Some of you must have been working with Dashboards since CRM 2011 and back in the days it was possible to get URL of the dashboard from the form editor.

Some of the posts for CRM 2011 like this one will guide you through the process: it was fairly straight forward

http://www.dynamicscrmpros.com/integrating-a-microsoft-dynamics-crm-dashboard-into-any-entity/

This button is not available on the current versions (CRM 2015 or CRM 2016).

I recently had a requirement to achieve this and research on how to open dashboards separately for one of my clients.

So, after some drilling through – I got my way through. This is not documented, so is not supported:

Open All Dashboards:

CRM Server URL (for eg https://orgname.crm4.dynamics.com) + “/workplace/home_dashboards.aspx?sitemappath=SFA%7cMyWork%7cnav_dashboards”

Here is a result from Vanilla CRM 2016 Online organisation:

Open Specific Dashboard:

CRM Server URL (for eg https://orgname.crm4.dynamics.com) + “/dashboards/dashboard.aspx?dashboardId=[DashboardGUID]&dashboardType=1030&pagemode=iframe”

To get the Dashboard GUID you can go to Settings->Customize the system->Dashboards. Open your dashboard from there and the GUID will be available in URL.

Hope it helps and Happy CRMing!

If you liked the post, Please share in your network and mention in the comments below.

Trying to Learn Dynamics CRM: Download!

Learn Dynamics CRM App on Google Play store

One of our clients is running on CRM 2015 Update 1 online organisation.

We were getting a weird error while hitting Debug button on Plugin profiler, when we try to load profile on the plugin registration tool: 

Unhandled Exception: System.ArgumentException: Unable to parse the OrganizationServiceFault.

Parameter name: serializedReport

   at PluginProfiler.Library.ProfilerUtility.ExtractReport(String serializedReport)

   at PluginProfiler.Library.ProfilerUtility.DeserializeProfilerReport(String assemblyFilePath, String logFilePath, Boolean isCrmDataStream)

   at PluginProfiler.Library.ProfilerExecutionUtility.RetrieveReport(String logFilePath, Boolean isCrmDataStream)

   at Microsoft.Crm.Tools.PluginRegistration.CommonControls.Helper.ParseReportOrShowError(Window window, FileBrowserView profilePathControl, Boolean requireReportParse, ProfilerPluginReport& report)

Inner Exception: System.InvalidOperationException: Message does not contain a serialized value.

   at PluginProfiler.Library.ProfilerUtility.ExtractReportFromFault(OrganizationServiceFault fault)

   at PluginProfiler.Library.ProfilerUtility.ExtractReport(String serializedReport)

Resolution:

For Earlier version MVP Aileen @aileengusni shares a solution here: http://missdynamicscrm.blogspot.ie/2014/05/debug-crm-2013-using-plugin-profiler.html

I went out to community for help and MVP Andrii @a33ik came up with the solution. The new way to debug a CRM plugin especially useful for online is here(along with a cool Video tutorial):

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/devkeydet/archive/2015/02/17/debug-crm-online-plugins.aspx

Hope it helps you and Happy CRMing!

Last week one of my Microsoft friends reported an error on ERD generator connecting to CRM online. It always worked well until some days ago. Now often occurs an errors about a timeout:

TimeoutException: The request channel timed out while waiting for a reply after 00:01:59.7350618. Increase the timeout value passed to the call to Request or increase the SendTimeout value on the Binding. The time allotted to this operation may have been a portion of a longer timeout.

I was trying to figure out why it is happening. A little digging told me the reason, CRM online has a limit of 2 minutes for execution timeout.

Increase the timeout value by setting

ServiceProxy.Timeout property(Timespan)

Further reading: https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/crminthefield/2011/06/13/microsoft-dynamics-crm-timeout-settings/

Hope it helps and Happy CRMing!

Have anything similar to share? Please leave in the comments.

It always feels great when you are not only able to write down what you want to communicate but are also able to go to various forums to tell about what you are doing and gain about experiences. CRM just gave me that chance.

I went to my college in heart of India during my trip there and shared experiences about not only Dynamics CRM but also about blogging.

I did learn a lot from this young minds. They are talented and Industry has shortage of skills, so more initiatives like this can bridge the gap for industry.

New Products or Apps to be made, this are among the brightest talent pool out there who have lot more enthusiasm and vigour than lot of people I have seen in the industry.

Me in a very animated mode trying to answer why Customer relationship management is needed?

I also did talk about Blogging a bit:

At the end,  received a trophy for memories.

Hope it helps and Happy CRMing!

In case you want me to come and talk in your forum on CRM, Microsoft technologies or blogging, just leave a response. I am always in for such interactive sessions.

Dynamics CRM is nice tool when trying to spin and maintain an organisation quickly in the cloud or needing an on premise version. Having said that, it is also a tool which makes it challenging and asks for innovative design when trying to design data migration specially while working with CRM online.

Fellow MVP and Expert @ScottDurow had once tweeted me to right about some tips for effective data migration, I am nearing an end to a big CRM online Migration from Sales Force and found it the right stage and experience to put down few learnings in this blog.

· Perform an up-front migration impact assessment

The fact is that what your data does now and what it will do in the target environment is completely different. You need to assess the quality of data both in the current legacy environment and also against the needs of the target environment.

By performing an impact assessment upfront, you can quickly identify hotspots.

· Focus on impact of delayed migration on Business Processes

Using best practices will be an investment which will help your dynamics CRM implementation buy providing guaranteed success for Business Processes to run on the system in a timely manner.

· Tell Early about the impacts of Poor Data migration practices

Telling early about the impacts also helps. Lot of Disruption and delays during the load phase as records are rejected is a potential for disaster. Broken Business services when the target CRM system goes live will have a knock on effect not only on the CRM system but also on integrating and dependent systems. Increased costs overall as the cost of delay and fixing will increase because of bad practices.

· Deep Understanding of data migration best-practices so you show the efficacy of the best practices

A common problem with this point is lack of proper training and content on Data migration best practices. Without proper Data migration experience, it is very difficult to show the efficacy of the best practices.

· Show benefits to all different stakeholder to align for best Migration strategy

For example using a migration tool can be an enhancement to the productivity of the IT team. At the same time, a guarantee to Business continuity will help the Business user going with the best Migration strategy. Win- win for all is when all involved stakeholders find benefits in the strategy and do not merely think of it as a process overhead.

Hope it helps and Happy CRMing!

Additional Read From a great CRM MVP Gustaf: http://gustafwesterlund.blogspot.ie/2016/02/tips-when-migrating-using-excel.html

Do you have any learning/tips to share? Leave it in the comments and I will include it in a follow-up or the same blog!

Here is a list of CRM 2016 blogs from MSDYNAMICSBLOG

{CRM 2016 Tips} Support for SharePoint CRM Integration Hybrids in Dynamics CRM

Posted on January 21, 2016 • Posted in Microsoft Dynamics CRM • Leave a comment

  This post is going to tell you about another new feature that came out with CRM 2016. Dynamics CRM … Continue reading →

{CRM 2016 TIPS} Enhancements to Business rules in CRM 2016

Posted on January 8, 2016 • Posted in Microsoft Dynamics CRM • Leave a comment

Another blog and another hidden gem in Dynamics CRM 2016. I don’t know how many times I had to avoid … Continue reading →

{CRM 2016 Tips} Add Web Resources to Mobile and Tablet Forms in Dynamics CRM 2016

Posted on January 6, 2016 • Posted in Microsoft Dynamics CRM • Leave a comment

I just don’t keep getting tired of the number of hidden gems left by Microsoft to explore in CRM 2016. … Continue reading →

{CRM 2016 TIPS} Form Preview Feature for Tablet and Phones

Posted on January 4, 2016 • Posted in Microsoft Dynamics CRM • Leave a comment

CRM 2016 has lot of hidden features and gems, one of which is the ability to view Form preview as …Continue reading →

{CRM 2016 Tips} Understanding the Storage Add-on mechanism for Dynamics CRM 2016 Online

Posted on December 24, 2015 • Posted in Microsoft Dynamics CRM • Leave a comment

Thinking of going to the cloud, many customers have lot more data to be moved from their existing systems to … Continue reading →

{CRM 2016 Tips} Programmability model in Dynamics CRM 2016

Posted on December 23, 2015 • Posted in Microsoft Dynamics CRM • Leave a comment

{CRM 2016 Tips} Programmability scenarios in Dynamics CRM 2016 My other posts on CRM 2016 are concentrated on feature related … Continue reading →

MICROSOFT DYNAMICS CRM 2016 CAPABILITIES VIDEOCAST

Posted on December 18, 2015 • Posted in Microsoft Dynamics CRM • 3 Comments

Hello All, You are invited to the following event: MICROSOFT DYNAMICS CRM 2016 CAPABILITIES VIDEOCAST Event to be held at … Continue reading →

{CRM 2016 Tips}Step by Step to Add Controls for Phone and Tablets in Dynamics CRM 2016 – Part 2

Posted on December 17, 2015 • Posted in Microsoft Dynamics CRM • Leave a comment

CRM 2016 is packed with new features. One of the gems is controls for Phones and Tablets. Here is a …Continue reading →

{CRM 2016 Tips}Step by Step to Add Controls for Phone and Tablets in Dynamics CRM 2016 – Part 1

Posted on December 16, 2015 • Posted in Microsoft Dynamics CRM • Leave a comment

CRM 2016 is packed with new features. One of the gems is controls for Phones and Tablets. Here is a …Continue reading →

{CRM 2016 TIPS} STEP BY STEP and OVERVIEW OF DELVE WITH DYNAMICS CRM 2016

Posted on December 10, 2015 • Posted in Microsoft Dynamics CRM • Leave a comment

My last post was quite appreciated on OneDrive for Business integration with Dynamics CRM 2016. In this post, I am … Continue reading →

{CRM 2016 TIPS} Step by Step Guide and Overview: OneDrive for Business with Dynamics CRM 2016

Posted on December 8, 2015 • Posted in Microsoft Dynamics CRM • Leave a comment

This is a series on CRM 2016 new features, tips and tricks from my end. Rather than starting from obvious … Continue reading →

If you like this compilation, Please leave comments and follow my blog. I have 280+ other posts you can check out.

Hope it helps and Happy CRMing!

Trying to Learn Dynamics CRM: Download!

Learn Dynamics CRM App on Google Play store

This post is going to tell you about the cool Office 365 Admin app and its capabilities:

• Add, edit, block, and delete users
• Reset passwords
• Assign product licenses
• Turn on notifications to get service alerts and new Messages
• Contact Microsoft support
• Sign in to manage multiple Office 365 organizations
• Read the latest messages from the Message center
• Microsoft Partners can manage their Office 365 customers

I was just logging into my customer development environment today when I got this notification:

I chose to send myself the text and spend time trying to understand the capabilities. Very quickly I Got a SMS and downloaded the App:

The next thing was to Login after installation using Office 365 Admin credentials.

As soon as you are logged in, home screen appears for the App as below:

Gives you quick check on unlicensed users, Health, Messages and Support cases. Look at the Menu options gives a quick look at the available options:

Navigating to users shows available users and ability to add new ones, all on the fly!

Health menu items tells you about the various subscriptions and the time they were last checked:

Messages menu item shows all messages with regard to your subscription:

Nice and Cool stuff, Enjoy it yourself Admins.

Hope it helps and Happy CRMing!