the CRM Server. For example:
https://activitytoolsserver.rc1ifd.ptm-edv.at:4446/FederationMetadata/2007-06/FederationMetadata.xml

Type this URL in your browser and verify that no certificate-related warnings appear.
Click on the [Next]-button.
On the Specify Display Name page, type a display name, such as ActivityTools IFD, and click on the [Next]-button.
On the Choose Issuance Authorization Rules page, leave the Permit all users to access this relying party option selected, and then click on the [Next]-button.
On the Ready to Add Trust page, click on the [Next]-button, and then click on the [Close]-button.
If the Rules Editor appears, click on Add Rule. Otherwise, in the Relying Party Trusts list, right-click the relying party object that you created, click Edit Claims Rules, and then click on Add Rule.
Please note: Make sure the Issuance Transform Rules tab is selected.
In the Claim rule template list, select the Pass Through or Filter an Incoming Claim template, and then click on the [Next]-button.
Create the following rule:
• Claim rule name: Pass Through UPN (or something descriptive)

Add the following mapping:
i. Incoming claim type: UPN
ii. Pass through all claim values
Click on the [Finish]-button.
In the Rules Editor, click on Add Rule, and in the Claim rule template list, select the Pass Through or Filter an Incoming Claim template. Then click on the [Next]-button.
Create the following rule:
• Claim rule name: Pass Through Primary SID (or something descriptive)

• Add the following mapping:
i. Incoming claim type: Primary SID
ii. Pass through all claim values
Click on the [Finish]-button.
In the Rules Editor, click on Add Rule.
In the Claim rule template list, select the Transform an Incoming Claim template, and then click on the [Next]-button.
Create the following rule:
• Claim rule name: Transform Windows Account Name to Name (or something descriptive)

• Add the following mapping:
i. Incoming claim type: Windows account name
ii. Outgoing claim type: Name
iii. Pass through all claim values
Click on the [Finish]-button and when you have created all three rules, click the [OK]-button to close the Rules Editor.

You have finished the configuration and you should be able to use the addon in your IFD/Claims Environment now.

Troubleshooting:

Error message:

Figure 5: Error Message

Reason:

This indicates you are using a wrong certificate for the ADFS signing.

Solution:
Make sure the thumbprint in the web.config matches the one the token signing certificate in ADFS.

Error message:

Figure 6: Error Message

Reason:

This error could (also) indicate access rights problems with the certificates private key (mainly an issue for self signed certificates).

Solution:

Open your certificate store on the server (MMC, add certificate snapin for local computer) and find your HTTPS certificate. In the context menu, under all tasks select the manage private keys option and grant access to everyone.

Checklist for general troubleshooting:

Is the Setting WebApplicationPort still intact?
Are there any not http/https bindings in CRM?
Are there any not http/https bindings in the product website?
Is the DNS correctly resolving the products link?
Has the ConnectionProfile been created with IFD as connection type?

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

How to enable debugging for GroupCalendar

Tue, 05 Apr 2011 11:16:00 GMT

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Please note: This article applies to Group Calendar in
MS Dynamics CRM 2011, 2013, 2015, 2015/2016
and MS Dynamics 365

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

This article only refers to GC ON PREMISE.
In case you have troubles with GC ONLINE, please contact our support via support@mscrm-addons.com

Debugging for GroupCalendar is very easy, because there is only one way to do so:

Activating debugging via the Web.config.

How to activate debugging via Web.config

Open the Web.config.

This file is located in the installation directory:

(C:\Program Files\PTM EDV-Systeme GmbH\GroupCalendar the “debug” setting and set this value to “true”.

Figure 1: web.config add key

You can find the logfiles in the directory which is specified in the “debug FileLocation”- setting

Only enable debugging when you have to send us the debug files. Disable it by setting the value to "false".

That's it! Should you have further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us via support@mscrm-addons.com