Archive for August, 2008
Monday, August 25th, 2008
1. Ensure You Are Running The Most Current Version of Microsoft Internet Explorer -
- Version 7.0 Is Available for Download Here
- Please Note: Mozilla Firefox is not officially supported by Microsoft. However, a plug in is available which enables its usage: Power Objects Blog
2. Add The CRM Webpage To The List Of Local Sites-
Open Internet Explorer - Select Tools > Internet Options from the Pull-down menu-
Click the Security Tab on the displayed form
- Click The Local Intranet Zone Icon, then Click the Sites Button
- In the Local Intranet Form, Click Advanced
- Now We Must Add the URL to Our List of Intranet Sites. Type the URL of your CRM site [ask your CRM administrator if unsure] into the Text Box with the Label ‘Add This Website to the Zone.’ Be sure to click Add after typing the site name, then click Close
3. Disable Certain Advanced Features
- After Adding the Site to the Local Intranet Zone and clicking close, we should still be looking at the Internet Options Form. Click the Advanced Tab
- A list of Advanced Settings Will Be Displayed. Scroll down Until we Find the Security Heading
- Configure the Highlighted Checkboxes exactly as they appear below. Ensure the TWO HIGHLIGHTED FIELDS ARE UNCHECKED. Click OK when finished. [Do Not Save Encrypted Pages To Disk and Empty Temporary Internet Files folder when browser is closed]
4. Add the CRM Site to the List of Sites with Allowed Pop-Ups
- Within the Internet Options Form, Click the Privacy Tab
- Under the Pop-up Blocker heading, click the Settings Button
- Type the URL of your CRM site [if unsure ask your CRM Administrator] into the ‘Address of Website to Allow’ Text Box, then Click Add. The address will be added to the list of allowed sites after clicking add. Click Close after verifying the address has been added to the list
5. Run The Outlook CRM Client Diagnostic Tool - Please Note: This Step is only available to users who have installed the Microsoft Office Outlook Client for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 available Here - After Installing the Outlook Client for CRM, we would like to run a Diagnostic Utility that will check 300 different settings to ensure they are optimized for usage of the Outlook Client. - To Access the Outlook Diagnostic Tool, navigate to Start Menu > Programs > Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 > Diagnostics
- When The Diagnostic Utility Starts, click the Run Diagnostics button
- The Diagnostic Process will now start. This process should take anywhere from 2 to 10 minutes to run.
- After the diagnostic completes, the results will be displayed within the same window. Anything the diagnostic discovers will be flagged with either a Red X or a Yellow Exclamation Point (!). Clicking the Fix or Fix All button will attempt to fix the detected issue. Click Save when finished.
Posted in Dynamic CRM 4.0, Dynamic Online CRM | No Comments »
Wednesday, August 13th, 2008
In CRM, there is option to display label per section on a form. This can be done easily at design time.
Incase you need to display information in multiple columns with headings for each column, the design time does not support this. To get the desired effect, you can write JS.
The script below has comments and is self explanatory. Use IDE Dev toolbar to get IDs where needed.
//*****************
//Set Address Title
fncChangeAddressTitle = function()
{
//get a hande to the tab containing our form fields
var objTab = document.getElementById('tab0');
//locate all of the HTML Tables on the Tab
//select the ID of table in which you want to show column headings. It will stay consistent
var objTable = document.getElementById('{5779eb54-a281-4f49-924f-7dad336c7107}');
if (objTable != null)
{ //Get the table element to show headings
var objCells = objTable.getElementsByTagName("td");
//Get cell that has Title
var objCell = objCells[0];
var strHtml = '<table width=100%><tr><td width=50%><b>Home Address</b></td>
<td width=50%><b>Business Address</b></td></tr></table>'
objCell.innerHTML = strHtml;
}
}
Posted in Dynamic CRM 4.0, Dynamic CRM 4.0 - Installation / Errors | No Comments »
Monday, August 11th, 2008
Greetings!
One of the most frequently requested customizations we receive from our clients is to add new views to default set of system views that come out-of-the-box from Microsoft. It seems as though most users are hesistant to play around with the system’s ability to add new views out of fear that it may be too difficult or complex. This could not be further from the truth. The customization abilities packed into MSCRM are easy to use and almost easier to learn HOW to use them.
Below are some simple steps to get you started in creating and customizing views. Using the below instructions as a framework, you should be able to come up with some pretty exciting combinations to fufill your business needs!
1. In CRM, navigate to Settings > Customization > Customize Entities
2. In the list of customizable entities that is displayed, Double click on whichever entity you want to add a view to.
3. A form will now be displayed that will give and overview of the Project entity. On the left nav column of this form, please click ‘Forms and Views’
4. The main display area of the form will now list the Forms and Views that are available for this entity…You will see that we currently only have the default views: Lookup, Advanced Find, Associated, Quick Find, Active and Inactive. Whichever view is tagged with “Default Public View” will be the view that is automatically displayed when you navigate to the entity from within CRM. To change the Default View, highlight the view you wish to make the default, then select “Set Default” from the More Actions pull down menu.
As you can see, enabling certain views to be the default view for a given entity is not difficult at all. It is perhaps more challenging to decide which view to use!
Microsoft Dynamics CRM also provides a very easy to use interface for creating and editing existing views as well. All of the customization options are available on the same menu from which we set the default view…
1. To create a new view, simply click the ‘New’ button on the main action bar.
2. After click the ‘New’ Button you will receive a screen prompting you to name your new View. I called this one ‘My Projects’ but you could call it Nancy if you want!
3. After assigning the name you will now see a screen where we will do all the creation of our new view. Right now, only 1 column (name) is included. To add aditional columns, simply click the “Add Columns” button on the right hand side of the form.
4. Now we can choose what kind of information we want to include in the view. Since we are going to create a view of “My” projects we should include Owner so we can determine if the sort criteria we are going to add next apply properly. Choose whichever information and fields would be the most beneficial to you; simply mark the check boxes of attributes you want to include, and when that is completed, simply hit ok.
5. After we select the column to include, they will now appear in our “preview” view when we hit ‘Ok’. Keep in mind, we can change the order of columns by clicking the green left and right arrows.
6. Microsoft Dynamics CRM also provides an easy way to configure (seemingly) complex sorting of the newly created views. For instance, if we wanted to configure this new view to display only Projects owned by the current CRM user, we can add that type of functionality by clicking on “Edit Filter Criteria”
7. You should now see a GUI that is very similar to the one that is used to create custom reports and advanced finds. Using the drop down boxes, we can create any combination of filtering options that we can think of. Need to see a list that is sorted by Owner = Active Users from Ohio? A list that does NOT include Active Users from Ohio? All of these combinations are possible using the drop down menus (including some combinations I did not mention).
8. Our new view should be ready to be used. Before we can go test it out in the system we must make sure to click ‘PUBLISH’! (The easiest step is often the one most frequently forgotten!) �
That’s it! No coding, algorithims or If/Then trees required to create some fairly complex views! Using the few methods listed above, a discerning CRM user will be able to create any view to fit the needs of a business. That is the hallmark of MSCRM: it’s ability to seamlessly match the technology with a business’ need.
Posted in Dynamic CRM 4.0 | No Comments »
Monday, August 11th, 2008
Salesforce.com’s rise to prominence within the CRM industry has been a study in the meteoric rise from small start-up to globe-trotting goliath. Originally started in 1999 by a former Oracle executive (Marc Benioff), Salesforce today boasts revenues of nearly $750 million and a large market share in the on-demand segment of the CRM spectrum. Many observers feels that Salesforce’s on-demand, Software as a Service (SaaS) offerings are the wave of the future when it comes to CRM. Microsoft has recognized the desire by some organizations for this type of implementation and team CRM Dev team at Microsoft has responded with features that rival SF.com with the latest edition of Microsoft Dynamics CRM.
While it would be easy to dismiss our analysis of the pros and cons of Salesforce.com -v- Dynamics CRM 4.0 as simple “propaganda” from over-zealous Gold-Ceritifed Microsoft partners, the cold-hard facts do not have any bias. The product from salesforce.com has a number of limitations, and the limitations of salesforce.com have become increasingly glaring, especially since the release of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0. The goal of this blog is to give an even handed look at the main differences between these two competing systems. As stated above, while we are Microsoft Gold Certified Partners, we do believe in advising our clients of ALL their options…Here is a look at salesforce.com:
CONFIGURATIONS AVAILABLE
Salesforce.com: On-Demand Only (SaaS).
MSCRM: On-Demand, On-Premise and Partner Hosted Available.
COST
Saleforce.com: Group Edition (5 users): $1,200/month , Unlimited Edition: $195 per user/month, Enterprise Edition: $125 per user/month, Standard Edition: $65 per user/month
MSCRM: CRM Live Professional Plus Edition: $59 per user/month, CRM Live Professional Edition: $44 per user/month. ((Keep in mind that there are On-Premise and Partner-Hosted solutions available as well. Also, the primary difference between Professional Plus and Professional is the ability to use offline access. It is is included with Professional Plus, but not with Professional.))
INTERFACE:
Salesforce.com: Web Based Access Only
MSCRM: Web Based Access AND Native Access Through Microsoft Office Outlook
OFF-LINE ACCESS
Salesforce.com: Only available in Unlimited and Enterpise Editions
MSCRM: Included via the Microsoft Office Outlook Client (for CRM Live Professional Plus, Partner-Hosted and On-Premise Installations)
DATABASES
Salesforce.com: No Dedicated Database. Storage limited to 1GB or 120MB/user for all versions.
MSCRM: Dedicated Databases. Storage varies from 20GB to 5GB depending on installation
WEB SERVICES INTEGRATION
Salesforce.com: Only Available in Unlimited and Enterprise Editions
MSCRM: Supported by ALL versions.
SECURITY ISSUES:
Salesforce.com: Salesforce has tried to keep this under wraps, but in November 2007 Salesforce’s databases were infiltrated as a result of a phishing scam on a Salesforce employee. There is no way to know how much customer data was compromised, as the company has been tight-lipped about the leak, but the compromised accounts were used in subsequent “spear phishing” attacks on Bank of America and other Salesforce customers. The company has not revealed whether any financial damage was done as a result of the attack and has remainded mum when pressed for details. This is an inherent problem with Salesforce.com; as much as the company attempts to secure their data, ALL of their customer data is available in one easy location for unscrupulous hackers to obtain.
MSCRM: Decentralized Data Storage. With Salesforce, one attack exposed every customer to a potential security threat. With the variety of installations available for MSCRM, there can be a higher degree of concern placed upon security. Integrate into your existing security framework via On-Premise solutions, or be certain of security on the web via HTTPS access and Windows Live ID sign ins.
While this list is certainly not intended to be an exhaustive analysis of Salesforce.com versus MSCRM, I feel that the above issues are some of the biggest “talking points” when it comes to these two competing products. While Salesforce.com may’ve had an advantage in previous years due to the inadequacies of previous versions of Dynamics CRM, the newest version of MSCRM has truly set Microsoft appart from the competition. Many of these features must be seen to be believed!
As always, you can request a free demo of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 directly from the CRM experts at PowerObjects by clicking this link. We can have a demo site deployed to you in short order, and our friendly staff of dedicated professionals is standing by, waiting to answer any questions you may have. Finally, keep in mind that we offer customized solutions to meet a variety of unique business needs. Please feel free to contact us and we will gladly chat about what CRM can do for your business!
Posted in CRM Competitors, Dynamic CRM 4.0, Dynamic Online CRM | 3 Comments »
