News.mscrm-addons.com Blog

How to enable debugging - The overview

Thu, 22 Nov 2018 10:40:40 GMT

Please select the product and CRM version form the table below and follow the link to get redirected to a description of how to debug.

Product	CRM		Version
	2011	2013 and 2015/2016	MS Dynamics 365
SmartBar	x	Click here	Click here

RecordCounter	Click here	x	x

TelephoneIntegration	Click here	Click here	Click here

PowerSearch	Click here	Click here	Click here

GroupCalendar	Click here	Click here	Click here

DocumentsCorePack Client	Click here	Click here	Click here

DocumentsCorePack Server Based
ON PREMISE/IFD	x	Click here	Click here
ONLINE	x	Click here	Click here

AutoMerge	Click here	x	x

AttachmentExtractor
ON PREMISE/IFD	Click here	Click here	Click here
Online	x	x	Click here

ActivityTools	Click here	Click here	Click here

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

Click here

How to purge temporary data files

Tue, 02 Oct 2018 16:24:52 GMT

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!

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.

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.

SharePoint path limitation avoidance for AttachmentExtractor

Wed, 28 Mar 2018 14:03:14 GMT

SharePoint paths limitations are hard coded. The maximum path length is 260 characters. If that limit is exceeded, you get the SharePoint error 414. This article outlines how to avoid this error.

Minimum requirements: AttachmentExtractor v.124 or higher

mscrm-addons products offer several default ways to shorten SharePoint paths:

1) We provide you with a default shortening to a maximum of 30 characters + GUID for each folder name.
2) We provide you with a default shortening to a maximum of 128 characters for each file name.
3) ShortIDs: We create a 6-characters ID alternatively to the well-known 36 GUIDs of Microsoft Dynamics 365.
4) Use an alternative field for the generation of paths (e.g. instead of account name we can use a unique account number field).

Please note: Even though the creation of short paths is a very valuable feature, existing paths cannot be shortened anymore, unless very specific criteria are met. Manual interaction is always required.

How to activate a ShortID for AttachmentExtractor

1) First, you must activate ShortID for AttachmentExtractor. To do so, please follow the below path in order to get to the ShortID settings.

Please note: You must replace [YourServiceName] with your individual service name:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\PTM EDV-Systeme\AttachmentExtractorserver\Configurations\[YourServiceName]

2) Next, set UseShortID to true.

3) To define the cutting, you will have to create a new settingskey. If you have not created a settingskey yet, please have a look at this article.

Depending on which item you would like to customize, please enter the following settings:

For the maximum SharePoint folder name length:
SPMaxFolderLength: [number of characters that should remain]

For the maximum SharePoint file name length:
SPMaxFileLength: [number of characters that should remain]

For the minimum SharePoint file name length:

SPMinFileLength: [minimum number of characters that should remain]

Please note: The file extension is never cut!

For the SharePoint folder name attribute:

SPFolderNameAttribute: enittyschemaname;attributename|

For further information on how to correct SharePoint paths exceeding the limitations, please have a look at this blog article.

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

SharePoint path limitation avoidance for DocumentsCorePack

Wed, 29 Nov 2017 13:14:06 GMT

SharePoint paths limitations are hard coded. The maximum path length is 260 characters. If that limit is exceeded, you get the SharePoint error 414. This article outlines how to avoid this error.

Minimum requirements: DocumentsCorePack v.167or higher

mscrm-addons products offer several default ways to shorten SharePoint paths:

1) We provide you with a default shortening to a maximum of 30 characters + GUID for each folder name.

SharePoint folder maximum length:

This setting cuts SharePoint folder names that are longer than a certain amount of characters.

2) We provide you with a default shortening to a maximum of 128 characters for each file name.

3) ShortIDs: We create a 6-characters ID alternatively to the well-known 36 GUIDs of Microsoft Dynamics 365.

It is recommended to activate ShortId to avoid the SharePoint error 414 you get because of the path limitations of 260 characters. With ShortId we create a 6-characters ID instead of the 36 GUID like you can see in the example below.

How to activate a ShortID for DocumentsCorePack

To create a ShortID for DocumenstCorePack simply navigate to Settings > DocumentsCorePack in your Microsoft Dynamics 365 application.

Here, please add/enable the following options:

Use short Documentation Logic

The setting in the figure below cuts SharePoint path automatically.

4) Use an alternative field for the generation of paths (e.g. instead of account name we can use a unique account number field)

For the SharePoint folder name attribute:

SPFolderNameAttribute: enittyschemaname;attributename|

e.g.: Account:ptm_name

For further information on how to correct SharePoint paths exceeding the limitations, please have a look at this blog article.

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

Join us at eXtreme365 2017 in Long Beach!

Wed, 04 Oct 2017 10:57:31 GMT

Where will you be 6-9 November 2017? We will be at the eXtreme365 2017 in Long Beach as a silver sponsor, presenting our powerful solutions to the audience.

The event is an important conference for Microsoft Dynamics 365 partners with the following specials offering the possibility to connect with and learn from other partners, experts, implementers and developers:

Real-time strategy updates on Dynamics 365 and the Microsoft roadmap from key Microsoft global leadership including Ron Huddleston, James Phillips and Alysa Taylor.
Keynotes and sessions on how to effectively work with Microsoft with U.S. OCP leaders including Gretchen O’Hara (Go-to-Market Motion), Casey McGee (Build Motion), and Karen Del Vescovo (Sell Motion)
Real-time updates across the Dynamics 365 workloads with the concentration on Sales, Marketing, Field Service, Customer Service, Talent, and Finance and Operations.
Deep sales and technical content on the Intelligent Business Cloud components including the Common Data Service, PowerApps, Flow, Power BI, IoT, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, and Azure platform services.
Enrolling in the Executive Exchange gives you exclusive executive only access to deep-dive practice building sessions with Microsoft leadership and key industry experts.
In-depth pre- and post-event full-day training sessions will expand your knowledge of specific ISV products as well as the Intelligent Business Cloud platform and Dynamics 365 applications.

Register here to share strategies with peers, meet face to face with Microsoft leaders and dive deep into a bunch of interesting sessions and network opportunities. Whether it comes to strengthen your existing customer relationship or to make up new business connections, the value of eXtreme365 is outstanding! For full agenda go here.

We will be happy to expand the limits of Dynamics 365 with YOU! See you soon at BOOTH #10!

How to enable debugging for DocumentsCorePack ServerBased in Dynamics 365 (On-Premise)

Mon, 02 Oct 2017 15:39:01 GMT

This blog article outlines how to activate debugging for DocumentsCorePack Server Based. This step-by-step tutorial information refers to Microsoft Dynamics 365 only!

Please note: There are two options to activate debugging. It depends on if you have a service or not. If you do not have a service, you will only need to follow the steps of the first option. Else please follow both options and send us the debugging files of both options.

1) WITHOUT a service, activate debugging this way:

1) Please navigate to Settings > MSCRM ADDONS and click on DocumentsCorePack.

Figure 1: Click on DocumentsCorePack

2) In the so opened Getting-started surface, switch to the General settings-tab and set Active Debugging and Active File Debugging on 'enabled'.

Figure 2: Enable debugging

3) The debugging logs will be stored in your installation directory. For example in:

C:\Program Files (x86)\PTM EDV-Systeme GmbH\DocumentsCorePack Server for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 365\Log

If you do not have a service, please also take steps 4) and 5), otherwise proceed with the 2. option (WITH service)!

4) Repeat all the steps you took before until the error occurs! This is necessary to capture the error in our log-files.

5) Please send these files and a short description on which steps were taken to support@mscrm-addons.com.

2) WITH service, activate debugging this way:

1) Go to the start-pane on the server where you have your DocumentsCorePack ServerBased installed and search for the DocumentsCorePack ServiceManagement like you can see below.

2) In the so opened window, you have the possibility to activate debugging. But first, select the ❶ service you want to debug and ❷ stop it if it is active.

4) After these few steps, save your changes by clicking the [Save service configuration]-button and start your service again. From now on you will find all your debugging logs in the folder, which you defined as Logfile Path before.

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

DocumentsCorePack Online Scheme

Fri, 22 Sep 2017 10:50:02 GMT

This blog article outlines how the Cloud service structure for DocumentsCorePack works. Once a customer sends a document generation request the service will grab the request from Dynamics 365, retrieve the data, generate the document and push it back to Dynamics 365. Afterwards, the document can be accessed by customers.

As you can see in the figure below, the sequence of the document generation is as follows:

1) Document Generation Request:
Once a document generation request is triggered by a Dynamics 365 user or from a Workflow, a Dynamics 365 record called "AutoMergeWorkingItem" fets generated in Dynamics 365. Documents requests can be sent manually from our user-driven document generation wizard. Also, document requests can be triggered from within Dynamics 365-Processes using our Process integration.

2) Push Request to Document generation service in the Cloud:
As soon as the AutoMergeWorkingItem is saved, a web URL is called. This URL tells the Cloud-service that there is a new document to generate sitting in the Dynamics 365 environment. There is no data transfer at this point.

3) Document Generation:
The Cloud-service connects to Dynamics 365 using Dynamics 365 web services (secure communication via https) and loads both, the document to generate (template) and the Dynamics 365 data needed inside the document. There is no information stored on the VM that hosts the cloud service except debugging is activated - in that case, the data fetched from Dynamics 365 will show up in debug-files.

4) Send document back to Dynamics 365:
The generated document is sent back to Dynamics 365 using web services (secured communications via https). The document itself is never stored on the VM.

Please note: To communicate from the cloud-service to Dynamics 365 we use Server2Server authentification without the need to store login credentials on our end.

IMPORTANT: Customers with security concerns regarding our document generation services are eligible to install DCP either on their own Azure VM or on local hardware. Please note that for performance reasons an installation in the VM is recommended.

For Dynamics 365 Online customers the document generation service will be hosted in our Azure account. To ensure high performance it will be located in the same datacenter the Dynamics 365-instance itself is located. The installation can be done directly from our website http://www.mscrm-addons.com.

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

How to insert static images for e-Mail templates as a link

Tue, 12 Sep 2017 13:22:35 GMT

If you are using DocumentsCorePack to send e-Mail with images it is recommended to insert any pictures as links. If images are not linked they get embedded into the document. Many e-Mail clients, including Outlook, see such embedded images as a potential security risk and do display them correctly.

Microsoft Word allows you to link to an image. It is recommended to link to an image instead of adding the entire image to the Word file. This can be helpful especially if you are using many large images with many different documents, or many times in the same document. Also if an image changes often, you only have one image which needs to be changed once, instead of updating the image in each document whenever it changes.

How to link to an image in DocumentsCorePack templates:

1) Open your Microsoft Word and navigate to ❶ Insert and click on the ❷ [Pictures]-button. In this window, go to the ❸ File name field and enter the URL of the picture, you want to insert and then click the drop down for Insert and choose ❹ Link to File like you can see it below.

Please notice: The pictures you want to insert have to be saved on a webserver with access to the inserted resrouces! (e.g as image on your homepage "http://www.yourcompany/images/logo.png")

2) Next, navigate to ❶ Advanced Template Settings on the right side and select ❷ General. Here you have to select the second check box, that says ❸ "Do not export Picture-Link Images as Base64". The reason why you have to select this option is that otherwise the pictures get embedded even if you have inserted them as link into the document!

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

How to sort data in DocumentsCorePack with the Relationship Designer

Fri, 08 Sep 2017 11:26:11 GMT

This blog article outlines how to sort data in DocumentsCorePack templates by using the Relationship Designer.This tool allows you to sort your data individually.

1) First of all, open Microsoft Word and navigate to www.mscrm-addons.com. Next click on the [Insert MailMerge Fields]-button and prepare the data you want to sort, e.g. like in the example below.

2) Next, navigate to the right side and select ❶ Additional. Then select the data table you want to sort - in this case, ❷ Contact (table1) and click on the ❸ [Edit]-button.

3) In the so opened window, also called Relationship Designer, you can define how you want to sort your data. To do so, you first have to choose the ❶ Attribute and then the ❷ order you want to sort your data. In this example, we want to sort our data after the First Name Ascending, like you can see below. If you have more than one sorting Attribute, you can specify which should be first executed by setting a ❸ priority.

Please note: This function will sort you all records before these will be merged. After saving your template and merged it with Dynamics 365 data, the table should look like below.

It is also possible to sort grouped tables. For more information about how to group tables in DCP .docx templates, please have a look at this blog article.

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

Note title and description (Dynamics 365)

Fri, 08 Sep 2017 09:44:09 GMT

This blog article outlines how to apply special settings, in detail note title and description, to your DocumentsCorePack Template. You have to access the Template Settings Dialog, which is described step by step in this article.

1) First, navigate to ❶ www.mscrm-addons.com and click on the ❷ [Insert MailMerge Fields]-button. In the so opened tree on the right side, you have to click the ❸ [Advanced Template Settings]-button to open the Template Settings Dialog.

2) The Template Settings Dialog allows you to define your Template Settings individual and in detail. Navigate to ❶ General and go to the bottom of this window, to define your Note Title and Note Description. By clicking the ❷ Edit symbol of each option, you can select the fields that should be used in your Pattern. Several DocumentsCorePack properties support the same syntax. To learn more about the DCP syntax, please have a look at this article here.

A complete list of all the available properties can be found here.

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

Insert a page break after grouping section (Dynamics 365)

Wed, 06 Sep 2017 14:36:45 GMT

This blog article outlines the new feature in DocumentsCorePack (.docx) templates. This feature gives you the possibility to insert page breaks after every grouping section. For more information about how to group tables in DCP (.docx) templates, please have a look at this article here.

Please notice: This feature is only available for Dynamics 365.

After grouping your table by the field you want to define the grouping for (in this case, jobtitle), navigate to www.mscrm-addons.com and choose ❶ Table properties. In the so opened window, you have to select the second check box, that says ❷ "Insert Page break after each grouping header".

And the option does what it says, as you can see the result in the figure below. Every job title is automatically displayed on a new page.

How to group tables in DocumentsCorePack .docx templates

Tue, 05 Sep 2017 10:01:12 GMT

This blog article outlines how to group tables in DocumentsCorePack (.docx) templates. The DocumentsCorePack Grouping functionality gives users the possibility to define an optical sorting and thus, a separation for specific fields.

Please note: If the grouping headers are displayed repeatedly or if they are mixed up, please check the sorting that is set in the RelationshipDesigner. Please make sure that the grouping field is also the selected sorting field.

Example:

How to group tables for DocumentsCorePack templates properly:

1) First of all, open Microsoft Word and navigate to www.mscrm-addons.com. Then click on the [Insert MailMerge Fields]-button in order to create your table with DocumentsCorePack, like you can see it below.

2) Next, open the Additional-tab to create your table by inserting the appropriate MailMerge fields. The Additional-tab is necessary and has been designed to manage additional relationships. For more information about how to create relationships using the DCP Template Designer, please have a look at this blog article.

Join us at D365UG/CRMUG Summit 2017 in Nashville!

Thu, 31 Aug 2017 11:49:49 GMT

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 !

PowerSearch for Dynamics 365 - Extended Features

Thu, 31 Aug 2017 10:53:44 GMT

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.

How to create a SettingsKey manually in MS Dynamics 365

Wed, 02 Aug 2017 12:45:27 GMT

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.

Figure 2: MSCRM-ADDONS.com Products

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

Tue, 18 Jul 2017 08:50:43 GMT

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 ❶, click on the [Insert MailMerge Fields]-button ❷, open the Advanced Template Settings ❸ and click on CreateActivitiesFor ❹.

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 Recipient, Regarding and the Save Location for your template ❶. 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 ❷ .

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 ❷ has a primary contact named Michael Dohr ❸.

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 ❶ and add the document to your SharePoint ❷.
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?

Wed, 12 Jul 2017 12:30:14 GMT

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

Fri, 07 Jul 2017 14:50:36 GMT

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) ❶.

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

Figure 3: Online Configuration window

Figure 4: Create a new AE Service

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

Figure 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.

Figure 7: Verify connectivity and permissions

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

Figure 8: Create new AttachmentExtractor Online Service

❶ 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.

❷ 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.

❸ 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.

❹ 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

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

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

❼ 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

❶ 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.

❷ 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.

❸ 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.

❺ 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

❶ 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.

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

❿The [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?

Fri, 07 Jul 2017 14:39:54 GMT

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?

Fri, 07 Jul 2017 10:45:43 GMT

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!