Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2015 Update 1 Online, on-premises CRM User Guide

2015 User Guide

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online 2015 Update 1

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2015 Update 1 (on-premises)

Contents

What’s new

Manage the sales cycle

Manage your service team

Work with cases

Work with marketing campaigns

Create and run reports

Deploy and Administer CRM

Go Mobile

Monitor social media

Import data

Accessibility

This user guide is for people who prefer a print version of CRM Online and CRM on-premises Help and for those who want to customize the content for their organization. For videos, quick reference cards, eBooks, and for up-to-date information, visit the

Customer Center at www.CRMCustomerCenter.com.

This document is provided "as-is". Information and views expressed in this document, including

URL and other Internet Web site references, may change without notice.

Some examples depicted herein are provided for illustration only and are fictitious. No real association or connection is intended or should be inferred.

This document does not provide you with any legal rights to any intellectual property in any

Microsoft product. You may copy and use this document for your internal, reference purposes.

As the software licensee, you may make reasonable customizations to the software online help documentation for your internal use only. You are solely responsible for and bear any and all liability relating to any customizations you make. This includes any adverse effect that your customizations have on any functionality of the licensed software, the software documentation itself or otherwise relating to use of your customizations. Please note that installing software upgrades may rewrite customized online help files.

The videos and eBooks might be in English only. Also, if you click the links, you may be redirected to a U.S. website whose content is in English.

© 2015 Microsoft. All rights reserved.

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SharePoint, and Windows are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

Contents

Welcome to the User Guide .......................................................................................................... 15

Manage the sales cycle .............................................................................................................. 15

Nurture sales from lead to order ............................................................................................. 16

Create or edit a lead ............................................................................................................ 17

Qualify a lead and convert it to an opportunity .................................................................... 18

Create or edit an opportunity ............................................................................................... 19

Create or edit a quote .......................................................................................................... 20

Create or edit an order ........................................................................................................ 21

Create or edit an invoice ..................................................................................................... 23

Close an opportunity as won or lost .................................................................................... 24

Quick create--Enter new contacts (or other data)--fast! ......................................................... 24

Use Bing Maps to view a location ........................................................................................... 25

Keep track of notes, tasks, calls, or email with activities ........................................................ 27

Stay up-to-date with customer news with the activity feed ..................................................... 27

Display your picture on the activity feed ................................................................................. 29

Create or edit an account ....................................................................................................... 30

Assign a record to a user or team ........................................................................................... 31

Create or edit a contact .......................................................................................................... 31

Deactivate or activate an account or contact .......................................................................... 33

Create or edit a goal ............................................................................................................... 33

Create or edit a competitor record .......................................................................................... 35

Create or edit a rollup query ................................................................................................... 35

See account relationships in a hierarchical view .................................................................... 36

Print leads, quotes, and other records .................................................................................... 37

Salespeople with quotas ......................................................................................................... 38

Manage service .......................................................................................................................... 39

Get started with service .......................................................................................................... 40

Key steps to get started with customer service ................................................................... 41

Basics of service and service scheduling ............................................................................ 42

Get started with service management ................................................................................. 43

Configure the process flow for customer service ................................................................ 44

Improve customer service with better automation and tracking .......................................... 45

Use articles in the knowledge base ..................................................................................... 48

View, block, or deactivate a social profile............................................................................ 49

Set up service terms ............................................................................................................... 50

Define service level agreements (SLAs) ............................................................................. 51

Disable or enable Service Level Agreements (SLAs) for cases ......................................... 58

Create an entitlement to define the support terms for a customer ...................................... 59

Create a customer service schedule and define the work hours ........................................ 63

Use the workplace calendar ................................................................................................ 65

Set up a holiday schedule ................................................................................................... 66

Set when your business is closed ....................................................................................... 67

Schedule time off ................................................................................................................. 68

Create or edit a service ....................................................................................................... 69

Create or edit a contract ...................................................................................................... 70

Define support terms for customers by using contracts ...................................................... 72

Set up and define rules for service ......................................................................................... 73

Define subjects to categorize cases, products, and articles ............................................... 74

Create a simple selection rule ............................................................................................. 74

Create or edit a resource group .......................................................................................... 75

Use sites to manage your service locations ........................................................................ 76

Set the capacity required for a service or resource ............................................................. 77

Set work hours of a resource .............................................................................................. 79

Restrict a resource from performing a service .................................................................... 82

Create or edit a selection rule ............................................................................................. 84

Set up case and queue settings ............................................................................................. 84

Define settings for parent and child cases .......................................................................... 84

Create rules to automatically route cases ........................................................................... 86

Automatically create a case from an email ......................................................................... 88

Set up rules to automatically create or update records in CRM .......................................... 91

Create or edit a queue ....................................................................................................... 104

Set up queues to manage activities and cases ................................................................. 106

Add a timer control to the Case form to track time against an SLA .................................. 107

Define status reason transitions for incident (case) management .................................... 110

Work with cases .................................................................................................................... 112

Create and manage a case ............................................................................................... 112

Merge similar cases........................................................................................................... 116

Create and manage parent and child cases ..................................................................... 117

Add a phone call, task, email, or appointment activity to a case or record ....................... 120

Create or edit an appointment ........................................................................................... 124

Create and manage activities ............................................................................................... 125

Schedule a service activity ................................................................................................ 125

Navigate the service calendar ........................................................................................... 125

Find the next available time before creating a service activity .......................................... 126

Create a service activity without checking for conflicts ..................................................... 127

Manage queues items .......................................................................................................... 128

Assign an activity to a user or queue ................................................................................ 128

Find what's assigned to you in a queue ............................................................................ 129

Use the Unified Service Desk ............................................................................................... 132

Unified Service Desk Base package ................................................................................. 133

Unified Service Desk for CRM 2013 SP1 with product updates package ........................ 134

Unified Service Desk for CRM 2013 SP1 package ........................................................... 137

Set up and use Unified Service Desk for customer service .............................................. 139

Parature, from Microsoft knowledge base integration.............................................................. 139

Connect Dynamics CRM to the Parature knowledge base .................................................. 140

Add a Parature Knowledge Base search pane to a CRM form ............................................ 140

Find Parature knowledge base (KB) articles from within Dynamics CRM ............................ 141

Unified Service Desk

– Knowledge Management package .................................................. 143

Work with marketing campaigns .............................................................................................. 146

Get started with CRM marketing ........................................................................................... 146

Create a marketing list in the CRM marketing work area ..................................................... 148

Create or edit a campaign in the CRM marketing work area ............................................... 152

Create a quick campaign in the CRM marketing work area ................................................. 154

Add an activity to a campaign in the CRM marketing work area .......................................... 155

Add a marketing list, sales literature, or product to a campaign in the CRM marketing work area ................................................................................................................................... 157

Track a campaign response in the CRM marketing work area ............................................ 159

View and manage marketing communications with the Microsoft Dynamics Marketing Seller

Portal ................................................................................................................................. 160

Create and run reports ............................................................................................................. 161

Get a list of available reports ................................................................................................ 162

Add a report .......................................................................................................................... 163

Organize and lay out your data ............................................................................................. 164

Share a report with other users or teams ............................................................................. 166

Run a report .......................................................................................................................... 167

Download a report................................................................................................................. 168

Troubleshoot problems with data not displaying in a report ................................................. 169

Determine who can use a report ........................................................................................... 169

Edit the default filter of a report ............................................................................................. 170

Customize and organize reports ........................................................................................... 172

Create, edit, or copy a report using the Report Wizard ........................................................ 174

Available reports ................................................................................................................... 176

User Summary report ........................................................................................................ 177

Case Summary Table report ............................................................................................. 177

Neglected Cases report ..................................................................................................... 178

Campaign Activity Status report ........................................................................................ 179

Campaign Comparison report ........................................................................................... 180

Campaign Performance report .......................................................................................... 180

Activities report .................................................................................................................. 181

Competitor Win Loss report ............................................................................................... 181

Products by Contact report ................................................................................................ 182

Invoices report ................................................................................................................... 182

Invoice Status report.......................................................................................................... 182

Lead Source Effectiveness report ..................................................................................... 182

Neglected Leads report ..................................................................................................... 183

Orders report ..................................................................................................................... 184

Progress Against Goals report .......................................................................................... 184

Quotes report ..................................................................................................................... 185

Sales History report ........................................................................................................... 185

Service Activity Volume report .......................................................................................... 186

Account Distribution report ................................................................................................ 186

Account Overview report ................................................................................................... 187

Products by Account report ............................................................................................... 188

Account Summary report ................................................................................................... 189

Neglected Accounts report ................................................................................................ 189

Sales Pipeline report ......................................................................................................... 189

Top knowledge base articles report .................................................................................. 190

Administer CRM ....................................................................................................................... 191

Administer CRM .................................................................................................................... 194

Manage your subscription ..................................................................................................... 194

Manage your CRM subscription ........................................................................................ 195

Add user licenses to your subscription .............................................................................. 195

Add storage ....................................................................................................................... 195

Remove storage from your subscription ........................................................................... 196

Add License Wizard and Add Storage Wizard errors ........................................................ 196

Manage users and set up security ........................................................................................ 197

Understand security roles .................................................................................................. 197

Manage security settings ................................................................................................... 197

View your user profile ........................................................................................................ 198

Add and manage users, and set security roles ................................................................. 198

Assign a security role to a user ......................................................................................... 199

Create or edit a team ......................................................................................................... 199

Assign security roles to form ............................................................................................. 200

Enable or disable security for a field ................................................................................. 201

Set up security permissions for a field............................................................................... 202

Secure sensitive data by enabling encryption ................................................................... 203

Create a position ............................................................................................................... 203

Enable or disable hierarchy security ................................................................................. 203

Using field level security in a calculated field .................................................................... 203

Create or edit a business unit to control access to records .............................................. 204

Manage data ......................................................................................................................... 207

Set up duplicate detection rules to keep your data clean.................................................. 207

Run bulk system jobs to detect duplicate records ............................................................. 209

Turn duplicate detection rules on or off for the whole organization .................................. 211

Delete bulk records............................................................................................................ 212

View and take action on bulk deletion jobs ....................................................................... 212

Monitor and manage system jobs ..................................................................................... 214

Send bulk email to customers ........................................................................................... 215

Add or remove sample data .............................................................................................. 215

Check for duplicate contacts, accounts, or leads .............................................................. 216

Perform key business calculations with rollup fields ......................................................... 216

Automate manual operations with calculated fields .......................................................... 217

Create formulas for calculated fields ................................................................................. 217

Customize your system ..................................................................................................... 217

Create or edit charts and dashboards .................................................................................. 217

Create or edit a chart ......................................................................................................... 218

Drill down in a chart ........................................................................................................... 220

Work with, create, or customize dashboards .................................................................... 221

Manage dashboard components ....................................................................................... 222

Set properties for a chart or list included in a dashboard .................................................. 223

Create or edit a system chart ............................................................................................ 224

Create or customize entities and forms ................................................................................ 225

View or edit entity information ........................................................................................... 226

Create a new entity............................................................................................................ 228

Create or edit entity fields .................................................................................................. 232

Mapping entity fields .......................................................................................................... 235

Create or edit N-N relationships between entities ............................................................. 236

Create or edit N-1 relationships between entities ............................................................. 236

Create or edit 1-N relationships between entities ............................................................. 236

Create and configure forms- default solution .................................................................... 237

Create or edit the main form for an entity .......................................................................... 238

Change the color scheme or add a logo to match your organization's brand ................... 240

Add a field to a form .......................................................................................................... 241

Edit form field properties ................................................................................................... 242

Configure date fields to store fixed dates across time zones ............................................ 245

Add or edit form navigation for related entities .................................................................. 245

Add or edit a form web resource ....................................................................................... 247

Create or edit views ........................................................................................................... 249

Create or edit a public view for an entity ........................................................................... 249

Edit the quick find view ...................................................................................................... 252

Set the default view for an entity ....................................................................................... 254

Export customized entity and field text for translation ....................................................... 255

Import translated entity and field text ................................................................................ 255

Change custom entity icons .............................................................................................. 256

About team templates ....................................................................................................... 258

Create a team template and add to an entity form ............................................................ 258

View or download developer resources ............................................................................ 260

Enable an entity to display data as a hierarchy ................................................................. 261

Create or edit a drop-down list (option set) for a form....................................................... 261

Create and configure views ............................................................................................... 262

Add or edit an image web resource ................................................................................... 262

Test an event script ........................................................................................................... 263

Create or edit a solution ........................................................................................................ 264

Create a managed solution ............................................................................................... 264

Import a solution ................................................................................................................ 265

Export your customizations as a solution .......................................................................... 265

Add a solution component ................................................................................................. 268

Edit or view managed properties ....................................................................................... 269

View or edit default solution components .......................................................................... 270

Edit a solution publisher .................................................................................................... 272

Customize your system by using the default solution ....................................................... 273

Create, edit, and delete solutions ...................................................................................... 274

Add or edit a solution publisher ......................................................................................... 274

Manage system settings ....................................................................................................... 274

System Settings dialog box - Sales tab ............................................................................. 275

System Settings dialog box - Marketing tab ...................................................................... 276

System Settings dialog box - Service tab .......................................................................... 277

System Settings dialog box - Reporting tab ...................................................................... 279

System Settings dialog box - Formats tab ........................................................................ 280

System Settings dialog box - Email tab ............................................................................. 281

System Settings dialog box - Customization tab ............................................................... 284

System Settings dialog box - Outlook tab ......................................................................... 286

System Settings dialog box - Auditing tab ......................................................................... 288

System Settings dialog box - General tab ......................................................................... 289

System Settings dialog box - Goals tab ............................................................................ 293

System Settings dialog box - Calendar tab ....................................................................... 294

What are Preview features and how do I enable them? ................................................... 295

Work with fiscal year settings ............................................................................................ 296

Customize regional options - system settings ................................................................... 296

Enable or disable languages ............................................................................................. 297

View system status and notifications ................................................................................. 298

Set privacy preferences for an organization ...................................................................... 299

Enable or manage auditing ................................................................................................... 301

Audit data changes ............................................................................................................ 301

View the audit history of individual records ....................................................................... 301

Recover database space by deleting audit logs ................................................................ 302

View the audit summary .................................................................................................... 303

Set up server-side synchronization for email processing ..................................................... 303

Set up email processing through server-side synchronization .......................................... 304

Server-side synchronization isn't working for your mailbox .............................................. 304

To use folder tracking, server-side synchronization must be enabled .............................. 304

Set up an activity feed .......................................................................................................... 305

Administer the activity feed ............................................................................................... 305

Set up SharePoint document management .......................................................................... 306

Set up SharePoint document management ...................................................................... 306

Enable SharePoint document management for specific entities ....................................... 306

Create or add a location for the first time .......................................................................... 308

Edit existing SharePoint site records ................................................................................. 310

Create or edit document location records ......................................................................... 311

Upgrade to server-based SharePoint integration .............................................................. 312

Work with templates.............................................................................................................. 313

Create templates for articles ............................................................................................. 313

Create templates for contracts .......................................................................................... 314

Create templates for email ................................................................................................ 315

Create or edit a campaign template in the CRM marketing work area ............................. 317

Set up entitlements quickly with templates ....................................................................... 318

Work with mail merge templates ....................................................................................... 320

Create a Microsoft Word mail-merge document with CRM for Outlook ............................ 321

Go mobile ................................................................................................................................. 323

CRM for Phones and Tablets User's Guide .......................................................................... 324

Install CRM for phones and tablets ................................................................................... 326

Sign in to CRM for phones and tablets ............................................................................. 328

Work offline in CRM for phones and tablets ...................................................................... 328

Sign out of or reconfigure CRM for phones and tablets .................................................... 331

Get around in CRM for phones and tablets ....................................................................... 333

Manage accounts, contacts, leads, and opportunities in CRM for phones and tablets .... 335

Nurture leads through the sales process in CRM for phones and tablets......................... 338

Pin your favorites in CRM for phones and tablets ............................................................. 339

Email and call customers in CRM for phones and tablets................................................. 340

Search in CRM for phones and tablets ............................................................................. 342

Track your progress with charts in CRM for phones and tablets ...................................... 344

Manage activities in CRM for phones and tablets ............................................................. 346

Track customer service cases in CRM for phones and tablets ......................................... 347

Use Cortana voice commands in CRM for phones ........................................................... 348

Get help for CRM for phones and tablets .......................................................................... 350

Preview feature: iFrame and web resource support in CRM for tablets ........................... 351

Get started with CRM for phones express ............................................................................ 352

Install the CRM for phones express app ........................................................................... 353

Take a tour of CRM for phones express ........................................................................... 354

Admin and troubleshooting for CRM for phones and tablets ................................................ 366

Secure your mobile data with Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Good ................................... 366

Customize CRM for phones .............................................................................................. 367

Troubleshoot a CRM for Windows 8.1 app start-up error ................................................. 367

Troubleshoot error code 800c0019 on Windows Phones ................................................. 368

CRM for phones and tablets ................................................................................................. 368

Set up and use CRM for Outlook ............................................................................................. 368

Set up and configure ............................................................................................................. 369

Set up CRM for Outlook .................................................................................................... 369

Configure another organization to use with CRM for Outlook ........................................... 376

Set up and configure CRM for Outlook from Office 365 .................................................... 378

The Outlook email address should be the same as the CRM email address ................... 380

Get started with CRM for Outlook ......................................................................................... 382

Do your CRM work in Outlook ........................................................................................... 382

Overview of tracking records in CRM for Outlook ............................................................. 387

Customize the Reading Pane in CRM for Outlook ............................................................ 390

Track email, appointments, contacts, and tasks ................................................................... 391

Track Outlook email by moving it to a tracked Exchange folder ....................................... 391

Track Outlook email by choosing a button in CRM for Outlook ........................................ 397

Set an option to automatically track incoming Outlook email in CRM for Outlook ............ 399

Track Outlook contacts in CRM for Outlook ...................................................................... 401

Use a wizard to add and track multiple Outlook contacts in CRM for Outlook.................. 404

Track Outlook tasks in CRM for Outlook ........................................................................... 406

Track Outlook appointments in CRM for Outlook .............................................................. 410

Deleting records that have been tracked with CRM for Outlook ....................................... 411

Synchronize data .................................................................................................................. 412

Synchronizing data with Outlook or Exchange FAQ ......................................................... 413

Choose the records to synchronize between CRM and Outlook or Exchange ................. 417

View the fields that are synchronized between CRM and Outlook ................................... 419

Synchronize records manually with CRM for Outlook ....................................................... 421

Control field synchronization between CRM and Outlook or Exchange ........................... 422

Which fields can be synchronized between CRM and Outlook? ...................................... 423

How security affects synchronization between CRM and Outlook or Exchange .............. 423

System Settings dialog box - Synchronization tab ............................................................ 423

Create or modify synchronization filters or view synchronizing fields ............................... 426

Work offline ........................................................................................................................... 427

Work offline with CRM for Outlook .................................................................................... 427

Choose records to work with offline in CRM for Outlook................................................... 430

Example of going offline with CRM for Outlook ................................................................. 433

Set options ............................................................................................................................ 435

Set address book options in CRM for Outlook .................................................................. 435

Customize your regional settings (number, currency, time, and date) in CRM for Outlook

....................................................................................................................................... 437

Set personal options that affect tracking and synchronization between CRM and Outlook or

Exchange ....................................................................................................................... 438

Set up and use CRM App for Outlook ...................................................................................... 443

CRM App for Outlook User's Guide ...................................................................................... 443

Monitor social media ................................................................................................................ 452

Add Social Engagement visuals to a dashboard or account ................................................ 452

Set up your own searches for Social Engagement ............................................................... 454

Disable or enable social data for an organization ................................................................. 456

Connect your organization to Microsoft Social Engagement ................................................ 456

Collaborate with Skype, Lync, and Yammer ............................................................................ 456

Set up Microsoft Dynamics CRM to make calls with Skype or Lync .................................... 456

Place calls with Skype or Lync ............................................................................................. 458

Collaborate and communicate with Yammer ........................................................................ 458

Connect Microsoft Dynamics CRM to Yammer .................................................................... 459

Follow best practices with business processes ....................................................................... 459

Guide staff through common tasks with processes .............................................................. 460

Create a new business process ............................................................................................ 461

Activate a business process ................................................................................................. 462

Assign a security role to a business process ........................................................................ 463

Add ready-to-use business processes ................................................................................. 463

Business process templates for CRM................................................................................... 465

Import business process templates from Microsoft PinPoint ................................................ 472

Use a dialog to create an interactive process like a wizard .................................................. 473

Create a business rule to apply logic in a form ..................................................................... 473

Import data ............................................................................................................................... 474

Import contacts ..................................................................................................................... 474

Import accounts, leads, or other data ................................................................................... 477

Upload a data import file ....................................................................................................... 480

Review the file upload summary ........................................................................................... 480

Select a data map ................................................................................................................. 481

Map record types .................................................................................................................. 482

Map fields .............................................................................................................................. 483

Review the mapping summary ............................................................................................. 483

Review settings and import data ........................................................................................... 483

Export data ............................................................................................................................... 484

Export Data to Excel ............................................................................................................. 485

Export to an Excel PivotTable ............................................................................................... 486

Export to an Excel dynamic worksheet ................................................................................. 489

Export to an Excel static worksheet ...................................................................................... 491

Analyze your CRM data in Excel Online ............................................................................... 492

Manage the product catalog ..................................................................................................... 495

Set up a product catalog: Walkthrough ................................................................................ 495

Set up a discount list ......................................................................................................... 499

Create a unit group and add units to that group ................................................................ 500

Create price lists and price list items to define pricing of products ................................... 502

Classify products and bundles into product families ............................................................. 505

Create a product family ..................................................................................................... 506

Create a product ................................................................................................................ 508

Create product bundles to sell multiple items together ..................................................... 509

Use properties to describe a product ................................................................................ 512

Define related products to increase chances of sales ....................................................... 514

View product hierarchy ...................................................................................................... 515

Product lifecycle--publish to retire ......................................................................................... 516

Publish a product or bundle to make it available for selling .............................................. 518

Revise a product ................................................................................................................ 519

Retire a product ................................................................................................................. 520

Clone a product ................................................................................................................. 521

Delete a family, product, or bundle .................................................................................... 522

Translate product names and properties into multiple languages ........................................ 522

Search ...................................................................................................................................... 525

Create, edit, or save an Advanced Find search ................................................................... 525

How inline lookup works ....................................................................................................... 526

Search for records ................................................................................................................ 526

Office Integration ...................................................................................................................... 527

Set up and use OneNote in CRM ......................................................................................... 528

OneNote in CRM FAQs ........................................................................................................ 535

Collaborate with your colleagues using Office 365 Groups .................................................. 536

Office 365 Groups in CRM FAQs ......................................................................................... 537

Accessibility .............................................................................................................................. 538

Accessibility for people with disabilities ................................................................................ 538

Move around CRM by using keyboard shortcuts .................................................................. 539

Welcome to the User Guide

This user’s guide covers the following releases:



Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online 2015 Update 1



Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2015 Update 1 (on-premises)

What’s new

We’re excited to tell you about the many new features available in Microsoft Dynamics CRM

Online 2015 Update 1 and Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2015 Update 1 (on-premises).

Manage the sales cycle

Nurture sales from lead to order

Create or edit a lead

Qualify a lead and convert it to an opportunity

Create or edit an opportunity

Create or edit a quote

Create or edit an order

Create or edit an invoice

Close an opportunity as won or lost

Quick create--Enter new contacts (or other data)--fast!

Use Bing Maps to view a location

Keep track of notes, tasks, calls, or email with activities

Stay up-to-date with customer news with the activity feed

Display your picture on the activity feed

Create or edit an account

Assign a record to a user or team

Create or edit a contact

Deactivate or activate an account or contact

Create or edit a goal

Create or edit a competitor record

Create or edit a rollup query

See account relationships in a hierarchical view

Print leads, quotes, and other records

15

Nurture sales from lead to order

The sales process in Microsoft Dynamics CRM can help you close more sales and achieve higher customer satisfaction. You can achieve more consistent sales interactions by following the sales process as it takes you through each stage, from creating a lead to closing the sale. You also end up with a more complete history, which you can refer to later on if you plan to work with your customer again in the future, or if your customer needs support.

Your sales process begins with a lead

—someone who is interested in the products or services you provide. Your leads might be automatically generated by Microsoft Dynamics Marketing, or they might come from other sources, such as website opt-in pages, email queries, or business cards you gather at trade shows.

Great job! You’ve got your lead…now what? If your lead isn’t already in CRM, start by creating your lead in the system.

After you’ve determined that your lead is interested in your solution and has the appropriate purchasing power, qualify your lead. Qualifying a lead in CRM converts it to an opportunity.

Create or edit a lead

Qualify a lead and convert it to an opportunity

In this stage, you identify stakeholders, competitors, and sales team members and come up with a proposed solution.

Now it’s time to present your proposal to your potential customer.

Create or edit an opportunity

Create or edit an opportunity

Create or edit a quote

Did your opportunity accept or reject your proposal?

Hopefully, congratulations are in order! Either way, at this stage you need to close your opportunity. This can include filling orders, preparing invoices, and sending follow-up messages, depending on how your organization handles the end game.

Create or edit an order

Create or edit an invoice

Close an opportunity as won or lost

Note

16

Your CRM system might look different because it was customized. This walkthrough guides you through the basic sales process, but your organization might offer further training for your system.

Create or edit a lead

In Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2015, you use leads to keep track of business prospects that you haven't yet qualified through your sales process. A lead can be someone you’ve never done business with before, or it could be an existing client. You might get leads from different sources, such as advertising, networking, or email campaigns.

On this page:

Create a lead

Edit a lead

Additional considerations

Tips and tricks

Typical next steps

Create a lead

1. Go to Sales > Leads. (How do I get there?)

2. Choose New.

3. In the Summary area of the Lead screen, type your lead’s company and contact information.

4. In the Details area of the Lead screen, type information abou t your lead’s industry and preferred contact method.

5. Add any notes and activities (for example, phone calls or emails) related to this lead. More

information: Keep track of notes, tasks, calls, or email with activities

6. Choose the Save button on the bottom right of the screen.

Edit a lead

1. Go to Sales > Leads. (How do I get there?)

2. Choose the lead you want to edit.

3. Add any extra details you have about your lead.

4. Choose the Save button on the bottom right of the screen.

Additional considerations



Nurture your leads through a CRM marketing campaign. More information: Get started with

CRM marketing



Automate your lead generation with coordinated marketing campaigns. More information:

Microsoft Dynamics Marketing



Research leads through social media channels like LinkedIn and Twitter. More information:

InsideView

Tips and tricks

Need a faster way to enter leads? Try one of these:



Quick create--Enter new contacts (or other data)--fast!



Import accounts, leads, or other data

17

Typical next steps

Qualify a lead and convert it to an opportunity

Nurture sales from lead to order

—learn about the sales process

See Also

Print leads, quotes, and other records

Qualify a lead and convert it to an opportunity

Does your lead have what you’re looking for—and vice versa? Once you’ve identified the timeframe, budget, purchase process, and decision makers for the sale, it’s time to qualify your lead. Qualifying a lead in Microsoft Dynamics CRM converts it to an opportunity.

Ideally, your leads or prospects should have a need that you can provide a solution for, and have the budget and influence necessary for making the purchasing decision. In addition, you should be able to provide their solution within the timeframe they need it.

On this page:

Qualify a single lead

Qualify multiple leads

Additional considerations

Typical next steps

Qualify a single lead

1. Go to Sales > Leads. (How do I get there?)

2. Choose the lead you want to qualify.

3. In the Qualify section of the sales process bar, type in all applicable information.

4. Choose Qualify at the top of the Lead screen.

5. Choose the Save button at the bottom right of the screen.

Qualify multiple leads

1. Go to Sales > Leads. (How do I get there?)

2. Select the check box next to all leads that you want to qualify.

3. Choose Qualify at the top of the screen.

Additional considerations



Nurture your leads through a CRM marketing campaign. More information: Get started with

CRM marketing



Automate your lead qualification process with Microsoft Dynamics Marketing. More information: Microsoft Dynamics Marketing



Research leads through social media channels like LinkedIn and Twitter. More information:

InsideView

Typical next steps

Create or edit an opportunity

Nurture sales from lead to order

—learn about the sales process

18

See Also

Print leads, quotes, and other records

Create or edit an opportunity

An opportunity is a lead who is now almost ready to buy

—in other words, it’s a deal that you’re ready to win.

At this point in the sales process, you’re most likely in either the Develop or Propose stage.

More information: Nurture sales from lead to order

On this page:

Create an opportunity

Edit an opportunity

Additional considerations

Tips and tricks

Typical next steps

Create an opportunity

If you’re following the sales process from start to finish, you qualify a lead to turn it into an

opportunity. More information: Nurture sales from lead to order

If you want to create an opportunity without first creating a lead, do the following:

1. Go to Sales > Opportunities. (How do I get there?)

2. Choose New.

3. In the Summary area of the Lead screen, type your lead’s company and contact information.

4. In the Details area of the Lead screen, type information about your lead’s industry and preferred contact method.

5. Add any notes and activities (for example, phone calls or emails) related to this lead. More

information: Keep track of notes, tasks, calls, or email with activities

6. To add stakeholders, in the Stakeholders area, choose +.

7. To add sales team members, in the Sales Team area, choose +.

8. To add competitors, in the Competitors area, choose +.

9. To add products, in the Products area, choose +.

10. To add a quote, in the Quotes area, choose +. More information: Create or edit a quote

11. Choose the Save button on the bottom right of the screen.

Edit an opportunity

1. Go to Sales > Opportunities. (How do I get there?)

2. Choose the opportunity you want to edit.

3. Add any extra details you have about your lead.

4. Choose the Save button on the bottom right of the screen.

Additional considerations



One way that might help you increase your sales is to add all products that your customer might need. Your CRM system might offer product bundles or product families to make it easier for you to choose products for upsell and cross-sell.

19



Be sure to add all stakeholders for your project. A stakeholder is anyone who should participate in, review, or approve your proposed solution.



If other people in your organization are working on this sale, be sure to add them as sales team members.



Nurture your opportunities through a CRM marketing campaign. More information: Get started with CRM marketing

Tips and tricks

Need a faster way to enter opportunities? Try one of these:



Quick create--Enter new contacts (or other data)--fast!



Import accounts, leads, or other data

Typical next steps

Create or edit a quote

Nurture sales from lead to order

—learn about the sales process

See Also

Run a report

Use Bing Maps to view a location

Assign a record to a user or team

Stay up-to-date with customer news with the activity feed

Print leads, quotes, and other records

Create or edit a quote

One way you might increase your sales is to add all products that your customer might need to your quote. Your Microsoft Dynamics CRM system might offer product bundles or product families to make it easier for you to choose products for upsell and cross-sell.

Most sales begin with a price quote, which eventually becomes an order.

You’ll probably edit a quote multiple times as a sale progresses. Initially, you create a draft, and then you need to activate it when it’s ready to go to a customer.

When the customer accepts the quote, you create an order. Otherwise, you close the quote as revised, canceled, or lost.

On this page:

Create a quote from an opportunity

Create a quote

Edit a quote

Typical next steps

Create a quote from an opportunity

1. Go to Sales > Opportunities. (How do I get there?)

2. Choose the opportunity you want to add a quote to.

3. In the Quotes area of the Opportunity screen, choose +.

4. To add products from your opportunity to your quote, click Get Products at the top of the

Quote screen and choose OK.

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5. Type shipping and payment information in the Shipping Information area of the Quote screen.

6. Type the billing and shipping addresses in the Addresses area of the Quote screen.

7. Choose the Save button at the bottom right corner of the screen.

8. When your quote is ready to send to your customer, choose Activate Quote at the top of the screen.

Create a quote

1. Go to Sales > Quotes. (How do I get there?)

2. Choose New.

3.

Add your customer’s contact information.

4. To add products from your opportunity to your quote, choose Get Products at the top of the

Quote screen and choose OK.

5. In the Shipping Information area, type shipping details.

6. In the Addresses area, type shipping and billing addresses.

7. Choose the Save button at the bottom right corner of the screen.

8. When your quote is ready to send to your customer, choose Activate Quote at the top of the screen.

Edit a quote

1. Go to Sales > Quotes. (How do I get there?)

2. Choose the quote you want to edit.

3. Add or change any details about your quote.

4. Choose the Save button at the bottom right corner of the screen.

5. When your quote is ready to send to your customer, choose Activate Quote at the top of the screen.

Typical next steps

Create or edit an order

Nurture sales from lead to order

—learn about the sales process

See Also

Run a report

Assign a record to a user or team

Keep track of notes, tasks, calls, or email with activities

Print leads, quotes, and other records

Create or edit an order

Congratulations! Your hard work nurturing your customer has paid off and they’re ready to place an order for your products or services. In Microsoft Dynamics CRM, an order can originate from a customer's acceptance of a quote, or you can place an order without an accepted quote, depending on the situation.

One way that can help you increase your sales is to add all products that your customer might need to your order. Your CRM system might offer product bundles or product families to make it

21

easier for you to choose products for upsell and crosssell. If you’ve already prepared a quote for your customer, you can create an order from that quote.

On this page:

Create an order from a quote

Create an order

Edit an order

Typical next steps

Create an order from a quote

Typically, you convert a quote that you have won into an order. Start with an active quote. Note that once a quote is accepted, you won’t be able to revise it.

1. Go to Sales > Quotes. (How do I get there?)

2. Choose the quote you want to create an order from.

3. Choose Create Order at the top of the Quote screen.

4. Add a description and indicate whether or not you want to close the opportunity in the Create

Order window and choose OK.

5. To add products from your opportunity to your quote, choose Get Products at the top of the screen, select your opportunity, and choose OK.

6. Choose the Save button at the bottom right corner of the screen.

Create an order

You can create an order that is based on your communication with a customer, instead of an accepted quote.

1. Go to Sales > Orders. (How do I get there?)

2. Choose New.

3.

Add your customer’s contact information.

4. To add products from your opportunity to your order, choose Get Products at the top of the screen, select your opportunity, and choose OK.

Note

You need to enter the tax amount when you add a product to a quote, order, or invoice. Microsoft Dynamics CRM does not automatically calculate tax for individual products. However, the total tax is calculated automatically based on the sum of the tax amounts for all of the individual products in a quote, order, or invoice.

5. In the Shipping Information area, type shipping details.

6. In the Addresses area, type shipping and billing addresses.

7. Choose the Save button at the bottom right corner of the screen.

Note

You close an order by either fulfilling the order or canceling the order. Products or services that are shipped are fulfilled. You should cancel orders for any products or services that are not shipped.

You can’t update or change an order after it has been closed or if it has been partially or completely fulfilled.

Edit an order

1. Go to Sales > Orders. (How do I get there?)

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2. Select the order you want to edit.

3. Add or change any details about your order.

4. Choose the Save button at the bottom right corner of the screen.

Typical next steps

Create or edit an invoice

Nurture sales from lead to order

—learn about the sales process

See Also

Print leads, quotes, and other records

Create or edit an invoice

When a customer places an order, you can create an invoice to bill them for the upcoming sale.

Typically, you convert an order into an invoice. However, you can also create an invoice that does not originate from an order.

On this page:

Create an invoice from an order

Create an invoice

Edit an invoice

Typical next steps

Create an invoice from an order

1. Go to Sales > Orders. (How do I get there?)

2. Choose the order you want to create an invoice from.

3. Choose Create Invoice at the top of the screen.

4. Review the contents of the invoice and make any additions or corrections before sending to your customer.

Create an invoice

1. Go to Sales > Invoices. (How do I get there?)

2. Choose New.

3.

Add your customer’s contact information.

4. Choose Save at the top left to create the invoice record.

5. To add products from your opportunity to your order, choose Get Products at the top of the screen, select your opportunity, and click OK.

6. To add information about a product on the invoice, in the Products area, choose the Add a

Product button , and then choose one of the following options:

Existing Product. A product created in the product catalog that is associated with a price list.

Write-in Product. A product that is available but not a part of the product catalog.

Get Products. Select products from a previously created opportunity.

You need to enter the tax amount when you add a product to a quote, order, or invoice.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM doesn’t automatically calculate tax for individual products.

23

However, the total tax is calculated automatically based on the sum of the tax amounts for all of the individual products in a quote, order, or invoice.

7. In the Shipping Information area, type shipping details.

8. In the Addresses area, type shipping and billing addresses.

9. Choose the Save button at the bottom right corner of the screen.

Note

You close an invoice either by canceling the invoice or setting the invoice status as paid.

Edit an invoice

1. Go to Sales > Invoices. (How do I get there?)

2. Choose the invoice you want to edit.

3. Add or change any details about your invoice.

4. Choose the Save button at the bottom right corner of the screen.

Typical next steps

Close an opportunity as won or lost

Nurture sales from lead to order

—learn about the sales process

See Also

Print leads, quotes, and other records

Close an opportunity as won or lost

If your customer has accepted your proposal, congratulations! Whether your customer accepted or declined your proposal, however, it’s now time to close that opportunity.

1. Go to Sales > Opportunities. (How do I get there?)

2. Choose the opportunity you want to edit.

3. To close your opportunity as won, choose Close as Won at the top of the Opportunity screen.

- OR -

To close your opportunity as lost, choose Close as Lost at the top of the Opportunity screen.

See Also

Nurture sales from lead to order

Print leads, quotes, and other records

Quick create--Enter new contacts (or other data)--fast!

The Quick Create command makes it fast and easy to enter almost any type of information into the system. The command is on the nav bar, so it’s always available whenever you need to enter new info into the system.

With Quick Create, you need to complete only a few fields. Later, when you have more time or more information, you can fill in more details.

You can quickly create:



Contacts

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

Accounts



Leads



Opportunities



Campaign responses



Competitors



Activities: tasks, phone calls, email, or appointments

In Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2015 and Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online 2015 Update, when you add a new sales opportunity to the system by using the Create command on the nav bar, you can now create a contact at the same time. In previous versions, you had to create the contact before using the Quick Create command to add an opportunity.

1. On the nav bar, choose the plus sign

For an activity:

, and then choose the item you want.

Choose… To create a new…

Task

Phone call

Email

Appointment

2. Fill in the fields, and then choose Save.

3. If you would like to continue adding information, choose View Record. To create another one, choose Create Another.

Note

next to the field on the screen means the field is required.

next to the field on the screen means your organization recommends that you fill in the field.

Use Bing Maps to view a location

Bing Maps help you plan customer visits, optimize your routes, calculate mileage for expense reports, and see nearby services. When you view the details for contacts, leads, or accounts, you’ll see a map that shows where their address is located. Click or tap a map to explore aerial and satellite images, check traffic conditions, and get directions.

Important

25

Bing Maps may not be available in all countries/regions or languages. Additionally,

Microsoft Dynamics CRM (on-premises) users may be prompted to enter a license key to view Bing Maps. Contact your system administrator for information about your organization’s Bing Maps license.

View a Bing map for a contact, lead, or account

1. Navigate to a contact, lead, or account.

2. Scroll down to see the map. If the Address field is blank, enter the address, and then choose Done. Wait a moment for the map to refresh.

3. Choose the map to view aerial and satellite images, check traffic conditions, and get directions.

Privacy notice

If you use Microsoft Dynamics CRM, the Bing Maps feature automatically sends the address over the Internet to the Bing Maps service to display an online map of the address within CRM. If you click on the Bing Maps within CRM, you will be redirected to www.bing.com/maps . Your use of

Bing Maps is also governed by the Bing Maps End User Terms of Use .

Your administrator can turn the Bing Maps feature on or off in the Settings > Administration >

System Settings area. Turning the Bing Maps app off disables the feature within CRM.

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Information sent to Bing Maps is subject to the Bing Maps Privacy Statement .

See Also

Create or edit a lead

Create or edit a contact

Create or edit an account

Keep track of notes, tasks, calls, or email with activities

In Microsoft Dynamics CRM, you use Activities to keep track of all your customer communications. For example, you can take notes, send email, make phone calls, set up appointments, assign yourself tasks as you resolve a service case, and stay up-to-date with customer news. These actions are all considered types of activities.



To add phone call details, tasks, notes, and more see: Add a phone call, task, email, or appointment activity to a case or record .



To stay up-to-date with your activity feeds, see: Stay up-to-date with customer news with the activity feed .

See Also

Collaborate and communicate with Yammer

Stay up-to-date with customer news with the activity feed

Monitor real-time updates in the activity feed to stay current with fast-moving sales, customer projects, and marketing campaigns at your organization.

You’ll find the activity feed on your dashboard under the heading What’s new.

27

The activity feed includes automatic updates about the work your colleagues are doing. You can also choose to “follow” updates for up to 1,000 of the contacts, colleagues, and customer records you care most about.

Like or unlike a post in the activity feed

1. Under

What’s new, point to the post.

2. Choose Like or Unlike.

Below a post, you’ll see the number of people who have liked it, and the names of people who liked the post most recently. Choose the counter to see more names.

Comment on someone’s post in the activity feed

1. Under

What’s new, point to the post.

2. Choose Reply.

Type your comment. You can use up to 250 characters.

Follow or unfollow a contact, account, lead, or other customer info

In addition to seeing any automatic posts in the activity feed, you can follow customers and other types of records

– to see real-time updates to the Microsoft Dynamics CRM customer information you care most about.

1. Open the contact, account, lead, or other type of record you want to follow.

2. Choose the More Command ( ).

3. Choose Follow or Unfollow.

Follow or unfollow a colleague

1. On your dashboard, choose Advanced Find.

2. In the Look for drop-down list, choose Users.

3. In the Show group, choose Results.

4.

Choose the person’s name.

5. Choose the More Command ( ).

6. Choose Follow or Unfollow.

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Control which types of posts you see in the activity feed

At the top of the activity feed, you'll see commands that let you control whether you see posts about everything you follow or a smaller subset.



Under

What’s new, select one of the following:



All records, and then select the type of records



Both to see automatic posts and posts for the additional things you’re following



Auto posts to see only automatic posts



User posts to see only the things you’ve chosen to follow

Change the order that record types are listed in your activity feed

You can change the order that record types display in your activity feed so that the ones you care most about are listed at the top.

1. Under

What’s new, choose All records.

2. Choose Modify this list ( ).

3. In the Filters My Filters dialog box, select the record types you want to change.

4. Choose Move Up or Move Down to change the order the record types are displayed.

5. Close the dialog box.

Use keyboard shortcuts in activity feeds

To do this

Submit a post

Post a status update

Follow or unfollow

Delete a selected post or comment

Cancel a deletion

Press this

Alt + P

Alt + S

Alt + L

Alt + L

Alt + C

See Also

Display your picture on the activity feed

Display your picture on the activity feed

You can add a picture to your profile if you want other people to see your picture along with your posts in the activity feed.

29

1. In the activity feed, next to What's New, choose Edit next to the gray image.

2. Choose Upload a picture from your computer.

3. Browse to the image file, select it, and then choose Open.

4. Choose OK.

See Also

Administer the activity feed

Stay up-to-date with customer news with the activity feed

Create or edit an account

If you work mostly with other companies, you’ll probably want to use accounts to keep track of them.

You can also use accounts to keep track of any vendors you do business with.

Create an account

1. Go to Sales > Accounts. (How do I get there?)

2. Choose New.

3. Fill in your information. Use the handy tooltips as a guide.

4. Choose Save.

Edit an account

1. Go to Sales > Accounts. (How do I get there?)

2. Open the account and change the information that you want.

3. Choose Save.

See Also

Import accounts, leads, or other data

Deactivate or activate an account or contact

Quick create--Enter new contacts (or other data)--fast!

30

Keep track of notes, tasks, calls, or email with activities

Stay up-to-date with customer news with the activity feed

Assign a record to a user or team

Run a report

Use Bing Maps to view a location

Assign a record to a user or team

If you would like another person in your organization to handle an account or contact for you, you can assign the record to that person.

You can also assign a record to a team, or to yourself.



1. Go to Accounts or Contacts. How do I get there?

2. In the list of records, select the record that you want.

In the command bar, choose the More Commands button , and then choose Assign.

3. If using the CRM web application:

In the command bar, choose More Commands ( ), and then choose Assign.

If using CRM for Outlook:



In the Collaborate group, choose Assign.

4. In the Assign dialog box, choose:



Assign to me

- OR -



Assign to another user or team

Choose Lookup, and then choose Look Up More Records. From the Look for drop-down list, select User or Team. In the Search box, type the name, choose the search icon, and then choose the name to select it. Choose Add.

5. Choose OK.

Create or edit a contact

Use contacts to keep track of the people you do business with.

31

View a contact

1. Go to Contacts. (How do I get there?)

2.

You’ll see a list of your active contacts. You may need to scroll to see the whole list.

Tip

It’s easy to get back to the customer data you were working with most recently. On the nav bar, next to Contacts, choose . Choose a name, and then get right back to what you were doing.

3.

Click or tap a person’s name to see the details for the contact.

Create a contact

1. Go to Contacts. (How do I get there?)

2. Choose New.

3. Fill in your information. Use the handy tooltips as a guide.

4. Choose Save.

Edit a contact

1. Go to Contacts. (How do I get there?)

2. Open the contact and change the information that you want.

3. Choose Save.

See Also

Run a report

Import contacts

Use Bing Maps to view a location

Assign a record to a user or team

Deactivate or activate an account or contact

Quick create--Enter new contacts (or other data)--fast!

Keep track of notes, tasks, calls, or email with activities

Stay up-to-date with customer news with the activity feed

32

Deactivate or activate an account or contact

In Microsoft Dynamics CRM, you deactivate an account or contact rather than deleting it. This ensures the integrity of the audit trail associated with that record.

A deactivated account or contact becomes inactive, which means that it cannot be edited or used in establishing new relationships with other records. However, all relationships created with the deactivated item are still available.

Deactivated accounts can subsequently be reactivated should the need arise.

Deactivate an account or contact

1. Go to Accounts or Contacts. How do I get there?

2. Select the active account or contact that you want to deactivate, click or tap Deactivate, and then confirm the deactivation.

Activate an account or contact

1. Go to Accounts or Contacts. How do I get there?

2. To view a deactivated account or contact, in the System Views list, select Inactive

Accounts or Inactive Contacts.

3. Select the inactive accounts or contacts you want to activate, click or tap Activate, and then confirm the activation.

See Also

Import contacts

Create or edit a contact

Create or edit an account

Import accounts, leads, or other data

Create or edit a goal

Use goals to keep track of your progress on achieving target revenue.

Create a goal

1. Make sure that you have the System Administrator, System Customizer, Sales Manager,

Vice President of Sales, Vice President of Marketing, or CEO-Business Manager security role or equivalent permissions.

33

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Goals. (How do I get there?)

3. Do one of the following:



If you are using the CRM application, choose New.



If you are using CRM for Outlook, in the Records tab, choose New.

4. On the New Goal form, enter information or observe any noted restrictions or requirements as needed. Use the handy tooltips as a guide.

5. Click or tap Save or Save and Close.

Edit a goal

1. Make sure that you have the System Administrator, System Customizer, Sales Manager,

Vice President of Sales, Vice President of Marketing, or CEO-Business Manager security role or equivalent permissions.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Goals. (How do I get there?)

3. Do one of the following:



If you are using the CRM web application, choose Edit.



If you are using CRM for Outlook, in the Records group, choose Edit.

4. Fill in your information. Use the handy tooltips as a guide.

5. Choose Save and Close.

See Also

Create or edit a rollup query

Progress Against Goals report

34

Create or edit a competitor record

You already know that tracking your competitors and their strengths and weaknesses can help you win sales. Microsoft Dynamics CRM lets you store the details about competitors so that you and your colleagues can share and stay current with the latest details.

1. Choose Sales > Competitors.

If using the CRM web application

a. On the command bar, choose + New.

If using CRM for Outlook

a. In the Records group, choose New.

2.

Fill in your information. Use the handy tooltips as a guide.

3. Choose Save.

4. To associate a competitor with an opportunity, in the Opportunity area, choose . In the

Search box, choose the Lookup icon, and then select an opportunity from the results.

See Also

Competitor Win Loss report

Create or edit a rollup query

Use the rollup query to gather data about a given goal, including all its related goals, in one view.

1. Make sure that you have the Manager, Vice President, CEO-Business Manager, System

Administrator, or System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

35

2. Go to Rollup Queries. How do I get there?

3. To create a new rollup query, in the Records group, choose New.

-OR-

To edit a rollup query, choose Edit.

4. Fill in your information. Use the handy tooltips as a guide.

Name. Enter a name between 1 and 50 characters.

Entity Type. Select the record type.

Owner. Choose the Lookup icon, and select the user or team who will own this query.

Note

If you change this selection after you add your query criteria in the Query section, your query criteria will be deleted.

5. In the Query section, add the criteria for your query. The criteria you can add depends on the record type.

6. To see the results for the query, choose View Records.

7. Choose Save, Save and Close, or, to create a new rollup query, Save and New.

8. To view the data for a goal, on the nav bar, choose Sales, and then choose Goals.

9. Select the goal you want, then choose More Commands , and then choose Recalculate.

The values of the actuals are recalculated. You can see the recalculated values in the

Percentage Achieved, Actual, and In-Progress columns. If you open the goal, under

Actuals, you can see the Last Rolled Up Date.

See Also

Create or edit a goal

Progress Against Goals report

See account relationships in a hierarchical view

You can see how info is related or grouped by viewing accounts, products, or users in hierarchical charts. You can click a tile in the chart to get the full details and then navigate to the info you’re interested in.

For example, from the hierarchical charts view for accounts, you can:



See how an account is doing in overall revenue



Drill into tiles for accounts to see where the deals are coming from and how revenue is distributed across sub-accounts



Find out who is working an account and enlist help from others by sending email or sharing the account with other salespeople right from within the chart view



View important details about each account, such as credit limit and latest activity posts for the account

Note

36

For Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online organizations, this feature is only available if you've installed the CRM Online 2015 Update.

For on-premises CRM organizations, this feature is only available if you've updated to

CRM 2015.

Interested in getting this feature? Find your CRM administrator or support person.

From the hierarchical charts view for products, you can see all the products available to sell, and how they're related in bundles or families. Salespeople can avoid missing a potential sale, because they can see all related products in one view.

From the hierarchical charts view for users, you can find out who another team member's boss is, or who else is on their team without switching to another app.

Hierarchical views are also available on mobile.

To see hierarchies that show the relationships between records, on the list of accounts, products, or users, choose the Hierarchies button. You can also choose the View Hierarchy command when you’re viewing the screen for an individual account, product, or user.

Print leads, quotes, and other records

When you need a paper copy of a record such as a contact, lead, quote, or invoice, you can print records individually or in a list.

Print an individual record

1. Go to the record you want to print. For example, to print a lead, go to Sales > Leads and select a record.

2. Choose the Options button at the top right corner of the screen.

(In Dynamics CRM for Outlook, choose File > Print.)

3. Choose Print preview.

4. Choose

Print….

5. Select the print options you want and then choose Print.

Print a list of records

1. Go to the list you want to print. For example, to print a list of invoices, go to Sales > Invoices.

37

2. Choose the Options button at the top right corner of the screen.

(In Dynamics CRM for Outlook, choose File > Print.)

3. Choose Print preview.

4. Choose

Print…

5. Select the print options you want and then choose Print.

Privacy notice

When Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online users print CRM data, they are effectively “exporting” that data from the security boundary provided by CRM Online to a less secure environment, in this case, to a piece of paper.

An administrator has full control (at the user security role or entity level) over the data that can be extracted. However, after the data has been extracted it is no longer protected by the security boundary provided by CRM Online and is instead controlled directly by the customer.

See Also

Run a report

Work with mail merge templates

Nurture sales from lead to order

Salespeople with quotas

Assign sales quotas to individual sales person and distribute the sales targets for the organization. Using sales quotas, you can assess sales people/territories performance, and the progress towards the organizational targets set for a financial year.

Important

You must set the fiscal year details before you attempt to assign quotas. Based on the

fiscal period, you can set monthly, semiannual, or annual quotas. More information: Work with fiscal year settings

Assign quotas to salespeople

Use the page to assign quotas to salespeople.

1. Make sure that you have the System Administrator or System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

38

2. Go to Settings > Business Management. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose > tab.

See Also

Work with fiscal year settings

Define related products to increase chances of sales

Manage service

Get started with service

Key steps to get started with customer service

Basics of service and service scheduling

Get started with service management

Configure the process flow for customer service

Improve customer service with better automation and tracking

Use articles in the knowledge base

View, block, or deactivate a social profile

Set up service terms

Define service level agreements (SLAs)

Disable or enable Service Level Agreements (SLAs) for cases

Create an entitlement to define the support terms for a customer

Create a customer service schedule and define the work hours

Use the workplace calendar

Set up a holiday schedule

Set when your business is closed

Schedule time off

Create or edit a service

Create or edit a contract

Define support terms for customers by using contracts

Set up and define rules for service

Define subjects to categorize cases, products, and articles

Create a simple selection rule

Create or edit a resource group

Use sites to manage your service locations

Set the capacity required for a service or resource

Set work hours of a resource

Restrict a resource from performing a service

Create or edit a selection rule

Set up and define rules for service

39

Define settings for parent and child cases

Create rules to automatically route cases

Automatically create a case from an email

Set up rules to automatically create or update records in CRM

Create or edit a queue

Set up queues to manage activities and cases

Add a timer control to the Case form to track time against an SLA

Define status reason transitions for incident (case) management

Work with cases

Create and manage a case

Merge similar cases

Create and manage parent and child cases

Add a phone call, task, email, or appointment activity to a case or record

Create or edit an appointment

Create and manage activities

Schedule a service activity

Navigate the service calendar

Find the next available time before creating a service activity

Create a service activity without checking for conflicts

Manage queues items

Assign an activity to a user or queue

Find what's assigned to you in a queue

Use the Unified Service Desk

Unified Service Desk Base package

Unified Service Desk for CRM 2013 SP1 with product updates package

Unified Service Desk for CRM 2013 SP1 package

Set up and use Unified Service Desk for customer service

Get started with service

Key steps to get started with customer service

Basics of service and service scheduling

Get started with service management

Configure the process flow for customer service

Improve customer service with better automation and tracking

Use articles in the knowledge base

View, block, or deactivate a social profile

40

Key steps to get started with customer service

Customer service is an important part of your organization. To help you get started, we’ve created an easy to read top tasks list.

Task

Find support cases that are assigned to you

Track your interaction with your customer

Create and manage a support case

Find information in knowledge base articles

Get reports on support trends

Description Learn more

See the support cases assigned to you along with other cases in the support queue.

Find what's assigned to you in a queue

Use the activities area in a support case to track interaction between you and the customer.

Add a phone call, task, email, or appointment activity to a case or record

Learn everything you need to know about working on a support case.



Create a case



Find a solution from similar cases



Edit or resolve a case



Reassign or add it back to the support queue

Create and manage a case

Quick ref card: For customer service reps eBook: Give create customer service

Video: How to create, reactivate, and reassign a case (1:47)

Use the knowledge base to get answers to common questions, solutions to problems, and more.

Use articles in the knowledge base

eBook: Use KB articles to help your customers

View reports to manage your work and identify trends and issues.

Case Summary Table report

Neglected Cases report

Top knowledge base articles report

See Also

eBook: What’s new in customer service

41

Basics of service and service scheduling

Avoid disruptions in service by making sure that your resources are scheduled optimally and efficiently. Learn the basics of getting started with managing services and service scheduling in

Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Understand the service terminology



Service: A type of work, such as a maintenance activity, performed for a customer by one or more resources. Services are schedulable activities.



Resource: Users, facilities or equipment, or teams that can be scheduled and have work schedules.



Resource groups: Groups of resources that can be scheduled interchangeably.



Work hours: The hours that a resource is available for scheduling.



Site: The location of a resource. Use sites to make sure that the customer and the resource are in the same location.



Service activity: A schedulable appointment to provide a service to a customer. A service activity uses one or more resources to perform a service at a specific time and place. An appointment is a schedulable activity that does not use services and does not require a resource with work hours.



Scheduling rule: A set of criteria that specifies which personnel, equipment, facilities, or resource groups are required to perform a service, or how to select these resources, based on parameters like quantity and capacity.

Select resources for service

When you add a resource to a service, create a selection rule to determine how resources will be selected for service activities.

You can create a simple rule that selects resources from a list, or a compound rule that selects a combination of resources, or a complex tree of selection rules that selects from groups of equivalent resources.

More information: Create a simple selection rule

Capacity vs. effort

—understand the difference

You can set up services and resources in Microsoft Dynamics CRM to take into account differentsized facilities or the experience levels of your users when a service is scheduled. This is known as capacity scheduling. Capacity is a relative unit that you define. For example, you could define capacity in a bicycle repair shop as the number of bikes the shop has room to accommodate at the same time. If a repair bay has room for four bike-repair stations, the repair bay can accept four bikes for repair or inspection at the same time.

Capacity can also measure skill level. For example, a junior bike technician has the ability to perform one bike inspection per hour, and a senior technician has the ability to perform four bike inspections per hour. If two bikes must be inspected in one hour, it takes either two junior technicians, or one senior technician who can perform the inspections in half the time.

When you add effort required into the selection rule, every time a user searches for an available service activity time, the selection rules inspect the resources for capacity available. If the resource is scheduled, then that resource's capacity is reduced by the effort required for the service. This is repeated every time that a service is scheduled requiring that resource, until the capacity is exhausted.

42

Capacity is defined in the resource’s working hours. Effort required is defined in the service. You can think of capacity as "how much money you have" and effort required as "how much something costs."

For example, the repair bay has a capacity of four. A bike repair requires an effort of one and a tandem bike repair requires an effort of two. The first time the repair bay is selected, its capacity is reduced to three for that time. The next service activity scheduled is for a tandem bike. This reduces the repair bay's capacity by two. The repair bay has the capacity of one left, which means it could accept another bike repair, but not a tandem bike repair.

Add resources to existing services

You can add as many resources as you want, and they can be a mix of individual users, facilities,

equipment, and teams. More information: Create or edit a service

Use resource groups

Use resource groups to group users, facilities, and equipment as part of the selection rules for a service. You can add resources to a resource group from the service record. More information:

Create or edit a resource group

Test your service

Before you start using a service, test it. Create a service activity with no criteria other than the service. You can use the results to confirm that the service is selecting correctly. The message bar will also display any problems with the search.

1. Click or tap Microsoft Dynamics CRM > Service > Service Calendar.

2. Click or tap Service Activity. This bypasses the scheduling form.

3. Select the service to test.

4. Click or tap Find Available Times.

See Also

Key steps to get started with customer service

Create a service activity without checking for conflicts

Schedule a service activity

eBook: What’s new in customer service

Get started with service management

Easily set up and manage your customer service tasks from one place by using the Service

Management page in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Set up everything related to customer service, like defining parent-child case hierarchy, creating queues, routing rule sets, rule for automatic case creation, service level agreements (SLAs), entitlements, and customer service schedule.

Use the links in this topic to learn more about each of these tasks.

Important

For Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online organizations, some features like SLAs, entitlements, and parent and child cases are available if you've applied product updates for CR

M Online Spring ‘14, or if you’ve installed the CRM Online 2015 Update. For onpremises CRM organizations, these features are available if you've installed CRM 2013

Service Pack 1 (onpremises), or if you’ve updated to CRM 2015. Interested in getting this feature? Find your CRM administrator or support person

43

Case settings

Create or edit a queue

Define settings for parent and child cases

Create rules to automatically route cases

Automatically create a case from an email

Set up rules to automatically create or update records in CRM

Service terms

Define service level agreements (SLAs)

Create an entitlement to define the support terms for a customer

Set up a holiday schedule

Create a customer service schedule and define the work hours

Templates

Set up entitlements quickly with templates

Create templates for email

Create templates for articles

Create templates for contracts

Service scheduling

Set when your business is closed

Create or edit a service

Add facilities and equipment for service scheduling

Create or edit a resource group

Edit existing SharePoint site records

See Also

eBook: What’s new in customer service eBook: Give great customer service with CRM eBook: Use KB articles to help your customers

Configure the process flow for customer service

The process flow bar organizes tasks under various stages, which are used to easily lead you through the process of case resolution. The process flow bar also highlights the stages and tasks that you’ve already completed. You can configure the bar to add or update the stages, steps, and fields to suit your business needs.

To change stages, steps, and fields in the customer service process

1. Make sure that you have the Customer Service Manager, System Administrator, or

System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

44

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. From the case form, choose the More Commands button, and then choose Edit

Process.

3. To add a new stage, choose the plus sign (+) next to Stages. You can add up to 30 stages, and each stage can contain up to 30 steps and fields.

4. Name the stage anything you like, and then add steps. To move the stage to where you want it to appear in the process, choose the up and down arrows at the bottom of the form.

5. To add a step within a stage, follow the same process: Choose the plus sign (+) next to

Steps, name the stage, and then move it to the desired place in the order.

6. Fields appear automatically next to each new step. To select the type of field you want for a step, choose the field and select from the drop-down list.

7. Choose Save.

See Also

Create and manage a case

Improve customer service with better automation and tracking

Improve customer satisfaction by tracking and recording their issues, maintaining service levels, and managing service terms through entitlements in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Create queue and route cases

You can create queues to sort incoming cases according to subject-matter expertise or product or services to ensure that a customer service representative (CSR) with the right experience gets each case. Use routing rules to automatically route cases that match certain criteria to queues.

You can also route individual cases manually.

Note

The routing rules feature is only available in organizations that have applied product updates for CRM Online Spring ‘14 or have installed the CRM Online 2015 Update. For

CRM on-premises organizations, the routing rules feature is available if you've installed

CRM 2013 Service Pack 1 (on-premises) or if you have updated to CRM 2015. Interested in getting this feature? More information: Find your CRM administrator or support person

More information: Set up queues to manage activities and cases

Automatically create cases from email or social records

Note

For Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online organizations, this feature is available if you've applied product updates for CRM Online Spring '14, or if you’ve installed the CRM Online

2015 Update.

For on-premises CRM organizations, this feature is available if you've installed CRM

2013 Se rvice Pack 1, or if you’ve updated to CRM 2015.

Interested in getting this feature? More information: Find your CRM administrator or support person

45

You can save your CSRs from having to manually create cases that come in from email or social records by setting up Microsoft Dynamics CRM to automatically create cases from multiple channels. You can create automatic case creation rules that convert incoming email or social posts targeted to specific queues. For cases that are created from email messages, you can also choose to send a response to the customer with case details by using a default template. More

information: Automatically create a case from an email

Track service levels through SLAs

Note

For Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online organizations, this feature is available if you've applied product updates for CRM Online Spring '14, or if you’ve installed the CRM Online

2015 Update.

For on-premises CRM organizations, this feature is available if you've installed CRM

2013 Service Pack 1, or if you’ve updated to CRM 2015.

Interested in getting this feature? More information: Find your CRM administrator or support person

Service level agreements (SLAs) let you clearly define the timelines in which your customer service or support team is expected to meet the key performance indicators (KPIs) for the service you provide to your customers. You can associate a customer service schedule to the SLA to make sure that your business hours are considered while tracking the SLA timelines.

Help your CSRs see in real time the remaining time or passed time for a KPI on the case records by adding a timer control to the case form.

More information: Define service level agreements (SLAs)

Define service terms through entitlements

Note

For Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online organizations, this feature is available if you've applied product updates for CRM Online Spring '14, or if you’ve installed the CRM Online

2015 Update.

For on-premises CRM organizations, this feature is available if you've installed CRM

2013 Service Pack 1, or if you’ve updated to CRM 2015.

Interested in getting this feature? More information: Find your CRM administrator or support person

Quickly determine what kind of support a customer is eligible for by defining and associating entitlements with customers. When a customer gets in touch with the support team, this information helps CSRs determine if the customer is eligible for support and whether a case should be created for the customer. You can create an entitlement based on the product that the customer has purchased. You can also have multiple entitlements for a customer. More

information: Create an entitlement to define the support terms for a customer

Track service agreements and pricing details through contracts

Find out if a customer has prepaid support for the products or services they’ve purchased by using contracts in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Use contracts and contract lines to define:



Prices for the customer service of each product



Number of calls allowed or the total number of minutes that can be spent on customer issues



Duration for which the service will be valid

46

More information: Define support terms for customers by using contracts

Track customer issues through cases

When a customer contacts your organization, a CSR opens a case and enters information about the customer and the customer's issue.

CSRs can simplify tracking of cases by associating related cases as parent-child cases. For example, a customer reports an issue that needs coordination with other teams. You can create child cases to track the individual work items and assign the cases to the individuals. And, create a parent case to track the progress of the customer-reported case and any communication done with the customer.

More information: Define settings for parent and child cases

If the person who opens the c ase isn’t the one to resolve it, the case can be assigned to a queue or to another CSR. By logging activities and time spent on a case, a manager can track performance and productivity. Open and resolved cases can be searched. A resolved case can be reopened so that additional activities and time can be logged against it, if necessary.

More information: Create and manage a case

Share information in the knowledge base

CSRs can share information, including common issues and the approved fixes, product sheets, and updates, in the form of searchable articles stored in the knowledge base. After a CSR finds the right article, the CSR can email the article directly to the customer and store it with the case

for review later. More information: Use articles in the knowledge base

Create and schedule services

Improve customer satisfaction by defining clearly what services you’ll provide to them, and efficiently and optimally scheduling these services. With scheduling, you can provide a service to your customers and ensure that the right combination of personnel, facilities, and equipment are available to perform the service. You can also track a customer's preferences for time of day, service, and personnel.

More information: Create or edit a service ,

Basics of service and service scheduling

Manage performance and productivity through reports and dashboards

Reports are an efficient way to stay informed of customer service performance in your organization. With this information, you can create more precise schedules, forecast resource

needs, and manage performance improvements. More information: Customize and organize reports

Microsoft Dynamics CRM introduces new default dashboards for CSRs and customer service managers (CSMs). CSRs can use the dashboard to see their cases with details like:



Case priority



Cases close to running over their SLA



Average handling time

CSMs can use the dashboard to see cases with each CSR (agent) or queue. The CSM can also get insight into whether the SLA for cases was met or not.

See Also

eBook: What’s new in customer service eBook: Give great customer service with CRM

47

Use articles in the knowledge base

Make critical knowledge available to everyone by capturing it in articles in Microsoft Dynamics

CRM. Create a customized library for business information, product guides, data sheets, and other articles with timely and relevant information.

An administrator sets up a subject tree to categorize articles based on your organization's unique needs. New articles can be based on templates, which define the structure for individual articles, such as the question and answer sections in an FAQ.

After your organization has some articles in Microsoft Dynamics CRM, you can link them to a case or even send them to customers in e-mail.

A typical knowledge management consists of the following stages:

Create and update articles

Collaborate with colleagues while writing or editing your articles. Review suggestions, corrections, and additions in the comments on an article and then update the article based on these c omments. When you’re done, send your article to a manager for approval. Once approved, it is available in search results, to view, or to share with colleagues and customers after about 15 to

20 minutes.

1. Go to Service > Articles. (How do I get there?)

2. To create a new article: Choose +New.

To edit an article, open the article from the list.

3. If you are creating a new article, in the Select Template dialog box, select a language and template that you want to use to create the article, and choose OK.

Note

If you need other templates, you can request your system administrator or customizer.

4. Type or modify information in the text boxes.

Hovertips provide hints about what to enter.

All articles are initially created in a Draft state. To publish the articles, a manager must approve these.

5. In the Actions group, choose Submit.

Edit, reject, or approve an article

To make sure that the articles that people in your organization use are up to date, someone with manager privileges needs to approve any new or revised articles. Similarly, managers can remove unneeded articles.



To view or edit an unapproved article, on the nav bar, choose Microsoft Dynamics CRM >

Service > Articles, and open the Unapproved Articles view, and then choose the article. To add comments to the article, in the Actions group, choose Add Comments.



To reject an article, open the article and in the Actions group, choose Reject. Rejected articles are returned to the Unapproved Articles view for revision.



To approve an article, in the list of unapproved articles, select the article, and then on the command bar, choose APPROVE.

48

When you approve an article, it is automatically published and is available for viewing in the knowledge base in approximately 15 minutes. After an article is published, if you want to edit it, you must first unpublish it.

Find an article

Microsoft Dynamics CRM provides several ways to look for articles that people in your organization have created. You can search by using keywords, titles, or the text from a published article. If you know the exact article number, you can quickly open the article that you need. But if you are not sure what text to use before you begin looking, you can also browse through articles by subject.

1. Go to Service > Articles. (How do I get there?)

2. In the Search box, type the keyword, and then choose the Search icon.

3. To filter search results, choose the Search Tool icon and select one of the following:



Full-Text Search. Looks at all the published articles for the specified keyword.



Keyword Search. Compares the keyword that you specified with alternate terminology assigned to an article to find articles. For example, an article about bicycles might use keywords such as "bike" or "cycle."



Title Search. Looks at the title of all published articles for the keyword that you specified.



Subject Search. Looks at the subject of all published articles for the keyword that you specified.



Article Number Search. Looks for the number that is assigned to the article when it is published.



Subject: ‘None’. Looks for articles that have None selected as the subject.

Select Exact Text to search for the exact words that you enter in the Search for box, or select Use Like Words to search for similar words. For example, if you enter "run," the search would include "running" and "runs."

See Also

eBook: Use KB articles to help your customers eBook: What’s new in customer service

View, block, or deactivate a social profile

Track the high influencers, and the customers for your business, and save them as contacts in

Microsoft Dynamics CRM with their social profile information. You may want to get in touch with these resources later, for marketing or brand building purposes.

With the social care sample, you can create a social profile and a corresponding contact automatically, every time you create a case. You can also choose to create social profiles for the authors of the posts who have large number of followers or likes. These social profiles can be viewed in the Services area. If a social profile exists for the author of the post, a new profile is not created.

Every social profile has a corresponding contact in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. A contact can have several social profiles, but a social profil e can’t have several contacts.

49

Note

The social profile data in Microsoft Dynamics CRM is read-only. You can only view, block, define a workflow, or change the owner of the record.

View a social profile

1. Go to Service > Social Profiles. (How do I get there?)

The list of social profiles that are created in Microsoft Dynamics CRM appears.

Note

Social profiles aren’t available in Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook with

Offline Access.

2. Double-click any social profile to view the complete details.

The social profile form shows the name, profile link of the contact and the cases associated with this social profile. You can also view the influencer score if it is included as part of the social feed.

Block a social profile

To make sure that you receive only actionable social posts and avoid case creation for any unnecessary information, based on the social posts, you can block certain social profiles in

Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

1. Open the social profile that you want to block.

2. In the Blocked drop-down menu, select Yes.

3. Click or tap the Save icon at the bottom-right corner of the window.

Deactivate a social profile

If you no longer work with a social profile, you can deactivate the profile temporarily. To do this, from the list of social profiles, select a profile, and click Deactivate on the command bar.

You can reactivate the profile by selecting it and clicking Activate on the command bar.

Set up service terms

Define service level agreements (SLAs)

Disable or enable Service Level Agreements (SLAs) for cases

Create an entitlement to define the support terms for a customer

Create a customer service schedule and define the work hours

Use the workplace calendar

Set up a holiday schedule

50

Set when your business is closed

Schedule time off

Create or edit a service

Create or edit a contract

Define support terms for customers by using contracts

Define service level agreements (SLAs)

Define the level of service or support that your organization agrees to offer to a customer by using service level agreements (SLAs) in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Include detailed items to define metrics or key performance indicators (KPIs) to attain the service level. KPIs help you get a timely warning on your team’s issues while providing support.

You can associate an SLA with an entitlement so that when an entitlement is added to a case, the

associated SLA is also applied. More information: Create an entitlement to define the support terms for a customer

Alternately, you can set up a default SLA for the organization.

Important

For Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online organizations, this feature is available if you've applied product updates for CRM Online Spring '14, or if you’ve installed the CRM Online

2015 Update.

For on-premises CRM organizations, this feature is available if you've installed CRM

2013 Service Pack 1, or if you’ve updated to CRM 2015.

Interested in getting this feature? More information: Find your CRM administrator or support person

On this page:

Standard vs. enhanced

SLAs: What’s the difference?

Create a standard SLA

Create an enhanced SLA

Set the SLA as default

Disable the SLA

How is the SLA applied?

Track SLA status and details

Standard vs. enhanced SLAs: What’s the difference?

Microsoft Dynamics CRM lets you create two types of SLAs: Standard and Enhanced. Enhanced

SLAs have some additional capabilities that the standard SLAs don’t have. With an enhanced

SLA, you can



Pause an SLA when the case is on hold, so that the time the case is on hold isn’t considered in SLA calculations.



Add success actions to an SLA. For example, you may want to send communication internally or outside your organization when the SLA has succeeded. Success actions are initiated only when the success condition is met on time, not when it is breached.



Track SLA statuses and times right on the case form by default. These details are tracked through the SLA KPI Instance record type.

51

Important

We recommend that you use only one type of SLA in your organization. Also, we recommend the use of enhanced SLAs hereafter.

Create a standard SLA

1. Make sure that you have the Customer Service Manager, System Administrator, or

System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.

When you activate an SLA, a corresponding workflow is also created. Whatever action you do on the SLA, you must have permissions to perform the same action on workflows.

The SLA is applied in context to the permissions that the owner of the SLA has.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Service Management. (How do I get there?)

3. Go to Service Level Agreements.

4. To create a new SLA, on the command bar, choose the New button.

-OR-

To edit an SLA, in the list of records, select the SLA, and on the command bar, choose

Edit.

5. Fill in your information:



Name.



Applicable From. Select the case field that specifies the date and time from which the SLA items will be calculated. For example, if you choose the Created On field, the calculations for service level agreements will start from the time the case is created.



Business Hours. Select a customer service schedule record that defines your support organization’s business hours. This is useful in the SLA time-tracking calculations. If a business hours record (customer service schedule) isn’t selected, the work hours are considered as 24 x 7.



SLA Type. Select Standard.



Allow Pause and Resume. Select Do Not Allow. Because standard SLAs do not support pausing and resuming of SLAs, you can set this field to Allow only when you’re creating an enhanced SLA.

6. Choose Save.

7. To add SLA details, in the SLA Details section, choose the Add button .

You add SLA details to define the key performance indicators (KPIs) or metrics for the service level agreement. You can define any KPI as per your organization’s requirements. For example, a KPI could be that all cases for standard customers must be resolved within five days of case creation.

52

Define success criteria and the failure and warning actions that need to be taken when a service level metric isn’t met for a customer case.

SLA KPIs are performance indicators that you’d like to track, for example First Response or Resolve By. SLA items refer to SLA KPIs based on specific conditions. You can add multiple SLA items and arrange them in the order that works for you. For any given KPI, only the first SLA item that matches the conditions in the Applicable When section is applied.

Note

In Microsoft Dynamics CRM, SLA and SLA KPIs (SLA details) use the process

(workflow) functionality. Although SLA KPIs use workflows, not all of the actions available in workflows are available for defining the failure and warning actions.

The available actions are currently limited to Send Email, Create Record,

Update Record, Assign Record, and Change Status. More information:

TechNet: Create and edit processes

8. Fill in the information in the New SLA Item form:



Name. Type a meaningful name.



Related Case Field. Select a field of DateTime type of the case record that this SLA item refers to. For example, if you are creating a KPI for sending the first response within a specified time, select the First Response By option from the drop-down box.

If required, ask your system customizer to create new fields of type DateTime.

When a case record is created or updated, in the case record this field is set to the date and time when the failure time will be reached for the respective SLA item. For example, select First Response By in Related Case Field, and set Failure After to

2 hours from case creation. If the case is created at 09:00, the First Response By field in the case record will be set to 11:00, assuming the business hours are 24*7.



Tip

By default, there are four options available in the drop-down box. If you want to track other KPIs, ask your system customizer to create case fields of type date-time.

In the Applicable When section, define the conditions under which the KPI will be applicable. The condition can be based on case or related entity fields.

For example, the conditions could be:

Note

If there are multiple clauses, and you don’t use And or OR grouping, by default the clauses will use the AND grouping.



In the Success Criteria section, specify the conditions to define when the KPI will be considered as met. For example, the conditions could be:

53

Note

Before you specify the SLA failure and warning actions, save the SLA item record.



Under SLA Item Failure, in the Failure After drop-down box, select when the SLA items will be considered as failed. For example, if you select 1 hour, the KPI will be considered as failed if the first response is not done within 1 hour of case creation. 1 hour is calculated based on the value in date/time field that you select in the

Applicable From field of the SLA record.



In the Failure Actions section, choose Add Step and specify the actions that will be taken when the success criteria isn’t met and the case has exceeded the specified failure time. For example, to mark the case for escalation when the KPI has failed, choose Add Step > Update Record. Then select Case, and choose Set Properties.

Now in the case record, change the value of the Is Escalated field, and close the case form.



Under SLA Item Warning, in the Warn After drop-down box, select when a warning is to be raised for the KPI nearing violation.



In the Warning Actions section, choose Add Step and specify the actions to be taken when the KPI reaches the warning time. For example, to warn the case owner about the KPI nearing violation, choose Add Step > Send Email. Then select Create

New Message, and choose Set Properties. Now in the email record, specify the email details, and close the email form.

Note

The time for failure and warning is calculated after considering the business hours selected in the SLA record. If a business hours record (customer ser vice schedule) isn’t selected, the work hours are considered as 24 x 7.

9. Choose Save and Close.

Important



The failure and warning actions run asynchronously and may not get triggered exactly at the failure or warning time.



If the failure or warning times are set to less than 1 hour, there can be a delay in the processing of failure or warning actions.



Make sure you author the SLAs in the best way suitable to your company’s needs.

For example, in the SLA Applicable When conditions, avoid using case fields that are updated too frequently because it may lead to frequent SLA computation and impact performance.

54

Create an enhanced SLA

1. Make sure that you have the Customer Service Manager, System Administrator, or

System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.

When you activate an SLA, a corresponding workflow is also created. Whatever action you do on the SLA, you must have permissions to perform the same action on workflows.

The SLA is applied in context to the permissions that the owner of the SLA has.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Service Management. (How do I get there?)

3. Go to Service Level Agreements.

4. To create a new SLA, choose the New button.

-OR-

To edit an SLA, in the list of records, select the SLA, and on the command bar, choose

Edit.

5. Fill in your information



Name



Applicable From. Select the case field that specifies the date and time from which the SLA items will be calculated. For example, if you select the Created On field, the calculations for service level agreements will start from the time the case is created.



Business Hours. Select a customer service schedule record that defines your support organization’s business hours. This is useful in the SLA time-tracking calculations. If a business hours record (customer service schedule) isn’t selected, the work hours are considered as 24 x 7.



SLA Type. Select Enhanced.



Allow Pause and Resume. Select Allow if you want the SLA to pause during the time the case is on hold. You can set the case statuses that will be considered “on

hold” in the Service tab of System Settings dialog box. More information:

System

Settings dialog box - Service tab . You can set this field to Allow

only when you’re creating an enhanced SLA.

6. Choose Save.

7. To add SLA details, in the SLA Details section, choose the Add button .

8. Fill in your information in the SLA Item form:



Name. Type a meaningful name.



SLA KPI. Select the key performance indicator the SLA item is about. For example, if you are creating a KPI for sending the first response within a specified time, select the First Response By KPI option from the drop-down box.

For example, select First Response By KPI in the SLA KPI field, and set Failure

After to 2 hours from case creation. If the case is created at 09:00, the Failure Time

55

field of the SLA KPI Instance record is set to 11:00 assuming the business hours are

24*7.

Tip

By default, there are two options available in the drop-down box. If you want to track other KPIs, for enhanced SLAs ask your system customizer to create new case fields (of type lookup) that refer to the SLA KPI Instance entity.



In the Applicable When section, define the conditions under which the KPI will be applicable. The condition can be based on case or related entity fields.

For example, the conditions could be:



In the Success Criteria section, specify the conditions to define when the KPI will be considered as met. For example, the conditions could be:

Note

Before you specify the SLA failure and warning details, save the SLA item record.



In the Success Action section, choose Add Step and specify the actions that you want CRM to take when the success criteria is met before the violation time. For example, choose Add Step > Change Status. Then, in the first drop-down box, select Case, and in the next drop-down box, select Information Provided. This option is available only if you’re creating enhanced SLAs.



Under SLA Item Failure, in the Failure After drop-down box, select when the SLA items will be considered as failed. For example, if you select 1 hour, the KPI will be considered as failed if the first response is not done within 1 hour of case creation. 1 hour is calculated based on the value in date/time field that you select in the

Applicable From field of the SLA record.



In the Failure Actions section, choose Add Step and specify the actions that will be taken when the success criteria are not met and the case has exceeded the specified failure time. For example, to mark the case for escalation when the KPI has failed, choose Add Step > Update Record. Then select Case, and choose Set Properties.

Now in the case record, change the value of the Is Escalated field, and close the case form.



Under SLA Item Warning, in the Warn After drop-down box, select when a warning is to be raised for the KPI nearing violation.

56



In the Warning Actions section, choose Add Step and specify the actions to be taken when the KPI reaches the warning time. For example, to warn the case owner about the KPI nearing violation, choose Add Step > Send Email. Then select Create

New Message, and choose Set Properties. In the email record, specify the email details and close the email form.

Note

The time for failure and warning is calculated after considering the business hours selected in the SLA record. If a business hours record (customer service schedule) isn’t selected, the work hours are considered as 24 x 7.

Set the SLA as default

Make an SLA a default one if you want it to apply to all the cases that don’t have an SLA applied through an entitlement. This is useful when a customer wants a service level agreement without an entitlement. You can’t apply an SLA to a case unless it’s set as the default or it’s associated with an entitlement.

To set an SLA as default, select an active SLA from the list, and choose Set as Default on the command bar.

You can only have one default SLA at a time.

Note

If you deactivate a default SLA, you must activate it again before resetting it as the default.

Disable the SLA

During maintenance activities or when you’re importing cases and you don’t want the SLAs to apply to the cases, you can disable SLAs for the organization. A system administrator can disable

SLAs from the System Settings. More information: System Settings dialog box - Service tab

How is the SLA applied?

When a case is created, the SLA is applied (default or through entitlement) and the related case field values are updated. When the case is modified and any of the case field values change, that is, when the fields that are added in the Applicable When conditions of the SLA change, the SLA is applied again. For example, if the priority of the case changes from Normal to High, and according to the SLA the first response should happen soon, the SLA is reapplied to make sure the KPIs are tracked based on the updated values.

When the SLA is applied again, all the SLA items are evaluated based on the updated case fields and the failure or warning actions are initiated if the time has been exceeded. This happens even if the failure or warning actions were already initiated before the case was updated. To avoid this, you can request that your system customizer add a custom field to the case entity (to track if the failure/warning actions were already taken) and add it to the Applicable When condition so that the actions aren’t initiated multiple times.

Track SLA status and details

You or the CSR working on the case can see the SLA details right on the case form.

The following table explains what happens when a standard or enhanced SLA applies to a case form:

57

Case form with standard SLA applied

Only the failure time is tracked and saved on the case record.

You can request the system administrator or customizer to add a timer to the case form.

The timer shows the time remaining to meet the SLA or the time elapsed since the SLA

failed. More information: Add a timer control to the Case form to track time against an SLA

Case form with enhanced SLA applied

When an enhanced SLA is applied to a case, a related SLA KPI Instance record is created for each SLA KPI that is tracked for that case.

In the Enhanced SLA Details section of the case record

, you’ll see a timer and also the

SLA KPI instances for the case with their statuses and failure and warning time.

When a service rep puts a case on hold, the status of the SLA KPI Instance is set to

Paused. You can see the time for which a case was on hold and the last time the case was put on hold. These details are not available on the case form by default, but your system customizer can add these fields on the case form for you. The on hold time is the time for which the case was set to a status that you defined as On-Hold statuses in the System settings dialog box. More information:

System Settings dialog box - Service tab

When the service rep resumes a case, the status of the SLA KPI Instance record is updated. The following details are updated in the record if the SLA isn’t violated:



Failure time



Warning time



Total time the case is on hold

If the service rep puts the case on hold after the warning time, then the warning time isn’t updated when the case is resumed.

See Also

Create a customer service schedule and define the work hours

Create an entitlement to define the support terms for a customer

Automatically create a case from an email

Create rules to automatically route cases

Create and manage a case

Disable or enable Service Level Agreements (SLAs) for cases

If your organization has installed and applied updates from Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online

Spring ‘14 or Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 Service Pack 1 (SP1), or if your organization is using the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online 2015 Update or Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2015, you can define service level agreements (SLAs) for your customers. SLAs include the metrics or key performance indicators (KPIs) required for an agreed-upon service level.

58

SLAs are enabled by default. You can enable or disable them for cases in your organization. For example, you might want to disable SLAs during maintenance activities or when you’re importing cases and you don’t want the SLAs to apply to the cases.

Note

When SLAs are disabled, SLA records can still be created or modified. SLAs will not be applied to case records, however.

Disable or enable SLAs

1. Make sure that you have the System Administrator or System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Administration. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose System Settings.

4. On the General tab, under Disable SLAs, select Yes to disable SLAs. To enable SLAs, select No.

5. Click or tap OK.

See Also

Define service level agreements (SLAs)

Create an entitlement to define the support terms for a customer

Create an entitlement to define the support terms for a customer

Define what kind of support your customers are eligible for by creating entitlements in Microsoft

Dynamics CRM. With entitlements, you specify the support term based on number of hours or number of cases. The customer’s support level can vary based on the product or service that the customer has purchased. Customers who’ve purchased different products can be entitled to different support levels. This information helps the customer support agents verify what the customers are eligible for and accordingly create cases for them.

Note

For Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online organizations, this feature is available if you've applied product updates for CRM Online Spring '14, or if you’ve installed the CRM Online

2015 Update.

For on-premises CRM organizations, this feature is available if you've installed CRM

2013 Service Pack 1, or if you’ve updated to CRM 2015.

59

Interested in getting this feature? More information: Find your CRM administrator or support person

Create an entitlement

1. Make sure that you have the Customer Service Manager, System Administrator, or

System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Service Management. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Entitlements.

4. To create a new entitlement from a template, choose + New > From Template. In the

Select Template dialog box, choose the entitlement template, and choose Select.

To create a new entitlement from scratch, choose + New > Blank Entitlement.

-OR-

To edit an entitlement, in the list of records, choose the entitlement, and then on the command bar, choose Edit.

5. Fill in your information. Use the handy tooltips as a guide.



Name. Give the entitlement a meaningful name.



Primary Customer. Choose the customer you are creating this entitlement for.



Start Date. Choose the date from which the customer will be entitled for support.



End Date. Choose the date until which the customer will be entitled for support.



Restrict based on entitlement terms. To make sure no cases are created when the entitlement term is over, choose Yes. When you choose Yes, a customer service agent won’t be able to create a case when Remaining Terms is less than 0 OR when the term remaining for a channel is less than 0.



SLA. Choose an SLA record to associate the service levels or key performance indicators for the support you are providing with this entitlement.

Under Entitlement Terms, specify the term details for the entitlement:



Allocation Type. Choose whether the entitlement is for number of hours or number of cases.



Decrease Remaining On. Choose whether to decrease the remaining term on case creation or resolution.

If you choose to decrease the remaining term based on case creation:



Creating or updating a case with the associated entitlement decreases entitlement terms



Canceling a case with the associated entitlement increases entitlement terms



Reactivating a canceled case with the associated entitlement decreases the entitlement terms

60

If you choose to decrease the remaining term based on case resolution:



Resolving a case with the associated entitlement decreases the entitlement terms



Reactivating a resolved case with the associated entitlement increases the entitlement terms.



Total Term. Specify the total amount of support the customer is entitled for with respect to the allocation type. For example, if the allocation type is number of cases and you specify 100 in Total Term, then the customer is entitled for support up to

100 cases.



The Remaining Term shows the total number of hours or cases remaining for the customer’s entitlement. The value decrements every time a case is created or resolved (depending on what you select in Decrease Remaining On) against the entitlement.

6. Choose Save.

Add an entitlement channel term

The Entitlement Channel section specifies the support channel through which the customer can reach the organization and seek support.

Use this section to define the channels your customers are entitled to, and track the customer support term for each channel. For example, you can add phone and email as your channels through which you’ll offer support. If you want to restrict support through the phone channel to 80 hours and email to 20 hours, create individual entitlement channel records and add their total terms.

Note

You must save the entitlement record before you can add entitlement channels to an entitlement.

1. In the Entitlement Channel section, choose +.

2. Specify the total terms that you want to allot to the particular channel.

The remaining term is auto-calculated and shows the total number of hours or cases remaining for the customer’s entitlement.

Associate a product with the entitlement

If you want the entitlement to apply to a specific product for a customer, associate the product to the entitlement.

Note

If you don't add a product, the customer will be entitled to support for all the products.

1. While in the entitlement record, in the Products section, choose +.

2. In the Search box, type the first few letters of the name of the product that you want to associate with the entitlement.

If a product isn’t available, to create a new product record, choose + New.

Associate a customer contact with the entitlement

61

To let only certain contacts of a customer claim the entitlement for a specific product, associate the contacts with the entitlement.

Note

If you don’t add a contact, all the contacts for the specified primary customer will be entitled to support.

1. While in the entitlement record, in the Contacts section, choose +.

2. In the Search box, type the first few letters of the contact that you want to associate with the entitlement. This contact record must belong to the account or contact specified in the

Customer field.

If a contact isn’t available, choose + New to create a new contact record.

All active entitlements for a customer appear in the Active Entitlements section of the customer record.

Activate or deactivate an entitlement

Before you can start applying an entitlement to a case, you must activate it.

1. While in the entitlement record, on the command bar, choose Activate.

2. In the Confirm Activation dialog box, choose Activate.

Note

If the start and end date of the entitlement fall in the future, the status of the entitlement is set to Waiting. On the start date, the status automatically changes to Active. If the end date is in the past, the entitlement is set to Expired.

When an en titlement is active, you can’t edit it. To deactivate an entitlement so you can edit it, on the command bar, choose Deactivate.

Set as default entitlement

If you’re on Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online 2015 Update 1, you can activate the entitlement and then set it as the default entitlement for a customer. The entitlement terms from the associated entitlement are automatically decremented. However, if you don’t want the entitlement terms to be decremented for a case, from the command bar choose Do not decrement entitlement

terms.

1. On the command bar choose Set As Default.

2. In the Confirm set default dialog box, choose OK.

Now the default entitlement will automatically be applied when a case is created or when a case is updated depending on what you selected for default entitlements in the system settings area. For more information, see the “Automatically apply entitlement” section in step

4 here, System Settings dialog box - Service tab .

62

Associate entitlements to cases

In a case record, in the Entitlement field, choose the Lookup button, and select an entitlement.

The inline lookup shows only the active entitlement for the customer of the case.

The Entitlements section in the case record lists all the active entitlements for the customer. More

information: Create and manage a case

Cancel an entitlement

If the entitlement is no longer valid, you can cancel it. To cancel an active or waiting entitlement, open the entitlement, and on the command bar, choose Cancel.

Renew an entitlement

To renew a canceled or expired entitlement, open the entitlement, and then on the command bar, choose Renew.

The current entitlement will be set to Closed and a new entitlement will be created.

The start date of this new entitlement is set to the current date and the end date is set to current date + number of days between (End Date

– Start Date). The data in other fields is copied from the old entitlement.

See Also

Define service level agreements (SLAs)

Set up entitlements quickly with templates

Create and manage a case

Create a customer service schedule and define the work hours

To define when your service or support team is available for providing support to customers, create a customer service schedule in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. A customer service schedule determines the business hours for each day in a week and also the weekly off. Microsoft

Dynamics CRM uses these details for time tracking of service level agreements.

For SLA time tracking, make sure you add a holiday schedule to the customer service schedule, and associate this customer service schedule to the SLA record.

Note

For Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online organizations, this feature is available if you've ap plied product updates for CRM Online Spring '14, or if you’ve installed the CRM Online

2015 Update.

For on-premises CRM organizations, this feature is available if you've installed CRM

2013 Service Pack 1, or if you’ve updated to CRM 2015.

Interested in getting this feature? More information: Find your CRM administrator or support person

Create a customer service schedule

1. Make sure that you have the Customer Service Manager, System Administrator, or

System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.

63

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Service Management. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Customer Service Schedule.

4. To create a new customer service schedule, choose + New.

-OR-

To edit a schedule that you already have, in the list of records, select the schedule, and on the command bar, choose Edit.

5. In the Create Customer Service Schedule dialog box, in the Name box, type a meaningful name for the schedule, like “APAC Customer Schedule”, and choose Create.

6. In the Weekly Schedule dialog box, under Set the recurring weekly schedule section, follow these steps: a. For work hours, select one of these options:



Are the same each day. The schedule is the same for every day of the week.

After you select this option, to select the days of the week that the customer support is available, choose Set Work Hours.

To set the work hours for the days, choose Set Work Hours. For more information, see the Define work hours for the customer service schedule section in this topic.



Vary by day. The new schedule is different for one or more days of the week.

After you select this option, select the days of the week that the customer support is available, and also specify the work hours for each day.



24 x 7 support. The customer support is available 24 hours a day, and all days a week.

64

b. For Work Days, select the check box for each day that the customer support resources will be available and working. c. For Holiday Schedule, select Observe to specify when your service organization will be closed.

If you selected Observe, select a holiday schedule from the lookup box. More

information: Set up a holiday schedule

7. Under Select the time zone, in the Time Zone drop-down box, select the time zone in which your customer support resources will work.

8. Choose Save and Close.

Define the work hours for the schedule

In the Set Work Hours dialog box, complete the following fields, and then choose OK:



Start

Select the time the work day starts.



End

Select the time the work day ends.

To add a break in the work hours, like a lunch break, choose Add Break, and then select the start and end time of the break.

See Also

Set up a holiday schedule

Define service level agreements (SLAs)

Create an entitlement to define the support terms for a customer

Use the workplace calendar

Use the calendar to view the appointments and service activities that you have to participate in.

1. Go to Marketing > Calendar. (How do I get there?)

2. On the calendar, change the view by doing any of the following:



To change the calendar view, under Calendar Views, choose one of the views:



Month. Shows a monthly calendar.



Week. Shows a weekly calendar.



Day. Shows a daily calendar.



To view a summary of an appointment, on the calendar, place the cursor over the appointment.



To view or edit the details of an appointment, on the calendar, choose the appointment link. The appointment form opens.

3. To change the dates displayed on the calendar, on the calendar control, choose the arrows to navigate to different months or choose a specific date.

4. To view today's appointments and service activities, on the calendar control, choose

Today. The calendar displays the hourly list for today.

65

Note

The calendar displays canceled and completed appointments and service activities. To remove an appointment or service activity from the calendar, delete the record.

You can create an appointment or service activity from a normal calendar as well as a service

calendar. More information: Create or edit an appointment ,

See Also

Create a service activity without checking for conflicts

Schedule a service activity

Set up a holiday schedule

Avoid having your service level agreement s (SLAs) impacted when you’re service organization is closed by creating a holiday schedule and adding it to your service calendar.

For example, if your service organization has a SLA to reply to email cases within two business days, you can create a holiday schedule and add it to your service calendar. Then, if a customer submits an email case on that holiday, your SLA is clear and is not impacted by the holiday closure.

Important

For Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online organizations, this feature is available if you've applied product updates for CRM Online Spring '14, or if you’ve installed the CRM Online

2015 Update.

For on-premises CRM organizations, this feature is available if you've installed CRM

2013 Service Pack 1, or if you’ve updated to CRM 2015.

Interested in getting this feature? More information: Find your CRM administrator or support person

1. Make sure that you have the Customer Service Manager, System Administrator, or

System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.



Follow the steps in View your user profile

. Don’t have the correct permissions?

Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Service Management. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Holiday Schedule.

4. Choose (+)New and in the Create Holiday Schedule dialog box, enter a name and description for the holiday, and then choose Create.

5. In the list of holidays, choose the holiday you created.

6. Once the holiday is open, choose New to add the holiday to your customer service calendar.

7. In the Add a Holiday dialog box, specify the name and select the time of the holiday, and then choose OK.

66

The holiday is created and associated to your customer service calendar. Once the customer service schedule is associated to an SLA, then your SLA during business hours is not

affected. More information: Define service level agreements (SLAs)

See Also

Create a customer service schedule and define the work hours

Get started with service management

eBook: What’s new in customer service

Set when your business is closed

Prevent scheduling resources on holidays and other nonworking days by defining business closures in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. You can set both the days and times that your organization will be closed.

1. Make sure you have the Schedule Manager Security role or equivalent permissions to update the business closures.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Service Management. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Business Closure.

4. To create a new business closure, on the command bar, choose New.

-OR-

To edit an existing business closure record, open it from the list.

5. In the Schedule a Business Closure dialog box, type or modify information in the text boxes: a. In the Name box, type a name that describes the purpose of the closure.

The first 12 characters of the name appear on each day of the closure on the calendar view of the affected resource's Work Hours. b. In the Start Time and End Time boxes, enter the start and end date for the closure. c. If you want to enter duration instead of an end time, select the length of the closure in the Duration box. Microsoft Dynamics CRM automatically calculates the end time for you. d. If the closure is an all-day event, select the All Day Event check box. Microsoft

Dynamics CRM automatically enters the duration of 1 day.

If you want to enter a specific time period, clear the All Day Event check box. You can then specify the hours during which your organization will be closed.

6. To save this business closure, choose OK.

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See Also

Set work hours of a resource

Set up a holiday schedule

Create a customer service schedule and define the work hours

Schedule time off

You can schedule a period of time in the middle of a schedule when a resource is not available to be scheduled for a service activity. For a user, this could be a sick day or vacation. For a facility or equipment, this could be an equipment failure.

More information on scheduling a resource for business closure or holiday: Set or change work

hours for a user, facility, or equipment.

1. Make sure you have the System Administrator security role or equivalent permissions in

Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Business Management. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Facilities/Equipment.

4. In the list, open the resource you want to modify.

5. Under Common, click or tap Work Hours.

6. On the Monthly View tab, select a date on the calendar.

7. On the Actions toolbar, click or tap Set Up > Time Off, and then in the Schedule Time

Off dialog box, enter the following details:



Reason

. Type a short explanation for the resource’s absence.



All Day Event. Select this check box if the resource is unavailable for the entire day

(midnight to midnight) of all of the days,



Start Time and End Time.If you have not selected the All Day Event check box, you can set specific start and end times. When the end date is reached, the previous schedule continues.



Duration.If you do not want to calculate the end date, select the number of days the resource is unavailable.



Time Zone.If the resource is in a different time zone, select the time zone. Microsoft

Dynamics CRM automatically adjusts the times on the calendars.

8. Click or tap OK.

In the working hours calendar, affected days are marked with a red block. In the Service calendar the time appears as a white block and cannot be scheduled.

68

You can update your own working hours or time off, and add yourself to teams and resource groups. On the Tools menu, click or tap Options. On the General tab, at the bottom of the page, click or tap the user information link.

See Also

Set work hours of a resource

Create or edit a service

To make scheduling services quick and easy, it’s helpful to predefine the specifics of the services you’d provide to customers. By using the service records in Microsoft Dynamics CRM, you can define:



How long a service activity would last



What resources are available for the service activity, like users, facilities, or equipment

A service requires at least one selection rule and one or more resources, resource groups, or teams before the service can be scheduled with a service activity.

1. Make sure that you have the Manager, Vice President, CEO-Business Manager, System

Administrator, or System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Navigate to the Business Management area.

3. Go to Settings > Business Management. (How do I get there?)

4. Choose Services.

5. To create a new service, choose New.

-OR-

To edit a service, open a service from the list.

6. Type or modify information in the text boxes. a. Under General, enter a name and description to reflect the specifics of the service and describe what the service is. Also, specify the initial status of the service activity when it is created. If your organization prefers to approve all service activities before committing them to the schedule, you can select Requested or Tentative. b. Under Scheduling, in Default Duration, select how long the service lasts. This can be changed when the service activity is created. The maximum duration of an appointment or service activity is 10 days. c. In Start Activities Every, select how often service activities can start. This allows the start times of service activities to be staggered.

69

d. In Beginning At, select the time when the service activities must begin.

7. In the Required Resources area, define a selection rule: a. Choose a selection rule in the right-hand pane.

Selection rules appear in the tree beside the Selection Rule button . b. Choose one of the items under Common Tasks to define the selection rule by indicating how many resources are required and in what combination.

Add a Selection Rule

You can add complexity to a rule by adding a subrule to it.

Add Resources

Add users, facilities, equipment, or teams as resources to a selection rule.

Add Resource Groups

Resource groups are users, facilities, or equipment that can be scheduled interchangeably.

Warning

You can save a service without defining a selection rule, but you won’t be able to schedule that service.

More information: Create or edit a selection rule

8.

When you’re ready to save your data, choose Save.

Activate or deactivate a service

You can make a service available on unavailable for scheduling by activating or deactivating it.

To do this, in the list of service records, select a service, then choose More Actions > Activate or More actions > Deactivate.

See Also

Set the capacity required for a service or resource

Create or edit a selection rule

Create or edit a resource group

Set work hours of a resource

Create or edit a contract

Use contracts and contract lines in Microsoft Dynamics CRM to define accurate terms and conditions for the support or services to be provided to your customers.

Create a contract

Note

Although it is possible, creating a contract from an account is not recommended. The contract does not associate to the account correctly and allotments are not recorded.

1. Go to Service > Contracts. (How do I get there?)

2. Choose +New.

3. In the Select Template dialog box, select a template to base the new contract on.

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4. Type or modify information in the text boxes.

Hovertips provide hints on what to enter. a. In the Header section, enter the details of a contract such as contract name, customer, and contract start and end date.

When you save the contract, Microsoft Dynamics CRM automatically assigns the

Contract ID and calculates the duration, in days, based on the contract start and end dates. b. In the Contract Type section, enter the discount and service level of a contract.

Discounts for contract lines are given the same discount type that you select here.

Service levels are defined by your business's guidelines. c. In the History section, the following fields are filled automatically



Originating Contract. This is set when you renew an existing contract.



Contract Template. This is set based on what you select in the Select Template dialog box.



Owner d. In the Billing Information section, Microsoft Dynamics CRM automatically completes the most of the fields when the fields in the Header section are entered; however, you can change or enter the information as required. Bill To Address is required to change the status of the contract to invoiced.

5. To add activities or notes, choose Activities or Notes. More information: Add a phone call, task, email, or appointment activity to a case or record

Note



The contract becomes active once it is invoiced and the start date is reached.



You can edit an existing draft contract, but not invoiced, active, expired, canceled, or on hold contracts.



The default days and hours of service are defined in the contract template. To change the days and hours of service, open the contract and on the command bar, choose Set Calendar.

Add a contract line to a contract

Use contract lines to define specific dates, the product covered, and how many cases or total minutes of allotted support are provided. You can define several contract lines for each contract; for example, one line for parts and another for maintenance.

1. In the contract record, in the Contract Lines section, choose +.

-OR-

In the contract record, on the nav bar, choose the arrow next to the contract name >

Contract Lines, and then choose Add New Contract Lines.

2. Type or modify information in the text boxes.

Hovertips provide hints about what to enter a. Under General, enter details about the contract line item such as the line item name and the product that is eligible for service under the contract.

The start date and end date for the line item is automatically filled based on the contract dates; however, you can change the dates as needed.

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b. Under Pricing, type or modify information about the pricing of the contract such as the quantity of product or service, total price, and discount. c. Under Administration, the customer field is automatically populated with the contract’s customer. You can change it if required. Enter the serial number of a product. d. Under Allotment Details, type or modify information about the allotment such as the total allotment, and the used and remaining allotments.

The contract template determines the type of allotment (cases or minutes). As cases are opened against this contract, Microsoft Dynamics CRM displays the allotments used in the Allotments Used box.

3. Choose Save.

4. To add a note, under Notes, choose Enter a note, type the details, and choose Done.

Note

You cannot delete a contract line once it is active; instead, you can cancel it.

You can cancel a contract line only when it is set to Active. By canceling a contract line instead of deleting it, you can reuse the contract lines later if you renew the contract or create a new contract based on it. In the list of contract lines, select the contract line, and on the command bar, choose CANCEL

CONTRACT LINE.

Invoice a contract

You must define at least one contract line for the contract before you can change the status of the contract to invoiced. You can define several contract lines for each contract; for example, one for parts and another for maintenance.

To invoice a contract, after you add a contract line, on the command bar, choose Invoice

Contract.

Hold, renew, or release a contract

If you want to make changes to an active or invoiced contract, you must either cancel it or put it on hold. A canceled contract can be renewed and then edited. When a contract is on hold, no cases can be opened against the contract. For example, you might choose to put a contract on hold if there is an invoicing dispute, and then release the contract when the dispute is resolved.



To put an invoiced contract on hold, in the contract record, on the command bar, choose

Hold Contract.



To release the contract that’s on hold, in the contract record, on the command bar, choose

Release Hold.



To renew a canceled contract, in the contract record, on the command bar, choose Renew

Contract.

See Also

Define support terms for customers by using contracts

Define support terms for customers by using contracts

Effectively track the terms and conditions of support you’ll provide to customers for the products they’ve purchased. In Microsoft Dynamics CRM, contracts define information like the duration of the contract, how many case incidents or minutes of service the customer has purchased, and what hours and days of the week the service or support coverage is available.

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Create contracts

You can create new contracts based on contract templates. These define some information, such as allotment types, before you actually write a contract. You can create contracts only for existing accounts and contacts.

A contract has the status of draft until it is invoiced. Each new contract is assigned a unique ID that cannot be used for another contract, unless the contract is being renewed. When renewing a contract, the contract is saved as a draft with an ID that corresponds to the original contract.

Invoice and activate a contract

After a contract has at least one contract line and a billing address, you can mark the contract status as invoiced. Changing the status implies that you have accepted the contract.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM does not automatically invoice the customer or create an invoice record unless your business has integrated Microsoft Dynamics CRM with a Microsoft BackOffice product.

The contract status is invoiced until the start date has passed. Then, the status changes to active.

You cannot delete a contract with an invoiced or active status.

Renew a contract

After passing the end date of the contract, the contract is expired and cases cannot be opened against it. To open a new case against the contract, renew the contract.

When you renew a contract, a draft copy of the contract is created with the same ID number as the original, expired contract. You can make modifications to the new draft contract, including adding or modifying contract lines. You have the option of including contract lines that were canceled from the original contract. After the original contract expires, invoice and activate the renewed contract.

A renewed contract has the same ID number as the original contract, reflecting the renewal action in the contract's history. The start date is automatically set to the day after the existing contract expires. While Microsoft Dynamics CRM gives the renewed contract the same duration as the original contract automatically, you can change the duration manually.

See Also

Create or edit a contract

Create templates for contracts

Improve customer service with better automation and tracking

eBook: What’s new in customer service

Set up and define rules for service

Define subjects to categorize cases, products, and articles

Create a simple selection rule

Create or edit a resource group

Use sites to manage your service locations

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Set the capacity required for a service or resource

Set work hours of a resource

Restrict a resource from performing a service

Create or edit a selection rule

Define subjects to categorize cases, products, and articles

Subjects are used in cases, sales literature, products, and articles.

Create a simple selection rule

This procedure assumes that no selection rules have been created previously for this service.

1. Make sure that you have the System Administrator, System Customizer, Sales Manager,

Vice President of Sales, Vice President of Marketing, or CEO-Business Manager security role or equivalent permissions.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Business Management. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Services.

4. In the list of services, open the service to which you want to add a selection rule.

5. On the Service form, choose Required Resources, and then double-click or double-tap the first selection rule in the right pane.

Selection rules appear in the tree beside the Selection Rule button .

6. In the Edit a Selection Rule dialog box, enter the following information:



Quantity

Select the number of resources required for the service. If you select All, all the selected resources are included in the service activity.



Description

Enter any additional information about the scheduling rule you want to include.



Selection Site

This option defines whether the resources must all be from the same site or if they can be from any site in the business unit. This option is available only in the top-level selection rule.

7. Choose OK.

8. Under Common Tasks, you can add resources:

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

To add individual users, facilities, equipment or teams to the selection rule, choose

Add Resources.

In the Look Up Records dialog box, select the records you want to add. You can add as many records as you want, and they can be a mix of individual users, facilities, equipment, and teams.



To add resource groups to the selection rule, choose Add Resource Groups.

In the Look Up Records dialog box, select the records you want to add. You can add as many records as you want.

Tip

If you select multiple users in the Look Up Records dialog box and choose OK, the Save the selection as a Resource Group dialog box opens. If you want to create a resource group from the selected resources, choose Yes, save the

selection as a resource group with the name, enter a name in the box, and then choose OK. The new resource group appears in the selection tree.

9. Choose OK.

10. Choose Save or Save and Close.

Tip

After you set up the selection rule, create a service activity for the service rule and check the search results to verify that the results are what you expect.

See Also

Create or edit a selection rule

Schedule a service activity

Create or edit a resource group

Create or edit a resource group

Use resource groups to group users, facilities, and equipment as part of the selection rules for a service.

Create a resource group

1. Go to Settings > Business Management. (How do I get there?)

2. Choose Resource Groups.

3. On the Actions toolbar, choose New.

4. In the Resource Groups form, enter information in the following fields:



Name

You must enter a name for the resource group. Microsoft Dynamics CRM does not check that the name is unique.



Business Unit

To locate and select a business unit, choose the Lookup button .



Description

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You can add a detailed description of this resource group, including the criteria that you used to determine which resources to add to the resource group.

5. Choose Save.

After you save the record, Resources appears under Common.

6. Choose Resources, and then on the Actions toolbar, choose Add Resources.

7. In the Look Up dialog box, select the users, facilities/equipment, teams, or other resource groups to add to this resource group.

Adding other resource groups to a resource group is a good way to manage large numbers of resources. For example, you could add the resource groups of "senior technicians" and "junior technicians" to a resource group of "technicians."

8. Choose OK to add the selected resources to the resource group.

9. Choose Save or Save and Close.

Edit a resource group

1. Navigate to your area.

Go to Settings > Business Management. (How do I get there?)

2. Choose Resource Groups.

3. Open the resource group you want to change.

4. In the Resource Groups form, change the information.

5. Choose Save or Save and Close.

Note

Resource groups are published automatically when you save and close the form. If the new resource group doesn’t appear in the list of available resource groups for a service, or if changes are not appearing, you can manually publish the change by clicking

Publish on the Resource Groups page.

To remove a resource, select the resource you want to remove from the resource group.

On the Actions toolbar, choose More Actions, and then choose Remove Resources.

Installing a solution or publishing customizations can interfere with normal system operation. We recommend that you schedule a solution import when it’s least disruptive to users.

Use sites to manage your service locations

Create sites to define the locations where you provide service to your customers. When you’re scheduling resources, you can define which resources will work on which site.

1. Make sure that you have the System Administrator or System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.

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Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

2. Go to Settings > Business Management. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Sites.

4. On the Actions toolbar, choose New.

5. Fill in your information. Use the handy tooltips as a guide.

6. Choose Save.

7. To add resources, under Common, choose Resources, and then choose Add

Resources.

8. In the Look Up Records dialog box, in the Look For drop-down list, choose if you want to add facilities/equipment or users as resources.

9. From the list of records, double-click a resource, and choose Add.

10. Choose Save and Close.

See Also

Create or edit a service

Create a service activity without checking for conflicts

Find the next available time before creating a service activity

Set the capacity required for a service or resource

Define a limit to the number of activities a resource can perform in a stipulated time by setting the capacity of the resource and services in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

You must set both the capacity of the service and of the resources required for the service.

When you set capacity of a resource and service, the service calendar doesn’t allow booking the resources once they reach their capacity.

Set the capacity of a service

1. Before you start, make sure you have the Schedule Manager role assigned or have the required permissions for doing the scheduling tasks.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Business Management. (How do I get there?)

77

3. Choose Services.

4. In the list of services, open the service you want to set the capacity for.

5. Under Required Resources, in the column on the right, double-click or tap the selection rule you want to modify.

6. In the Edit a Selection Rule dialog box, expand the Scheduling Details area.

7. In Select Criteria, to make sure everyone has the same workload, select Least Busy.

Or, to make sure each member works at full capacity before assigning work to anyone else, select Most Busy.

8. In Capacity Required, specify the capacity required by a resource to perform this service.

For example, a workshop has four work compartments. The capacity of the workshop is

4, that is, the workshop can have four different services scheduled for the same time.

You can then add different workers, where the more skilled workers complete two tasks at once, so their capacity can be set to 2. They can have two jobs scheduled for the same time.

9. Choose OK.

10. Save & Close.

Set the capacity of a resource

1. Make sure that you have the Manager, Vice President, CEO-Business Manager, System

Administrator, or System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Business Management. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Facilities/Equipment.

4. In the list of records, open the record you want to set the capacity for.

5. In the user record, on the nav bar, choose the chevron button next to the record name, and then Work Hours.

-OR-

In the Facilities/Equipment record, under Common, choose Work Hours.

6. On the Monthly View tab, double-click the date on the calendar that is the first day you want the new schedule to start, or any date that will be affected by this edit.

7. In the Edit Schedule dialog box, select one of the following and then choose OK: a. This date only. This option changes only the date selected. If you select this option, skip to step 8. b. From <this date> onward. This option changes only the schedule going forward.

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c. Entire recurring weekly schedule from start to end. This option changes this entire schedule from the start to end date. Selecting this option might change past days, which might affect reports regarding hours worked in the past.

8. In the Weekly Schedule dialog box, choose the work hours link for the schedule you want to edit.

If working hours have not been set previously, the link is displayed as "Set Working

Hours." You must set up a schedule for a user, facility, or equipment before you can

continue. More information: Set work hours of a resource

9. In the Set Work Hours and Service Restrictions dialog box, choose Show Capacity, and then in the Capacity column, enter the capacity.

10. Choose OK.

11. Choose Save & Close.

See Also

Create or edit a selection rule

Set work hours of a resource

You can set the hours a user works or set the operating hours for a facility or equipment. By default, users, facilities, and equipment are set up for a 7 days a week, 24-hour schedule.

You can edit existing work hours by following steps 1 and 2 to navigate to the Users or

Facilities/Equipment area. Then, open the resource you want to edit. Editing a schedule does not affect existing service activities created for the resource.

On this page:

Set work hours for a facility/equipment

Set work hours for a user

Set work hours for a facility/equipment

1. Make sure that you have the System Administrator, System Customizer, Sales Manager,

Vice President of Sales, Vice President of Marketing, or CEO-Business Manager security role or equivalent permissions. More information: Permissions required for

customization tasks

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Business Management. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Facilities/Equipment.

4. In the list, open the resource record you want modify.

5. Choose Work Hours.

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6. On the Monthly View tab, double-click a date on the calendar that is the first day you want the new schedule to start, or any date that will be affected by the new schedule.

7. In the Edit Schedule dialog box, select one of the following and then choose OK.



This date only

This option changes only the date selected.

Skip to step 10.



From <this date> onward

This option changes only the schedule going forward.



Entire recurring weekly schedule from start to end

This option changes this entire schedule from the start to end date.

Selecting this option might change past days, which might affect reports regarding hours worked in the past.

8. In the Weekly Schedule dialog box, in the Set the recurring weekly schedule section, select one of the following:



Are the same each day

The new schedule is the same for every day of the week. After you select this option, select the days of the week that the resource is available.



Vary by day

The new schedule is different for one or more days of the week. After you select this option, select the days of the week that the resource is available.



None. Resource is not working

The new schedule includes time that the resource is not working.

In the Weekly Schedule dialog box, you can also do any of the following:



If the schedule is for more than one day, select the days of the week that this schedule is effective.



If the resource does not work during business closures, select the Observe option.



Under Date Range, in the Starting on box, you can change the date the schedule starts.

You cannot change the date the schedule ends. To end a schedule, you must define a new schedule on that date.

9. Choose the work hours link for the schedule you want to modify.

If work hours have not been set previously, the link is displayed as "Set Work Hours."

10. In the Set Work Hours and Service Restrictions dialog box, complete the following fields, and then click OK:



Date

Select a date from which the work hours for services are to be considered.



Start

Select the time the work day starts.



End

Select the time the work day ends.

To add a break in the work hours, such as a lunch break, choose Add Break, and then select the start and end time of the break.

11. To define a time when a service will not be available, choose the Service Restrictions tab, and then choose New. In the Edit a Service Restriction dialog box, select the

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service, and select the start and end time between which the service will be unavailable, and the click OK.

12. Choose Save and Close to close the Weekly Schedule dialog box.

Note



You can set the work hours for a single day by double-clicking the day, and then in the Edit

Schedule dialog box, select This date only, then choose OK. Then, perform step 10 in the procedure.



All of the options may not be available to you for selecting how much of the schedule you want to edit. The available options are based on the schedules that are already set up.

Set work hours for a user

1. Make sure that you have the System Administrator, System Customizer, Sales Manager,

Vice President of Sales, Vice President of Marketing, or CEO-Business Manager security role or equivalent permissions. More information: Permissions required for

customization tasks

2. Go to Settings > Security. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Users.

4. Open the user record you want to set work hours for.

5. On the top, select the arrow next to the name of the user.

6. Choose Work Hours.

7. Choose the schedule display as required, from the Set up drop-down list.

Note

Monthly schedules are the default display; you can choose weekly and Daily schedules.

8. Double-click a date on the calendar that is the first day for which you want to set work hours.

9. In the Edit Schedule dialog box, select one of the following and then choose OK.



This date only

This option changes only the selected day.

Skip to step 12.



From <this date> onward

This option changes only the schedule going forward.



Entire recurring weekly schedule from start to end

This option changes this entire schedule from the start to end date.

Selecting this option might change past days, which might affect reports regarding hours worked in the past.

10. In the Weekly Schedule dialog box, in the Set the recurring weekly schedule section, select one of the following:



Are the same each day

The new schedule is the same for every day of the week. After you select this option, select the days of the week that the resource is available.

81



Vary by day

The new schedule is different for one or more days of the week. After you select this option, select the days of the week that the resource is available.



None. User is not working

The new schedule includes time that the resource is not working.

In the Weekly Schedule dialog box, you can also do any of the following:



If the schedule is for more than one day, select the days of the week that this schedule is effective.



If the resource does not work during business closures, select the Observe option.



Under Date Range, in the Starting on box, you can change the date the schedule starts.

You cannot change the date the schedule ends. To end a schedule, you must define a new schedule on that date.

11. Choose the work hours link for the schedule you want to modify.

If work hours have not been set previously, the link is displayed as "Set Work Hours."

12. In the Set Work Hours and Service Restrictions dialog box, complete the following fields, and then click OK:



Date

Select a date from which the work hours for services are to be considered.



Start

Select the time the work day starts.



End

Select the time the work day ends.

To add a break in the work hours, such as a lunch break, choose Add Break, and then select the start and end time of the break.

13. To define a time when a service will not be available, choose the Service Restrictions tab, and then choose New. In the Edit a Service Restriction dialog box, select the service, and select the start and end time between which the service will be unavailable, and the click OK.

14. To close the Weekly Schedule dialog box, choose Save and Close.

See Also

Set the capacity required for a service or resource

Set when your business is closed

Restrict a resource from performing a service

You can restrict a resource from performing a service and define the service capacity for the resource. You can also restrict when a resource is available to be scheduled for a specific service. The resource is still available for scheduling service activities for other services.

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1. Make sure that you have the System Administrator, System Customizer, Sales Manager,

Vice President of Sales, Vice President of Marketing, or CEO-Business Manager security role or equivalent permissions.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Administration. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Users.

If using the CRM web application

a. In the list, open the resource record you want to modify. The resource name appears in the nav bar. Choose the arrow beside the resource name and select

Work hours.

If using CRM for Outlook

a. In the list, open the resource record you want to modify. b. Under Common, click Work Hours.

4. On the Monthly View tab, double-click a date on the calendar that is either the first day you want to restrict the resource from performing the service or a date in a recurring schedule.

5. On the Edit Weekly Schedule dialog box, select one of the following options and then click OK.



This date only

This option changes only the date selected.

If you select this option, skip to step 8.



From <this date> onward

This option changes only the schedule going forward.



Entire recurring weekly schedule from start to end

This option changes this entire schedule from the start to end date.

Selecting this option might change past days, which might affect reports regarding hours worked in the past.

6. On the Weekly Schedule dialog box, click the work hours link for the schedule you want to modify.

7. On the Work Day dialog box, click the Service Restrictions tab.

8. On the Actions toolbar, click New.

9. On the Service Restrictions dialog box, locate and select a Service. Click the Lookup button to search for a record.

10. In the Start time and End time lists, set the time when the facility or equipment is not available, and then click OK.

11. Click OK, to close the Work Day dialog box.

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12. Click Save or Save and Close.

Note



You can set up service restrictions in your own work schedule.



All of the options may not be available to you for selecting how much of the schedule you want to edit. The available options are based on the schedules that are already set up.

See Also

Set work hours of a resource

Create or edit a selection rule

Before you can add a resource to a service, you must define a selection rule to determine how resources are selected for service activities.

You can create a simple rule that selects resources from a list, and nest selection rules and subrules to create compound and complex rules. A compound rule selects a combination of resources, and a complex tree of selection rules selects from groups of equivalent resources.

You can also add resources to existing selection rules.

See Also

Create a simple selection rule

Set the capacity required for a service or resource

Set up case and queue settings

Define settings for parent and child cases

Create rules to automatically route cases

Automatically create a case from an email

Set up rules to automatically create or update records in CRM

Create or edit a queue

Set up queues to manage activities and cases

Add a timer control to the Case form to track time against an SLA

Define status reason transitions for incident (case) management

Define settings for parent and child cases

In Microsoft Dynamics CRM, you can track multiple issues for a customer, or track the same issue that's affecting multiple customers, using parent and child cases.

For example, you could track a case where work needs to be done by other departments.

The primary case or issue is called the parent case. Any related cases are called a child cases. Before your service team can start using this feature, you'll need to go into the settings area and set up a few rules about how information will be inherited.

Important

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For Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online organizations, this feature is available if you've applied prod uct updates for CRM Online Spring '14, or if you’ve installed the CRM Online

2015 Update.

For on-premises CRM organizations, this feature is available if you've installed CRM

2013 Service Pack 1, or if you’ve updated to CRM 2015.

Interested in getting this feature? More information: Find your CRM administrator or support person

Set parent and child case attributes

1. Make sure that you have the Customer Service Manager, System Administrator, or

System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.



Follow the steps in View your user profile

. Don’t have the correct permissions?

Contact your system administrator.

2. Follow the steps for the app you’re using.

If using the CRM web application

a. On the nav bar, choose Microsoft Dynamics CRM > Settings. b. Choose Settings > Service Management.

If using CRM for Outlook

a. In the Navigation Pane, choose Settings > Business > Service

Management.

3. Click or tap Parent and Child case settings.

4. On the Case Settings dialog box, select the attributes that the child case will be inherit from the parent case.

5. Using the Parent and Child case settings, specify the information that will be inherited from a parent case to the child case. You can also select a case closure setting that defines how parent and child cases are closed. Select one of the case closure preference for parent and child cases:



Close all child cases when parent case is closed

: The parent case can’t be closed until all the child cases are closed.



Don’t allow parent case closure until all child cases are closed: The parent case can’t be closed until all the child cases are closed.

Note

If you don’t make a selection, parent and child cases are closed independently of each other. This is the default setting.

6.

When you’re done, click or tap OK.

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See Also

Get started with service management

Create and manage parent and child cases

eBook: What’s new in customer service eBook: Give great customer service with CRM

Create rules to automatically route cases

Use routing rules in Microsoft Dynamics CRM to automatically route the cases to the right people on right time without any manual intervention. You can also use routing rules to route cases that are escalated to specific queues.

Note

For Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online organizations, this feature is available if you've applied product updates for CRM Online Spring '14, or if you’ve installed the CRM Online

2015 Update.

For on-premises CRM organizations, this feature is available if you've installed CRM

2013 Service Pack 1, or if you’ve updated to CRM 2015.

Interested in getting this feature? More information: Find your CRM administrator or support person

On this page:

Create a routing rule set

Apply a routing rule set

Create a routing rule set

1. Make sure that you have the Customer Service Manager, System Administrator, or

System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.

When you create and activate a routing rule set, internally a corresponding workflow is also created. Whatever action you do on the routing rule set, like creating or assigning the rule, you must have privileges to perform the same action on workflows. For the rule to work, you must have sufficient privileges to run a workflow. The routine rule set is applied in context of the privileges that the owner of the routing rule set has.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Service Management. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Routing Rule Sets.

4. To create a new routing rule set, choose New.

-OR-

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To edit a routing rule set that you already have, in the list of records, choose the rule that’s in the Draft state, and then on the command bar, choose Edit.

5. Fill in your information. Use the handy tooltips as a guide.

6. After you enter information in all the required fields, choose Save.

7. In the Rule Items section, choose the Add Rule Item button + to specify conditions for routing cases to a queue.

You can add multiple conditions here and arrange them in the desired order. The rule items are run in the same order. As soon as an applicable rule item (based on the If

Conditions) is applied on the case, the other rule items are not run on the case. a. In the Rule Item form, type a descriptive name for the rule item. b. Under Rule Criteria in the If Conditions section, specify the conditions for which the case will be routed.

For example, to route all cases that have the IsEscalated field set to Yes to the Tier 2 support queue, specify the conditions as shown here: c. Under Then Conditions, specify the queue to which the cases will be routed or the user or team to which the cases will be assigned if the conditions in the If Conditions section are met.

Tip

To group conditions in the criteria, use the Group And or Group Or options.

8. Choose Save and Close.

9. In the Routing Rule Set record, choose Activate so that the rule set is applied to the cases matching the conditions in the rule.

Note



Only one routing rule set can be active at any point of time. If you try to activate another rule when one rule is already active, it will deactivate the currently active rule. You can activate or deactivate only the rules that you own.



You can’t edit an active routing rule set. Therefore, if you’re importing a solution that includes an Active routing rule set into an organization where the rule already exists with the same ID, the solution import will fail.

Apply a routing rule set

An active routing rule set automatically applies to all automatically-created cases.

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To manually apply the rule to existing or manually-created cases, in the list of cases, select the cases that you want to route using this rule, and on the command bar, choose Apply Routing

Rule.

Note

If you’re importing bulk records, and you don’t want the routing rules to apply to the cases that you’re importing, add a column “Route Case” to your spreadsheet, and add the value

“No” for all the cases that you don’t want to route.

See Also

Create and manage a case

Automatically create a case from an email

Create or edit a queue

Automatically create a case from an email

Reduce the need for manually creating cases from incoming emails and increase the efficiency of customer service agents by creating automatic case creation rules in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

The conditions in these rules automatically convert emails to support cases.

Note

For Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online organizations, this feature is available if you've applied product updates for CRM Online Spring '14, or if you’ve installed the CRM Online

2015 Update.

For on-premises CRM organizations, this feature is available if you've installed CRM

2013 Service Pac k 1, or if you’ve updated to CRM 2015.

Interested in getting this feature? More information: Find your CRM administrator or support person

Use rules to create cases automatically

Create automatic case-creation rules

1. Make sure that you have the Customer Service Manager, System Administrator, or

System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.

When a case creation rule is activated, a corresponding workflow is created automatically. If you create or assign a rule, you must have permissions to perform the same action on workflows. The case creation rule is applied and a case is created in context to the permissions that the owner of the case creation rule has.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Service Management. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Automatic Case Creation Rules.

4. To create a new case creation rule, choose New.

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-OR-

To edit an existing rule, in the list of rules, select a rule, and then on the command bar, choose Edit.

5. Type or modify information in the fields.

Hover over the field labels to see what to enter.



Name. Type the name of the queue the rule is defined for.



Source Type. Select Email to indicate that cases will be created automatically from email messages.



Queue. Select the queue that the rule applies to. For example, if you want to convert email messages and then send them to the Support queue, select that queue here.

Note

You can associate only one rule per source type to a specific queue. If you’re creating a rule to convert an email to a case, make sure you specify an email address for this queue. Otherwise, automatic case creation for email won’t

work. More information: Create or edit a queue

6. In the Specify Conditions for Case Creation section, select the conditions for creating the case automatically. You can add multiple conditions here and arrange them in the desired order. The conditions are considered in the same order. Only one item that has conditions matching the incoming email is applied.

Specify conditions for email to case creation

a. Create cases for email from unknown senders. If you select this check box, all email messages from unknown senders (a sender whose email address is not present in any CRM records) are converted to cases. A contact record is also created for this unknown sender.

Note

If this option is not selected, cases are created only for email messages that have a CRM contact or account as the senders.

Email messages from sender that are present as other record types in CRM won’t be converted to cases.

This option, in conjunction with the Automatically create records in

Microsoft Dynamics CRM option in the rule owner’s Personal Options, determines whether a case and contact record is created (see Set personal

options):

This table shows if a contact and case record is created based on the values set for the Automatically create records in Microsoft Dynamics CRM field in Personal Options and the Create cases for email from unknown

senders check box in the automatic case creation rule:

“Automatically create records in Microsoft

Dynamics CRM” option is set to:

Create Lead

If “Create case from unknown sender” option in this rule is set to:

Selected

Contact or case created?

Both, contact and case, created

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Create Lead

Create Contact

Create Contact

None

Not selected

Selected

Not selected

Selected

None

Both, contact and case, created

Only contact created

Both, contact and case, created

None None Not selected b. Create case if a valid entitlement exists for the customer. If you select this check box, Microsoft Dynamics CRM creates a case only if an active entitlement exists for the customer.

If the sender of the email is a contact with a parent account, Microsoft

Dynamics CRM creates a case if the contact’s parent account has a valid entitlement, and the contact is listed in the Contacts section of the entitlement or if the Contacts section is empty (which means the entitlement is applicable to all contacts for the customer). c. Create cases for activities associated with a resolved case. If you select this check box, Microsoft Dynamics CRM creates a case if the email is related to a resolved case. If the email is related to an active case, a new case won’t be created. d. Create case when the case associated with the activity is resolved

since. If you select the Create cases for activities associated with a

resolved case check box, select the duration here. Microsoft Dynamics

CRM creates a case only if the case is resolved earlier than the duration you specify. If the incoming email is related to a case resolved later than the specified duration, Microsoft Dynamics CRM only associates the incoming email with the existing resolved case; a new case won’t be created. e. Under Specify Autoresponse Settings, select the Send automatic email

response to customer on case creation check box if you want to automatically send email responses to the sender of the email after a case for the email is created.

Select email template to respond to customer. If you select the Send

automatic email response to customer on case creation check box, select an email template (global email template or email template of case entity type). If you don’t select a template, an automatic response won’t be sent.

7. Choose Save.

8. In the Specify Case Details section, define the conditions for creating a case and specify the case properties.

By default, the Title field of the new case is set to the subject of the email and the

Customer field is set to the sender of the email. If the sender of the email is a contact with a parent account, the Customer field is set to the parent account, and the Contact field is set to the sender of the email.

Specify case details

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a. In the Specify Case Details section, choose +, and define the conditions for creating a case and specify the case properties. b. In the Conditions section, specify when the case should be created.

Here’s how: c. In the Case Properties section, set the properties for the case. The following example shows how to set the priority of all the automatically created cases to High:

Once a case is created, the incoming email is removed from the queue.

Note

If there’s no routing rule to route the newly created case to another user or queue, the user who’s the owner of the case creation rule will be set as the owner of the case, too.

Activate or deactivate the case creation rule

Cases are created automatically only when the case creation rule is active. To activate a rule, open the rule, and on the command bar, choose Activate.

Once the rule is active, you can’t change it. To change a rule, open the rule and on the command bar, choose Deactivate.

Manage automatic case creation from a queue form

You can create or manage an automatic case creation rule from a queue form, too. To do this, open the queue record, and on the command bar, choose Email to Case Settings.

See Also

Create rules to automatically route cases

Create or edit a queue

eBook: What’s new in customer service

Set up rules to automatically create or update records in CRM

Overview

Every organization has multiple applications to capture customer interactions. An ability to channel external data into the Microsoft Dynamics CRM records can significantly improve the efficiency of your sales, marketing, and service teams, and increase the quality of your data. You can now direct this data from various applications and external sources into Microsoft Dynamics

CRM with the help of record creation and update rules.

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By using the record creation and update rules in Microsoft Dynamics CRM, you can automatically create or update system or custom records from incoming CRM activities, such as emails, social activities, or custom activities without writing any code. Not just that, you can set up the rule to convert the incoming activity into multiple CRM records. For example, you can create a case and a lead from a single social activity.

A record creation and update rule consists of rule items that define the conditions for creating or updating records and also defines what actions or steps to take on the newly created records.

The rule also contains channel properties that are used to define conditions for rules and also for setting properties of the record you’re creating or updating.

Important

For Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online organizations, this feature is available only if your organization has updated to Dynamics CRM Online 2015 Update 1. Interested in getting this feature? Find your CRM administrator or support person . This feature is not available for Dynamics CRM (on-premises).

On this page:

Activities and entities supported by record creation and update rules

Capture data from external sources

Activate or deactivate a rule

How does record creation and update rule work with queues?

Rules in solutions

Activities and entities supported by record creation and update rules

By default, CRM supports creating records from the following activities, also called as source types in the context of record creation and update rules:



Email



Social activity



Task



Phone call



Appointment



Service activity



Custom activity

These activities can be converted to any default (system) entity records or custom entity records.

For example, you could create a lead, opportunity (system records) or incident (custom record) from an incoming email.

Capture data from external sources

You can also capture additional valuable customer information provided by an external application in the form of JSON (a collection of name-value pairs) and use it to enhance the quality of the target records and set various conditions in the record creation and update rules.

Every default (out-of-the-box) activity or custom activity has an Additional Parameters attribute.

This attribute stores the JSON payload received from an external application.

To capture this information in CRM, you can define channel properties and associate them with a particular rule or share them across multiple rules of the same source type. For example, along with a social post, you can capture important information about the post such as sentiment value.

Sentiment value is the property of social activity, so you can use this property in any other record creation and update rule of type Social Activity. .

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Here’s the correct format in which CRM should receive JSON payload (data received as name/value pair in JSON format) from the external application:

{“PropertyName1”:”Propertyvalue1”; “PropertyName2”:”Propertyvalue2”}

Note

Any configuration done in the channel properties is only valid if those name value pairs exist in the JSON payload. Also, you must only use parameters received from the external application in the rule item conditions and as record properties.

Activate or deactivate a rule

For any records creation and update rule to apply to a matching incoming activity, after you add the rule items, you must activate the rule.

When a record creation and update rule is activated, a corresponding workflow is created automatically. You can use channel properties to define a workflow’s conditions and operators and in mapping the target entity attribute values. For complex scenarios, you may configure child workflows.

More information: TechNet: Configure workflow steps

How does record creation and update rule work with queues?

In a record creation and update rule, when you specify a queue for a source type, any incoming activity from that source is added as a queue item for that specified queue. That is, if a rule for a particular source activity and queue combination is active, the rule processes the incoming activity on that queue to create or update records.

For an email source type, specifying a queue is mandatory. For all other source types including custom activities, it is optional.

Rules in solutions

The record creation and update rules can be packaged as a part of a CRM solution. Customizers and developers distribute solutions so that organizations can use Microsoft Dynamics CRM to install and uninstall the business functionality defined by the solution.

Keep the following things in mind about using rules in solutions:



Any new rule that you created in Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online 2015 Update 1 can’t be exported to an earlier release.



Any rules upgraded to and edited in Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online 2015 Update 1 can’t be exported back to an earlier release.

How to

On this page:

Prerequisites

Set up a rule to create and update records automatically

Set up channel properties

Activate a record creation and update rule

Manage automatic record creation and update from a queue form

Upgrade considerations

Prerequisites



For Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online organizations, this feature is available only if your organization has updated to Dynamics CRM Online 2015 Update 1. Interested in getting this

93

feature? Find your CRM administrator or support person . This feature is not available for

Dynamics CRM (on-premises).



Before you can use automatic record creation rules, make sure that your external application/social engagement system is already integrated with your CRM instance.

If your CRM instance meets the prerequisites, all you need to do is set up rules in CRM that will automatically create or update a support case, lead, opportunity, appointment, task, and more from incoming activities.

Set up a rule to create and update records automatically

1. Make sure that you have the customer service, sales manager, or marketing manager role or equivalent permissions.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Service Management or Business Management. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Automatic Record Creation and Update Rules.

4. To create a new record creation and update rule, choose New.

-OR-

To edit an existing rule, in the list of rules, open the rule you want to edit.

5. Type or modify information in the fields.

Hover over the field labels to see what to enter.



Name. Type the name of the rule.



Source Type. From the droprecord. down list, select the activity that’s the source of the



Queue. Select the queue that the rule applies to. Incoming activity arrives in the queue, and then the valid rule and rule item applies for creation or update of records.

Here are a few things to consider:



For all activities and custom activities, except email, specifying a queue is optional. For all such activities you can have only one rule with an associated queue and one rule without an associated queue active at any given time. For example, for a Social Activity source type, you can have two active rules, one with a queue specified, and one without a queue.



If you selected Email as the source type for this rule, you can’t activate the rule unless you select a queue.

Note

You can associate only one rule per source type to a specific queue. If you’re creating a rule to convert an email to a case, make sure you specify an email ad dress for this queue. Otherwise, automatic record creation for email won’t

work. More information: Create or edit a queue

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6. Choose Save.

7. Under Channel Properties, in the Additional Properties box, choose a channel property group.

Note

When you select a property group for a record creation and update rule, you can use the channel property group’s property items in the rule item conditions or while setting properties for the target record. After you activate a rule, you can’t remove or change the selected property group. You can select another property group only once you remove the referenced property items of the previous property group from the rule items. When you try to select a new property group without removing the property references of the previous property group, you’ll see an error.

To learn more about creating new channel property groups and adding properties to it,

see the Set up channel properties section in this topic.

8. If the source type for the rule is set to Email, specify the conditions for converting the email to the target record.

Specify the following details

a. Create records for email from unknown senders. If you select this check box, all email messages from unknown senders (a sender whose email address isn’t present in any CRM records) are converted to new records

(based on the conditions you define). A contact record is also created for this unknown sender.

Note

CRM determines what record to create based on the entity you select in the Create Record step under Actions.

If you don’t select this check box, records are created only for email messages that have a CRM contact or account as the senders.

This option, in conjunction with the Automatically create records in

Microsoft Dynamics CRM option in the rule owner's Personal Options, determines whether a case and contact record is created (see Set personal

options). b. Create case if a valid entitlement exists for the customer. If you select this check box, CRM creates a case only if an active entitlement exists for the customer.

If the sender of the email is a contact with a parent account, CRM creates a record if the contact’s parent account has a valid entitlement, and the contact is listed in the Contacts section of the entitlement or if the Contacts section is empty (which means the entitlement is applicable to all contacts for the customer). c. Create cases for activities associated with a resolved case. If you select this check box, CRM creates a case if the email is related to a resolved case.

If the email is related to an active case, a new case won’t be created. d. Create case when the case associated with the activity is resolved

since. If you select the Create cases for activities associated with a

resolved case check box, select the duration here. CRM creates a case only

95

if the case is resolved earlier than the duration you specify. If the incoming email is related to a case resolved later than the specified duration, CRM only associates the incoming email with the existing resolved case; a new case won’t be created. e. Send automatic email response to customer on record creation. Select this check box if you want to automatically send email responses to the sender of the email after a target record for the email is created. f. Select email template to respond to customer. If you select the Send

automatic email response to customer on record creation check box, select an email template (global email template or email template of any enti ty type). If you don’t select a template, an automatic response won’t be sent.

9. If the source type for the rule is set to Social Activity, specify the conditions for converting the social activity to the target record.

Specify the following details

a. Create records for blocked social profile. If you select this check box,

CRM creates or updates a target record for the social posts (social activities) from social profiles that are blocked by you.

Note

Social posts appear in CRM as social activities. b. Create records for direct messages only. If you select this check box,

CRM creates or updates a target record only when the social posts are sent as direct or private messages. If the check box is cleared, cases are created for all social posts including public messages (timeline).

Note

CRM determines what record to create based on the entity you select in the Create Record step under Actions.

10. In the Specify Record Creation and Update Details section, choose to define the conditions for creating or updating a record and specify the properties of the record. a. In the Name box, specify a meaningful name for the rule item. b. In the Conditions section, select the record, channel properties, fields, and relational query operators to specify when a target record should be created or updated.

For example, to create a record from a social post (social activity) with a sentiment value of less than 3, an influence score greater than 60, and hashtags containing SilverCreditCard, you can add the following conditions:

96

You can also use channel properties in your conditions.

Here’s the rule item after you add all the conditions: c. Add steps to create or update records for the incoming activity that matches the conditions you’ve defined earlier.

97

i. Under Actions, choose Add Step > Create record. ii. In the Create box, select the record type for the record you want to create from the incoming activity. For example, if you want to create a case from the social activity, select Case. iii. Choose Set Properties.

The entity form is displayed. You can map the target entity fields to the social activity record data, including channel properties. Some of the mappings are available out-of-the-box:

Case title, Customer and Origin (highlighted in yellow). The outof-the-box mappings can be changed and new mappings can be added using the Form Assistant control.

The new record that will be created will be automatically set as the regarding record of the incoming activity record. There is only one regarding object to the social activity, so, only one

Create record action is possible in the Actions section.

iv. To add more actions, under Specify Other Actions, choose

Add Step > <Action>. The available actions are: Create

Record, Update Record, Send Email, or Start Child

Workflow.

Learn more about each of these actions in

TechNet: Configure workflow steps

.

98

d. Choose Save and Close.

Note



Data types "Option Set" and "Two Option" are not supported in string type conditions.



The property items for each of the supported data types need to a have default value.

This requirement is important in scenarios where the configured property line items have a blank incoming web request. In such cases, the property line item will take the default value when referred to in a workflow.

11. Turn on the rule so that CRM can start creating or updating records for incoming activities

based on the defined conditions. More information: Activate a record creation and update rule .

Tip

Developers can also apply rules retroactively to the incoming CRM records that might have been skipped while a rule was edited. More information: MSDN:

ApplyRecordCreationAndUpdateRuleRequest Class

Important

If an incoming activity already has a regarding record set, and if the activity matches the conditions defined in the rule items, the regarding record will be updated. The properties defined for that record under the Actions section of the rule item form will be considered for updating the record.

Set up channel properties

Every default or custom activity has an Additional Parameters attribute. This attribute stores the

JSON payload received from an external application.

You can find these parameters in the Additional Parameters field of any incoming activity.

To capture this information in CRM and associate it with the record creation or update rule, you can define channel properties in a channel property group and associate it with a particular rule or share them across multiple rules. For example, along with a social post, you can capture important information about the post, such as rating or influencer score. Rating and influencer score are the properties of social channel.

Create channel property groups and add channel properties

1. Once you save the record creation and update rule form, under Channel Properties section, in the Additional Properties box, choose the lookup button, and then choose

New.

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A channel property group form opens.

Important

A property group record contains multiple property items.

To fix this issue, first delete the properties from the conditions and steps that use the record, and then save or activate the rule.

2. Enter a meaningful name for the property group, so you can easily identify it while adding it to any record creation or update rule.

3. The Source Type field will be automatically set to the source type of the record creation and update rule.

4. Choose Save.

5. In the Channel Properties section, choose (+) to add in the group specific channel properties.

6. In the Channel Property form, enter the following: a. Name

. Type the property name as it appears in the activity’s payload.

Note

The name can contain only alphanumeric and underscore characters and shouldn’t be longer than 300 characters.

To see properties received for an activity, go to Sales or Service or Marketing >

Activities, and open the activity, and see the Additional Parameters field.

Note

This field isn’t available on the activity form by default. A system customizer can add the field to the activity forms. The field will have the JSON payload only when the external application sends it for the activity.

Important

a. Create a channel property for each name from the name-value pair that you want to use in your record creation and update rule. For example, you could use

influenceScore as a property name. b.

The information in the JSON payload isn’t very easy to read. To make it more readable, you can use online JSON parser that will provide a better output. c.

The property group doesn’t support adding nested values in a JSON payload as channel properties. The following sample shows the "FollowersCount" under the user node as a nested JSON key-value pair.

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d. Data Type. Select a data type for the channel property. For example, if the property is influence score, use the data type as Whole Number because its value can’t be in decimals.

The selected data type will determine the relational query operators when you use the property to define conditions in the record creation and update rule items. CRM supports creating properties only of the following data types: Floating Point Number,

Single Line of Text and Whole Number.



Note

Option Set and Two option data types are supported in conditions of type string.

You’ll have to type out the option set value in the conditions.



CRM sets a default value for property items for each of the supported data types.

This is for scenarios when a channel property is used in a workflow but the incoming payload has no value provided from the external channel, the workflow conditions in which the property is referred use a least the following default value: String: “”, Whole

Number: -2,147,483,648, Float: -1e+011 e. Application Source. Type the name of the application that this property is related to, for example, Microsoft Social Engagement. f. Description. Type details to further explain what the property is for.

7.

When you’re done, choose Save & Close.

You can see all the properties in the channel property group form.

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Activate a record creation and update rule

For any records creation and update rule to apply to a matching incoming activity, after you add the rule items, you must activate the rule.

To activate a record creation and update rule

1. Go to Settings > Business Management or Service Management. (How do I get there?)

2. Choose Automatic Record Creation and Update Rules.

3. Open the rule that you want to activate, and on the command bar, choose Activate.

Note

You can have two record creation and update rule active at a time for any source type, except email

—one with queue and one without a queue. You can have only one record creation and update rule active for the source type Email, and this rule should have a queue specified.

Once the rule is active, the only way to change the rule is to first deactivate it. Open the rule and on the command bar, choose Deactivate.

Manage automatic record creation and update from a queue form

You can create or manage an automatic case creation rule from a queue form, too. To do this, open the queue record, and on the command bar, choose Email Activity Conversion Settings or Social Activity Conversion Settings.

More information: Create or edit a queue

Upgrade considerations

Here are a few things you should know if you’re upgrading to Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online

2015 Update 1 from an earlier release, and have existing case creation rules for email and social activity:

Existing rules prior to upgrade

A rule that has rule items with conditions and properties defined

What happens to the rules after upgrade?



The rule and rule items are upgraded and the properties and conditions in the existing rule items are preserved.



A new rule item is created with blank conditions. A new Create Record step

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Existing rules prior to upgrade

A rule that has a rule items with conditions , but no properties defined

A rule that has a rule items with no conditions or properties defined

What happens to the rules after upgrade?

(with Case selected) is added with out-ofthe-box property mapping. The rule items are applied in an order and the newlycreated rule item is considered last in the order.



The rule and rule items are upgraded and the conditions in rule items are preserved.



A new rule item is created with blank conditions. A new Create Record step

(with Case selected) is added with out-ofthe-box property mapping. The rule items are applied in an order and the newlycreated rule item is considered last in the order.



The rule and rule items are upgraded.



A new rule item is created with blank conditions. A new Create Record step

(with Case selected) is added with out-ofthe-box property mapping. The rule items are applied in an order and the newlycreated rule item is considered last in the order.

A rule that has a rule items with properties, but no conditions defined



The rule and rule items are upgraded and the properties in the rule items are preserved.



A new rule item is created with blank conditions. A new Create Record step

(with Case selected) is added with out-ofthe-box property mapping. The rule items are applied in an order and the newlycreated rule item is considered last in the order.

A rule with no rule items



The rule is upgraded.



A new rule item is created with blank conditions. A new Create Record step

(with Case selected) is added with out-ofthe-box property mapping. The rule items are applied in an order and the newlycreated rule item is considered last in the order.

An active case creation rule for social or email source types, with a queue specified

All such rules will be upgraded in an active state.

An active case creation rule for social or email source types, without a queue specified

All such rules will be upgraded and deactivated. This is because even in Microsoft

Dynamics CRM Online Spring ‘14, a case

103

Existing rules prior to upgrade What happens to the rules after upgrade?

creation rule without a queue did not apply and create any record.

See Also

Create rules to automatically route cases

Create or edit a queue

Create or edit a queue

Make sure that activities or unresolved cases are acted upon faster by using queues in Microsoft

Dynamics CRM.

Queues can be useful in:



Having a centralized list of pending work that needs attention



Sorting tasks by type or by the people assigned to complete them

Use queues to categorize and prioritize your activities and cases. You can categorize based on:



Different products or services



Different subscription levels (regular, premium customers)



Various activity categories



Different geography

Create or edit a queue

1. Make sure that you have the Sales or Marketing Manager, Customer Service Manager,

System Administrator, or System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Service Management or Business Management.

3. Choose Queues.

4. To create a new queue, choose New.

-OR-

To edit a queue, in the list of queues, choose the queue, and then on the command bar, choose Edit.

5. Type or change information in the text boxes.

Hovertips provide hints about what to enter.



In the Summary section, complete the required fields.

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

In the Name field, type the name of the queue.



In the Type field, choose if the queue is a private or public queue. You can use a private queue to allow only a specific set of people to work on activities in this queue.

If you’re creating a private queue, you’ll have to add members to this queue manually. In the Members section, choose the Add button + to add members to the queue. Only these members will be able to work on the items in this queue.

Note

The email address that you enter in the Incoming Email field receives all messages sent to the queue.



In the Email Settings section, in the Convert to email activities drop-down box, choose which messages to track as activities.



In the Mailbox field, a mailbox record for the queue is automatically created and selected as soon as you save the queue record. To update the mailbox details, choose the mailbox name. More information: TechNet: Create forward mailboxes or edit mailboxes



In the Record creation and update rules section, add a Record Creation and

Update Rule record. By using these rules, you can automatically create or update system or custom records from incoming pn_crm-shortest activities, such as emails,

social activities, or custom activities. More information: Set up rules to automatically create or update records in CRM

For Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online organizations, this feature is available only if your organization has updated to Dynamics CRM Online 2015 Update 1. Interested in getting this feature? Find your CRM administrator or support person . This feature is not available for Dynamics CRM (on-premises).

Important

This is a central place to manage rules across all supported activities including out-of-the-box and custom activities associated with the queue.

The Record creation and update rules section displays rules that have been created in CRM Online 2015 Update 1, using the Email Activity

Conversation Setting or Social Activity Conversation Setting and that have the same queue ID as the queue.

If you used Email to Case or Social to Case rules from earlier versions, such as CRM Online Spring ‘14 or CRM 2013 Service Pack 1 (on-premises), then you will be able to see your rules in this section when you upgrade to

CRM Online 2015 Update 1.

Multiple rules with the same source type and same queue can exist.

Therefore, when you choose Email Activity Conversion Settings or Social

Activity Conversion Settings, the rule with the latest Last Modified On date is applied.

6. Choose Save.

View queue items

In the Queue Items section, all activities that are either routed to this queue automatically by the routing rules or the activities that are manually assigned to this queue will be listed here.

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Additional actions

To create records for this queue, on the command bar, choose Email Activity Conversation

Settings or Social Activity Conversation Settings.

More information: Set up rules to automatically create or update records in CRM or

Automatically create a case from an email

See Also

Create and manage a case

Find what's assigned to you in a queue

Set up queues to manage activities and cases

eBook: What’s new in customer service

Set up queues to manage activities and cases

Use queues to organize, prioritize, and monitor the progress of your work. In Microsoft Dynamics

CRM, queues are containers to store anything that needs to be completed or requires an action.

For example, completing a task or closing a case.

Note

For CRM Online organizations, the Private and public queues or automatic case creation functionality is available only in organizations that have applied product updates for CRM

Online Spring ‘14 or have installed the CRM Online 2015 Update. For CRM on-prem organizations, these features are available if they have installed CRM 2013 Service Pack

1 (on-premises), or have updated to CRM 2015. Interested in getting this feature? More information: Find your CRM administrator or support person

Create queues

By default, a queue is created for each user and team in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. You can use this default queue to track all your work items, or you can set up queues to reflect your organization's structure, business processes, or both. How you set up queues depends on your unique business needs. For example, you could create separate queues for First Tier and

Second Tier product support teams that reflect their differing levels of expertise, or Gold and

Silver queues to reflect differing priorities based on service contracts that customers have with your organization.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM lets you create two types of queues. Create private queues with limited set of members to let only those members view the items in the queue. Create public queues to let everyone in the organization view the items in a queue.

Route items to queues

For all cases that are automatically created from incoming email and social posts, create routing rules to route the cases to queues. Then assign the items in the queue to appropriate CSR or users. Alternately, you can manually add cases and activities to queues.

Assign items in the queue to work

Queues share cases or activities as a group until these are taken out of the queue, or accepted, by a customer service representative (CSR) who assumes responsibility for handling them. CSRs can pick the items for themselves, or a customer service manager (CSM) can manually route these cases to the CSRs or to other queues, users, or teams.

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See Also

Create or edit a queue

Find what's assigned to you in a queue

Create rules to automatically route cases

Automatically create a case from an email

eBook: What’s new in customer service

Add a timer control to the Case form to track time against an SLA

You can add a timer control to the Case form to help customer service representatives gauge the amount of time they have to complete a task

—typically associated with a service level agreement

(SLA). The timer control initially displays a count-down timer to show the time remaining to complete the task.

The timer control can show any of the following, depending on the actions of the customer service representative (CSR) and what you specify when you set up the timer control:



If the CSR completes the task within the time remaining, the control shows the word

Succeeded.



If the CSR doesn’t complete the task within the time remaining, the control shows the word

Expired.



As the timer counts down, the color changes to yellow as the time remaining nears noncompliance. If the time remaining expires, the timer shows the word Expired. Then the timer color changes to red and the timer starts counting up to show the elapsed time since the task should have been completed. This behavior is optional.



If a condition causes the milestone to be canceled, the control shows the word Canceled.

This behavior is optional.



If either of the required fields in the Timer Control dialog box do not have a value in the record, the control shows the words Not Set.

Add a timer control to the Case form

1. Make sure that you have the System Administrator or System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.

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Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

2. Go to Settings > Customizations. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Customize the System.

4. In the solution explorer, in the left navigation pane, expand Entities, expand the Case entity, choose Forms, and then open the Case form.

5. Choose on the form where you want to place the control. You can add it anywhere except the form header or footer.

6. On the Insert tab, in the Control group, choose Timer.

7. In the Timer Control dialog box: a. In the General section, enter a name and label for the control. b. Under Data Source, next to Failure Time Field, select the date-time field that represents the time when a milestone should be completed. For example, select the First Response By field. c. Next to Success Condition, select a field to use to evaluate the success of the milestone, and then choose the condition that indicates success. For example, select the First Response Sent field, and then select Yes to indicate the success criteria of the First Response metric. This setting is required. d. Next to Warning Condition, enter the condition that will cause the timer control to display a warning when the time is about to expire. For example, in the first list next to Warning Condition, select First Response SLA Status.

In the list to the right, select Nearing Noncompliance. This setting is optional. e. Next to Cancel Condition, select a field to evaluate whether the achievement of the milestone should be canceled. Then choose the option that indicates the milestone is canceled. This setting is optional.

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8. Choose OK to add the control to the form.

Notes



The timer control refreshes on the OnChange form event, and also when the form is loaded.



You can add a timer control to a form based on any record type (entity), including custom record types.



You can add multiple timer controls for different key performance indicators (KPIs).



You can add a timer control to any Main form, but timer controls are not displayed in

Microsoft Dynamics CRM for tablets.

See Also

Define service level agreements (SLAs)

Common field properties

Special field properties

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Define status reason transitions for incident (case) management

There’s new capability to specify status reason transitions for the Case record type (entity) or custom record types.

Important

For Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online organizations, this feature is available if you've applied product updates for CRM Online Spring '14, or if you’ve installed the CRM Online

2015 Update.

For on-premises CRM organizations, this feature is available if you've installed CRM

2013 Service Pack 1, or if you’ve updated to CRM 2015.

Interested in getting this feature? More information: Find your CRM administrator or support person

If you’re in charge of incident management for an organization, it’s important to provide a simple model for customer service representatives responsible for entering and updating case status. In

CRM, there are two fields that work together to provide information about case status: the Status field and the Status Reason field. The Status field for the Case record type has three possible values: Active, Resolved, or Canceled. The Status Reason field stores a reason for a specific status value. For example, for a case with an Active status, a status reason could be In

Progress, On Hold, Waiting for Details, or Researching.

Big organizations often have a large number of combinations for the Status and Status Reason fields. This can make it difficult for customer service reps to choose the correct next status reason. You can define status reason transitions to add another level of filtering for what the status reason value can be changed to for each status reason. Limiting these values to just allowed status reasons can help customer service representatives make the right choices.

1. Make sure that you have the System Administrator or System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

2. Go to Settings > Customizations. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Customize the System.

4. In the solution explorer, in the left navigation pane, expand Entities, expand the Case entity, and then double-click or tap Fields.

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5. Go to the second page of fields, and then open the statuscode (Status Reason of Case) field.

6. In the Field: Status Reason dialog box, click or tap Edit Status Reason Transitions at the top of the dialog box.

7. In the Status Reason Transitions dialog box, under New Status Reasons, click or tap one of the Enter Value buttons corresponding with one of the existing status reasons.

8. In the Select Status Reason dialog box, in the Available Values list, select the values you want to add, and then click or tap the chevron button to add to the Selected Values list.

Click or tap OK when you’re done with that status reason.

9. Click or tap another Enter Value button to modify other status reasons.

When you’re done, click or tap OK.

Note

Each status reason option for an active status must allow at least one path to an inactive status. Otherwise, you could create a condition where it would not be possible to resolve or cancel a case.

10. In the Status Reason Transitions dialog box, select the Enable Status Reason

Transitions check box to apply the defined status reason transitions to case records.

The list of available status reasons will be filtered for each case record based on the defined transitions.

See Also

TechNet: Define status reason transitions

Create or edit entity fields

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Work with cases

Create and manage a case

Merge similar cases

Create and manage parent and child cases

Add a phone call, task, email, or appointment activity to a case or record

Create or edit an appointment

Create and manage a case

Keep track of your customer requests and issues by creating support cases in Microsoft

Dynamics CRM. When a customer contacts support with a question or problem, you can quickly check if there is an existing case or open a new case and start tracking the issue. You can also escalate, reas sign, or put a case back into the service queue if you don’t have enough information or time to work on it.

Before you provide support, you can also check the customer’s entitlements. Entitlements are like contracts that tell you what kind of support a customer is eligible for. You can see if the support terms are based on number of hours or cases, support channel, or based on the product or service that the customer has purchased.

To help you choose the right status of a case, your admin may have set things up so that you only see a limited set of statuses to choose from based on the current status of a case. For more information on the available list of case statuses, contact your administrator.

Create a case

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1. Go to Service > Cases. (How do I get there?)

2. Choose New Case.

3. Find the customer: a. Choose the Customer lookup button. By default, this field shows both account and contact records. Or, type a few letters and press Enter to search for records that contain the letters. When you select an existing customer, the customer details will show the contact details, along with recent cases and activities for the customer. b.

If a customer record doesn’t exist, choose New in the inline lookup results to create a new record.

4. Choose the Contact lookup button and select an existing contact for the case or choose

New in the inline lookup results to create a new contact record.

5. Before you create a new case, check if there is an existing case: a. From the Identify area of the process bar, choose the Find Case lookup button and then select a case from the list of cases. b.

If a case doesn’t exist, choose New in the inline lookup results to create a new case record.

6. In the Case title field, type a subject or descriptive name to identify the case.

7. To track your conversation with the customer, add activities. More information: Add a phone call, task, email, or appointment activity to a case or record

8. To see what kind of support you should provide the customer, choose the Entitlements lookup button and select an active entitlement.

Note



If you’re on CRM Online 2015 Update 1, and your manager has set default entitlements for a customer in CRM, then when a case is created or when a case is updated and the customer, contact, or product field has changed then a default entitlement is automatically associated with the case.



When a case is created and an entitlement is applied to it (or when the case gets resolved), the entitlement terms from the associated entitlement are decremented.

However, if you don’t want the entitlement terms to be decremented for a case, from the command bar choose Do not decrement entitlement terms.

9. Fill in the other details that apply to the case, and then choose Save.

Find a solution from similar cases

You can look at resolved cases to see if they can help you resolve the open case you’re working on. For example, if the subject of the case you’re working on is “Service outage,” you could look for resolved cases with the same subject to get help with your current case.

1. Go to Service > Cases. (How do I get there?)

2.

In the list of active cases, open the case you’re looking for.

3. When the case is open, to find similar cases, choose Case Relationships to expand the menu.

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4. For Similar Cases, choose (+) Add Connection record.

5. From the Find Similar Cases dialog box, use the search to find similar cases.

Select a different subject to see the cases with that subject. You can also search for cases by typing the keyword in the searc box, and then choose the Search button. When you use a search keyword, it searches on the title of the case and shows the matching results.

6. When you find a similar case, choose the case to review the case activities, posts, and notes.

Typically, a phone call, task, or case resolution activity has the information about how the case was resolved.

7. Once you find the case that has the information you need, choose the case, and then choose Found a Solution.

The case you select is added to the Similar Cases area for the case you’re working on.

Resolve a case

For information about how to resolve parent and child cases, see “Resolve a case with a parent

and child relationship” section in

Create and manage parent and child cases .

1. Go to Service > Cases. (How do I get there?)

2. In the list of active cases, open the one you want to resolve.

3. On the command bar, choose Resolve case.

Important

Before you resolve a case, make sure that all the case activities are closed.

Otherwise, you’ll get a message saying that you still have open activities associated with the case, which will be canceled if the case is resolved.

4. In the Resolve Case dialog box, in the Resolution Type list, select how the case was resolved.

5. In the Resolution box, type a short explanation of the resolution.

The actual time spent on all activities for this case, as recorded in the Duration box in each activity, is filled out automatically in the Total Time box.

6. In the Billable Time list, select the amount of time spent on the case to be billed to the customer.

If this case is linked to a contract or entitlement, the billable time will be subtracted from the allotted minutes for that contract.

7. Choose Resolve.

A case resolution activity is created and shown in the Activities area. The resolution activity contains information about a resolved case, including the resolution and total time spent on the case. You can reactivate a resolved case at any time.

Edit a case

1. Go to Service > Cases. (How do I get there?)

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2. From the list of cases, open the case you want to edit.

3. When the case is open, make the necessary updates to the case.

4.

When you’re done, choose Save.

Cancel a case

All case activities must to be closed before you can cancel a case.

1. Go to Service > Cases. (How do I get there?)

2. In the list of active cases, open the case that you want to cancel, and then on the command bar, choose Cancel Case.

3. In the Confirm Cancellation dialog box, select the case status:



Canceled: This means the case is canceled and it will no longer be assigned to you.



Merged: This means the case is merged into another case. When the case is merged, the case activities will be moved to the case it was merged into.

4. Choose Confirm.

Reassign a case

If you don’t have enough information to resolve a case, or if you think another member in your team has expertise on the subject, you can assign the case to another user or team.

1. Go to Service > Cases. (How do I get there?)

2. Select the case that you want to reassign.

3. Do one of the following: a. If using the web app: On the command bar, choose More Commands and select Assign. b. If using CRM for Outlook: In the Collaborate group, choose Assign.

4. Choose the Lookup button , and select who you want to assign the case to.

5. Choose Assign.

Add a case to a queue

If you think another group in your team has the expertise on the subject, you can move the case to a queue so that someone else can pick it up.

1. Go to Service > Cases. (How do I get there?)

2. Select the case that you want to add to a queue.

3. Do one of the following: a. If using the web app: Choose the More Commands icon , and select Add to Queue.

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b. If using CRM for Outlook: In the Collaborate group, choose Add to Queue.

4. Choose the Lookup button , select the queue that you want to add the case to, and then choose Add.

See Also

Video: How to create, reactivate, and reassign a case (1:47) eBook: Give great customer service with CRM

Quick ref card for customer service reps

Merge similar cases

Create and manage parent and child cases

Find what's assigned to you in a queue

Merge similar cases

Eliminate redundancies between similar cases in Microsoft Dynamics CRM by merging them into one case. When a customer opens multiple cases about the same issue (through different support channels) or when multiple customers from the same account call in about the same issue, you can merge those cases into one case so everything’s visible in one place.

For example, when a customer or multiple customers from the same account submit a case on the web and also call in about the same issue, you can merge the cases into one case instead of keeping track of multiple cases.

When a case is merged, the state of the case is changed to canceled and the status is changed to merged. This is because it is merged into another case and all of the open case activities, emails, and attachments are now associated with the case it was merged into. By default you can merge up to 10 cases at a time.

A few things to remember when you merge cases with parent and child relationships:



When you merge a case that has child cases, then those child cases become child cases of the parent case they were merged into.



You can only merge a child case into another child case if both of the child cases have the same parent case.

More information: Create and manage parent and child cases

Important

For Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online organizations, this feature is available if you've applied product updates for CRM Online Spring '14, or if you’ve installed the CRM Online

2015 Update.

For on-premises CRM organizations, this feature is available if you've installed CRM

2013 Service Pack 1, or if you’ve updated to CRM 2015.

Interested in getting this feature? More information: Find your CRM administrator or support person

1. Go to Service > Cases. (How do I get there?)

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2. In the list of active cases, select the cases that you want to merge. You must select at least two active cases.

3. On the command bar, click or tap Merge Cases.

4. In the Merge Cases dialog box, from the list of cases, select the case that the other cases will be merged into and then click or tap Merge.

5.

To see the merged case, open the case it was merged into, and you’ll find the merged case listed under Case Relationships > Merged Cases.

See Also

Create and manage a case

Create and manage parent and child cases

Video: How to create, reactivate, and reassign a case (1:47) eBook: Give great customer service with CRM

Quick ref card for customer service reps

Create and manage parent and child cases

You can manage multiple cases more efficiently if you use parent and child cases in Microsoft

Dynamics CRM. When you need to track a case where work needs to be done by other departments or when you need to track the same issue for multiple customers, you can open a primary case called the parent case, and then create secondary cases called child cases.

For example, if you get a service request to install new electrical and gas connections, this requires work to be done separately by the gas and electric department. In this situation, you can open two child cases, one for the gas and the other for the electric department. The original case is marked as the parent case. Once the child cases are resolved, you can then close the parent case.

Similarly, you can create parent and child cases when multiple customers call in about the same issue, for example, a network outage. Instead of creating a new case for each customer, you can create a parent case to track the main network outage with the Network Operations team, and then create child cases when customers call in about the issue.

Note, a child case can’t have a child case.

Important

For Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online organizations, this feature is available if you've applied product updates for CRM Online Spring '14, or if you’ve installed the CRM Online

2015 Update.

For on-premises CRM organizations, this feature is available if you've installed CRM

2013 Service Pack 1, or if you’ve updated to CRM 2015.

Interested in getting this feature? More information: Find your CRM administrator or support person

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Create a new child case

When you need to create a child case for the case you’re working on, you can quickly do this from the case form.

Important

A case can only have up to 100 child cases.

1. Go to Service > Cases. (How do I get there?)

2. When the case form is open, do one of the following:



On the command bar at the top, choose Create Child Case.



Or, choose to expand Case Relationships, and next to Child Case, choose (+) Add

Case record.

3. Next, fill in the necessary case information for the child case, and then choose Save.

4. To see the child case that was just created, from the parent case, choose Case

Relationships

, and you’ll see the child case listed under Child Cases.

Associate a parent case to a child case

You can create a case and then associate it as child case.

Note

A child case can’t have a child case.

1. Go to Service > Cases. (How do I get there?)

2. Then, do one of the following:

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From your active list of cases, do this:

a. Select the cases that you want to associate as parent and child case(s). You must select at least two cases. b. On the command bar at the top, choose Associate Child Cases. c. In the Set Parent Child Relationship dialog box, from the list of cases, select the case that you want to make the parent case, and then choose Set.

From an open case, do this:

a. From the open case form, choose to expand Case Relationships, and next to Child Case, choose (+) Add Case record. b. Choose the Lookup button, and then find the case you want associate as the child case.

Associate a child case to a parent case

You can associate a parent case to a case from the case form.

1. Go to Service > Cases. (How do I get there?)

2. Open the case that you want to link a parent case to.

3. From the case form, choose the Parent Case and use the search to find a case that you want to associate as the parent case for this case.

Resolve a case with a parent and child relationship

Depending on your settings, a case with a parent and child relationship can be closed in one of the following ways:

Important

Sometimes, resolving a case action might be blocked based on your current case status.

This is because your admin may have set things up so that you only see a limited set of statuses to choose from based on the current status of a case. For more information about the available list of case statuses, contact your administrator.



When all the child cases are resolved, you can then close the parent case.



When you resolve the parent case, it will then resolve all the active associated child cases.



A parent and child case can be closed independently of each other. This is the default setting.

1. Go to Service > Cases. (How do I get there?)

2. In the list of active cases, open the one you want to resolve.

3. On the command bar, choose Resolve case.

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Important

Before you resolve a parent case with active child cases, make sure that all the case activities are closed. Otherwise, you’ll get a warning stating that you need to manually close the open activities or the system will automatically cancel the open activities when the case is resolved. Also, performance may be slow when you close a parent case with lots of active child case associated with it.

4. In the Resolve Case dialog box, in the Resolution Type list, select how the case was resolved.

5. In the Resolution box, type a short explanation of the resolution.

The actual time spent on all activities for this case, as recorded in the Duration box in each activity, is filled out automatically in the Total Time

6. In the Billable Time list, select the amount of time spent on the case to be billed to the customer.

If this case is linked to a contract or entitlement, the billable time will be subtracted from the allotted minutes for that contract.

7. Choose Resolve.

A case resolution activity is created and shown in the Activities area. A case resolution activity contains information about a resolved case, including the resolution and total time spent on the case. You can reactivate a resolved case at any time.

See Also

Create and manage a case

Merge similar cases

eBook: Give great customer service with CRM

Quick ref card for customer service reps

Video: How to create, reactivate, and reassign a case (1:47)

Add a phone call, task, email, or appointment activity to a case or record

The activity and notes area helps you keep track of all the interactions with your customers.

Record all important conversations with the customer or the communication with your team members regarding a record in Microsoft Dynamics CRM Add a phone call, task, notes, email, or appointments right within the case, account, contact, lead, or opportunity records without navigating to a different area and opening another form.

All activities that you add from within a record appear in the Activities area. If the Regarding field of an activity is set, the activity appears in the activity wall of the regarding record. You can filter the list to show just the activities that are in progress or the ones that are overdue. Click or tap the inline Complete link to close the activity as Completed.

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Add a phone call

1. Open the record you want to add the activity to.

2. If you do not see the Add Phone Call area open in the middle of the page, choose Activities

> Add Phone Call.

3. In the Description area, provide a summary of the conversation with the customer. You must fill in this area before you can save the phone call.

The Call With field is automatically populated with the customer name you select in the account or contact field. You can select a different contact, account, lead, or user record if required.

4. By default, the direction is set to Outgoing. You can change it to Incoming by clicking or tapping the Phone Support button in the list of case records. To select multiple records, choose Look Up More Records, and then in the Look Up Records dialog box, select the records.

5. Select the Left voice mail check box if you make an outgoing call to a customer and leave a voice mail for them. You can also select this check box if a customer leaves a voice mail message when they call you.

6. Choose OK to save the activity.

Note

By default, every phone call activity that you add in context of a record is marked

Completed when the record is saved at least once. However, if you add a phone call activity to an unsaved record, or if you create a new activity and then set the Regarding field of the activity to another entity record, the activity is set to an Open state. You can choose the Complete link to close the activity as Completed. The Complete link is available only after you save the case record at least once.

Add a task

1. Open the record you want to add the activity to.

2. In the middle of the page, choose Activities > Add Task.

3. Fill in your information. Use the handy tooltips as a guide.

4. The Owner field is set to the current user by default. If you want to reassign the task, choose the lookup icon, and then select another user or team.

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5. Choose OK to save the task.

Add an email

To add an email activity to a record, you must first save the record you are adding the activity to.

1. Open the record you want to add the activity to.

2. In the middle of the page, choose Activities > More Commands > Email.

3. Fill in your information. Use the handy tooltips as a guide.

4. To save the record, choose Save.

5. To add an attachment to the email, under Attachments, on the right, choose +.

6. To use a template for the email body, in the email editor, choose Insert Template, and then select the template.

7. To attach an article to the email, in the email editor, choose Insert Article, and then add the article.

8. Choose Save.

Add an appointment

To add an appointment activity to a record, you must first save the record you are adding the activity to.

1. Open the record you want to add the activity to.

2. In the middle of the page, choose Activities > More Commands > Appointment.

3. Fill in your information. Use the handy tooltips as a guide.

4. To save the record, choose Save.

Add notes

You can also easily add notes in the activities area. And if you’re on the latest version of Microsoft

Dynamics CRM Online, you have the benefits of using OneNote to take or review customer notes

from within your CRM records. For more information on OneNote, see: Set up and use OneNote in CRM .

This doesn’t replace the current Notes feature, but gives you another way to access notes stored in OneNote.

1. Open the record you want to add the activity to.

2. In the middle of the page, choose Notes or OneNote. Then do one of the following:

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

In the Notes area, start typing your notes.



In the OneNote area, select a notebook to make entries.

Note

The notebook is stored in the associated SharePoint folder for the record. If there is more than one associated folder, the notebook is created in the first folder. For more

information see, Set up and use OneNote in CRM .

Create an activity and associate it with a customer

You can also create an activity from the Activity area and then link it to a customer or support case.

1. Go to your work area.

2. Go to Activities. (How do I get there?)

3. On the command bar, select and add an activity. Fill in your information. Use the handy tooltips as a guide.

4. Use the Regarding field on the activity form to associate it with a customer or support case.

See Also

Set up and use OneNote in CRM

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Create and manage a case

Create or edit an appointment

Block time to meet or talk to your customers by using appointments in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

You can modify any of the information in an open appointment. If you change the date and times of the appointment, Microsoft Dynamics CRM will recheck for schedule conflicts.

The calendar displays canceled and completed appointments and service activities. To remove an appointment or service activity from the calendar, delete the record.

Create or edit an appointment

1. Do one of the following:

To create an appointment or a recurring appointment on the Service Calendar, on the nav bar: Go to Service > Service Calendar. (How do I get there?)

To create an appointment or recurring appointment in the Activities area, on the nav bar:

Go to Sales > Activities. (How do I get there?)

2. On the command bar, choose Appointment.

3. Type or change information in the text boxes. You can point to a field to get a tip on what data to enter.

4. If this is a recurring appointment, choose Recurrence, and then select the time, pattern, and date range you want.

5. Choose Save.

If any participants have a schedule conflict, a warning appears. You can choose Ignore

and Save to save the appointment anyway.

6. If you want to add an attachment, make sure you save the appointment first. Then, in the

Attachments section, choose the Add attachment record button (you may have to scroll to the right to see the button) and browse for the file. The attachment size limitation is the same as the email attachment size limitation, which can be changed by your system

administrator. More information: System Settings dialog box - Email tab

Note

You can’t insert attachments in a recurring appointment.

Important

If you plan to include appointments in solutions, we strongly recommend that you don’t include only appointments and only recurring appointments in separate solutions. If you install and uninstall separate solutions with different appointment types, you’ll encounter a SQL Server error and you’ll have to recreate the appointments.

If you’re using CRM for Outlook

Keep the following in mind if you’re using CRM for Outlook in addition to the web application:



If you’re using the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online 2015 Update, Microsoft Dynamics CRM

2015, or Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2015 for Outlook, you can synchronize appointment attachments between Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Dynamics CRM for Outlook if your system administrator has enabled attachment synchronization. You can insert the attachments in CRM or Dynamics CRM for Outlook.

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

Appointments created in the web application and synchronized with Dynamics CRM for

Outlook automatically set a 15-minute reminder and appear on the Microsoft Outlook calendar. You can change the reminder in Dynamics CRM for Outlook.



Service calendar items aren’t added to your Outlook calendar.

See Also

Navigate the service calendar

Keep track of notes, tasks, calls, or email with activities

Track Outlook appointments in CRM for Outlook

Create and manage activities

Schedule a service activity

Navigate the service calendar

Find the next available time before creating a service activity

Create a service activity without checking for conflicts

Schedule a service activity

Use this form to search for an available time for a service activity. You can either search for an open time using search criteria that, at a minimum, includes selecting a service, or you can define a more complex set of criteria. You can also create a service activity without checking for conflicts in the scheduled service. The service activity appears as a color block on the service calendar

You can’t create a recurring service activity. Create individual service activities as needed.

See Also

Find the next available time before creating a service activity

Create a service activity without checking for conflicts

Navigate the service calendar

In the Service calendar, you can do the following tasks and activities:



View your organization's daily, weekly, and monthly schedule of appointments and service activities.



View work schedules and service activity schedules for a variety of resources.



Create new appointments and schedule service activities.



Change the status of an existing service activity.



Search for conflicts in the schedule.

You can’t customize the Service calendar or change the default view with the application.

However, you can ask your system administrator to change the colors of the time blocks.

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1. Go to Service > Service Calendar. (How do I get there?)

2. A list of resources is displayed on the left side of the calendar in alphabetical order. To view the resources, appointments, and service activities for anyone in your organization, in the Type list, select Resource, and then in the View list select the resource view.

3. To find a specific resource, in the Search box, enter the first few letters of a name.

4. To view the details of any resource, appointment, or service activity, select the record in the list to the left of the calendar, and then at the bottom of the calendar, under the Zoom scale, click or tap the Expand button to expand the preview pane. You can also double-click a record to open it.

5. The Calendar pane appears on the right side of the calendar. It can be collapsed or expanded. To change the date, click or tap a date in the calendar. Use the arrows on either side of the month to change the month displayed.

6. To change the number of days that are displayed in the linear calendar, click or tap any of the calendar options in the Calendar pane.

7. To change how much of the calendar is available to view, use the Zoom scale. Select specific date ranges to view in the From and To lists.

Legend of colors and statuses

Appointments and service activities appear in the linear calendar as labeled color blocks. Move your mouse over these blocks to see the status of the appointment or service activity.

See Also

Create a service activity without checking for conflicts

Schedule a service activity

Create or edit an appointment

Basics of service and service scheduling

Find the next available time before creating a service activity

Avoid conflicts while scheduling services by finding the time the resources are available beforehand.

1. Make sure you have the Scheduler role or equivalent permissions.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Service > Service Calendar. (How do I get there?)

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3. Choose Schedule.

4. On the Schedule Service Activity form, type or change information in the text boxes.

Hovertips provide hints about what to enter.



Under Requested Time, select criteria for the times you want:



To search for a time on a specific date, in Start Date, select Specific Date, and then enter the date you want.



To search within a range of dates, select Range of Dates, and then enter the On

or After and On or Before dates. You can also select specific days of the week.



You can also search for times based on dates relative to the current date, such as Today, Tomorrow, This Week, Next Week, or Next Month.



Similarly, to search within specific range of time, in Start Time, select Specific

Time, Range of Times, or Morning, Evening, Afternoon.



Do not clear the Use Default Duration check box and change the duration unless you want to schedule more time than the default duration of the service. The maximum duration of a service activity is 10 days.

5. Click Find Available Times. The next available times are shown.

6. Under Available Times, select the time for which you want to schedule the service activity, and then click Schedule.

The Schedule Service Activity form closes, and Microsoft Dynamics CRM fills in the information from the selected time in the Service Activity form.

7. Type or modify information in other text boxes, as required.

Hovertips provide hints about what to enter.

8.

When you’re ready to save your data, click Save.

The service activity appears as a color block on the Service calendar.

Tip

If you want to find an available time without any time restriction, do not specify any criteria under Requested Time, and click Find Available Times.

See Also

Create a service activity without checking for conflicts

Navigate the service calendar

Create a service activity without checking for conflicts

Make sure you provide timely and efficient service to your customers by creating a service activity that defines who will perform the service and when. In Microsoft Dynamics CRM, a service activity uses one or more resources to perform a service at a specific time and place. You can create a service activity by finding the next available times of resources for a service or simply without checking for conflicts.

You can force a service activity into a time slot to squeeze another service activity into the leftover time from a previous service activity.

If you save a service activity without finding available times in the schedule, then Microsoft

Dynamics CRM displays the service activity in the schedule without checking for conflicts.

One reason to force a service activity into a time slot is to squeeze another service activity into the leftover time from a previous service activity.

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1. Make sure you have the Scheduler security role or equivalent permissions in Microsoft

Dynamics CRM.

2. Go to Service > Service Calendar. (How do I get there?)

3. On the command bar, choose Service Activity.

4. On the Service Activity form, type or change information in the text boxes.

Hovertips provide hints on what to enter.

5.

When you’re ready to save your data, choose Save.

Tip

You can record a customer's preferences for a specific time, day, service, facility, equipment, and customer service representative in the customer record on the

Administration tab. As you are scheduling a service activity, the customer's preference is displayed in the Form Assistant pane.

Note



If at any time before you save this service activity you want to search the schedule for an available time, you can choose Schedule in the Actions group to open the Schedule

Service Activity dialog box.



To check the schedule for conflicts, in Service Calendar, in the Actions group, choose

Conflicts.

See Also

Navigate the service calendar

Find the next available time before creating a service activity

Basics of service and service scheduling

Create or edit a service

Manage queues items

Assign an activity to a user or queue

Find what's assigned to you in a queue

Assign an activity to a user or queue

If you would like another person in your organization to work on an activity, you can assign the activity to that person or move it to another queue.

Assign to other user or team

1. Go to Activities. (How do I get there?)

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2. If using the CRM web application: In the list of activities, select the activity that you want, and on the command bar, choose More Commands ( ), and then choose Assign.

If using CRM for Outlook: Expand My Work, and then choose Activities. a. In the list of records, choose the record that you want. b. In the Collaborate group, choose Assign.

3. In the Assign to another user or team field, choose Lookup, and select the user or team you want to assign the activity to.

If you don’t see the user or team you are looking for, choose Lookup, and then choose

Look Up More Records. From the Look for drop-down list, select User or Team. In the

Search box, type the name, choose the search button, and then choose the name to select it. Choose Add.

4. Choose Assign.

Add to a queue

1. Go to Activities. (How do I get there?)

2. If using the CRM web application: In the list of activities, select the activity that you want, and on the command bar, choose More Commands ( ), and then choose Add to Queue.

If using CRM for Outlook: a. In the list of activities, select the activity that you want, and on the command bar, choose

More Commands ( ), and then choose Add to Queue. b. In the Collaborate group, choose Add to Queue.

3. In the Queue field, choose Lookup, and select the queue you want to route the activity to, and click Add.

Find what's assigned to you in a queue

Quickly see the items assigned to you or that are available to work on by using queues in

Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Think of them as to-do lists that help you organize your work.

Important

For Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online organizations, some features like picking or releasing items are available if you've applied product updates for CRM Online Spring

‘14, or if you’ve installed the CRM Online 2015 Update. For on-premises CRM organizations, these features are available if you've installed CRM 2013 Service Pack 1

(onpremises), or if you’ve updated to CRM 2015.

Interested in getting this feature? Find your CRM administrator or support person

Find the queue items

Use the View list and Queue list to filter and find items in queues.

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1. Go to Service > Queues. (How do I get there?)

2. Select a view and a filter to see the items that you want.

Find all cases in selected queues

a. To see all cases from the selected queue, in the View list, choose All Cases

in Selected Queues. b. In the Queue list, choose one of the following options to filter cases based on queues:



<Individual Queues>



All Queues



All Public Queues.



Queues I’m a member of

Find all items in queues

a. To see all cases from the selected queue, in the View list, choose All Items

in Selected Queues. b. In the Queue list, choose one of the following options to filter cases based on queues:



<Individual Queues>



All Queues



All Public Queues.



Queues I’m a member of

Find cases that are available to work on

a. To see only the cases that no one else is working on, in the View list, choose

Cases Available to Work On. b. In the Queue list, choose one of the following options to filter items based on queues:



<Individual Queues>



All Queues



All Public Queues



Queues I’m a member of

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Find cases that you’re working on

a.

To see only the cases that you’re currently working on, in the View list, choose Cases I am Working on. b. In the Queue list, choose one of the following options to filter the cases based on queues:



<Individual Queues>



All Queues



All Public Queues



Queues I’m a member of

Find items available to work on

a. To see only items (activities and cases) that no one else is working on, in the

View list, choose Items available to work on. b. In the Queue list, choose one of the following options to filter items:



<Individual Queues>



All Queues



All Public Queues



Queues I’m a member of

Find items that you’re working on

a.

To view only items that you’re currently working on, in the View list, choose

Items I am working on. b. In the Queue list, choose one of the following options to filter items:

Pick an activity or case to work on

1. In the View list, select one of the views that show the items or cases available to work on.

2. Select the case or item that you want to work on, and on the command bar, choose Pick.

You also have an option to remove the item from the queue once you pick it up.

When you pick an activity or a case, it gets assigned to you. The Worked By field (in the list of queue items) is also set to you if you leave the activity or case in the queue.

Release an item or case that you’re working on so someone else can pick it up

1. In the View list, select one of the views that show the items or cases you’re working on.

2. Select the case or item that you want to release, and on the command bar choose

Release.

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When you release an item, your name is removed from the Worked By field, and the item is no longer assigned to you; it’s assigned to the queue owner.

Route an activity or case to another queue or assign to a different user or team

1. Select the case that you want to move to another queue, and on the command bar choose Route.

2. To move an activity or case to a different queue, choose Route, and select a queue.

Important

If you’re using CRM 2013 SP1 or CRM Online Spring ‘14, you’ll only see business queues in the inline lookup by default. Business queues only include user-created queues and leave out all user and team queues. When you choose

Look Up More Records in the inline lookup, by default, you’ll see the business queues because Business Queues is the default view. You can’t set a different view as the default view. To choose a different queue than a business queue, in the Look Up Records dialog box, in the Look in list, choose the All Queues view.

-OR-

To assign the activity or case to another user or team to work on, choose User/Team, and select the user or team. When you assign the activity or case to someone else to work on, the Worked By field is set to that user or team. You also have the option to remove the item from the queue.

Remove an activity or case from a queue

1. In the View list, select one of the views that show the items you want to remove.

2. Select the activity or case, and on the command bar, choose Remove.

See Also

Create and manage a case

Add a phone call, task, email, or appointment activity to a case or record

Video: How to create, reactivate, and reassign a case (1:47) eBook: Give great customer service with CRM

Quick ref card for customer service reps

Use the Unified Service Desk

Unified Service Desk Base package

Unified Service Desk for CRM 2013 SP1 with product updates package

Unified Service Desk for CRM 2013 SP1 package

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Set up and use Unified Service Desk for customer service

Unified Service Desk Base package

Unified Service Desk (USD) is a desktop application that helps your customer service agents provide phone, email, and chat support to your customers. USD provides a configurable framework to quickly bu ild an Agent Desktop application that’s integrated with Microsoft

Dynamics CRM. With USD you can quickly make a customized agent desktop application by leveraging the User Interface Integration (UII) framework.

With the Unified Service Desk Base package, the following components are installed:



User Interface Integration Solution



Unified Service Desk Solution



Data required for Microsoft Dynamics CRM and customizations

For more information on how to set up and administer USD see the, TechNet: Unified Service

Desk Administration guide .

Here’s what you’ll see when you install the Base package:

1. Left Nav: Opens the left navigation area that you can open or collapse.

2. Dashboards: Opens the CRM customer service dashboard.

3. My Work: Shows a list of all the active cases assigned to a service rep.

4. Search: Opens search for navigating through various entities. For this package you can search for Accounts and Contacts.

5. Session tabs: When you have multiple customer sessions open, each tab shows the different session. The tabs make it easy for an agent to work on multiple customer cases.

6. Session overview: Shows relevant information about the customer.

7. Call Script: Shows call script s that the service agent can use when they’re working on a case. The scripts help guide the agent by giving them step-by-step instructions on how to handle the case.

8. Notes: This is the area to take notes in regarding the case.

133

View active cases



From the toolbar, click or tap My Work to see all of your active cases and then select a case to work on. When you open a case, a new session opens.

Create a case

1. Look up the contact information. From the toolbar click or tap Search.

2. In the Search field, enter the contact information.

3. When you find the contact information, click or tap the record to open a new session.

4. In the left nav Call Script area, use the of list call scripts to guide you through the support case.



When you click or tap a call script, a green checkmark displays to indicate that the action has been performed.

5. Enter your case notes in the Notes area. To attach your notes to the case, click or tap

Update notes from call scripts.

Search for solutions

To help you resolve the case you, you can use the knowledge base articles or Bing search to help find a solution.

1. From the Call script area, click or tap the Search for solutions call script.

2. Then click or tap on one of the following:



KB articles: Use the search to find articles that can help you resolve the case



Bing search: The title automatically populates in the Bing search box.

Send an email



From the list of call scripts click or tap the Send email call script and then select a template that automatically populates the body of the email.

Resolve a case



To resolve a case, from the Call Script area, click or tap the Resolve Case call script.

Unified Service Desk for CRM 2013 SP1 with product updates package

Unified Service Desk (USD) is a desktop application that helps your customer service agents provide phone, email, chat, and social media support to your customers. USD provides a configurable framework to quickly build an Agent Desktop applicat ion that’s integrated with

Microsoft Dynamics CRM. With USD you can quickly make a customized agent desktop application by leveraging the User Interface Integration framework.

With the Unified Service Desk for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 Service Pack 1 (SP1) package with product updates, the following components are installed:



User Interface Integration Solution

134



Unified Service Desk Solution



Customizations for this package



Data required for Microsoft Dynamics CRM and customizations



KPI Custom Control



Customer Information System

This package automatically populates the sample data for the new features introduced through product updates, such as:



Entitlements



Service level agreements (SLAs)



Routing rules



Automatic case creation rules



Customer service schedule

For more information on how to set-up and administer USD see the, TechNet: Unified Service

Desk Administration guide

Here’s what you’ll see when you install USD:

1. Left Nav: Opens the left navigation area that you can open or collapse.

2. Dashboards: Opens the CRM customer service dashboard.

3. My Work: Shows a list of all the active cases assigned to a service rep.

4. Search: Opens search for navigating through various entities. For this package you can search for accounts, contacts, cases, activates, and queues.

5. Reminder: Shows a list of your activity reminders.

6. Applications

: Shows custom applications for this package. When you’re working on a customer session, this shows global applications and session specific applications.

7. Session tabs: When you have multiple customer sessions open, each tab shows the different session. The tabs make it easy for an agent to work on multiple customer cases.

8. Session overview: Shows the relevant information about the customer.

9. Call Script

: Shows call scripts that the service agent can use when they’re working on a case. The scripts help guide the agent by giving them step-by-step instructions on how to handle the case.

10. Notes: This is the area to take notes in regarding the case.

11. KPI Control: Shows Key Performance Indicators (KPI) such as Average Case Resolution

Time, Number of Cases Resolved, and Customer Satisfaction.

12. Session timer: Shows how long a service rep has been on the session.

135

View your activities



From the toolbar, click or tap My Work to see all of your activities.

Create a case

1. Look up the contact information. From the toolbar click or tap Search.

2. In the Search field, enter the contact information.

3. When you find the contact information, click or tap the record to open a new session.

4. In the left nav Call Script area, use the list of call scripts to guide you through the support case.



When you click or tap a call script, a green checkmark displays to indicate that the action has been performed.

5. Enter your case notes in the Notes area. To attach your notes to the case, click or tap

Update notes from call scripts.

Locate a customer

When you are working on a customer session, if you want to find the location of your customer, use Bing Maps.



From the toolbar click or tap, Applications > Locate the customer. Then use Bing Maps to look up the customer’s location. This will open Bing Maps and automatically populate the address of the customer in the Search field.

Search for solutions

To help you resolve the case you, you can use the knowledge base articles or Bing search to help find a solution.

1. From the Call script area, click or tap the Search for solutions call script.

2. Then click or tap on of the following:



KB articles: use the search to find articles that can help you resolve the case



Bing search: the title automatically populates in the Bing search box.

136

Send an email



From the list of call scripts click or tap the Send email call script and then select a template that automatically populates the body of the email.

Resolve a case



To resolve a case, from the Call Script area, click or tap the Resolve Case call script.

When the case is resolved, the time spent on the case gets updated in Actual Service Unit field of case form. The KPI control is also updated with the number of cases and average handling time.

Unified Service Desk for CRM 2013 SP1 package

Unified Service Desk (USD) is a desktop application that helps your customer service agents provide phone, email, chat, and social media support to your customers. USD provides a configurable framework to quickly build an Agent Desktop application that’s integrated with

Microsoft Dynamics CRM. With USD you can quickly make a customized agent desktop application by leveraging the User Interface Integration framework.

With the Unified Service Desk for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 Service Pack 1 package, the following components are installed:



User Interface Integration Solution



Unified Service Desk Solution



Customizations for this package



Data required for Microsoft Dynamics CRM and customizations



KPI Custom Control



Customer Information System

For more information on how to set up and administer USD, see the TechNet: Unified Service

Desk Administration guide .

Here’s what you’ll see when you install USD:

1. Left Nav: Opens the left navigation area that you can open or collapse.

2. Dashboards: Opens the CRM customer service dashboard.

3. My Work: Shows a list of all the active cases assigned to a service rep.

4. Search: Opens search for navigating through various entities. For this package you can search for accounts contacts, cases, activates, and queues.

5. Reminder: Shows a list of your activity reminders.

6. Applications

: Shows custom applications for this package. When you’re working on a customer session, this shows global applications and session specific applications.

7. Session tabs: Each tab shows a different session when you have multiple customer sessions open. The tabs make it easy for an agent to work on multiple customer cases.

8. Session overview: Shows relevant information about the customer.

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9. Call Script

: Shows call scripts that the service agent can use when they’re working on a case. The scripts help guide the agent by giving them step-by-step instructions on how to handle the case.

10. Notes: Shows an area to take notes in regarding the case.

11. KPI Control: Shows Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) such as Average Case Resolution

Time, Number of Cases resolved and Customer Satisfaction.

12. Session timer: Shows how long a service rep has been on the session.

View your activities



From the toolbar, click or tap My Work to see all of your activities.

Create a case

1. Look up the contact information. From the toolbar, click or tap Search.

2. In the Search field, enter the contact information.

3. When you find the contact information, click or tap the record to open a new session.

4. In the left nav Call Script area, use the list of call scripts to guide you through the support case.



When you click or tap a call script, a green checkmark displays to indicate that the action has been performed.

5.

Enter your case notes in the Notes area. To attach your notes to the case, click or tap

Update notes from call scripts.

Locate a customer

When you are working on a customer session, if you want to find the location of your customer, use Bing Maps.



From the toolbar, click or tap Applications > Locate the customer. Then use Bing Maps to look up the customer’s location. This will open Bing Maps and automatically populate the address of the customer in the Search field.

138

Search for solutions

To help you resolve a case, use the knowledge base articles or Bing search to help find a solution.

1. From the Call script area, click or tap the Search for solutions call script.

2. Then click or tap one of the following:



KB articles: Use search to find articles that can help you resolve the case



Bing search: A title automatically populates in the Bing search box.

Send an email



From the list of call scripts, click or tap the Send email call script and then select a template that automatically populates the body of the email.

Resolve a case



To resolve a case, from the Call Script area, click or tap the Resolve Case call script.

When the case is resolved, the time spent on the case gets updated in Actual Service Unit field of case form. The KPI control is also updated with number of cases and average handling time.

Set up and use Unified Service Desk for customer service

Give your customer service agents immediate access to business critical information so they can quickly engage with customers and address queries and issues using Unified Service Desk

(USD) for Microsoft Dynamics CRM. USD gives you a configurable framework for quickly building applications for call centers so that agents can get a unified view of the customer data stored in CRM. You can aggregate customer information from different areas in CRM into one integrated desktop that provides a 360° view of the customer interactions.



For more information, view this Video: Overview of Unified Service Desk (5:00).



For more information on how to set up and administer USD, see TechNet: Unified Service

Desk Administration guide .

See Also

TechNet: What's new in Unified Service Desk

Parature, from Microsoft knowledge base integration

Connect Dynamics CRM to the Parature knowledge base

Add a Parature Knowledge Base search pane to a CRM form

Find Parature knowledge base (KB) articles from within Dynamics CRM

Unified Service Desk

– Knowledge Management package

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Connect Dynamics CRM to the Parature knowledge base

The knowledge management solution in Parature, from Microsoft supports creating a rich knowledge base that’s developed based on issues or questions that your customers frequently have. The Parature knowledge base also supports adding multimedia content like videos and images to the articles to explain things visually.

Bring this knowledge to your Microsoft Dynamics CRM users by setting up knowledge management in CRM. After you set up knowledge management, CRM users can find and view relevant knowledge base articles that exist in Parature right from CRM, and share them quickly with customers.

Important

For Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online organizations, this feature is available only if your organization has updated to Dynamics CRM Online 2015 Update 1. Interested in getting this feature? Find your CRM administrator or support person . This feature is not available for Dynamics CRM (on-premises).

To learn more about setting up knowledge management in Microsoft Dynamics CRM, see

TechNet: Connect Microsoft Dynamics CRM to Parature knowledge base .

See Also

Knowledgebase module in Parature, from Microsoft

TechNet: Connect Microsoft Dynamics CRM to Parature knowledge base

Add a Parature Knowledge Base search pane to a CRM form

Make the Parature, from Microsoft knowledge base (KB) available to your Microsoft Dynamics

CRM users in the records they’re working on. When you add the knowledge base search pane to a CRM form, users will be able to search for relevant KB articles from CRM, and also quickly share the right information with customers.

Important

For Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online organizations, this feature is available only if your organization has updated to Dynamics CRM Online 2015 Update 1. Interested in getting this feature? Find your CRM administrator or support person . This feature is not available for Dynamics CRM (on-premises).

To learn more about adding the knowledge base search pane, and setting its properties, see

TechNet: Add the Knowledge Base Search control to Microsoft Dynamics CRM forms .

See Also

What’s new

TechNet: What's new for administrators and customizers in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2015 and

CRM Online

140

Find Parature knowledge base (KB) articles from within

Dynamics CRM

For any customer service team, it’s important to give their customers the right information at the right time. After your administrator sets up knowledge management for your organization, you can search for the articles in Parature, from Micro soft while working on a customer’s case in Microsoft

Dynamics CRM, give customers accurate and consistent information, and also deflect the frequently asked questions. With rich knowledge at your fingertips, you’re likely to spend less time finding information, potentially reducing issue handling time and increasing customer satisfaction.

Important

For Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online organizations, this feature is available only if your organization has updated to Dynamics CRM Online 2015 Update 1. Interested in getting this feature? Find your CRM administrator or support person . This feature is not available for Dynamics CRM (on-premises).

1. Go to Service > Cases. (How do I get there?)

2. Open a case record.

3. On the Activity wall, choose KB Records.

You’ll see a list of suggested KB articles based on the case title. You’ll also see a short blurb of the article along with its rating and number of views the article had.

The search results are filtered and shown based on the default language of your Parature department. To view or edit the default language of your Parature department, in

Parature Service Desk, go to Setup > Department Management > Department Profile.

If an article is still in draft or is expired, you’ll see its status before the title, so you know if you really want to share the article with the customers.

Important

If you see a message that Knowledge Management hasn’t been set up, talk to your system administrator to set it up for you.

4. If you want to search the KB articles for a different keyword, start typing the keyword in the Search box and you’ll start seeing matching results as you’re typing.

5. To sort articles in the search results, in the Select how to sort results drop-down list, select a sort order. You can sort the search results based on relevance, rating, number of views, or modified date.

141

6. To filter the search results, in the Filter Result By drop-down list, select a filter. You can filter the search results to show all articles, only draft articles, or only published articles.

7. To see the full content of the article, select the article name link.

You’ll be able to see full content of the article along with images and videos, if the article has any.

8. You can take the following actions on the search results: a. To associate a KB article with the current case, select a KB article, and choose Link the KB

article to the current case button . Microsoft Dynamics CRM adds the associated KB article to the Associated Knowledge Base records section. This association helps customer service managers determine which KB articles were effective in resolving cases.

You can also choose to dissociate the article from the case by choosing the Unlink the KB

article from the current record button . b. To copy the external URL of the article, so you can share it with your customers over channels like chat or email, choose the Copy Link button . This option is available only if you are using Internet Explorer.

Note

If you don’t see a URL when you try to paste it, it could be because the article is still in the draft state or is expired. c. To associate an article to the case and share the link of the article with the customer through email, choose the Link the KB article to the case and email the link to the customer button . An email form opens with the To field automatically filled with the customer of the case and the link added to the email body. Fill in any additional details, and choose Send.

If the article is published, an external link is copied to the email body. If the article is draft, an internal Parature Service Desk link will be copied to the email. The customer may not be able to view such KB article.

This action also associates the KB article to the case automatically. d. To open the article in a new window, choose the Pop Out button .

See Also

Create and manage a case

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Unified Service Desk – Knowledge Management package

Unified Service Desk for Microsoft Dynamics CRM provides a configurable framework for quickly building applications for call centers so that the service agents get a unified view of the customer data stored in Microsoft Dynamics CRM or any other application.

If you’re a service agent, you can use Unified Service Desk to offer your customers a reliable and consistent experience across a number of different channels including phone, email, and chat, and can also serve multiple customers simultaneously through sessions. A system administrator in your organization can integrate USD with many other applications that you use on a day-to-day basis so that you can get your work done from your desktop without switching to different applications.

The Unified Service Desk Knowledge Management package provides a sample configuration for integrating Microsoft Dynamics CRM with the Parature knowledge base to allow you to easily search for articles from your desktop and share them with customers right away, reducing call handling times and improving customer satisfaction.

Important

This sample application is useful only if you have set up knowledge management for

Microsoft Dynamics CRM. More information: TechNet: Connect Microsoft Dynamics

CRM to Parature Knowledge Base

With the Unified Service Desk Knowledge Management package, the following components are installed:



User Interface Integration Solution



Unified Service Desk Solution



Data required for Microsoft Dynamics CRM and customizations



Configurations for integrating Unified Service Desk with knowledge management.

For more information on how to set up and administer Unified Service Desk, see the

TechNet:Administration Guide for Unified Service Desk .

Here’s what you’ll see when you install Unified Service Desk:

1. Dashboards: Opens the CRM customer service dashboard.

2. My Work: Shows a list of all the active cases assigned to a service rep.

3. Search: Opens search for navigating through various entities. For this package you can search for accounts contacts, cases, activities, and queues.

4. Session tabs: Each tab shows a different session when you have multiple customer sessions open. The tabs make it easy for an agent to work on multiple customer cases.

5. Left pane: When you open any session, the left pane area automatically opens and shows the call script for the session. You can open or collapse this pane.

6. Right pane: When you open any session, the right pane automatically opens and lets you search for knowledge base articles.

7. Call Script

: Shows call scripts that the service agent can use when they’re working on a case. The scripts help guide the agent by giving them step-by-step instructions on how to handle the case.

8. Notes: Shows an area to take notes in regarding the case.

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9. Session timer: Shows how long a service rep has been on the session.

View your cases



From the toolbar, choose My Work to see all of your cases.

Create a case

Look up the contact information.

1. From the toolbar, choose Search.

An application tab opens with a list of records.

2. In the Search for records box, enter the account or contact information.

3. When you find the information, choose the record to open a new session.

4. In the left nav Call Script area, use the list of call scripts to guide you through the support case.

When you open a call script, a green checkmark displays to indicate that the action has been performed.

5. Enter your case notes in the Notes area. To attach your notes to the case, choose Update

notes from call scripts.

Search for solutions

To help you resolve a case, use knowledge base articles to find a solution.

1. From the Call script area, choose Search for a solution.

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The KB Records pane shows search results based on the title of the case. By default, the pane is configured to open in the right panel, but you can talk to your administrator to open this pane in the left or main panel.

2. To do a different search, use the Search box to type a keyword and search for other articles.

3. In the search results, select the article by choosing the article blurb, and do one of the following:



To copy the URL of the article, choose the Copy Link button . You can then paste it in the chat session with customers or in the email body.

Note

If you don’t see a URL when you try to paste it, it could be because the article is still in the draft state or is expired.



To send the link of the article to a customer, choose the Send Email button .

An email template opens with data populated in it.



To link the article with the case, choose the Link Article button .

Linking articles to cases helps in determining what articles were effective in resolving cases. You can also choose to dissociate the article from the case by choosing the Remove Link button .



To open the article in a new tab in the main panel and read its content, choose the title of the article.

All actions like Copy Link or Send Email are available on this new tab.



Additionally, to open the article in a new browser window, choose the Pop Out button . This option is available only in the main panel and is particularly useful when you’re using multiple monitors. You can pop out an article and view it on a second monitor so that you can continue to use the first monitor to work on the case or take notes. While going through the article, you can choose a link to go to a different page, and use the Back button to go back to the original article.

Tip

Your system administrator can also set up the Search control to search automatically based on certain criteria as soon as you open a session. To know more about this, talk to your system administrator.

Send an email



From the list of call scripts, choose the Send email call script and then select a template that automatically populates the body of the email.

Update the notes



Enter your case notes in the Notes area.



From the list of call scripts, choose the Update the notes call script. This will attach the notes you’ve taken during your conversation with the customer to the Notes tab of the case record in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

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Close the session

From the list of call scripts, choose the Close the session call script. This will close the open session and collapse the left panel that shows the call script and right panel that lets you search

KB articles.

See Also

TechNet: Administration Guide for Unified Service Desk

Work with marketing campaigns

Get started with CRM marketing

Create a marketing list in the CRM marketing work area

Create or edit a campaign in the CRM marketing work area

Create a quick campaign in the CRM marketing work area

Add an activity to a campaign in the CRM marketing work area

Add a marketing list, sales literature, or product to a campaign in the CRM marketing work area

Track a campaign response in the CRM marketing work area

View and manage marketing communications with the Microsoft Dynamics Marketing Seller

Portal

Get started with CRM marketing

Promote your business and improve sales with targeted marketing campaigns in Microsoft

Dynamics CRM. Create activities for each campaign and assign them to different team members.

Track customer response and costs for each campaign. Follow this step-by-step guide to get started with your marketing campaigns.

Note

The Marketing work area within CRM provides basic marketing features and gets you started with running marketing campaigns. Microsoft Dynamics Marketing takes you to the next level by providing deep customer insights and behavioral data to help plan and analyze your campaigns, greater functionality for automation and collaborating with team members, and social media integration. More information: Microsoft Dynamics Marketing

Help Center

Import contacts, accounts, and leads

Get your customer records into Microsoft Dynamics CRM, and add these to marketing lists so you

can target your campaigns. More information: Import accounts, leads, or other data

Create marketing lists

Group accounts, contacts, or leads into a targeted marketing list. You can create a marketing list easily with the search functionality in Microsoft Dynamics CRM, so you find all of your customers

in a particular area, for example, and add them to the member list. More information: Create a marketing list in the CRM marketing work area

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Understand the difference between a campaign and a quick campaign

In Microsoft Dynamics CRM, use standard campaigns to manage the end-to-end process of a complete marketing campaign, like managing campaign and planning activities, distributing the activities to other team members, and tracking how the campaign did. Campaigns include extensive tracking features, including detailed information, reports, and multiple marketing lists.

In contrast to standard campaigns, use quick campaigns to automatically distribute a single activity to selected accounts, contacts, or leads, or to a single marketing list. The effects of a quick campaign are immediate.

147

Create a campaign or a quick campaign

Depending on your requirement, track your marketing activities through a campaign or a quick

campaign. More information: Create or edit a campaign in the CRM marketing work area ,

Create a quick campaign in the CRM marketing work area

Track a campaign response

Record the replies you get from the potential customers in response to a specific marketing campaign to make sure your team can act on the responses. Measure the success of specific

campaign activities based on their response rates. More information: Track a campaign response in the CRM marketing work area

See how your campaigns are doing with default marketing reports

Use one of the following reports to assist you in monitoring and analyzing marketing activities:



Campaign Activity Status: Use this report to track a campaign. The report displays a summary for one campaign.



Campaign Comparison: Use this report to identify your most and least successful campaigns.



Campaign Performance: Use this report to track the progress and status of your campaigns.

Let your customers unsubscribe from marketing communications

You can enable customers to unsubscribe from email marketing communications your organization sends them.

More information: System Settings dialog box - Marketing tab

Note that you cannot add unsubscribe functionality to direct email or email templates.

See Also

Create a marketing list in the CRM marketing work area

Create or edit a campaign in the CRM marketing work area

Create a quick campaign in the CRM marketing work area

Add an activity to a campaign in the CRM marketing work area

Add a marketing list, sales literature, or product to a campaign in the CRM marketing work area

Create or edit a campaign template in the CRM marketing work area

Track a campaign response in the CRM marketing work area

Microsoft Dynamics Marketing Help Center

Create a marketing list in the CRM marketing work area

Your marketing list is the core of running a successful marketing campaign. It can include any one type of customer record, such as leads, accounts, or contacts.

You can create two types of marketing lists:



Static Use a static list if you prefer to add and update members manually.



Dynamic Use a dynamic marketing list if you want the list to return a list of members dynamically when needed, based on search criteria you set. For example, if you want to run a campaign to members of a specific city, use a dynamic list. A dynamic marketing list retrieves

148

the updated list of members each time you open the list, create a quick campaign from this marketing list, or distribute a campaign activity for a campaign associated with this marketing list.

Create a marketing list

1. Go to Marketing > Marketing Lists. (How do I get there?)

2. Choose New.

3. Add or change the information in the Summary area. This screenshot provides an example.

Note

To look up records in the Owner field, first choose Save

, or you’ll lose your changes.

4. Choose Save so you can enter information in other areas of the form.

5. Add any other information that applies to your marketing list in the Notes area.

6. Choose Save.

Add members to a marketing list

149

Add members to a static marketing list

1. In any marketing list record, in the Members area, choose the Add button.

2. In the Manage Members dialog box, choose one of the following options, and then choose Continue.

Add using Lookup

a. In the Look Up Records dialog box, select your search criteria. b. Select the records that you want to add, choose Select, and then choose

Add.

Add using Advanced Find

a. In the Add Members dialog box, choose Select, and then select the field on which you want to search, such as Account Name or City. You can select fields from the current record type, or from related record types. When you select a related record type, a new line appears with another Select list for the related record type. b. Choose Equals, and then select a query relational operator (for example

Contains or Begins With). c. Choose Enter Text, and then type the value that you want to locate. d. To specify the columns to include in the search results, choose Edit

Columns, and then Add Columns. Then select the columns that you want to add, and choose OK. e. Choose Find. f. Select the members that you want to add, select one of the following, and then choose Add to Marketing List.



Add only the selected members to the marketing list



Add all the members returned by the search to the marketing list

Remove using Advanced Find

a. In the Add Members dialog box, choose Select, and then select the field on which you want to search, such as Account Name or City. You can select fields from the current record type, or from related record types. When you select a related record type, a new line appears with another Select list for the related record type. b. Choose Equals, and then select a query relational operator (for example

Contains or Begins With). c. Choose Enter Text, and then type the value you want to locate. d. To specify the columns to include in the search results, choose Edit

Columns, and then choose Add Columns. Then select the columns that you want to add, and choose OK.

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e. Choose Find. f. Select the members that you want to remove, select one of the following, and then choose Remove from Marketing List.



Remove only the selected members from the marketing list



Remove all the members returned by the search from the marketing list

Evaluate using Advanced Find

a. In the Add Members dialog box, choose Select, and then select the field on which you want to search, such as Account Name or City. You can select fields from the current record type, or from related record types. When you select a related record type, a new line appears with another Select list for the related record type. b. Choose Equals, and then select a query relational operator (for example

Contains or Begins With). c. Choose Enter Text, and then type the value you want to locate. d. To specify the columns to include in the search results, choose Edit

Columns, and then choose Add Columns. Then select the columns that you want to add, and choose OK. e. Choose Find. f. Select the members that you want to keep, select one of the following, and then choose Update Marketing List.



Keep only the selected members in the marketing list



Keep all the members returned by the search in the marketing list

Define the member selection criteria for a dynamic marketing list

1. In any marketing list, in the Members area, choose the Add button.

2. In the Manage Members dialog box, choose Select, and then select the field on which you want to search, such as Account Name or City. You can select fields from the current record type, or from related record types.

When you select a related record type, a new line appears with another Select list for the related record type.

3. Choose Equals, and then select a query relational operator.

4. Choose Enter Value, and then type the value that you want to locate (for example,

"Seattle" or "Email").

For some values, you can choose the Lookup icon to open the Select Values dialog box and select the value you want.

5. To specify the columns to include in the search results, choose Edit Columns, and then

Add Columns. Select the columns that you want to add, and choose OK.

6. Choose Use Query to add the matching records to your dynamic marketing list.

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Associate campaigns or quick campaigns to a marketing list

After you have created a campaign or quick campaign, you can associate it to your marketing list.

You can also create a new campaign or quick campaign from your marketing list.

1. In the Campaigns or Quick Campaigns area, choose the Add button.

2. Search for the campaign or quick campaign you want to associate to this marketing list.

Note

If you don’t have any campaigns, or if you want to create a new one, you can choose + New.

If you don’t have any quick campaigns, the Quick Campaign Wizard will start.

Note

This topic applies to the Marketing work area within Microsoft Dynamics CRM. The

Dynamics CRM Marketing work area provides a way for your sales force to run salesdriven marketing activities. If you use Microsoft Dynamics Marketing along with Dynamics

CRM, you might be looking for a similar topic for that product. Dynamics Marketing provides a full-scale set of functionality, automation, and analytical insights for multistage and multichannel campaigns. More information: Microsoft Dynamics Marketing Help

Center

See Also

Get started with CRM marketing

Create or edit a campaign in the CRM marketing work area

Create a quick campaign in the CRM marketing work area

Add an activity to a campaign in the CRM marketing work area

Add a marketing list, sales literature, or product to a campaign in the CRM marketing work area

Track a campaign response in the CRM marketing work area

Microsoft Dynamics Marketing Help Center

Create or edit a campaign in the CRM marketing work area

Promote your business, expand your reach to new customers, and improve sales by using campaigns in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Use campaigns to store all your marketing information and activities, and to measure the success of your efforts. Campaigns contain planning tasks and campaign activities you need to manage for the marketing campaigns.

Add strategic campaign information to your campaign, such as:



Budgets and expenses



Promotion codes



Target products



Marketing collateral, including sales literature



Target marketing lists

152

Campaigns can include whatever planning activities you want to perform before you launch the campaign, and also the campaign activities you want to manage as part of the campaign. More

information: Add an activity to a campaign in the CRM marketing work area

1. Go to Marketing > Campaigns. (How do I get there?)

2. To create a new campaign, choose New.

- OR -

To edit a campaign, open a campaign from the list.

3. Add or change information in the text boxes. a. In the Campaign section, enter the campaign details such as, name, type, and the expected response rate. b. In the Schedules section, enter the proposed and actual start and end dates of the campaign. c. Under Financials, enter details about the cost of the campaign and campaign activities, and the budget and revenue of the campaign. d. To track conversations in the planning phase of the campaign, in the Activities area,

add activities. More information: Add a phone call, task, email, or appointment activity to a case or record

4.

When you’re ready to save your data, choose Save.

5. To add a marketing list to the campaign, in the Marketing Lists area, choose +, and in the Look Up Records dialog box, find and select a marketing list.

6. To create planning and campaign activities for your campaign, for example, identifying advertising channels or prepare campaign communications to send to the members on

the marketing lists, see Add an activity to a campaign in the CRM marketing work area .

Note

This topic applies to the Marketing work area within Microsoft Dynamics CRM. The

Dynamics CRM Marketing work area provides a way for your sales force to run salesdriven marketing activities. If you use Microsoft Dynamics Marketing along with Dynamics

CRM, you might be looking for a similar topic for that product. Dynamics Marketing provides a full-scale set of functionality, automation, and analytical insights for multistage and multichannel campaigns. More information: Microsoft Dynamics Marketing Help

Center

See Also

Create or edit a campaign template in the CRM marketing work area

Create a marketing list in the CRM marketing work area

Create a quick campaign in the CRM marketing work area

153

Add an activity to a campaign in the CRM marketing work area

Add a marketing list, sales literature, or product to a campaign in the CRM marketing work area

Track a campaign response in the CRM marketing work area

Microsoft Dynamics Marketing Help Center

Create a quick campaign in the CRM marketing work area

Send an e-mail blast to customers who fit a specific demographic, a mail campaign to clients in a specific region, or perhaps a phone call campaign to previous buyers of a particular product by using a quick campaign in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. A quick campaign is a single campaign activity geared toward a targeted audience. Track the success of your quick campaign through campaign responses, and convert the positive responses into new leads, quotes, orders, or opportunities.

If you need to perform more than one activity for your campaign, such as an email blast and a

mailing, create a new campaign instead. More information: Create or edit a campaign in the CRM marketing work area

1. Go to Marketing > Marketing Lists. (How do I get there?)

2. Open a record, and then in the Quick Campaigns area, choose the Add button .

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3. In the Quick Campaign Wizard, read the instructions on the Welcome page, and choose

Next.

4. Specify a name for the quick campaign.

5. Select the type of activity you want to create.

You can also select who you want Microsoft Dynamics CRM to assign the activity to and whether CRM should perform the activity automatically for appropriate activities, such as sending email messages. For example, if you are creating a phone call activity for all the sales representatives, you can select the phone call activity, and then select The owners

of the records that are included in the quick campaign. Each sales representative can then see the activity and take action on it. However, if you are creating a large number of email activities that CRM will perform automatically, you can assign the email activity to yourself instead of the record owners.

6. Add or change information in the text boxes in the activity form, and choose Next.

7. Choose Create.

Note

You can’t add records to a quick campaign after you create it.

Note

This topic applies to the Marketing work area within Microsoft Dynamics CRM. The

Dynamics CRM Marketing work area provides a way for your sales force to run salesdriven marketing activities. If you use Microsoft Dynamics Marketing along with Dynamics

CRM, you might be looking for a similar topic for that product. Dynamics Marketing provides a full-scale set of functionality, automation, and analytical insights for multistage and multichannel campaigns. More information: Microsoft Dynamics Marketing Help

Center

See Also

Get started with CRM marketing

Create a marketing list in the CRM marketing work area

Create or edit a campaign in the CRM marketing work area

Add an activity to a campaign in the CRM marketing work area

Add a marketing list, sales literature, or product to a campaign in the CRM marketing work area

Track a campaign response in the CRM marketing work area

Microsoft Dynamics Marketing Help Center

Add an activity to a campaign in the CRM marketing work area

Make your marketing campaigns successful by creating, distributing, and assigning planning and campaign activities in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Planning activities are those you want to perform before you launch the campaign, and campaign activities are those you want to manage as part of the campaign. Examples of planning and campaign activities you can add include:



Identify advertising channels and supporting materials



Contact media channels to reserve time or space for advertising



Create or refine target marketing lists

155



Contact a design agency to request creation of collateral pieces and advertising materials

By default, a campaign targets an activity to the group of marketing lists that you select for the campaign. If you want to run a campaign activity on a subset of your marketing lists, you can distribute the activity to certain members instead.

Add a planning activity to a campaign

1. Go to Marketing > Campaigns. (How do I get there?)

2. In the campaign record you want to add the planning activity to, on the nav bar, choose the down arrow next to the campaign you’re working on and then choose Planning

Activities.

3. To add a new activity, choose Add New Activity, and then select the type of activity you want to create.

-OR-

To add an existing activity, choose Add Existing Activity. In the inline lookup field, search for and select the activity.

4. In the new activity form, add or change information in the text boxes.

5.

When you’re ready to save your data, choose Save.

Add a campaign activity to a campaign

1. Go to Marketing > Campaigns. (How do I get there?)

2. In the campaign record you want to add the campaign activity to, on the nav bar, choose the down arrow next to the campaign you’re working on and then choose Campaign

Activities.

3. Choose Add New Campaign Activity.

4. Type in all the information you can, and then choose Save. This creates the campaign activity so you can do more things with it, like add marketing lists.

5. To add a marketing list, choose +. In the Look Up Records box, type in your search and choose the Search button, select one or more marketing lists, and choose Add.

6. To distribute the new campaign activity, on the command bar, choose Distribute

Campaign Activity.

7. In the activity form, type or modify information in the text boxes, and choose Distribute.

8. Choose who will own the activities, and choose Distribute.

Note

You can only distribute campaign activities of type “mail merge” to marketing lists that contain the same type of record. For example, if one marketing list contains accounts and a second marketing list contains leads, the mail merge campaign activity will fail. Create a separate mail merge campaign activity for each group of marketing lists with the same record type.

156

9. After all the distributed activities are closed, you can close the campaign activity. To close the campaign activity, open the campaign activity record, and on the command bar, choose Close Campaign Activity. Set an appropriate status for the activity, and choose

OK.

10. When the activity is completed, update the campaign activity record with the actual costs.

Open the campaign activity and update the Actual Cost field. This can help guide you in planning future campaign activities.

Note

This topic applies to the Marketing work area within Microsoft Dynamics CRM. The

Dynamics CRM Marketing work area provides a way for your sales force to run salesdriven marketing activities. If you use Microsoft Dynamics Marketing along with Dynamics

CRM, you might be looking for a similar topic for that product. Dynamics Marketing provides a full-scale set of functionality, automation, and analytical insights for multistage and multichannel campaigns. More information: Microsoft Dynamics Marketing Help

Center

See Also

Get started with CRM marketing

Create a marketing list in the CRM marketing work area

Create or edit a campaign in the CRM marketing work area

Create a quick campaign in the CRM marketing work area

Add a marketing list, sales literature, or product to a campaign in the CRM marketing work area

Track a campaign response in the CRM marketing work area

Microsoft Dynamics Marketing Help Center

Add a marketing list, sales literature, or product to a campaign in the CRM marketing work area

Add all items to your campaign that your need in this marketing context. Usually you need to add marketing lists, but you might also want to refer campaigns to products and related campaigns, or you might want to add sales literature that documents sales procedures.

1. Go to Marketing > Campaigns. (How do I get there?)

2. Choose the name of the campaign that you want to add a list, product, or sales literature to. In the nav bar, choose the down arrow next to your campaign.

The following table shows what you need to do to add each type of item.

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To add

A marketing list

A product

Sales literature

Do this

Choose Target Marketing Lists, and then choose Add Existing Marketing List.

Choose Target Products, and then choose Add Existing Product.

Choose Sales Literature, and then choose Add Existing Sales Literature.

A related campaign Choose Related Campaigns, and then choose Add Existing Campaign.

3. Select the type of record you want in the Look Up Records dialog box, in the Look for list.

4. Type the first few letters of the name of the record to narrow your search in the Search box, and then choose the Find button .

5. Select the check boxes for the records that you want to add in the list of records that appears, choose Add, and then choose OK.

6. Choose Save or Save and Close.

Note

To verify that the item you selected was added to the campaign, reopen the campaign. Under Marketing, choose Target Marketing Lists, or under Sales choose either Target Products or Sales Literature. The information you added appears in the list.

Note

This topic applies to the Marketing work area within Microsoft Dynamics CRM. The

Dynamics CRM Marketing work area provides a way for your sales force to run salesdriven marketing activities. If you use Microsoft Dynamics Marketing along with Dynamics

CRM, you might be looking for a similar topic for that product. Dynamics Marketing provides a full-scale set of functionality, automation, and analytical insights for multistage and multichannel campaigns. More information: Microsoft Dynamics Marketing Help

Center

See Also

Get started with CRM marketing

Create a marketing list in the CRM marketing work area

Create or edit a campaign in the CRM marketing work area

Create a quick campaign in the CRM marketing work area

Add an activity to a campaign in the CRM marketing work area

Track a campaign response in the CRM marketing work area

Microsoft Dynamics Marketing Help Center

158

Track a campaign response in the CRM marketing work area

Record the replies you get from potential customers in response to a specific marketing campaign to make sure your team can act on the responses. Measure the success of specific campaign activities based on their response rates. You can manually create campaign responses in

Microsoft Dynamics CRM or have CRM generate them automatically.

Create campaign responses manually

1. Go to Marketing > Campaigns. (How do I get there?)

2. Choose the campaign that you want to add campaign responses to, and under Responses, choose Add .

3. Add information in the Campaign Response form.

4. Choose Save.

Create campaign responses automatically

1. Make sure that you have the System Administrator or System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Administration. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose the System Settings > Marketing tab.

4. Set the Create campaign responses for incoming email option to Yes.

Note

This topic applies to the Marketing work area within Microsoft Dynamics CRM. The

Dynamics CRM Marketing work area provides a way for your sales force to run salesdriven marketing activities. If you use Microsoft Dynamics Marketing along with Dynamics

CRM, you might be looking for a similar topic for that product. Dynamics Marketing provides a full-scale set of functionality, automation, and analytical insights for multistage and multichannel campaigns. More information: Microsoft Dynamics Marketing Help

Center

See Also

System Settings dialog box - Marketing tab

Get started with CRM marketing

159

Create a marketing list in the CRM marketing work area

Create or edit a campaign in the CRM marketing work area

Create a quick campaign in the CRM marketing work area

Add an activity to a campaign in the CRM marketing work area

Add a marketing list, sales literature, or product to a campaign in the CRM marketing work area

Create or edit a campaign template in the CRM marketing work area

Microsoft Dynamics Marketing Help Center

View and manage marketing communications with the Microsoft

Dynamics Marketing Seller Portal

Stay up-to-date with communications that your Marketing department has sent to your contacts with the Seller Portal in Microsoft Dynamics Marketing. Access the Seller Portal from within

Microsoft Dynamics CRM to stay well-informed about communications your customers have received from Microsoft Dynamics Marketing or to remove them from campaigns that don’t apply to them.

For Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online organizations, this feature is only available if you've installed the CRM Online 2015 Update.

For on-premises CRM organizations, this feature is only available if you've updated to CRM 2015.

Interested in getting this feature? Find your CRM administrator or support person.

This feature also requires Microsoft Dynamics Marketing 2015 Update.

For more information about working with the Seller Portal in Microsoft Dynamics Marketing, see

Use the Seller Portal to see and manage which messages are reaching your contacts .

If you are a CRM administrator who wants to enable the Seller Portal for your users, see

Dynamics Marketing for Dynamics CRM users .

View the Seller Portal for selected accounts

1. Go to Sales > Accounts. (How do I get there?)

2. Select the accounts for which you want to view marketing communications in Microsoft

Dynamics Marketing.

3. Choose the More button

… at the top of the screen and then choose View Marketing Portal.

4. Sign in to Microsoft Dynamics Marketing if prompted.

View the Seller Portal for selected contacts

1. Go to Sales > Contacts. (How do I get there?)

2. Select the accounts for which you want to view marketing communications in Microsoft

Dynamics Marketing.

3. Choose the More button

… at the top of the screen and then choose View Marketing Portal.

4. Sign in to Microsoft Dynamics Marketing if prompted.

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Create and run reports

Get a list of available reports

Add a report

Organize and lay out your data

Share a report with other users or teams

Run a report

Download a report

Troubleshoot problems with data not displaying in a report

Determine who can use a report

Edit the default filter of a report

Customize and organize reports

Create, edit, or copy a report using the Report Wizard

Available reports

Account Distribution report

Account Overview report

Account Summary report

Neglected Accounts report

Campaign Activity Status report

Campaign Comparison report

Campaign Performance report

Competitor Win Loss report

Activities report

Progress Against Goals report

Sales History report

Lead Source Effectiveness report

Neglected Leads report

Products by Account report

Invoices report

Quotes report

Orders report

Case Summary Table report

Neglected Cases report

Service Activity Volume report

Top knowledge base articles report

User Summary report

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Get a list of available reports

Microsoft Dynamics CRM includes many system reports that you can use to gain insights into how your business is doing. You can use these reports as is or customize them for your needs.

For more information about customized reports, see Customize and organize reports .

Reports in CRM

Category

Account insights

Marketing insights

Sales insights

Description

Top revenue-generating accounts

Overview of an account

Chronological account summary

Accounts that haven’t been contacted

Summary of activities in a campaign

Compare campaigns

Product insights

Invoices, quotes, and orders details

Accounts receivable

Line items of a quote

More information

Account Distribution report

Account Overview report

Account Summary report

Invoice Status report

Quotes report

Neglected Accounts report

Campaign Activity Status report

Campaign Comparison report

Progress and status of campaigns

Sales team performance against competitors

Activity patterns

Campaign Performance report

Competitor Win Loss report

Activities report

Sales progress against goals

Progress Against Goals report

Sales performance of reps

Sales History report

Potential sales opportunities

Sales Pipeline report

Compare effectiveness of lead sources for generating opportunities

Lead Source Effectiveness report

Leads that haven’t been contacted

Neglected Leads report

Products used by an account

Products by Account report

Products used by a contact

Products by Contact report

Line items of an invoice

Invoices report

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Category

Service insights

Description

Line items of an order

Amount and length of service activities

Most searched knowledge base articles

List of users

More information

Orders report

Types of opened and resolved cases

Case Summary Table report

Cases with no recent activity

Neglected Cases report

Service Activity Volume report

Top knowledge base articles report

User Summary report

Administrator reports

See Also

Run a report

Share a report with other users or teams

Download a report

Create, edit, or copy a report using the Report Wizard

Edit the default filter of a report

Troubleshoot problems with data not displaying in a report

Add a report

If you’ve created a custom report outside of Microsoft Dynamics CRM, you can easily add it to

CRM.

1. Go to Reports. (How do I get there?)

2. Choose New.

Add a file created in another application a. In the Source section, in the Report Type box, select Existing File. b. In the File Location box, enter the path and file name of the file to add, or choose

Browse to locate the file.

-OR

Add a link to a webpage a. In the Source section, in the Report Type box, select Link to Webpage. b. In the Webpage URL box, enter the URL of the webpage.

3. Specify the properties for the report on the General tab. a. In the Details section, specify a meaningful name and description for the report.

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b. The Parent Report text box displays the parent report of the current report, if one exists. c. Categories. Choose the Select or change the values for this field button, and then specify the categories to include in this report. d. Related Record Types. To have the report appear in the Reports list on a page for specific record types, choose the Select or change the values for this field button, and then select record types. e. Display In. To specify where reports should be visible, choose the Select or change the

values for this field button, and then select one or more of the options.

If no values are selected, the report won’t be visible to end users.

4. Edit the report ownership information on the Administration tab:



Owner

This option is only available if you have Assign permission for the report.



Viewable By

Select Organization to make the report organization-owned, and to make it viewable by anyone in the organization. Select Individual to make the report viewable only by the owner and anyone the owner shares the report with.

5. Choose Save or Save and Close.

To share the new report, see the instructions in Share a report with other users or teams .

See Also

Create, edit, or copy a report using the Report Wizard

Customize and organize reports

Report writing with CRM 2015 for online and on-premises

Organize and lay out your data

When you create a report, you have to decide which columns to include, the order in which they are displayed, and whether to group data into subcategories. By grouping and summarizing the data, you make it easier to see the patterns.

For example, your report could use one level of grouping to group opportunities by salesperson, or add a second level of grouping to show each quarter's opportunities, or add a third level to show the percentage won and lost in each quarter.

To use a chart in your report, if your report has no grouping, you must select at least one numeric column. If your report uses grouping, you must select at least one numeric column with a summary type defined.

1. Define how to organize the report:



To group items so that they are organized together in the report by date or other common properties: i. For each grouping level you need, click or tap Click here to add a grouping.

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ii. Define the grouping:



Record type. You can select records from the primary record type you selected, and from any related record types. If you selected a secondary record type, you can also select records from the secondary record type and its related records types.



Column. The name of the Microsoft Dynamics CRM field that contains the data to define the grouping.



Time interval. For datetime fields, group the data by Month, Day, Week, or

Year.



Sort order. Sort order for displaying the groups.



Column width. Width of the column heading in pixels.



Summary type. You can group records by a count of matching records. iii. To reorder the grouping levels, use the up and down arrows in the Common

Tasks section. iv. Click or tap OK.



To define the sort order within each group, click or tap Configure Sorting, select a column and sort order, and then click or tap OK.



To limit reports to groups with the highest or lowest values, click or tap Set Top or

Bottom Number: i. Select Top or Bottom. ii. Select the number of groups to display. iii. Click or tap OK.

2. Define which columns to display in the report. You can display columns that show data from a record, or columns that show summary information: a. For each column you want to include, click or tap Click here to add a column:



Record type. You can select records from the primary record type you selected, and from any related record types. If you selected a secondary record type, you can also select records from the secondary record type and its related records types.



Column. The name of the Microsoft Dynamics CRM field that contains the data to display or summarize.



Data type. The data type of the column, one of: primarykey, nvarchar, picklist, bit, decimal, int, float, money, ntext, datetime, owner, lookup.



Name. The name used in the database.



Column width. The width in pixels of the column.



Summary type. The specific type of summaries available depends on the data type of the column.

None: lookup, datetime, owner, picklist, bit, ntext

Average, Maximum, Minimum, Percent of Total, Sum: all numeric record types

(decimal, int, float, money)



Include unformatted value column. Typically, in a report, the underlying data is formatted as plain text. When you export the report to Excel, you can’t change the format of the cell that contains the exported data (plain text) to a different

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format. This causes problems with calculations. To avoid this, you can select the

Include unformatted value column check box for fields of type Date Only, Date and Time, Whole Number, Decimal, Currency, or Floating Point Number. This adds a column, which contains the unformatted value of the fields, to the report.



Use the left and right arrows to reorganize the columns. b. Click or tap OK.

3. Click or tap Next.

See Also

Create, edit, or copy a report using the Report Wizard

Share a report with other users or teams

When you create a new report, share it with other people on your team or in your organization so that they can also benefit from it. There are several ways that you can share your new report with other people.

Share the report with other users or teams

1. Go to Reports. (How do I get there?)

2. In the list of reports, select the report.

If using the CRM web application: a. Choose More Commands , and then choose Share. b. In the Share Report dialog box, choose Add User/Team. c. In the Look Up Records dialog box, select the users or team you want to share the report with, and choose OK. d. In the Share Report dialog box, select the type of share access that you want. The available permissions are: Read, Write, Delete, Append, Assign, or Share.

If using CRM for Outlook: a. In the list of reports, select a report, and in the Collaborate group, click Share. b. Specify the users or teams you want to share the report with.

Share the report with your organization

If the report would be useful for all users, make it available to the organization.

1. Go to Reports. (How do I get there?)

2. In the list of reports, select the report, and on the command bar, choose Edit.

If using the CRM web application: a. On the command bar, choose Edit.

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b. On the Actions menu, choose Make Report Available to Organization.

If using CRM for Outlook: a. In the Records group, choose Edit. b. On the Actions menu, choose Make Report Available to Organization.

Run a report

Reports help you manage your progress towards your goals by helping you see how you’re doing. You can also track trends - which can give you an advantage over your competitors.

For example it’s important for a sales team to know which product or service is selling and which is not doing so well. For a customer service team, it’s important to track the average time it takes to resolve an issue.

To run a report

1. Go to Reports. (How do I get there?)

2. Choose the report you want > Run Report.

Note

In Report Viewer dialog box, you can leave the search criteria as is, or change it as needed.

167

Privacy notice

When Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online users print CRM data, they are effectivel y “exporting” that data from the security boundary provided by CRM Online to a less secure environment, in this case, to a piece of paper.

An administrator has full control (at the user security role or entity level) over the data that can be extracted. However, after the data has been extracted it is no longer protected by the security boundary provided by CRM Online and is instead controlled directly by the customer.

See Also

Get a list of available reports

Customize and organize reports

Customize your regional settings (number, currency, time, and date) in CRM for Outlook

Report Writers Guide for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2015 and Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online

Download a report

To edit a default report, you can download the report from Microsoft Dynamics CRM to a computer that is set up with the report development environment, and then make the necessary changes.

168

1. Go to Reports. (How do I get there?)

2. On the Actions menu, click or tap Download Report.

The RDL file for the report contains tags that specify whether the report is a Fetch-based report or an SQL-based report.

3. Click or tap Save

, and specify the location in which to save the file. If you’re creating a new report rather than modifying a report, rename the file.

4. In the Download Complete dialog box, click or tap Close.

See Also

Create, edit, or copy a report using the Report Wizard

Troubleshoot problems with data not displaying in a report

There are several possible reasons why data that you expect to be in a report does not appear:



Insufficient security permissions. If you don't have permission in Microsoft Dynamics CRM to view a record, it will not appear in the report.



Data is not entered. The person entering data may have left fields empty.



Data does not match the criteria for the report. Many reports include a default filter that displays only active records, or you may have selected criteria that don’t have any matching

record. Try changing the report filter. More information: Edit the default filter of a report



You may be viewing a cached copy of the report. By default, data in Microsoft Dynamics CRM reports is pulled from the database each time you run a report. However, your system administrator may have changed a report to run from the cache. If data you entered recently is not included in the report, you may have an older version of the report from the cache. To refresh the report, on the Report toolbar, click or tap the Refresh button .



You may not have permission to read records in a sub-report. If you do not have permission to read record types that are included in a sub-report, you will get an error message saying that the sub-report could not be displayed.



Your Microsoft Internet Explorer privacy settings may block required cookies. For chart reports, if instead of seeing the chart, you see a red letter X, your privacy settings may be blocking a cookie that is required for the chart control. To fix this problem, in your browser, enable cookies for the server that is running Reporting Services.



If you are offline, your local data groups may not include all the data. If you are using the report from Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook while you are offline, you must have a local data group that includes all the data that will be in the report. More information:

Example of going offline with CRM for Outlook

Determine who can use a report

By default, a report is a personal report and can be used only by the author unless it is shared.

If you use Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook all reports that you own will be available when

you’re offline. More information:

Work offline with CRM for Outlook .

169

1. Make sure you have the System Administrator security role or equivalent permissions in

Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile ..

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Customizations. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Customize the System.

4. Click or tap Components > Reports, and then click or tap the report that you want to share.

5. Click or tap Actions. a. To change the owner, select Assign, and then select the user or team. b. To share the report, select Sharing, add the user or team you want to share the report with, and then give them specific permissions. Click or tap Share.

6. Click or tap Save or Save and Close.

See Also

Report writing with CRM 2015 for online and on-premises

Edit the default filter of a report

When a report is a Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services report, is enabled for prefiltering, and has a default filter, you can change the default filter to display the data you expect to see in the report. This filter is used each time any user runs the report.

1. Make sure you have the System Administrator security role or equivalent permissions in

Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile ..

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Reports. (How do I get there?)

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3. Select a report, and on the command bar, click or tap More Commands , and then click or tap Edit Default Filter.

To see all reports, including subreports that aren’t visible in the default view, select the

All Reports, Including Sub-Reports view.

4. Modify the filter criteria.

The criteria are grouped by record types that you can use in the filter, such as Accounts or Contacts.



To edit an existing row, click or tap the query relational operator and select an operator, or click or tap the underlined value and enter a new value.



Click or tap the query relational operator, and select an operator.



To add a criteria row: i. Click or tap Select, and specify the field to filter on. ii. Click or tap the query relational operator, and select an operator. iii. Click or tap Enter Value, and enter a value to filter on. For some values, you can click or tap the Select or change the values for this field button to open the Select Values dialog box and select the value you want.



To group criteria, you must select two or more rows for the same record type. For example, Sales Stage and Est. Revenue are both field values in the Opportunity record type and two rows that specify filter criteria for these fields can be grouped.

However, rows with field values from different record types, such as Account and

Opportunity record types, cannot be grouped. i. For each row you want to group, in detailed mode, click or tap the Options menu button for that row, and then click or tap Select Row. ii. On the Filter toolbar, select Group AND or Group OR. iii. To remove a row from a group, click or tap the Options menu button for that row, and then click or tap Delete. iv. To select a group, click or tap the Options menu button for that group, and then click or tap Select Group. v. To add a criteria clause to a group, click or tap the Options menu button for that group, click or tap Add Clause, and then select the field, query relational operator, and value. vi. To unselect a group that has been previously selected, click the Options menu button for that group, and then click or tap Deselect Group. vii. To ungroup a group, click or tap the Options menu button for that group, and then click or tap Ungroup. viii. To change a Group AND group to a Group OR group, or a Group OR group to a Group

AND group, click the Options menu button for that group, and then click or tap Change

to OR or Change to AND.

Tip



To clear all criteria and start over, on the Filter toolbar, click or tap Clear, and then click or tap Confirm.



To delete a row, click or tap the Options menu button for that row, and then click or tap

Delete.

5. Click or tap Save Default Filter.

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See Also

Create, edit, or copy a report using the Report Wizard

Customize and organize reports

TechNet: Report writing with CRM 2015 for online and on-premises

Customize and organize reports

Analyze data in Microsoft Dynamics CRM by using reports. Microsoft Dynamics CRM includes default reports for many common business needs. However, most organizations customize the default reports and add custom reports for specific needs.

Ownership of reports

System reports are available to all users. Individuals who own reports can share them with specific colleagues or teams, or can make the reports available to the organization, so that all users can use them.

Report types

Microsoft Dynamics CRM supports two types of report:



Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services report. These reports use SQL queries and filtered views to retrieve report data. Filtered views restrict the data to what is available to the security role of the person running the report. All the default reports that ship with Microsoft

Dynamics CRM are SQL-based reports.

You cannot access filtered views in Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online because access to the

SQL database is not supported. Thus, if you have a Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online subscription, use Fetch-based reports for custom reporting.



Fetch-based Reporting Services report. These reports use FetchXML queries that are proprietary to Microsoft Dynamics CRM instead of filtered views to retrieve data for reports.

Reports that you create by using the Report Wizard in Microsoft Dynamics CRM are Fetchbased reports.

The other reports can be:



Links to webpages



Static files



Dynamic Microsoft Office Excel files that read data from the Microsoft Dynamics CRM database

For each report, you can edit the following properties:



File name or URL



Display name



Description



Information about where the report displays in the user interface

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Security of data in reports

All reports read Microsoft Dynamics CRM data from filtered views, which filter the data based on the user's security role. Reports only display data that the person running the report has permission to view.

Options for creating new reports

To create a new report, users with appropriate permissions can:



Add a file or a link to a webpage as a report.



Run the Report Wizard to create a new Reporting Services report. The Report Wizard can create table and chart reports, including drill-through reports and top N reports.



Write a new Fetch-based Reporting Services report. To author custom fetch-based reports, you must install the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Report Authoring Extension. More information:

TechNet: Create a new report using SQL Server Data Tools .

Options for modifying existing reports

For existing reports, users with appropriate permissions can:



Organize reports into categories to control which views in the Reports area display each report.



Determine where a report is visible in the user interface, and edit other properties of the report.



Edit a report created with the Report Wizard.



Edit a default report. For example, if you customize Microsoft Dynamics CRM, you might need to modify labels or add or remove fields in default reports. More information: TechNet:

Report writing environment using SQL Server Data Tools



Edit the default filter for a default report, a report created with the Report Wizard, or other

Reporting Services reports.



Create a one-time snapshot for a Reporting Services report or schedule a Reporting Services report to run at set intervals.



Share a personal report with other users, or make it available to everyone in your organization.



Publish a report so that it is available for use with external applications, such as Microsoft

SharePoint or custom programs.

Reports in solutions

In Microsoft Dynamics CRM, reports are solution aware. Adding a report as a component to a solution makes it become a single unit of software that extends Microsoft Dynamics CRM functionality and the user interface. Only reports that are organization-owned or visible to the organization can be added to solutions.

Note

To find if a report is viewable to the organization: In the list of reports, select a report, and click or tap Edit. Then, on the Administration tab, see if Viewable By is set to

Organization.

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You can add, import, or export snapshots of reports as part of a solution. In Microsoft Dynamics

CRM, reports, sub reports, report category, report display area, and report-related record type are considered as components of a report set. When you import a solution update in a non-overwrite mode, any updates by the solution to a report will be ignored if any component of the report set has been customized.

See Also

Create, edit, or copy a report using the Report Wizard

TechNet: Report writing with CRM 2015 for online and on-premises

Create, edit, or copy a report using the Report Wizard

All reports that are created using the Report Wizard are Fetch-based reports.

1. Make sure you have the System Administrator security role or equivalent permissions in

Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile ..

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Reports. (How do I get there?)

3. To add a new report, choose New.

4. In the Report: New Report dialog box, in the Report Type list, select Report Wizard

Report, and then choose Report Wizard.

You can only use the Report Wizard to edit reports that were created with the wizard.

5. Select the starting point for your report. a. To create a new report, select Start a new report.

- OR -

To start from a copy or edit an existing report, choose Start from an existing report, and check the Overwrite existing report check box. b. Choose Next.

6. Enter the name of the report, and specify which record types the report will use.

This step identifies where the data in the report comes from. You can include data from one or two record types, or data from related records.

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a. Enter data in the fields:



Report name. This value will be displayed in the Reports area.



Primary record type. Data from all fields in this record type and related record types will be available when you are defining criteria for which records to include.



Related record type. If you need to display data from a related record type, select an additional record type here.

Caution

Avoid selecting data from a related record type that is not required, as it makes the report take longer to load. b. Choose Next.

7. Define a filter to determine which records are included in your report.

8.

Organize and lay out your data

9. Select the basic format of the report.



Table only. This provides a table grouped and sorted as you specified.



Chart and table. Displays both a chart and table.



Show table below the chart on same page. Selecting the chart does nothing.



Show chart. To view data for a chart region, click the chart region. Selecting an area in the chart will display a table with details for that section of the chart.

10. Choose Next.

11. If the report includes a chart, specify the type of chart, and how the data is displayed in the chart. a. Select the chart type, and then choose Next.

The Chart preview area shows how the data will be displayed.



For vertical and horizontal bar charts and line charts, specify which data to display on each axis:



In the Format Column (X) Axis section, select the field to use for the X axis, and the label that is displayed on the chart for the field.



In the Format Value (Y) Axis section, you can select two fields. For each field, you can specify the label that is displayed on the chart.



In the Format Labels and Legends section, specify whether or not to show the data labels and a legend.



For pie charts, specify the slices and values for the chart.



For slices, you must select one of the groupings in your report.



For values, you must select a numeric column with a summary type. b. Choose Next.

12. Review the summary of the report, choose Next, and then choose Finish.

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13. After you finish defining the report, return to the Report form, and if required, update the name and description of the report, and determine where the report is displayed.

14. Test the report. On the Reports tab, in the Actions group, choose Run Report. If the report needs modifications, edit the report.

15. Make the report available to others for use. More information: Determine who can use a report

Note



To edit an existing Report Wizard report, first select the report. Then, in the Records group, choose Edit. Finally, choose Report Wizard.



All reports generated with the Report Wizard print in landscape mode.



If you need to change data on the General or Administration tabs for a new report, wait until the report is saved before making the changes. Any changes on these tabs made before a report is saved will be ignored.

See Also

Run a report

TechNet: Report writing with CRM 2015 for online and on-premises

Available reports

Account Distribution report

Account Overview report

Account Summary report

Neglected Accounts report

Campaign Activity Status report

Campaign Comparison report

Campaign Performance report

Competitor Win Loss report

Activities report

Progress Against Goals report

Sales History report

Lead Source Effectiveness report

Neglected Leads report

Products by Account report

Invoices report

Quotes report

Orders report

Case Summary Table report

Neglected Cases report

Service Activity Volume report

Top knowledge base articles report

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User Summary report

User Summary report

Keep user information up to date by running a User Summary report.

Get a list of all your users, including their contact information and security role in Microsoft

Dynamics CRM.

See Also

Run a report

Create, edit, or copy a report using the Report Wizard

Troubleshoot problems with data not displaying in a report

Case Summary Table report

Lower support calls and improve your product or service.

This report tracks service cases and tells you why customers are contacting support.

For example, if your company sells cell phones and you find out that majority of the support calls are due to a faulty phone battery, you can take this information

to the team that makes the phone battery so they can fix the issue.

This will improve your product and drive support calls down.

The report provides a list of cases that you can group by

owner, customer, status reason, product, priority, subject, origin, case type, satisfaction, service level, or severity.

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See Also

Run a report

Troubleshoot problems with data not displaying in a report

Customize and organize reports

Neglected Cases report

Improve your service team’s KPIs and get your cases closed. Quickly identify and take action on cases that haven’t been updated recently. The report also shows the name of the service agent assigned to the case - use this information to follow-up with your team and to start resolving these cases.

When you run the report, choose the number of days that cases haven’t been updated. The report shows a list of open cases that have no changes to activities, including scheduled activities and notes.

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See Also

Run a report

Troubleshoot problems with data not displaying in a report

Customize and organize reports

Campaign Activity Status report

Track the details of your campaign. Get a summary of each campaign activity, including planned and actual time limits, parent campaign details, and definition status.

When you run the report, it only displays campaigns with activities or notes that were created within the dates that you specified in the report.

See Also

Run a report

Troubleshoot problems with data not displaying in a report

Customize and organize reports

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Campaign Comparison report

Find out which of your marketing campaign was more successful.

Use this report to compare the cost effectiveness and number of responses of two different campaigns.

When you run the report, select the two campaigns that you want to compare.

See Also

Run a report

Troubleshoot problems with data not displaying in a report

Customize and organize reports

Campaign Performance report

Find out what’s working and what you need to change in your campaigns. Use the campaign performance report to track the progress and status of your campaigns. The report provides a detailed view of all the dates, targets, definitions, responses, and financial returns from each campaign that has been modified

– so you can quickly see the progress of your campaigns.

See Also

Run a report

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Troubleshoot problems with data not displaying in a report

Customize and organize reports

Activities report

Improve communication for future opportunities and provide better service to your customers. Get a quick view of all the activities associated with support cases and opportunities such as phone calls, tasks, emails, appointments, closed opportunities, and case resolution. Use the information in this report to look at the details of each activity and identify patterns to make improvements in how you communicate with your customers.

When you run the report, choose Show All to get a detail view of all the activity. Activities can be grouped by owner or activity type, or by the record the activity is associated to.

See Also

Run a report

Troubleshoot problems with data not displaying in a report

Customize and organize reports

Competitor Win Loss report

Use this report to compare how your sales team performs against your competitors. The report displays opportunities that have competitors associated, with information on open, closed, won, and lost opportunities.

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The report displays only opportunities that have competitors associated that you have permission to see, in the country/region and time period that you specify.

See Also

Run a report

Troubleshoot problems with data not displaying in a report

Customize and organize reports

Products by Contact report

Use this report to see which products are used by a contact. For each contact, the report lists the associated products.

The report shows orders that have not been cancelled and opportunities that you have won.

See Also

Run a report

Troubleshoot problems with data not displaying in a report

Customize and organize reports

Invoices report

Get a quick overview of an invoice and its line items to see what was ordered. You can also use this report to print invoices.

When you run the invoice report, it returns a report of all invoices. You can also select a specific record to get an invoice report for that selected record.

See Also

Run a report

Troubleshoot problems with data not displaying in a report

Customize and organize reports

Invoice Status report

Use this report to view your accounts receivable for your active accounts. The chart displays the number of invoices grouped by status with the total amount of invoices in each status.

See Also

Run a report

Troubleshoot problems with data not displaying in a report

Customize and organize reports

Lead Source Effectiveness report

Find out which type of lead is most beneficial in helping you grow your business. This report helps you compare how effective your lead sources are at generating quality opportunities.

The report lists the percentage of qualified leads, and leads that generate revenue for each lead category.

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See Also

Run a report

Troubleshoot problems with data not displaying in a report

Customize and organize reports

Neglected Leads report

Keep your sales teams on the alert for possible business opportunities.

Use this report to have your sales team followup on leads that they haven’t contacted in a while.

When you run the report, specify the number of days that leads have been neglected.

The report displays a chart of active leads that have had no activities or notes.

Click Show All to drill down into the report.

See Also

Run a report

Troubleshoot problems with data not displaying in a report

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Customize and organize reports

Orders report

Use this report see an order and its line items. You can also use this report to print orders.

If you run this report from a list without selecting any records, the report generates a customerready order for each active order record in the system. If you run this report from within a specific record, the report generates a customer-ready order only for the record you were working with.

See Also

Run a report

Troubleshoot problems with data not displaying in a report

Customize and organize reports

Progress Against Goals report

The information in this report helps you see how your sales team is performing against their sales goals. This report displays a chart of your target goals and your actual goals.

Note

The report is generated from data that is rolled up to the goals at a set time. If the data is not up-to-date, then wait until the next time the data is rolled up. For more information, contact your CRM admin.

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See Also

Run a report

Troubleshoot problems with data not displaying in a report

Customize and organize reports

Quotes report

Use this report to view quotes and its line items. You can also use this report to print quotes.

When you run this, results will show a report of all quotes in the system. You can select a specific record to get a report for that selected record.

See Also

Run a report

Troubleshoot problems with data not displaying in a report

Customize and organize reports

Sales History report

Use this report to see how your sales reps have performed and how much revenue they have generated for your business. See which sales reps closed the most sales

– so you can award

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them for their great work. And also see which opportunities were lost so you can help your sales team do better next time.

The report uses data from closed opportunities that were either won or lost and then calculates earned and lost revenue.

See Also

Run a report

Troubleshoot problems with data not displaying in a report

Customize and organize reports

Service Activity Volume report

Use this report to review the patterns in service activity volume.

The report displays either the duration of or number of service activities grouped by services, resources, time periods, and additional criteria.

See Also

Run a report

Troubleshoot problems with data not displaying in a report

Customize and organize reports

Account Distribution report

See which account generates the most revenue for your business. Then use the information to identify patterns

– so that you leverage the information and apply it to accounts that are not so doing well.

This report is generated from revenue based on opportunities that have been won.

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See Also

Run a report

Troubleshoot problems with data not displaying in a report

Customize and organize reports

Account Overview report

Get a onepage overview of everything that’s happening with an account. The report shows a profile of the account, contact information, and a summary of opportunities and case activities.



For opportunities, the report shows charts with active opportunities grouped by the probability of the opportunities turning into a sale and the state the opportunities are currently in.



For support cases, the report shows a chart with closed cases grouped by customer satisfaction level and also by the case status.

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See Also

Run a report

Troubleshoot problems with data not displaying in a report

Customize and organize reports

Products by Account report

Use this report to see which products are used by an account. For each account, the report lists the products associated with the account.

By default, this report displays only line items for orders that don't have a status of Canceled, and line items for opportunities that have a status of Won.

See Also

Run a report

Troubleshoot problems with data not displaying in a report

Customize and organize reports

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Account Summary report

Use this report to see what has happened with an account. This report also shows what is scheduled to happen in the future. The report displays a chronological summary for an account, including sales and service activities, notes, and records.

Tip

To view the Account Summary report for an account, open the account record. On the

Account tab, in the Data group, click or tap Run Report, and then click or tap Account

Summary.

See Also

Run a report

Troubleshoot problems with data not displaying in a report

Customize and organize reports

Neglected Accounts report

Use this report to find accounts that haven’t been contacted recently so that you can follow up on those accounts.

When you run the report, select how many days the account has been neglected for. The report shows accounts that have no recent activity, including notes.

See Also

Run a report

Troubleshoot problems with data not displaying in a report

Customize and organize reports

Sales Pipeline report

Use the information in this report to forecast future revenue and set goals for your sales team.

The report helps you see expected potential sales opportunities. The report displays a chart

of potential sales grouped by user, sales territory, customer territory, date, products, rating, or sales stage.

When you run the report, on the chart, click Show All to get a detail view of the report.

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See Also

Run a report

Troubleshoot problems with data not displaying in a report

Customize and organize reports

Top knowledge base articles report

The information in the report helps you identify which issues your customers are asking about so that you can address those problems and improve your product or service. When a service agent receives a support call or email, the agent searches the knowledge base to see if there is a KB article that can answer the customer’s question. This report tells you which of those KB articles are being used the most.

You can change the Group by filter to see knowledge base articles grouped by subject of the article or case, or by the product associated with the case.

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See Also

Run a report

Troubleshoot problems with data not displaying in a report

Customize and organize reports

eBook: Use KB articles to help your customers

Administer CRM

Administer CRM

Manage your subscription

Manage your CRM subscription

Add user licenses to your subscription

Add storage

Remove storage from your subscription

Add License Wizard and Add Storage Wizard errors

Manage users and set up security

Understand security roles

Manage security settings

View your user profile

Add and manage users, and set security roles

Assign a security role to a user

Create or edit a team

Enable or disable security for a field

Set up security permissions for a field

Secure sensitive data by enabling encryption

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Create a position

Enable or disable hierarchy security

Using field level security in a calculated field

Create or edit a business unit to control access to records

Manage data

Set up duplicate detection rules to keep your data clean

Run bulk system jobs to detect duplicate records

Turn duplicate detection rules on or off for the whole organization

Delete bulk records

View and take action on bulk deletion jobs

Monitor and manage system jobs

Send bulk email to customers

Add or remove sample data

Perform key business calculations with rollup fields

Automate manual operations with calculated fields

Create formulas for calculated fields

Create or edit charts and dashboards

Create or edit a chart

Drill down in a chart

Work with, create, or customize dashboards

Manage dashboard components

Set properties for a chart or list included in a dashboard

Create or edit a system chart

Create or customize entities and forms

View or edit entity information

Create a new entity

Create or edit entity fields

Mapping entity fields

Create or edit N-N relationships between entities

Create or edit N-1 relationships between entities

Create or edit 1-N relationships between entities

Create and configure forms- default solution

Create or edit the main form for an entity

Change the color scheme or add a logo to match your organization's brand

Add a field to a form

Edit form field properties

Configure date fields to store fixed dates across time zones

Add or edit form navigation for related entities

Add or edit a form web resource

Create or edit views

Create or edit a public view for an entity

Edit the quick find view

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Set the default view for an entity

Export customized entity and field text for translation

Import translated entity and field text

Change custom entity icons

About team templates

Create a team template and add to an entity form

View or download developer resources

Enable an entity to display data as a hierarchy

Create or edit a drop-down list (option set) for a form

Create and configure views

Add or edit an image web resource

Test an event script

Create or edit a solution

Create a managed solution

Import a solution

Export your customizations as a solution

Add a solution component

Edit or view managed properties

View or edit default solution components

Edit a solution publisher

Customize your system by using the default solution

Create, edit, and delete solutions

Manage system settings

System Settings dialog box - Sales tab

System Settings dialog box - Marketing tab

System Settings dialog box - Service tab

System Settings dialog box - Reporting tab

System Settings dialog box - Formats tab

System Settings dialog box - Email tab

System Settings dialog box - Customization tab

System Settings dialog box - Outlook tab

System Settings dialog box - Auditing tab

System Settings dialog box - General tab

System Settings dialog box - Goals tab

System Settings dialog box - Calendar tab

What are Preview features and how do I enable them?

Work with fiscal year settings

Customize regional options - system settings

Enable or disable languages

View system status and notifications

Set privacy preferences for an organization

Enable or manage auditing

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Audit data changes

View the audit history of individual records

Recover database space by deleting audit logs

View the audit summary

Set up email processing through server-side synchronization

Set up email processing through server-side synchronization

Server-side synchronization isn't working for your mailbox

To use folder tracking, server-side synchronization must be enabled

Set up an activity feed

Administer the activity feed

Set up SharePoint document management

Set up SharePoint document management

Enable SharePoint document management for specific entities

Create or add a location for the first time

Edit existing SharePoint site records

Create or edit document location records

Upgrade to server-based SharePoint integration

Work with templates

Create templates for articles

Create templates for contracts

Create templates for email

Create or edit a campaign template in the CRM marketing work area

Set up entitlements quickly with templates

Work with mail merge templates

Administer CRM

If you administer CRM Online, see: Manage your Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online subscription .

For information on managing CRM Online and on-premises, see: Deploying and administering

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online and Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2015 .

Manage your subscription

Manage your CRM subscription

Add user licenses to your subscription

Add storage

Remove storage from your subscription

Add License Wizard and Add Storage Wizard errors

194

Manage your CRM subscription

There are a number of tasks associated with managing your Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online subscription. To learn how to manage licenses, create users, assign security roles, grant user access, manage storage, and more, see TechNet: Manage your Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online subscription .

Add user licenses to your subscription

If you manage your subscription to Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online through the Microsoft Online

Services environment using the Office 365 admin portal, you create a user account for every user who needs access to CRM Online. The user account registers the user with Microsoft Online

Services environment. In addition to registration with the online service, the user account must be licensed in order for the user to have access to the service. For more information about user licensing and subscriptions, see TechNet: Manage subscriptions, licenses, and user accounts

Add storage

Check and manage your Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online storage through Microsoft Office 365.

Note

This topic applies to users who are on the Microsoft Online Services environment.

Monitor the amount of storage your organization is using

If your Microsoft Dynamics CRM organization is consuming 100% of your available storage, users in your organization won’t be able to enter data or create records, although they will be able to view data.

1. Make sure you have the System Administrator security role or equivalent permissions in

Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Administration. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Resources in Use.

Review your storage used.

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To get more storage



Free up storage consumed by unneeded data. For more information, see TechNet: 10 ways to free storage space in Microsoft Dynamics CRM



Purchase additional storage from the Office 365 Admin portal page. More information:

TechNet: Manage storage for Microsoft Dynamics CRM

See Also

TechNet: Manage storage for Microsoft Dynamics CRM

TechNet: 10 ways to free storage space in Microsoft Dynamics CRM

Remove storage from your subscription

You may find that you don’t need extra storage and choose to remove it from your subscription.

By removing storage capacity, you are reducing the amount of storage space available to your organization. Storage can’t be removed if it’s being used, or if you have the minimum amount of storage required by your subscription. More information: TechNet: Manage storage for Microsoft

Dynamics CRM Online

See Also

TechNet: Free storage space in Microsoft Dynamics CRM

Add License Wizard and Add Storage Wizard errors

You may see an error while running the Add User License Wizard if you have:



Reached the maximum number of licenses available for your offer.



Attempted to remove licenses, which would result in less than the minimum number of licenses required by your offer.

Important

To see other offers available to you, on the Subscription Management page, under

Application Usage, click or tap View Offers. If you are eligible to change your current offer, the offers will be listed. If you are not eligible for an offer at this time, contact the Microsoft Dynamics CRM sales team.

You may see an error while running the Add Storage Wizard if you have:



Reached the storage limit available for your offer.



The minimum amount of storage for that offer.

If you cannot add storage from your Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online subscription, it might be that your current offer has a limited amount of storage available.

See Also

TechNet: Manage your Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online subscription

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Manage users and set up security

Understand security roles

Manage security settings

View your user profile

Add and manage users, and set security roles

Assign a security role to a user

Create or edit a team

Enable or disable security for a field

Set up security permissions for a field

Secure sensitive data by enabling encryption

Create a position

Enable or disable hierarchy security

Using field level security in a calculated field

Create or edit a business unit to control access to records

Understand security roles

Give members of your team different levels of access by setting up security roles in Microsoft

Dynamics CRM. Each security role provides a set of privileges that define whether users can read, write, create, delete, or share records. You can set whether these privileges apply to a user, a business unit, a business unit hierarchy, or the entire organization. The following links tell you more about the different types of security in CRM and how to assign security roles to users.

TechNet: Security concepts for CRM

TechNet: Assign a security role to a user

Manage security settings

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2015 makes it easier for you to set or update CRM security settings.

This release introduces a new Security tile to the Settings navigation. This takes you to the new

Security screen, where you can conveniently find your security-related admin settings all in one place.

Select the links in this table to learn more about each CRM security setting.

Security setting

Users

Security Roles

Related topics

Add and manage users, and set security roles

Add users to Microsoft Dynamics CRM

View your user profile

Understand security roles

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Security setting

Field Security Profiles

Positions

Teams

Business Units

Hierarchy Security

Access Team Templates

Related topics

Assign a security role to a user

Assign security roles to form

Enable or disable security for a field

Set up security permissions for a field

Create a position

Create or edit a team

Create or edit a business unit to control access to records

Enable or disable hierarchy security

Create a team template and add to an entity form

View your user profile

Your user profile displays useful information about you to your entire organization; for example, your contact information, your organization, and your security role. Depending on your security role, you may be able to make changes to your user profile.

1. Go to Options.



In the web app: In the upper-right corner of the screen, choose the Settings button >

Options.



In CRM for Outlook: Choose File > CRM > Options.

2. Scroll down to the very bottom of the Set Personal Options dialog box, and then choose

View your user information.

3. To check your security role, on the nav bar, choose the down arrow next to your name, and then choose Security Roles.

4. To view other profile information, such as Work Hours, Connections, and Services, on the nav bar, choose the down arrow next to your name.

Add and manage users, and set security roles

How you manage users depends on which version of Microsoft Dynamics CRM you’re using:



To manage users in CRM Online using the Office 365 admin portal, see users and assign Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online security roles .

TechNet: Create



To manage users in Microsoft Dynamics CRM on-premises, see TechNet: Manage users .



To manage work hours of resources and users in CRM Online and Microsoft Dynamics CRM

(on-premises), see Set work hours of a resource .

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Assign a security role to a user

You can use security roles to group sets of privileges together that describe the tasks that a user can do. Microsoft Dynamics CRM includes a set of predefined security roles, each of which is a set of privileges aggregated to make security management easier. These privileges define the ability to create, read, write, delete, and share records of a specific entity type. Each privilege also defines how broadly the privilege applies: at the user level, business unit level, the entire business unit hierarchy, or across the entire organization.

For information on assigning security roles, see TechNet: Assign a security role to a user .

See Also

TechNet: Overview of security for Microsoft Dynamics CRM

Create or edit a team

You can create two types of teams: Owner or Access. If you want to assign a record to the team, choose the team type “Owner.” If you want to share a record with the team, choose the team type

“Access.”

For information about the two team types, see About team templates .

On this page:

Create a team

Edit a team

Create a team

1. Make sure that you have the System Administrator, System Customizer, Sales Manager,

Vice President of Sales, Vice President of Marketing, or CEO-Business Manager security role or equivalent permissions.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Security.

(In Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook, go to Settings > System > Security.)

3. Click Teams.

4. On the Actions toolbar, click the New button, complete the required fields, and then click

Save.

If you don’t select the business unit to which the team will belong, by default, the root business unit is selected. The root business unit is the first business unit created for an organization.

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Edit a team

1. Make sure that you have the System Administrator, System Customizer, Sales Manager,

Vice President of Sales, Vice President of Marketing, or CEO-Business Manager security role or equivalent permissions.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Security.

(In Dynamics CRM for Outlook, go to Settings > System > Security.)

3. Click Teams.

4. In the Teams dropdown list, select All Teams or another appropriate view.

5. In the grid, select the team you want to edit.

6. On the Actions toolbar, click Edit, change the desired fields, and then click Save.

See Also

Create a team template and add to an entity form

About team templates

Print leads, quotes, and other records

Assign security roles to form

Control form and field access by assigning different security roles to different forms you create.

More information: TechNet: Security concepts for Microsoft Dynamics CRM

1. Make sure you have the System Administrator security role or equivalent permissions in

Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile ..

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Customizations. (How do I get there?)

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3. Choose Customize the System.

4. Enable security roles. a. Under Components, expand Entities, and then expand the entity you want. b. Choose Forms. In the list, choose a form to edit it if it has a form type of Main. c. On the Home tab, in the Form group, choose Enable Security Roles.

5. Assign security roles. a. In the Assign Security Roles dialog box, select the security roles to which this form will be available. b. To make this the fallback form, select the Enabled for fallback check box.

At least one form per entity must be a fallback form (the form that is displayed to a user when no other form is available for that user's security role). c. Choose OK.

6. Preview the main form. a. On the Home tab, choose Preview, and then select Create Form, Update Form, or

Read-Only Form. b. To close the Preview form, on the File menu, choose Close.

7.

When you’re ready to save your data, choose Save and Close.

8. Publish your customization.



To publish just the edited component, choose Save > Publish on the Home tab.



To publish all unpublished components at one time, choose Publish All

Customizations.

Note

Installing a solution or publishing customizations can interfere with normal system operation. We recommend that you schedule a solution import when it’s least disruptive to users.

Enable or disable security for a field

Field-level security lets you set which fields users can see or edit. For example, if want to prevent users from accidentally changing an account name, you can restrict them from editing that field.

In Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013, you could only set field-level security for custom fields, but in

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2015, you can also set field-level security for default fields. For more information about field-level security, see TechNet: Security concepts for Microsoft Dynamics

CRM .

To set which users and teams have read or write access to fields, see Set up security permissions for a field .

Note

You can’t change the permissions on a field that you don’t have permission to access.

1. Go to Settings > Customizations. (How do I get there?)

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2. Choose Customize the System.

3. Under Components, expand Entities, expand the entity that has the field you want to secure, and then choose Fields.

4. In the list of fields, double-click the field you want to secure.

5. In the Field window, on the General tab, to the right of Field Security, specify whether to

Enable or Disable security for the field.

6. Choose Save or Save and Close.

7. When your customizations are complete, publish them:



To publish customizations for only the entity that you are currently editing, in the navigation pane, choose the entity, and then choose Publish.



To publish customizations for all unpublished entities at one time, in the navigation pane, choose Entities, and then on the command toolbar, choose Publish All

Customizations.

See Also

TechNet: Security concepts for Microsoft Dynamics CRM

Set up security permissions for a field

Set up security permissions for a field

You can restrict access to a field by creating a field security profile. After you create the profile, you assign users and or teams to that profile, and set up specific read, create, or write permissions for the field.

More information: TechNet: Security concepts for Microsoft Dynamics CRM

1. Make sure you have the System Administrator security role or equivalent permissions in

Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Security. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Field Security Profiles, and then on the command bar, choose New.

4. Enter a name and a description (optional) and choose Save.

5. Under Common, choose Field Permissions.

6. Select a field, and then choose Edit.

7. Select the permissions that you want to assign to users or teams, and then choose OK.

8. To add users or teams: a. Under Members, choose Teams or Users. b. On the command bar, choose Add.

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c. In the Look Up Records dialog box, select a team or user from the list (or search for a team or user), and then choose Select. d. Repeat the preceding steps to add multiple teams or users, and then choose Add.

See Also

Enable or disable security for a field

Secure sensitive data by enabling encryption

To provide an additional layer of security, you can encrypt the data in some fields that contain sensitive data, including user names and passwords. When you enable encryption, even database administrators can’t see the password data.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM users who have the System Administrator security role can enable data encryption or change the encryption key after enabling data encryption. More information:

TechNet: Data encryption

Check your security role



Follow the steps in View your user profile .



Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

Important

Once you enable data encryption, you can’t turn it off.

See Also

TechNet: Data encryption

Create a position

Reduce the complexity of managing security roles by creating a position hierarchy. Then define jobs or positions in your company and assign them to different places in your position hierarchy.

Higher level positions in the hierarchy have Read, Write, Update, Append, and AppendTo access to their dir ect reports’ records. They also have Read-only access to the records of non-direct reports in their hierarchy. Learn more about hierarchies and positions on TechNet.

TechNet: Manager hierarchy and position hierarchy security models

Enable or disable hierarchy security

Reduce the time you spend maintaining security roles for users by using hierarchy security. With hierarchy security, you can give upper-level users, such as managers or vice presidents, certain levels of access to their direct reports’ records and lesser levels of access to their non-direct reports’ records. Find out more about hierarchy security and how to set it up on TechNet.

TechNet: Hierarchy security

Using field level security in a calculated field

To create a calculated field you must have the Write privilege on the Field Security Profile entity. If the calculated field uses secured fields in a calculation, you should consider securing the calculated field to prevent users from attempting to access data they don’t have permissions for.

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If you create a calculated field that uses secured fields in a calculation, the calculated field editor gives you a warning and suggests that you secure the field. More information:



TechNet: Securing fields



TechNet: Creating calculated fields

Important

For Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online organizations, this feature is only available if you've installed the CRM Online 2015 Update.

For on-premises CRM organizations, this feature is only available if you've updated to

CRM 2015.

Interested in getting this feature? Find your CRM administrator or support person.

See Also

TechNet: Securing fields

TechNet: Creating calculated fields

Create or edit a business unit to control access to records

A business unit is a logical grouping of related business activities. Use business units together with security roles to control data access so people see just the information they need to do their jobs.

Keep the following in mind when creating business units:



The organization (also known as the root business unit) is the top level of a Microsoft

Dynamics CRM business unit hierarchy. CRM automatically creates the organization when you install or provision CRM. You can’t change or delete the organization name.



Each business unit can have just one parent business unit.



Each business unit can have multiple child business units.



You must assign every user to one (and only one) business unit.



You can assign a team to just one business unit, but a team can consist of users from one or many business units. Consider using a team if you have a situation where users from different business units need to work together on a shared set of records.

On this page:

Create a new business unit

Change the settings for a business unit

Create a new business unit

1. Make sure you have the System Administrator or System Customizer role.

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Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Security. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Business Units.

4. On the Actions bar, choose New.

5. In the Business Unit dialog box, type a name for the new business unit. CRM automatically fills in the Parent Business field with the name of the root business unit.

6. If you want to change the parent business unit, choose the Lookup button , choose Look

Up More Records, and then do one of the following:



Select an existing business unit from the list, and then choose Add.



To create a new parent business unit: i. Choose New, and then add the information for the new parent business unit in the Business Unit dialog box. ii.

When you’re done adding information, choose Save and Close in the Business

Unit dialog box. iii. In the Look Up Record dialog box, choose Add.

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7. In the Business Unit dialog box, fill in any of the other optional fields, such as the division, contact information, website, bill to address, or ship to address.

8. Choose Save or Save and Close.

Change the settings for a business unit

1. Make sure you have the System Administrator or System Customizer role.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Security. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Business Units.

4. Choose a business unit name to open the Business Unit dialog box.

5. In the Business Unit dialog box, do one or more of the following:



Modify the data in one or more fields.



Note

You can’t change the name of a business unit or delete a business unit after it has been created. You can disable a business unit or change the parent, however. When you disable a business unit, all users and teams associated with the business unit are also disabled.

Choose Actions on the Actions bar, and then select a command. For example, to change the parent business unit, choose Actions, and then choose Change Parent

Business.

Note

When you change the parent business unit, CRM removes security roles for users and teams associated with the business unit. You must reassign them.



Under Organization, choose a record type to see a list of related records. For example, choose Users to view a list of users in the selected business unit or to add users to the business unit.

6.

When you’re done making changes, choose Save or Save and Close.

See Also

TechNet: Security concepts in Microsoft Dynamics CRM

TechNet: Manage users

TechNet: Manage teams

Enable or disable security for a field

Print leads, quotes, and other records

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Manage data

Set up duplicate detection rules to keep your data clean

Run bulk system jobs to detect duplicate records

Turn duplicate detection rules on or off for the whole organization

Delete bulk records

View and take action on bulk deletion jobs

Monitor and manage system jobs

Send bulk email to customers

Add or remove sample data

Perform key business calculations with rollup fields

Automate manual operations with calculated fields

Create formulas for calculated fields

Set up duplicate detection rules to keep your data clean

To maintain the integrity of your data, it’s a good idea to have rules in place to reduce duplicate records in the system. Microsoft Dynamics CRM includes default duplicate detection rules for accounts, contacts, and leads, but not for other types of records. If you want the system to detect duplicates for other record types, you’ll need to create a new rule.

After you’ve created duplicate detection rules, you need to turn duplicate detection on.

1. Make sure that you have the System Administrator, System Customizer, Sales Manager,

Vice President of Sales, Vice President of Marketing, or CEO-Business Manager security role or equivalent permissions.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Data Management. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Duplicate Detection Rules.

4. To create a new duplicate detection rule, choose New. Type a name and description.

–OR–

To edit an unpublished existing duplicate detection rule, choose the duplicate detection rule.

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–OR–

To edit a published duplicate detection rule, select the rule. On the Actions menu, choose Unpublish, and then choose the rule.

5. Select the criteria to be used to identify a record as a duplicate. a. If you are creating a new rule:



In the Duplicate Detection Rule Criteria section, in the Base Record Type list, choose the type of record that this rule applies to. For example, select Contacts.



In the Matching Record Type box, choose the type of record to compare. In most cases, you’ll probably want to use the same record type for Base Record

Type and Matching Record Type

. It’s also useful to be able to compare different record types. For example, you might want to compare the Email field in

Contacts to the Email field in Leads. b. If you want the rule to consider only active records while detecting duplicates, select the Exclude inactive matching records check box. You should also select this check box if your duplicate detection rule criteria are based on a status field. c. If you want the rule to be case-sensitive, select the Case-sensitive check box. d. If you selected different record types for the base and matching record types, for each new criterion, in the Base Record Field column, choose Select, and then choose a field name. In the same row, in the Matching Record Field column, choose Select, and then choose a field name.

- OR -

If you selected the same record types for the base and matching record types, for each new criterion, in the Field column, choose Select, and then choose a field. e. In the same row, in the Criteria column, choose Select, and then choose an operator. For example, select Exact Match. f. If you specified Same First Characters or Same Last Characters, in the No. of

Characters column, choose Enter Value, and then enter the number of characters to compare. g.

If you don’t want the rule to consider blank fields (null values) as equal while identifying duplicates, select the Ignore Blank Values check box.

Important

If the duplicate detection rule contains only one condition, blank values are ignored during duplicate detection job.

The number of criteria that you can select is limited by the number of characters that can be stored in the matchcode for the record. As you add criteria, watch the Current

matchcode length value shown at the bottom of the criteria list.

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6.

When you’re finished adding criteria, choose Save and Close.

7. To make the new or changed duplicate detection rule usable, select the rule, and then choose Publish.

When you publish a duplicate detection rule, a matchcode is created for every record in the matching record type for that rule. You can publish only five rules for the same base record type (Account, for example) at a time. You might need to delete or unpublish an existing rule if you bump up against this limit.





Note

We recommend that you set the duplicate detection criteria on a field that has unique values, for example, Email.

You can have more than one duplicate detection rule for each record type.

See Also

Turn duplicate detection rules on or off for the whole organization

Run bulk system jobs to detect duplicate records

Run bulk system jobs to detect duplicate records

To maintain the integrity of system data, you should check for duplicates regularly to make sure that users don’t inadvertently create duplicate contacts, accounts, leads, or other types of records.

The Check for Duplicates wizard helps you set up a bulk “job” that finds and cleans up duplicate records. You can schedule the job to run daily, and you can receive an email confirmation when the job finishes.

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Note

If you haven’t already done so, create and publish duplicate detection rules, and turn

duplicate detection on before you run the wizard. More information: Set up duplicate detection rules to keep your data clean

1. Go to Settings > Data Management. (How do I get there?)

2. Choose Duplicate Detection Jobs.

3. Choose New, or choose the name of the duplicate detection job you want to run.

You’ll see the Duplicate Detection wizard, which helps you create a job to check for duplicates.

4. Choose Next.

5. In the Look for drop-down list, select the record type that you want to check for duplicates.

Note

What you see in this list depends on which duplicate detection rules are

published. More information: Set up duplicate detection rules to keep your data clean

6. In the Use Saved View drop-down list, select a view if you want to limit the records searched to records in that view. For example, select Active Accounts. When you select a view, CRM adds the criteria to search on.

7. To further limit the records searched, choose Select and then enter the criteria you want.

8. Choose Next.

9. Accept the default name for the job, or type a different name.

10. Enter the start time for the job, and enter how often to run the job in days. (To run the job daily, type 1.)

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11. If you want to receive an email confirmation when the job is completed, select the Email

options check box. Enter an additional email address, if desired.

12. Choose Next, and then choose Submit.

See Also

Set up duplicate detection rules to keep your data clean

Turn duplicate detection rules on or off for the whole organization

View and take action on bulk deletion jobs

Detect duplicate data

Turn duplicate detection rules on or off for the whole organization

To maintain the integrity of your data, it’s a good idea to set up duplicate detection rules to reduce duplicate records in the system. Remember that after you create duplicate detection rules, you need to turn them on.

1. Make sure that you have the System Administrator, System Customizer, Sales Manager,

Vice President of Sales, Vice President of Marketing, or CEO-Business Manager security role or equivalent permissions.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Data Management. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Duplicate Detection Settings.

4. Select or clear the Enable duplicate detection check box.

Note

If your system contains a large number of records, checking for duplicates can impact performance.

5.

If you’re turning duplicate detection on, select or clear the check boxes to set when duplicates are detected:



When a record is created or updated

The system checks for duplicates when a user enters or updates records.

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Important

Duplicates aren’t detected when a user merges two records, activates or deactivates a record, or saves a completed activity.



When Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook goes from offline to online

For users of Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook, the system detects duplicates when the user synchronizes their data after working offline, as long as users have enabled duplicate detection in Outlook. To enable duplicate detection in Outlook, choose File > CRM > Options. Choose the Local Data tab, and then select the

Enable duplicate detection during offline to online synchronization check box.



During data import

When you use the Import Data wizard to bring in contacts, leads, accounts, or other types of data, the wizard detects any duplicate records as long as you enable

duplicate detection in the wizard. More information: Import accounts, leads, or other data

6. Choose OK.

See Also

Set up duplicate detection rules to keep your data clean

Synchronizing data with Outlook or Exchange FAQ

Run bulk system jobs to detect duplicate records

Delete bulk records

It’s a good idea to occasionally do bulk deletions to maintain data quality and manage system storage in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. For example, do bulk deletions to remove:



Stale data



Data that’s irrelevant to the business



Unneeded test or sample data



Data that was incorrectly imported from other systems

For more information, see TechNet: Delete bulk records .

View and take action on bulk deletion jobs

You can view the status of, pause, postpone, and resume a system job that you created using

Bulk Record Deletion.

1. Go to Settings > Data Management. (How do I get there?)

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2. Choose Bulk Record Deletion.

3. In the Bulk Record Deletion window, you can perform the actions described in the following table.

To

View status

View detailed status, including success and failure information

View queries submitted for deletion

Do this

Look in the Status Reason column.

Select the bulk-deletion job.

Review the errors

Pause a bulk-deletion job

Select the bulk-deletion job, and then under Information, choose Properties.

Select the bulk-deletion job, and then under Related, choose Failures. a. Select the bulk-deletion job, and then on the Actions menu, choose

Pause. b. When the confirmation message appears, choose OK.

Postpone a bulk-deletion job

Resume a bulk-deletion job

Cancel a bulk-deletion job

Modify recurrence of a bulk-delete job

Note

Bulk deletion jobs of fewer than 1,000 records cannot be paused. a. Select the bulk-deletion job, and then on the Actions menu, choose

Postpone. b. When the confirmation message appears, choose OK. a. Select the bulk-deletion job, and then on the Actions menu, choose

Resume. b. When the confirmation message appears, choose OK. a. Select the bulk-deletion job, and then on the Actions menu, choose

Cancel. b. When the confirmation message appears, choose OK. a. Select the bulk-deletion job, and then on the Actions menu, choose

Modify Recurrence. b. If you select the Run this job after

every check box, specify the interval after which you want the

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bulk-deletion job to run, and then choose OK.

If you select the Run this job after every check box when you create a bulk-deletion job, the job becomes recurring and is moved to the Recurring Bulk Deletion

System Jobs view. You can only change the recurrence for these recurring bulkdeletion jobs.

See Also

Data Management Area

Delete bulk records

Monitor and manage system jobs

Several Microsoft Dynamics CRM features use system jobs to perform tasks automatically, including workflows, import, and duplicate detection, running independently or in the background.

You can monitor them to ensure that they run smoothly or have completed successfully.

Monitoring system jobs

If there is a problem with a system job, you can cancel, postpone, pause, or resume it.



Canceling system jobs

You cannot resume a canceled system job.



Postponing completion of system jobs

Postponing an active system job stops any current and subsequent actions. You can specify a later time when you want the system job to restart.



Pausing system jobs

You can resume a paused system job.



Resuming paused system jobs

Resuming restarts a system job that was paused.

Tip

a. If a system job fails, you can view the details about what steps failed and what the problems may have been. First, open the system job record. To display details about system job failures, move your pointer over the warning symbols. b. To view system job failures in a format that you can print or copy and paste, click the

Print button.

Note

You cannot make changes to the status of a system job that has been completed or canceled.

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Send bulk email to customers

You can send the same message to multiple recipients using email templates. This is known as

direct or bulk emailing.

Or, you can use mail merge with Microsoft Office Word and Word templates to create the message.

1. Go to your work area. (How do I get there?)

2. Choose the record type you want. For example, choose Contacts.

3. In the list of records, select the contacts you want to send email to.

4. Do one of the following: a. In the web app: Choose the More Commands button , and then choose Send Direct

Email. b. In CRM for Outlook: In the Collaborate group, choose Send Direct Email . Or, just choose Send Direct Email to send email to everyone on the list.

5. In the Send Direct Email dialog box, select the template you want to use.

6. Choose Send.

See Also

Create templates for email

Work with mail merge templates

Add or remove sample data

Sample data gives you something to experiment with as you learn Microsoft Dynamics CRM, and to help you see how data is organized in the system. At some point, you’ll probably want to remove the sample data.

Or, if sample data isn’t installed on your system, you may want to add it for training purposes.

Later, when you’re ready, you can remove it.

Important

Use sample data to learn and play around with system features. However, to avoid unwanted results, don’t associate it with any data you actually need.

1. Make sure you have the System Administrator security role or equivalent permissions in

Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

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2. Go to Settings > Data Management. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Sample Data

. You’ll see a message that tells you whether the sample data is currently installed.

4. Do one of the following:

Choose Remove Sample Data, then choose Close.

-OR-

Choose Install Sample Data, then choose Close.

Check for duplicate contacts, accounts, or leads

Microsoft Dynamics CRM includes duplicate detection rules for accounts, contacts, and leads.

These rules are automatically turned on, so you don’t have to do anything to set up duplicate detection for these record types.

Note

If available on your system, you may also be able to check for duplicates of other record types, in addition to contacts, accounts, and leads. Check with your system administrator.

See Also

Merge duplicate records for accounts, contacts, or leads

Perform key business calculations with rollup fields

“Rollup fields” show calculations based on how records are related in a hierarchy. Rollup fields can help you answer these types of questions:



How many sub-accounts are there under one big account?



How much annual revenue is there for all the sub-accounts under an account hierarchy?



How many opportunities or leads is your team working for a big account, and what is the net open revenue for all the related accounts in the hierarchy?



How much time have we spent working a big account and all its sub-accounts?

With Microsoft Dynamics CRM, you can set up rollup fields to perform calculations across related records without writing code or involving a developer.

Note

For Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online organizations, this feature is only available if you've installed the CRM Online 2015 Update.

For on-premises CRM organizations, this feature is only available if you've updated to

CRM 2015.

Interested in getting this feature? Find your CRM administrator or support person.

For more information on rollup fields, see TechNet: Define rollup fields

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Automate manual operations with calculated fields

“Calculated fields” allow you to build formulas and set conditions that allow you to perform calculations across one or more fields. For example, you can use calculated fields to determine things like:



Total net worth of an account by subtracting liabilities from assets



Estimated revenue for an opportunity multiplied by the probability of closing the deal



The quality of leads based on revenue and type of license (for example, whether a lead is hot, warm, or cold)

With Microsoft Dynamics CRM, you can set up calculations across multiple records without writing code or involving a developer.

Note

For Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online organizations, this feature is only available if you've installed the CRM Online 2015 Update.

For on-premises CRM organizations, this feature is only available if you've updated to

CRM 2015.

Interested in getting this feature? Find your CRM administrator or support person.

For more information, see TechNet: Define calculated fields

Create formulas for calculated fields

You can use calculated fields to automate manual calculations in your business processes. For example, you can automatically apply a discount if an order is greater than $500. A calculated field can contain values resulting from simple math operations, or conditional operations (such as greater than or if-else), and many others. For information on the syntax to use with calculated fields, see TechNet: Calculated field functions syntax .

Customize your system

The way your organization works is unique. For example, you may need to create your own custom record types (entities) forms, and views, or set up new workflows or other business processes. With Microsoft Dynamics CRM, you can customize your system to fit the needs of your business. To understand what’s possible, and how to customize your system, see TechNet:

Customize your CRM system.

Create or edit charts and dashboards

Create or edit a chart

Drill down in a chart

Work with, create, or customize dashboards

Manage dashboard components

Set properties for a chart or list included in a dashboard

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Create or edit a system chart

Create or edit a chart

Present large quantities of data in your organization in a more insightful and graphical way by creating useful charts in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Create a chart

1. Go to your work area. (How do I get there?)

2. Open the chart designer:

If using the CRM web application: a. On the right side, choose the Charts pane. b. In the Charts area, choose New Chart +.

If using CRM for Outlook:



On the Charts tab, in the Charts group, choose New Chart.

3. Define the properties of the chart.

Specify what you want to display on the chart

a. In the first drop-down box under Legend Entries (Series), select a field to display on the series axis. b. In the Aggregate drop-down box, choose the option by which you want to group the field you selected in Legend Entries (Series).

For non-numeric fields, you can select only Count: All or Count: Non-

empty. For numeric fields, you can select one of the following aggregation options: Count: All, Count: Non-empty, Avg, Max, Min, or Sum.

NULL values are not considered for computing minimum, maximum, and average of data. However, zeros (0) are considered. For example, if you have the following data:

Records

Opportunity 1

Opportunity 2

Potential Customer

Account 1

Account 1

Established Value

Null

250

Opportunity 3

Opportunity 4

Account 2

Account 2

0

250

The average for Account 1 is 250 because the NULL value wasn’t used. The average for Account 2 is 125 because the zero was used.

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c. To create a chart with multiple series, choose the Add a series icon , select another field to display on the series axis, and then select an aggregate option for that series. d. To change the chart type for a series, select the series, choose the Current

chart type icon for that series, and then select a chart type. e. To stack items in a chart, choose the chart type, and then choose Stacked or

100% Stacked. You can stack items only in a bar, column, or an area chart. f. To display only top items on the chart, choose the Top/Bottom Rules icon >

Top X Rule icon, > Top 3 or Top 5, or Custom to specify a different number.

For example, to display only the top three opportunities grouped by potential customers, choose the Top/Bottom Rules icon > Top X Rule icon > 3.

-OR-

To display only the bottom items on the chart, choose the Top/Bottom

Rules icon > Bottom X Rule icon > choose Bottom 3 or Bottom 5, or

Custom to specify a different number. g. From the list under Horizontal (Category), select the field to display on the category axis. h. To create a comparison chart with multiple categories, choose the Add a category icon , and then select another field to display on the category axis.

You can add only two category items and one series item to a comparison chart. i. For fields that are of the datetime type, choose the option by which you want to group the field you selected as the category.

The chart is named based on the fields you chose for the series and category axes.

4. To specify a different name for the chart, choose the chart name to edit it.

5. To save the chart, in the chart designer, choose Save.

The chart obtains the data from the view that is selected for a record type. A chart is automatically updated every time that you change the view in the list of records. However, if the chart has been idle for some time, we recommend that you choose Refresh Chart on the Charts tab, so that the chart and the list of records show the synchronized data.

Edit a chart

1. Go to your work area. (How do I get there?)

2. Open the chart designer:

If using the CRM web application: a. On the right side, choose the Charts pane. b. In the chart area, choose the chart list, choose the chart you want to edit, and then choose the Edit Chart button.

If using CRM for Outlook: a. On the Charts tab, in the Layout group, choose Chart Pane > Right or Top.

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b. In the chart area, choose the chart list, choose the chart you want to edit, and then in the Charts group, choose Edit Chart.

3. Modify the properties of the chart. For details, see Step 3 in the Create a chart section.

See Also

Work with, create, or customize dashboards

Drill down in a chart

Drill down in a chart

1. Open the list of records that you want to view a chart for. Then, click or tap the chart bar on the right or top of the list of records.

2.

Follow the steps for the app you’re using.

If using the CRM web application

a. Click or tap the Charts area.

If using CRM for Outlook

a. In the ribbon, click or tap Chart Pane, and select where you would like the chart to be displayed.

3. In the chart area, click or tap the arrow next to the chart name, and then click or tap a name of the chart that you want to see drill down into.

4. Click or tap the category area of the chart in which you want to drill down further to see lower level data.

5. In the shortcut menu, click or tap Select Field, and then click or tap the field by which you want to group the category.

6. Click or tap the corresponding icon for a chart type that you want use for viewing the data.

7. Click or tap OK.

Note

To go to the chart from which you drilled down, click or tap Back.

See Also

Create or edit a chart

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Work with, create, or customize dashboards

Overview

Dashboards in Microsoft Dynamics CRM provide an overview of business data ‒ actionable information that’s viewable across the organization. Use a dashboard to see performance at a glance.

You can create two types of dashboards:



User dashboards

. A user dashboard can be created by any user in the user’s work area:

Sales, Service, or Marketing. A user dashboard doesn’t have to be published to be visible, but it’s only visible to the person who created it, unless shared with others. A user dashboard can be set as the default dashboard, in which case it overrides the system dashboard for that user.



System dashboards. A system dashboard is created by a system administrator or customizer in the Settings area. A system dashboard must be published to be visible. After it’s published, it’s visible to everyone in the organization, unless hidden by the admin or customizer. The admin or customizer can set a particular dashboard as the default dashboard for the whole organization.

To learn more about user dashboards, see the CRM Basics eBook, starting on page 26.

To learn how to create system dashboards, see the Create and customize dashboards eBook.

eBook: User dashboards

To get started with user dashboards, see “Visualize your data on the dashboard” (page 26) in this eBook.

eBook: System dashboards

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Ready to create your own system dashboards? Check out this eBook.

See Also

Manage dashboard components

Set properties for a chart or list included in a dashboard

Add Social Engagement visuals to a dashboard or account

Manage dashboard components

You can create and design dashboards to show the information that you want exactly how you want to see it. While designing the dashboard, you can rearrange or remove the components that you have already added and change the height and width of a component.

By default, you can add only six components to any dashboard layout. This limit is configurable.

For more information, contact your system administrator.

1. Go to your work area. (How do I get there?)

2. Do one of the following:



In the web app: Choose Dashboards.



In CRM for Outlook: Choose My Work > Dashboards.

3. Choose New.

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4.

As you’re creating your dashboard, to undo the last action, click or tap Undo. To repeat an action, choose Redo.

5. To rearrange the components, choose the component header and drag it to an empty area on the dashboard or to the area of an existing component. When you drag a component over other components, a red line appears on top of the components to show that if you drop the component here, the existing component will move down.

6. To change the width of a component, select the component, choose the More Commands icon and choose Increase Width or Decrease Width. The width increases or decreases by one column.

7. To change the height of a component, choose Increase Height or Decrease Height.

The height increases or decreases by three rows.

8. To remove a component, select it and choose click Remove. When you remove a component, any new components are added in the bottom area of the designer. You can rearrange the components at any time after you insert them.

See Also

Work with, create, or customize dashboards

Set properties for a chart or list included in a dashboard

To edit a chart or list component from the dashboard layout screen, double-click the chart or list.

This opens the Set Properties dialog box.

You can set the following chart properties from the Set Properties dialog box:



Name. Unique name for the chart. CRM suggests a value, but you can change it.



Label. The label that appears at the top of the chart.



Display label on the Dashboard. Select or clear this check box to display or hide the chart label.



Entity. Select the entity (record type) to base the chart on. This setting determines the available values for the Default View and Default Chart properties.



Default View. Select the view used to retrieve the data for the chart.



Default Chart. Select the default chart that you want to display when the dashboard is first opened. The available values are determined by the value set for the Entity property. This property works together with the Display Chart Selection property. A user can change the type of chart if the Display Chart Selection option is turned on, but the chart will revert to

Default Chart the next time the dashboard is opened.



Show Chart Only. Select this check box if you want to display just the chart. Clear this check box if you want to display the chart and its associated data.



Display Chart Selection. Select this check box to enable users to change the type of chart

(column, bar, pie, etc.) when they use the dashboard. If the user changes the type of chart, the settings aren’t saved. The chart type reverts to the Default Chart setting when the dashboard is closed.

You can set the following list properties from the Set Properties dialog box:



Name. Unique name for the list. CRM suggests a value, but you can change it.



Label. The label that appears at the top of the list.



Display label on the Dashboard. Select or clear this check box to display or hide the list label.

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

Entity. Select the entity (record type) to base the list on. This setting determines the available values for the Default View property.



Default View. Select the view used to retrieve the data in the list. A user can change the view, but the list will revert to Default View the next time the dashboard is opened.



Display Search Box. Select this check box if you want to display a search box at the top of the list. If the search box is included, you or other users can search for records in the list at runtime.



Display Index. Select this check box if you want to display the A to Z filters at the bottom of the list. When the A to Z filters are displayed, you or other users can click or tap a letter to jump to records that start with that letter.



View Selector. Select from the following values:



Off.

Don’t display the view selector. You or other users won’t be able to change views at runtime.



Show All Views. Provide a full list of views associated with the value set in the Entity property.



Show Selected Views. Select this setting to limit the list of views available at runtime. To select the specific views to be displayed, hold down the Ctrl key and tap or click each view you want to include.

See Also

Work with, create, or customize dashboards

Create or edit a system chart

System charts are organizationowned charts and can’t be assigned or shared.

1. Make sure you have the System Administrator security role or equivalent permissions in

Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile ..

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Customizations. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Customize the System.

4. To create or edit a system chart, choose Components > Entities.

5. Expand the name of the entity, choose Charts, and then on the Actions toolbar, choose

New.

-OR-

To edit a chart, choose More Actions, and then choose Edit.

6. Select a view to use for chart preview.

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7. Specify the type of chart, and how the data is displayed in the chart. a. Choose the chart name to edit it. b. Select fields for the series and category axes. c. Add a description to identify the purpose of the chart.

8. Choose Save.

Create or customize entities and forms

View or edit entity information

Create a new entity

Create or edit entity fields

Mapping entity fields

Create or edit N-N relationships between entities

Create or edit N-1 relationships between entities

Create or edit 1-N relationships between entities

Create and configure forms- default solution

Create or edit the main form for an entity

Change the color scheme or add a logo to match your organization's brand

Add a field to a form

Edit form field properties

Configure date fields to store fixed dates across time zones

Add or edit form navigation for related entities

Add or edit a form web resource

Create or edit views

Create or edit a public view for an entity

Edit the quick find view

Set the default view for an entity

Export customized entity and field text for translation

Import translated entity and field text

Change custom entity icons

About team templates

Create a team template and add to an entity form

View or download developer resources

Enable an entity to display data as a hierarchy

Create or edit a drop-down list (option set) for a form

Create and configure views

Add or edit an image web resource

Test an event script

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View or edit entity information

You can view all the information, or properties, associated with an entity, but you can only edit selected properties. This is because many of the properties associated with an entity are set when it is created. The editable properties associated with an entity vary depending on the type of entity you are working with.

1. Make sure that you have the System Administrator or System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Customizations. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Customize the System.

4. Under Components, expand Entities, and then click or tap the entity you want to view or edit information for.

Information about that entity is displayed, and it appears on two tabs:



General. Use this tab to edit some or all of the properties (depending on the entity) listed in the following table:

Option

Note (includes attachments)

Activities

Connections

Comments

Select this to create a relationship with the Note entity, and add a note control to the entity form. This allows users to make annotations for each record.

Select this to create a relationship with the activity entities, and add an associated view to the entity. This allows you to track activities such as phone calls, e-mails, and tasks.

Select this to permit ad hoc connections between a record in this entity and records in other entities.

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Sending e-mail (if an e-mail field does

not exist, one will be created)

Select to add the Send Direct E-mail button to the main ribbon tab for the entity.

Mail merge Select this to allow this entity to be used in a mail merge.

Document management

Queues

Duplicate detection

This allows you to track documents on

SharePoint that are associated with a record in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

More information: Managing

Documents Stored in SharePoint

from Microsoft Dynamics CRM[CRM]

Select this to use this entity in queues.

Select this to detect duplicates for this entity. This feature notifies you of identical records in Microsoft Dynamics

CRM, and allows you to resolve them.

Auditing

CRM for phones

Reading pane in Dynamics CRM for

Outlook

Select this to track changes made to your business data.

Select this to display and use this entity in Microsoft Dynamics CRM for phones.

Select this to display records in the reading pane in Microsoft Dynamics

CRM for Microsoft Office Outlook.

Select this to let users create, read, update, or delete records while offline.

Offline capability for Dynamics CRM

for Outlook

5. Publish your customizations:



To publish customizations for only the component that you are currently editing, on the nav bar or in the Navigation Pane, click or tap the entity you have been working on, and then click or tap Publish.



To publish customizations for all unpublished components at one time, in the

Navigation Pane, click or tap Entities, and then on the Actions toolbar, click or tap

Publish All Customizations.



Primary Field. On this tab, the only editable property is Description.

Important

Any time you change user interface elements or implement form scripts for an entity, you must publish changes to apply them. Any customizations that change the data schema of Microsoft Dynamics CRM such as custom entities, relationships, or fields are applied immediately.

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Installing a solution or publishing customizations can interfere with normal system operation. We recommend that you schedule a solution import when it’s least disruptive to users.

See Also

Customize your system

Create a new entity

You can create new entities for your Microsoft Dynamics CRM implementation to address specific business requirements. After you create a custom entity, additional tasks are required to ensure that the entity is accessible to your users.

Security

By default, when an entity is created, only the System Administrator and System

Customizer security roles have any privileges to read or change data in the custom entity.

You must add privileges explicitly to all security roles that need to use the new entity.

1. Make sure that you have the System Administrator or System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Customizations. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Customize the System.

4. Choose Entities, and then on the command bar, choose New.

5. Specify the Display Name and Plural Name that will be used for this entity throughout

Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

6. In the Name box, view the name that Microsoft Dynamics CRM will use for this entity.

Note

When you specify the display name, a default value for the Name field is provided. If you change the display name before you save, the value in the Name field will not change. You can also modify the value in the Name field independently of the display name.

7. The Primary Image list only has the option [None] when you create a custom entity.

After you create the entity you can create a new image field. Each entity can have only one image field. After you create a new image field, that field will be available for selection. After you change this setting you must save the entity and publish the customizations.

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8. In the Ownership list, select one of the following:



User or Team. Records for this entity can be owned by individual users or by teams.

Security can be defined according to the business unit with which the current owner is associated. For example, contact records are set to User or Team.



Organization. Records for this entity are used for reference by all Microsoft

Dynamics CRM users. Individual users or teams can’t own these records. For example, product records are set to Organization.

9. Under Areas that display this entity, select the areas where this entity will be displayed in the Microsoft Dynamics CRM user interface.

Note

All new entities are displayed in Advanced Find.

10. Under Options for Entity, select the appropriate options for your scenario based on the detail provided in the following table.

Option

Business process flows (fields will be created)

Note (includes attachments)

Activities

Connections

Sending email (if an email field does not exist, one will be created)

Mail merge

Document management

Access Teams

Comments

Select this to enable creating business process flows for this entity.

Select this to create a relationship with the

Note entity, and add a note control to the entity form. This allows users to make annotations for each record.

Select this to create a relationship with the activity entities, and add an associated view to the entity. This allows you to track activities such as phone calls, emails, and tasks.

Select this to permit connections between a record in this entity and records in other entities.

Select to add the Send Direct Email button to the main ribbon tab for the entity.

Select this to allow this entity to be used in a mail merge.

Select this to track documents on

SharePoint that are associated with a record in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. More information: Managing Documents

Stored in SharePoint from Microsoft

Dynamics CRM[CRM]

Select this to enable this entity for access teams.

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Queues

Allow quick create

Duplicate detection

Select this to use this entity in queues.

More information: Find what's assigned to you in a queue

When this is enabled, and after you have created and published a Quick Create

Form for this entity, people will have the option to create a new record using the

Create button in the navigation pane.

Select this to detect duplicates for this entity. This feature notifies you of identical records in Microsoft Dynamics CRM, and allows you to resolve them.

Auditing

CRM for phones

CRM for tablets

Reading pane in Dynamics CRM for

Outlook

Offline capability for Dynamics CRM for

Outlook

Select this to track changes made to your business data.

Select this to display and use this entity in

Microsoft Dynamics CRM for phones.

When this is enabled this entity will be available using Microsoft Dynamics CRM for tablets. You also have the option to make this entity Read-only in CRM for

tablets.

If the forms for an entity require an extension that is not supported by CRM for tablets, such as I-frame or web resource controls, use this setting to ensure that the data for these entities is not editable by people using CRM for tablets.

Select this to display records in the reading pane in Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Microsoft Office Outlook.

Select this to let users choose to include records for this entity with those they can work with while offline.

11. To ensure that an easily recognizable name is used to reference this entity, on the

Primary Field tab, enter a descriptive Display Name, and then verify that Requirement

Level set to Business Required.

The primary field is displayed when relationships to this entity are created or displayed, such as in the Look Up Records dialog box.

Note

The default Display Name for the primary field is Name. The Name will be

“new_name” if you use the default publisher customization prefix of “new”. If this is not the name you want to use, you must set the name when you create the entity. You can edit the display name after you save the entity.

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12. Choose Save.

When a new entity is created, the following items are created also:



A default public view showing active records and a view showing inactive records.



An Advanced Find View, a Quick Find View, an associated view, and a lookup view.



The primary attribute you defined and the standard attributes. To see a list of them, navigate to the new entity you created, and under it, choose Fields. They are displayed in the main pane.



For entities that have Ownership set to User or Team, the creation of the Owner and Owning Business Unit attributes. For entities that have Ownership set to

Organization, the creation of the Organization ID attribute.



A filtered view is created in the CRM Online database for the entity. This filtered view can be used to write reports using data from this entity.

Note

Relationships are created with the User entity to resolve user names for the

Created By and Modified By attributes.

13. Change the icon for the new entity. More information: Change custom entity icons .

14. For any security roles that need access to the new entity, add the needed privileges. a. Go to Settings > Administration. (How do I get there?) b. Choose Security Roles. c. Open a security role, and then on the Custom Entities tab, specify the level of privileges that you want users with that security role to have. d. Choose Save and Close to save the changes to the security role.

Note

When adding privileges, you can follow the pattern for the privileges that are used on the Marketing, Sales, or Service tabs for the security role to provide users the same level of access to the custom entity that they have to other entities.

15. Publish your customizations:



To publish customizations for only the component that you’re currently editing, choose the entity you’ve been working on, and then choose Publish.



To publish customizations for all unpublished components at one time, choose

Entities, and then on the command bar, choose Publish All Customizations.

Important

Any time you change user interface elements or implement form scripts for an entity, you must publish changes to apply them. Any customizations that change the data schema of Microsoft Dynamics CRM such as custom entities, relationships, or fields are applied immediately.

231

Installing a solution or publishing customizations can interfere with normal system operation. We recommend that you schedule a solution import when it’s least disruptive to users.

See Also

TechNet: Create and edit entities

Create or edit entity fields

Create new fields to capture data when existing system entities don’t have fields that meet your requirements.

After you create new fields, be sure to include them on the forms and views for the entity so that they are available from the Microsoft Dynamics CRM user interface. You can also add the new fields to relevant reports with the following restrictions:



Some system entities or custom entities that are included in a managed solution may not allow you to add new fields.



Some system fields or custom fields that are included in a managed solution may not allow you to edit them.



The default solution is a special unmanaged solution which shows you all solution components from any managed or unmanaged solutions. You can’t edit ANYTHING in the context of a managed solution. But all the things you find there are in your default solution anyway, so you don’t need to.

For more information, see TechNet: Create and edit fields .

Tip

Remember to add a description of the field

– this provides instructions to your users on how to use the new field.

1. Make sure you have the System Administrator security role or equivalent permissions in

Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Customizations. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Customize the System.

4. Under Components, expand Entities, and then expand the entity you want.

5. Choose Fields.



To add a new field, on the Actions toolbar, choose New, and enter a Display Name to generate the Name.

- OR -

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

To edit a field, select it in the list, and then on the Actions toolbar, choose Edit. You can make changes to the following fields: i. For Field Requirement

, select whether it’s optional, recommended, or required. ii. In Searchable, select whether to include this field in the list of fields shown in

Advanced Find for this entity and also in the field available for customizing the find columns in the Quick Find view and the Lookup view. iii. For Field Security, enable or disable the feature for this field. More information:

Enable or disable security for a field

iv. For Auditing, enable or disable the feature for this field.

6. For new fields, select the Type, and then enter required information for the specified type. For existing fields, you cannot modify the type, but you can modify the settings for the type. For more information, see TechNet: Types of fields

Possible data types for a field

Data Type

Single Line of Text

Notes

The following formats are available:



E-mail. This opens a new e-mail message in the default e-mail software when clicked and also validates an email address.



Text. This creates a text box.



Text area. This creates a scrolling text box.



URL. This opens the URL in the user's default browser when clicked and validates (or adds) a valid protocol (HTTP, HTTPS, FTP,

FTPS, OneNote, and TEL) are allowed.



Ticker Symbol. This creates a stock ticker symbol in all capital letters. Click the symbol to open information about the stock in the user's default browser. By default, the MSN website opens.



Phone. This creates a link that enables Skype or Microsoft Lync users to initiate a call by using the linked number.

Important

Lync has been rebranded as Skype for Business.

Currently, you’ll still see references to “Lync” in

Microsoft Dynamics CRM, but CRM will work with

Skype for Business.

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Option Set

Two Options

Image

Whole Number

Floating Point Number

Decimal Number

Currency

Select an existing option set, or define a new one.

After creating this field, configure it in the form to which it was added. In the form, select whether the field is displayed as option buttons (also known as radio buttons), a check box, or a list.

Each entity can have one image field. When an entity has an image field it can be configured to display the image for the record in the application.

The following formats are available for this field:



None. The defaults are integer values between -2,147,483,648 and

2,147,483,648, although you can set different minimum and maximum values.



Duration. This creates a drop-down list box with values in minutes, hours, and days.



Time Zone. This creates a dropdown list box with options for every available time zone.



Language. This creates a dropdown list box with options for every language that your organization has made available for users.

Select up to 5 precision points. You can set the minimum and maximum values.

Select up to 10 decimal points. You can set the minimum and maximum values.

When you add a currency field to an entity, a corresponding (Base) field is also created.

The (Base) field also has a currency data type.

If the entity does not already have a field with a currency data type, two additional fields are created:



Currency. A lookup data type whose value must be set before you can set the value of a field with a currency data type.

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Multiple Lines of Text

Date and Time

Lookup



Exchange Rate. This has a decimal number data type.

This is a scrolling text box. You can set the maximum number of characters for this field.

There are two formats: date only, or date and time.

More information: TechNet: Behavior of

Date and Time data type

You can create a lookup field using an entity relationship that has already been created, but not yet used with another lookup field. If you create a lookup field in an entity form, the relationship is automatically generated. A lookup field is created as a relationship field.

7. Select the Field type, Format, and Maximum length of the field.

8. Select the IME mode for this attribute.

Note

This specifies whether the active state of an Input Method Editor (IME) is enabled. An IME lets you enter and edit Chinese, Japanese, and Korean characters. IMEs can be in an active or inactive state. The active state accepts

Chinese, Japanese, or Korean characters. The inactive state behaves like a regular keyboard and uses a limited set of characters.

9. Choose Save and Close to close the form editor.

10. Publish your customization.



To publish customizations for just one entity, under Components, choose Entities.

Then, on the Actions toolbar, choose Publish.



To publish all customizations you have made to any entities or components, on the

Actions toolbar, choose Publish All Customizations .

Note

Installing a solution or publishing customizations can interfere with normal system operation. We recommend that you schedule a solution publish when it’s least disruptive to users.

See Also

TechNet: Types of fields

TechNet: Create and edit business rules

Mapping entity fields

Mapping streamlines data entry when you create new records that are associated with another record. When two entities have an entity relationship, it is possible to create new related entity records from the associated view that is visible on the primary entity. When the user creates a new record from an associated view, mapped data from the primary entity record is copied to the

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form for the new related entity record. You control what data is copied by adding new mappings in the relationship between the two entities. If a record is created any way other than from the associated view of the primary entity, data is not mapped.

Mapping only applies just before a new record is created from an associated view. Users are able to make changes before saving the record. Later changes to the data in the primary record are not applied to the related record.

Mapping picklists

If the field is an option set (picklist), make sure that the option values are identical between the two option sets. When values are added to an option set, the values are assigned an integer based on the order in which they are added. If they were not added in the same order, the labels for the option values on the target field can be edited so they represent a valid mapping as long as this does not affect existing data. If you later modify either option set, you must also remember to modify the other option set to keep them synchronized. Any invalid option set mappings will cause the target field to use the default option set value.

Generate mappings automatically

It is possible to automatically create mappings for the relationship but this usually is not

recommended. This process will map any mappable fields based only on the data type and name of the field. All existing mappings are removed.

Create or edit N-N relationships between entities

Entity relationships define how records can be related to each other in a database. A N:N (Many-

to-Many) relationship depends on a special Relationship entity, sometimes called an intersect entity, so that many records of one entity can be related to many records of another entity. When viewing records of either entity in a N:N relationship you can see a list of any records of the other entity that are related to it.

More information: TechNet: Create and edit N:N (Many-to-Many)relationships

See Also

Mapping entity fields

Create or edit N-1 relationships between entities

Entity relationships define how records can be related to each other in a database. N:1 (Many-to-

one) relationships exist between entities and refer to each entity as either a Primary Entity or

Related Entity. The related entity, sometimes called the child entity, has a lookup field that allows storing a reference to a record from the primary entity, sometimes called the parent entity.

An N:1 relationship is just a 1:N relationship viewed from the related entity.

More information: Create and edit entity relationships

Create or edit 1-N relationships between entities

Entity relationships define how records can be related to each other in a database. A 1:N (One-to-

Many) relationship is when one entity record for the Primary Entity can be associated to many

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other Related Entity records because of a lookup field on the related entity. When viewing a primary entity record you can see a list of the related entity records that are associated with it.

More information: Create and edit 1:N relationships

Create and configure forms- default solution

In the default solution or an unmanaged solution you can create new forms or edit existing forms for all entities that allow form customization.

In an unmanaged solution, you can edit the managed properties for an unmanaged custom entity that was created for the solution.

If you’re viewing a managed solution, you can’t create new forms or edit existing forms for entities. However, if the managed properties for an entity in the managed solution are set to allow customization, you can add or edit forms to that entity in the Customization area of Microsoft

Dynamics CRM.

Customization tasks can be performed only while you’re online.

1. Make sure you have the System Administrator security role or equivalent permissions in

Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile ..

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Customizations. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Customize the System.

4. Under Components, choose Entities, and then expand the required entity.

5. Choose Forms, and then select the form.

6. On the command bar, choose Managed Properties.

7. In the Set Managed Properties dialog box, if Customizable is set to True, you can add or edit forms.

Tip

You can also navigate to the form editor from a list in the Sales, Marketing, or

Service areas. For example, to edit an account form, go to Accounts, choose the More

(…) button, and then choose Customize Entity.

See Also

Create or edit the main form for an entity

Assign security roles to form

TechNet: Create and design forms

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Create or edit the main form for an entity

When you create a new form for an entity, its form type is Main. When the new form opens, it is identical to the form named Information. You can add or edit fields, sections, tabs, and navigation, and properties associated with the form, and then save the form.

This procedure applies to any form with a form type of Main. Each main form is comprised of one or more tabs. Each tab can have one or more sections. Each section contains one or more fields or IFRAMES.

If you want to base your new form on an existing form, you can clone a form.

1. Make sure that you have the System Administrator or System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Customizations. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Customize the System.

4. Under Components, expand Entities, expand the entity you want to modify the main form for, and then choose Forms.

5. To create a new form, on the command bar, choose New.

- OR -

To edit an existing form, double-click or tap any form with a form type of Main.

6. Change the form design in any of the following ways, as needed:



Add a tab to a form



Add a section to a form



Add a field to a form



Add or edit a form IFRAME



Add or edit a sub-grid in a form



Add or edit a form web resource



Add or edit form navigation for related entities



Edit form headers and footers



Remove a tab section field or IFRAME



Enable or disable the Form Assistant

For more information, see TechNet: Customize your CRM system .

7. Edit the properties for parts of the form, as needed:

238



Edit form properties



Edit form field properties



Edit tab properties



Edit section properties

For more information, see the TechNet: Customize your CRM system .

8. Add event scripts, as needed.

9. Determine which security roles will be able to view the form. More information: Assign security roles to form

10. Preview how the main form appears and how events function: a. On the Home tab, choose Preview, and then select Create Form, Update Form, or

Read-Only Form. b. To close the Preview form, on the File menu, choose Close.

11. When you finish editing the form, choose Save As, enter a name for the form, and then choose OK.

12. When your customizations are complete, publish them:



To publish customizations for only the component that you are currently editing, under Components, choose the entity you have been working on, and then choose

Publish.



To publish customizations for all unpublished components at one time, under

Components, choose Entities, and then on the command bar, choose Publish All

Customizations.

Note



You cannot apply a requirement level to a field using this form. Requirement level constraints are applied to the attribute.



Before deleting a field from a form, make sure the field is not required by other components or custom scripts. For example, the Opportunity form requires the Price List field to determine the pricing to use when adding a product to that opportunity. Removing the Price List field would prevent adding a new product to an opportunity.



Any time you change user interface elements or implement form scripts for an entity, you must publish changes to apply them. Any customizations that change the data schema of

Microsoft Dynamics CRM, such as custom entities, relationships, or fields, are applied immediately.



You cannot use the form editor to modify the visual style of forms, such as the font style, font size, or colors used in the form. Modification of the Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) pages in the web application or style properties of the form through scripts is not supported.



Installing a solution or publishing customizations can interfere with normal system operation.

We recommend that you schedule a solution import when it’s least disruptive to users.

See Also

Create or edit entity fields

TechNet: Customize your CRM system

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Change the color scheme or add a logo to match your organization's brand

Overview

Personalize your Microsoft Dynamics CRM applications and create a uniform look and feel that matches your organization’s brand by creating a custom theme. For example, without writing any code, you can add a company logo or change default colors for the CRM masthead, menus, entities, or links. Preview your custom theme, and then publish it for the whole team when you’re ready.

For in-depth information on creating custom themes, see TechNet: Change the color scheme or add a logo to match your organization’s brand

Watch this video

Want to see themes in action? Watch this short video (2:45). https://www.youtube.com/embed/MdT1yE9CW5U

To see video captions, choose the Closed Caption (CC) button in the lower-right corner of the YouTube window.

Video transcript

Have you ever wanted to add your logo or change the colors of the CRM interface to better fit your brand? Many companies use Microsoft Dynamics CRM in conjunction with other systems and want a uniform look and feel across all other business applications. Using the new theming

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feature, you can now style CRM for a more customized user interface that better suits your branding goals.

To get started with theming, navigate to the Customization area under Settings

. You’ll find

Themes as an option there.

You’ll see that the default color is the CRM blue theme.

To start setting up a customized theme, you can clone an existing theme or create one from scratch.

From the Theming record you can upload logos and set colors for many different areas.

We primarily allow customizations for accent colors in CRM. Some examples of accent colors are links, hover effects, and selected effects. Other items such as backgrounds, fonts, and icons can’t be changed at this time.

Also note that legacy areas in the CRM application do not fully support theming.

A logo can also be set from the Theming record by selecting an existing web resource or uploading a logo from your local computer.

As you work on your custom theme, you may also want to take a look at the work in progress. To do that without affecting users, choose Preview Theme. This will refresh the page and reload your CRM system with the current theme and it will only apply to you. While previewing, you may realize some additional work needs to be done. If so, choose Exit Preview to revert to the original theme. Otherwise, we can publish the theme and push it out to all users.

Themes aren’t solution aware, so to move themes across systems, a theme record needs to be exported, re-imported into the target system, and then published.

In addition to theming, customizers can now adjust entity colors. To do that, navigate to the

Customize the System dialog box. From there, you'll see a new field per entity, allowing you to set the color. This entity color will be applied to areas such as the navigation bar.

We hope you like the new theming feature and look forward to seeing some creative and colorful

CRM instances!

See Also

TechNet: Change the color scheme or add a logo to match your organization’s brand

What’s new in Microsoft Dynamics CRM

What’s new for administrators and customizers in Microsoft Dynamics CRM

Add a field to a form

If a Microsoft Dynamics CRM form doesn’t meet your organization’s business requirements, you can customize the form by changing existing fields or by adding new fields. While it might be simpler to edit the existing fields on a form, sometimes it’s better to add a field to address a specific business scenario.

1. Make sure that you have the System Administrator or System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

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b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Customizations. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Customize the System.

4. Under Components, expand Entities, expand the entity you want to customize, and then choose Forms.

5. In the list, locate an entry with the form type of Main, and then double-click or tap to edit it.

6. In the form, choose the section you want to add a field to, and then in the Field Explorer pane, double-click the field you want added to the form.

7. To preview how the form appears and how events function: a. On the Home tab, choose Preview, and then select Create Form, Update Form, or

Read-Only Form. b. To close the preview form, choose Close . c.

To publish customizations for the form that you’re editing, with the form open, choose

Publish.

8.

When you’re finished editing the form, choose Save and Close.

9. To publish customizations for all unpublished components at one time, choose File, and then choose Publish All Customizations.

Note

Publishing customizations can interfere with normal system operation. We recommend that you publish when it’s least disruptive to users.

Edit form field properties

1. Go to Settings > Customizations. (How do I get there?)

2. Choose Customize the System.

3. Under Components, expand Entities, expand the entity you want to work with, and then choose Forms.

4. In the list, locate an entry with the Form Type of Main, and then double-click or tap to edit it.

5. On the form body, double-click or tap the field you want to edit.

6. In the Field Properties dialog box, you can access and edit a variety of the properties associated with the field by using a series of tabs:



Display. Use this tab to perform the following tasks:

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

Change or hide the label used for this field in this form. The field display name remains unchanged.



Specify whether the field is read-only by selecting or clearing the Field is read-

only check box.



In the Locking section, specify whether to lock the field to the form and prevent anyone from removing it by selecting or clearing the Lock the field on the form check box.



Specify whether a field is visible in the default view by selecting or clearing the

Visible by default check box. If the check box is cleared, the field will not display in the Reading Pane in Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Microsoft Office Outlook.

However, the field will display in the Microsoft Dynamics CRM web application unless you use JScript to define other behavior. In the web application, JScript overrides the value set by this check box.

For lookup fields, this tab displays extra properties:



In the Related Records Filtering section, to filter the list of displayed records in the lookup, select the Only show records where check box.

The relationship combinations that are possible when you filter related records are listed in the following table.

First list relationship

N:1

N:1

N:1

1:N

1:N

1:N

N:N

N:N

N:N

Second list relationship

1:N

N:1

N:N

1:N

N:1

N:N

1:N

N:1

N:N

Available?

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

No

Yes

No

No

The first list is populated with all the potential relationships you can use to filter this lookup. Click one.

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The second list is then populated with all relationships that connect the related entity (selected in first list) to the target entity. Click one.

Select the Allow users to turn off filter check box to give users the option of turning off the filter you define here. This makes it possible for them to view a wider range of records. If you want to make sure that users only see the limited range of records defined by this filter, clear this check box.



Also, for lookup fields, the tab displays the Additional Properties section.

Here, select the Display Search box in lookup dialog check box if you want a search box to be available in the lookup.

In the Default View list, click the default view for which results will be displayed in the lookup.

If you want users to also have the option of selecting other views, select the

Enable the View selection in lookup dialog check box.



Formatting. The formatting options displayed vary based on the which options are set for the section of the form that the field appears within.



Details. This tab provides access to the basic properties associated with the field.

Choose Edit to modify them.



Events. This tab includes two sections:



Form Libraries. In this section, you can add or remove the available JScript libraries for form or field events. You can edit the listed custom libraries if necessary.



Event Handlers. In this section, you can add a JScript library (a script web resource) authored by a developer and associate a function within that library to an event. i. In the Events list, choose onChange, and then choose Add. ii. In the Handler Properties dialog box, supply the requested information. Select the Enabled check box to make the function available to be called by a field event. iii. Choose OK.



Business Rules. Use this tab to create or edit the process components of business rules.

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7. When you finish modifying the properties for the field, in the Field Properties dialog box, choose OK.

8. To preview how the form appears and how events function: a. On the Home tab, choose Preview, and then select Create Form, Update Form, or

Read-Only Form. b. To close the Preview form, on the File menu, choose Close.

9. When you finish editing the form, on the Home tab, choose Save and Close to close the form.

10. When your customizations are complete, publish them:



To publish customizations for only the component that you are currently editing, on the nav bar or in the Navigation Pane, choose the entity you have been working on, and then choose Publish.



To publish customizations for all unpublished components at one time, in the

Navigation Pane, choose Entities, and then on the Actions toolbar, choose Publish

All Customizations.

Note

Installing a solution or publishing customizations can interfere with normal system operation. We recommend that you schedule a solution import when it’s least disruptive to users.

Configure date fields to store fixed dates across time zones

You can use the Behavior property of a date and time field to specify a date with a time value, a date without a time value (useful for birthdays and anniversaries, for example), or date and time values independent of the user's local time zone (useful for hotel check-ins in a different time zone, for example). For more information, see TechNet: Behavior and format of date and time fields

See Also

TechNet: Behavior and format of date and time fields

Add or edit form navigation for related entities

In the form Navigation Pane, you can add links to related entities. When a user clicks one of these links in a record, the associated view for the entity is displayed.

1. Make sure that you have the System Administrator or System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.

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Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Customizations. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Customize the System.

4. Under Components, expand Entities, expand the entity you want to work with, and then choose Forms.

5. In the list, locate an entry with the form type of Main, and then double-click or tap to edit it.

6. To add a link to a related entity, on Home tab, in the Select group, choose Navigation.

The Relationship Explorer pane displays on the right side of the form editor.

7. In the Relationship Explorer pane, in the Filter list, select one of the following options:



Available Relationships. Lists all the entities that can be related to the entity the form is associated with.



1:N Relationships. Lists entities that can be related in a 1:N relationship to the entity the form is associated with.



N:N Relationships. Lists entities that can be related in a N:N relationship to the entity the form is associated with.

Note

If no related entities show up in the Relationship Explorer pane, you cannot create a link on this form to a related entity.

8. Select the related entity you want to link to, drag it to the Navigation Pane, and then drop it where you want it to be displayed.

Tip

You can also create a new relationship by choosing New 1:N or New N:N in the

Relationship Explorer pane. For more information, see TechNet: Create and edit entity relationships

9. To edit the properties for this or any other related entity link, in the Navigation Pane, select the link, and then on the Home tab, choose Change Properties.

10. In the Relationship Properties dialog box, on the Display tab, type a new display label.

11. On the Name tab, choose Edit to view or edit the details associated with the relationship record.

12. Choose OK.

13. Preview how the main form will appear and how events will function: a. On the Home tab, choose Preview, and then select Create Form, Update Form, or

Read-Only Form. b. To close the Preview form, on the File menu, choose Close.

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14. When you finish editing the form, choose Save and Close to close the form.

15. When your customizations are complete, publish them:



To publish customizations for only the component that you are currently editing, in the Navigation Pane, choose the entity you have been working on, and then choose

Publish.



To publish customizations for all unpublished components at one time, in the

Navigation Pane, choose Entities, and then on the command bar, choose Publish

All Customizations.

Note

Installing a solution or publishing customizations can interfere with normal system operation. We recommend that you schedule a solution import when it’s least disruptive to users.

See Also

TechNet: Create and edit entity relationships

Add or edit a form web resource

You can add or edit web resources on a form to make it more appealing or useful to users. The types of web resources that you can add or edit on a form are images, HTML files, or Silverlight controls.

1. Make sure that you have the System Administrator or System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Customizations. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Customize the System.

4. Under Components, expand Entities, and then expand the entity you want to work with.

5. Choose Forms, in the list locate a form of type Main, and then double-click or tap the entry to open and edit the form.

6. To add an existing web resource, choose the tab (for example, General or Notes) you would like to insert it on, and then on the Insert tab, choose Web Resource.

- OR -

To edit a Web resource, select a form tab and the web resource that you want to edit, and then on the Home tab, choose Change Properties.

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7. In the Add Web Resource or Web Resource Properties dialog box, on the General tab, enter the appropriate information in the required fields.

In particular, note the following: a. In the Web resource box, select the image, HTML, or Silverlight web resource that you want to use.

Note

After you specify a web resource, the Web Resource Properties section appears at the bottom of this tab, providing options that vary based on the type of web resource you are adding. These options include specifying custom parameters, passing a record object-type code as a parameter, or specifying alternative text that describes the resource or, for images, that makes the image more accessible to all users. b. In the Name box, enter a unique name for the field. The name can contain only alphanumeric characters and underscores. c. The Label field is automatically populated with a variation of the name you specify, but ensure that the proposed label meets your needs or update it accordingly.

8. On the Formatting tab, the options that display vary based on the type of web resource inserted. These options include specifying the number of columns and rows display, whether a border displays, and the scrolling behavior.

9. If the Dependencies tab displays in the Add Web Resource or Web Resource Properties dialog box, from the Available fields list, select the fields that are required by the Web resource, choose the Add Selected Records button to move the selected fields to the

Dependent fields list, and then choose OK to close the dialog box.

10. When you finish editing the form, on the Home tab, choose Save and Close to close the form.

11. To preview how the main form will appear and how events will function: a. On the Home tab, choose Preview, and then select Create Form, Update Form, or

Read-Only Form. b. To close the Preview form, on the File menu, choose Close.

12. When your customizations are complete, publish them:



To publish customizations for only the component that you are currently editing, in the Navigation Pane, choose the entity you have been working on, and then choose

Publish.



To publish customizations for all unpublished components at one time, in the

Navigation Pane, choose Entities, and then on the Actions toolbar, choose Publish

All Customizations.

Note

Installing a solution or publishing customizations can interfere with normal system operation. We recommend that you schedule a solution import when it’s least disruptive to users.

See Also

TechNet: Create and edit web resources

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Create or edit views

In the default solution or an unmanaged solution, you can create new public views or edit existing views of all types for entities that allow view customization.

In a managed solution, you can’t create new views or edit existing views for entities. However, if the managed properties for an entity in the managed solution are set to allow customization, you can create new public views or edit existing views of all types in the Customization area of

Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Note

Installing a solution or publishing customizations can interfere with normal system operation. We recommend that you schedule a solution import when it’s least disruptive to users.

1. Make sure you have the System Administrator security role or equivalent permissions in

Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile ..

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Customizations. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Customize the System.

4. Under Components, expand Entities, and then expand the entity you want.

5. Choose Views, and then select the view.

6. On the Actions toolbar, choose More Actions, and then select Managed Properties.

7. You can edit the view if the entity is unmanaged. In the Set Managed Properties dialog box, set Customizable to allow editing or creating views.

8. Choose Set.

See Also

Create or edit a public view for an entity

Edit the quick find view

Understand security roles

Create or edit a public view for an entity

If you edit a public view, the changes are visible to everyone who has permission to view records for the entity. Besides public views, the following views are provided for all entities and can’t be deleted or shared: Quick Find Views, Advanced Find Views, associated views, and lookup views.

249

1. Make sure you have the System Administrator security role or equivalent permissions in

Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Customizations. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Customize the System.

4. Under Components, expand Entities, and then expand the entity you want.

5. Choose Views.

6. To create a new public view, on the Actions toolbar, choose New. On the View

Properties dialog box, in the Name box, type a name for the new view, and then choose

OK.

If the New button does not appear, you can’t add views for the entity you selected.

- OR -

To edit a view, double-choose a Public View in the list. The view type is specified in the

Type column.

7. Modify the columns that are displayed.



Add a column: a. In the Common Tasks area, for Quick Find Views, choose Add View Columns, or for other types of views, choose Add Columns.

- OR -

For other types of views, choose Add Columns. b. Select the check boxes for the columns you want to add, and then choose OK.



Move a column: a. Choose the column you want to move. b. In the Common Tasks area, use the arrows to move the column left or right.



Change the width of a column: a. Choose the column you want to change. b. In the Common Tasks area, choose Change Properties. c. In the Change Column Properties dialog box, choose an option to set the column width, and then choose OK.



Remove a column: a. Choose the column you want to remove. b. In the Common Tasks area, choose Remove. c. In the confirmation message, choose OK.



Change the sort order of a column: a. In the Common Tasks area, choose Configure Sorting.

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b. In the Configure Sort Order dialog box, in the Column list, select the column you want to sort, then choose Ascending Order or Descending Order, and then choose OK.



Enable online presence for instant messaging: a. In the View form for the selected entity, choose the column you want to change. b. In the Common Tasks area, choose Change Properties. c. In the Change Column Properties dialog box, select the Enable presence for this

column, and then choose OK.

8. Choose Save and Close.

9. Set any public view as the default view for an entity.

Note

Every entity in Microsoft Dynamics CRM must have a default public view. This is the view that is displayed for a list of entities, such as Appointment, Account, or

Contact. For example, if your organization is set up so that users manage their own appointments, you can change the default view for Appointments from All

Appointments to My Appointments. a. In the list of views, select the public view that you want to set as the default. The view type is indicated in the Type column. b. On the Actions toolbar, choose More Actions, and then choose Set Default.

10. Choose Save and Close to close the view.

11. Publish view customization.

Installing a solution or publishing customizations can interfere with normal system operation. We recommend that you schedule a solution import when it’s least disruptive to users.



To publish view customizations for just one entity, under Components, choose

Entities, and select the entity. Then, on the Actions toolbar, choose the Publish button.



To publish all customizations you have made to any entities or components, on the

Actions toolbar, choose Publish All Customizations.

Important

Any time you change user interface elements or implement form scripts for an entity, you must publish changes to apply them. Any customizations that change the data schema of Microsoft Dynamics CRM such as custom entities, relationships, or fields are applied immediately.

Tip

To create views that appear in the Service calendar, create views in the

Service Activity, Appointment, User, or Facility/Equipment entities. To see views created in these entities from the Service calendar, users select the view type from the Type list.

See Also

Create and configure views

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Edit the quick find view

Y ou can edit an entity’s Quick Find view (the view used to display results of searches performed using the Search box), for example to modify the fields that are searched and which columns display or to specify the width and sort order of the columns displayed.

Important

Changes to the Quick Find view associated with an entity set the default view for everyone who uses the search box for that entity.

1. Make sure that you have the System Administrator or System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Customizations. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Customize the System.

4. Under Components, expand Entities, expand the entity you want to modify, and then choose Views.

5. In the list of views, in the Type column, locate Quick Find View, and then double-click or tap the view.

6. Modify the fields that are searched: a. In the Common Tasks pane, choose Add Find Columns. b. Select the check boxes for the columns you want to add, and then choose OK.

7. Modify the columns that are displayed.



To add a column: i. In the Common Tasks area, for Quick Find Views, choose Add View Columns.

- OR -

ii. Select the check boxes for the columns you want to add, and then choose OK.



To move a column:

252

i. Choose the column that you want to move. ii. In the Common Tasks area, use the arrows to move the column left or right.



To change the width of a column: i. Choose the column that you want to change the width for. ii. In the Common Tasks area, choose Change Properties. iii. In the Change Column Properties dialog box, choose an option to set the column width, and then choose OK.



To remove a column: i. Choose the column that you want to remove. ii. In the Common Tasks area, choose Remove. iii. In the confirmation message, choose OK.



To change the sort order of a column: i. In the Common Tasks area, choose Configure Sorting. ii. In the Configure Sort Order dialog box, in the Column list, select the column you want to sort, choose Ascending Order or Descending Order, and then choose OK.



To enable online presence for instant messaging: i. In the View form for the selected entity, choose the column you want to change.

Only some columns have presence such as Primary Contact or Potential

Customer. ii. In the Common Tasks area, choose Change Properties. iii. In the Change Column Properties dialog box, select the Enable Presence for

this column, and then choose OK.

8. Choose Save or Save and Close.

9. On the command bar, choose Publish.

When the customizations are published, a confirmation message appears.

Note

A customized business entity might have different properties than those described in

Help; Help does not contain content that is specific to the custom entities your organization creates. However, Help does describe how to create and use custom entities.

Publishing customizations can interfere with normal system operation. We recommend publishing when it’s least disruptive to users.

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Set the default view for an entity

In Microsoft Dynamics CRM, every entity, such as Appointment, Account, or Contact, requires a default public view. However, you can change the default view for an entity to accommodate the specific needs of your business. For example, if your organization is set up so that users manage their own appointments, you can change the default view for the Appointment entity from All

Appointments to My Appointments.

You can make any public view the default public view for an entity.

Important

The default view for some entities isn’t configurable.

1. Make sure that you have the System Administrator or System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Customizations. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Customize the System.

4. Under Components, expand Entities, and then expand the entity you want to work with.

5. Choose Views, and then in the list, select the Public View you want to set as the default for that view.

6. On the command bar, choose More Actions, and then choose Set Default.

7. When your customizations are complete, publish them:



To publish customizations for only the component that you’re currently editing, under

Components, choose the entity you have been working on, and then choose

Publish.



To publish customizations for all unpublished components at one time, under

Components, choose Entities, and then on the command bar, choose Publish All

Customizations.

Note

Publishing customizations can interfere with normal system operations. We recommend you publish customizations when it’s least disruptive to your users.

See Also

Create and configure views

254

Export customized entity and field text for translation

After you create customized entity and field text, you may want to translate it into other languages.

1. Make sure you have the System Administrator security role or equivalent permissions in

Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile ..

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Customizations. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Customize the System.

4. On the Actions toolbar, click or tap Export Translations.

5. After completing the export, open or save the compressed (.zip) file that contains the exported labels to your local computer or network.

6. Extract the XML file from the compressed (.zip) file and translate it.

See Also

Import translated entity and field text

Customize your system

TechNet: Customization overview

Import translated entity and field text

If you have customized entity or field text, such as field labels or drop-down list values, you can provide the users in your organization who are not working with the base language version of your Microsoft Dynamics CRM implementation with this customized text in their own languages.

To do so, you export the text strings for all your customizations so that they can be translated into the languages you use in your organization.

After the translation, you need to import the translated text strings into your Microsoft Dynamics

CRM implementation before users can take advantage of the changes.

Important



The file that you import must be a compressed file that contains the CrmTranslations.xml and the [Content_Types].xml file at the root.



Microsoft Dynamics CRM cannot import translated text that is over 500 characters long. If any of the items in your translation file are longer than 500 characters, the import process will fail. If the import process fails, review the line in the file that caused the failure, reduce the number of characters, and try to import again. Also note that after you import translated text, you must republish customizations.

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1. Make sure that you have the System Administrator or System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Customizations. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Customize the System.

4. In the solution explorer, on the Actions toolbar, choose Import Translations.

5. In the Import Translated Text dialog box, specify the file that contains the translated text, and then choose Import.

6. When Microsoft Dynamics CRM finishes importing the translated text, choose Close.

Note

Publishing customizations can interfere with normal system operation. We recommend you schedule publishing when it’s least disruptive to users.

See Also

Export customized entity and field text for translation

TechNet: Customization overview

Change custom entity icons

When you create a custom entity, it is automatically assigned a default icon, and all custom entities by default use the same icon. If your organization has several custom entities, it can be helpful to change the icon associated with one or more custom entities to help users differentiate them.

Note

You cannot modify the icons assigned to system entities.

You can upload two types of entity icons for each custom entity:



Icon in Web application. This icon should be:



16 x 16 pixels in size.



In .gif, .png, or .jpg format.



No larger than 10 kilobytes.



Icon for Entity Forms. This icon should be:



32 x 32 pixels in size.

256



16 colors.



In .ico format.



No larger than 10 kilobytes.

Important

Before you begin this task, be sure that you have uploaded as web resources any custom

icons that you intend to assign. More information: Add or edit a form web resource

1. Make sure that you have the System Administrator or System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Customizations. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Customize the System.

4. Expand Entities if necessary, choose the custom entity you want to update the icon for, and then on the command bar, choose Update Icons.

5. In the Select New Icons dialog box, under Icon in Web application or Icon for Entity

Forms, to the right of New Icon, choose the Browse button , select the appropriate image file, and then choose OK.

6. On the command bar, on the File menu, choose Save.

7. When your customizations are complete, publish them:



To publish customizations for only the component that you are currently editing, in the Navigation Pane, choose the entity you have been working on, and then choose

Publish.



To publish customizations for all unpublished components at one time, in the

Navigation Pane, choose Entities, and then on the command bar, choose Publish

All Customizations.

New icons might not display in Microsoft Dynamics CRM until you close and reopen the

Microsoft Dynamics CRM client.

Note

Publishing customizations can interfere with normal system operation. We recommend you schedule publishing when it’s least disruptive to users.

See Also

TechNet: Create and edit entities

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About team templates

Using teams in Microsoft Dynamics CRM is optional, however, teams give you an easy way to share information and collaborate with users across business units. A team is a group of users.

As a group, you will be able to track information about the records and perform assigned tasks in much more efficient and coordinated way. While a team belongs to only one business unit, it can include users from other business units. A user can be associated with more than one team.

There are two types of teams that you can work with: owner and access.



An owner team owns records and has security roles assigned to the team. The team’s privileges are defined by these security roles. In addition to privileges provided by the team’s security roles, users have the privileges defined by their individual security roles and by the roles from other teams in which they are members. A team has full access rights on the records that the team owns.



An access team doesn’t own records and doesn’t have security roles assigned to the team.

The users have privileges defined by their individual security roles and by the roles from other teams in which they are members. The records are shared with an access team and the team members are granted access rights on the records, such as Read, Write, or Append.

An access team can be created manually (user-created) or automatically (system-managed). You can share multiple records with a user-created access team. A system-managed team is created for a specific record and other records can’t be shared with this team. For system-managed teams, you have to provide a team template that the system uses to create a team. In this template, you define the entity type and the access rights on the record that are granted to the team members when the team is created. A team template is displayed on all record forms for the specified entity as a list. When you add the first user to the list, the actual access team for this record is created. You can add and remove members in the team using this list. The team template applies to the records of the specified entity type and the related entities, according to the cascading rules. To give team members different access on the record, you can provide several team templates, each template specifying different access rights. For example, you can create a team template for the account entity with the Read access right, which allows the team members to view the specified account. For another team that requires more access to the same account, you can create a team template with Read, Write, Share and other access rights.

Only entities that are enabled for system-managed access teams can be specified in the template.

If you change access rights in the team template, the changes are only applied to new systemmanaged access teams. The existing teams aren’t affected.

For information about how to create a team template, enable an entity for system-managed

access teams and how to customize the entity form to add the team template, see Create a team template and add to an entity form .

See Also

Create a team template and add to an entity form

Create or edit a team

Access Teams in Microsoft Dynamics CRM

Create a team template and add to an entity form

A team template can be used for the entities that are enabled for automatically created access teams. In the team template, you have to specify the entity type and the access rights on the entity record. For example, you can create a team template for an account entity and specify the

Read, Write, and Share access rights on the account record that the team members are granted when the team is automatically created. After you create a team template, you have to customize

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the entity main form to include the new team template. After you publish customizations, the access team template is added in all record forms for the specified entity in a form of a list. For example, you created a team template called “Sales team” for the account entity. On all account record forms you’ll see the list called “Sales team”. You can add or remove team members using this list.

On this page:

Enable an entity for access teams

Create a team template

Add a team template to the entity form

Enable an entity for access teams

1. Make sure you have the System Administrator security role or equivalent permissions in

Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Customizations. (How do I get there?)

3. In the Customization window, choose Customize the System.

4. In the navigation pane, expand Entities, and then choose the entity you want to use in the team template.

5. On the Entity Definition form, in the Communication & Collaboration section, select the Access Teams checkbox.

6. On the Actions toolbar, choose Save.

Create a team template

1. Go to Settings > Security. (How do I get there?)

2. Choose Access Team Templates

3. On the Actions toolbar, choose New, complete the required fields, and then choose

Save.

Add a team template to the entity form

1. Make sure you have the System Administrator security role or equivalent permissions in

Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

259

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Customizations. (How do I get there?)

3. In the Customization window, choose Customize the System.

4. In the navigation pane, expand Entities, expand the entity you want to use in the team template, and then choose Forms.

5. In System Forms, select Active Forms > Main form.

6. On the Main form, open the Insert tab.

7. On the ribbon, choose Sub-Grid.

The Set Properties dialog box appears.

8. In Set Properties, complete the required fields, and then select the Display label on the

Form check box.

9. In the Records drop-down list, select All Record Types.

10. In the Entity drop-down list, select Users.

11. In the Default View drop-down list, select Associated Record Team Members.

12. In the Team Template drop-down list, select the desired template and choose Set.

The team template you selected now appears on the Main form.

13. On the Actions toolbar, click or tap Save, and then choose Publish.

See Also

About team templates

Print leads, quotes, and other records

View or download developer resources

This page is designed for developers who want to link to the Microsoft Dynamics CRM SDK, developer tools, or want to know the service endpoint URLs.

Organization Unique Name

You need the unique name for your organization when you interact with the Discovery Service.

Windows Azure AppFabric Issuer Certificate

This is the public certificate that is required to configure Microsoft Azure Active Directory Access

Control Service (ACS) for Microsoft Dynamics CRM integration.

Developer Center

The Microsoft Dynamics CRM Developer Center on MSDN contains a wealth of information to help developers. Here you will find the SDK, which includes documentation, samples, and tools, as well as technical articles, ramp-up kits, videos, blogs, forums, and more. For more information about using each item on the developer resources page, see MSDN: Download the endpoints using the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Developer resources page .

Discovery Service

This is a Web service that provides information about the organizations that are available on the

Microsoft Dynamics CRM server using the SOAP protocol. This information includes the URL for each organization.

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Organization Service

This is a Web service that provides access to the business data and metadata for your organization using the SOAP protocol.

Organization Data Service

An Open Data (OData protocol) Web service that provides access to the business data for your organization using a RESTful API. This link opens the Conceptual Schema Definition Language

(CSDL) document, which describes how to access your data using this API.

See Also

MSDN: Write applications and server extensions

MSDN: Write client application extensions

Enable an entity to display data as a hierarchy

You can gain valuable insights by visualizing your data as a hierarchy. For example, the following screenshot shows accounts displayed in Microsoft Dynamics CRM as a hierarchical visualization:

For some entities (record types), such as account and user, hierarchies are enabled by default.

Other entities, including Case, Contact, Opportunity, Order, Quote, Campaign, and Team can be enabled for a hierarchy, and all custom entities can be enabled for a hierarchy. For more information, see TechNet: Query and visualize hierarchical data .

Create or edit a drop-down list (option set) for a form

An option set is a type of field, included in a record type (entity), that defines a set of options.

When an option set is displayed in a form, it uses a drop-down list control. When displayed in

Advanced Find, it uses a picklist control. Sometimes option sets are called picklists by developers. For information on creating and editing option sets, see TechNet: Create and edit global option sets .

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Create and configure views

You can use views in Microsoft Dynamics CRM to define how a list of records for a specific record type (entity) is displayed. A view defines:



The columns to display



How wide each column should be



How the list of records should be sorted by default



What default filters should be applied to restrict which records appear in the list

A drop-down list of views is frequently used to give people options for displaying different subsets of records. The records selected in views are displayed in a list (also called a “grid”). Views also define the data source for charts. For more information on creating views, see TechNet: Create and edit views .

Add or edit an image web resource

Web resources are virtual files in multiple formats, such as html files, JavaScript, and Silverlight applications that are stored in the Microsoft Dynamics CRM database and can be retrieved by using a unique URL address.

1. Make sure you have the System Administrator security role or equivalent permissions in

Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Customizations. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Customize the System.

4. To create a new web resource, choose Components > Web Resources, and then on the Actions toolbar, choose New.

5. Type or modify information in the text boxes.



The name entered in the Name text box, plus the file extension will become its file name.



The name entered in the Display Name text box will be displayed in the Display

Name.



In the Type drop-down box, select the file type you want.

6. Choose Browse to select and upload the file from your local machine.



To preview an uploaded image web resource: Choose Web Resource>Preview.



To edit a text web resource: Choose Text Editor.

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

To preview a text web resource: Choose Web Resource> Preview.

7.

When you’re ready to save your data, choose Save and Close.

8. Publish your customization.



For only the edited component: Choose Save > Publish on the Home.



For all unpublished components at one time, choose Publish All Customizations.

Note

Publishing customizations can interfere with normal system operations. We recommend you publish customizations when it’s least disruptive to users.

See Also

TechNet: Create and edit web resources

Test an event script

Before you publish any customizations, you should thoroughly test your scripts. You can perform customization tasks only while you’re online.

1. Make sure you have the System Administrator security role or equivalent permissions in

Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile ..

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Customizations. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Customize the System.

4. Choose Components > Entities, and then expand the entity you want.

5. Choose Forms. In the list, choose a form to edit if it has a form type of Main.

6. On the Home tab, choose Preview, and then select Create Form, Update Form, or

Read-Only Form. a. If you have added an OnLoad event for the form, open the form in each mode, and verify that your event executed as expected. b. If your code depends on data existing in the form when it loads, test your script in an

OnChange or OnSave event to enter sample data into the form. The Update Form will open with no data. i. If you have added an OnChange event for a field, for create and update modes, enter the data in the field and verify that your event executed as expected. ii. If you have added an OnSave event for a field, for create and update modes, choose Simulate Form Save and verify that your event executed as expected.

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7. Choose File > Close.

Create or edit a solution

Create a managed solution

Import a solution

Export your customizations as a solution

Add a solution component

Edit or view managed properties

View or edit default solution components

Edit a solution publisher

Customize your system by using the default solution

Create, edit, and delete solutions

Create a managed solution

Customizers and developers use solutions to author, package, and maintain units of software that extend the functionality of Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Solutions are distributed so that organizations can use Microsoft Dynamics CRM to install and uninstall the business functionality defined by the solution. A managed solution is a completed solution that is intended to be distributed and installed. An unmanaged solution is one that is still under development or is not intended to be distributed.

Note

Installing a solution or publishing customizations can interfere with normal system operation. We recommend that you schedule a solution import when it’s least disruptive to users.

You create a managed solution by exporting an unmanaged solution as a managed solution. The organizations that use your managed solution will install it and any updates that you create for it.

1. Make sure that you have the System Administrator or System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

264

2. Go to Settings > Solutions. (How do I get there?)

3. On the Actions toolbar, choose the New icon .

4. Complete the required fields, and then on the File menu, choose Save.

By default, this saves an unmanaged solution.

5. To add a new or existing component to your solution, in the Component Type list, choose the type you want to add, and then choose New or Add Existing.

6. If you create a new component, fill in the required information, and then choose Save or

OK (depending on the type of component you are creating) to save the component.

7. On the File menu, choose Save and Close

Your new unmanaged solution displays in the Solutions list.

8. Choose the solution you want to export.

9. Select the options you want in the Export wizard. When you get to the Package Type page, select Managed.

10. Choose Export.

11. In the File Download dialog box, choose Save, choose a location for the solution .zip or

.cab file, and then choose Save again.

Note

The regular scenario is for you to create a solution in a test Microsoft Dynamics

CRM organization, export it, and then import it into a production Microsoft

Dynamics CRM organization. If you want to import your managed solution into the same organization in which you created and exported it, you have to delete the unmanaged version and any components you created. You also have to delete child components, such as field relationships, that you created.

You now have a managed solution that you can import into another Microsoft Dynamics CRM organization.

See Also

TechNet: Create, Install, and Update a Managed Solution

Import a solution

To learn how to import solutions, see TechNet: Use solutions for your customizations .

Export your customizations as a solution

If you want to export customizations you make to a Microsoft Dynamics CRM system, you export those customizations as a solution. For example, you might want to create a backup of all your customizations in case anything happens. To create a backup of your customizations, you export a special solution called the Default Solution. The Default Solution contains all the components in your system.

You might also want to export a solution if you’re an ISV and you want to distribute CRM customizations as a package.

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Export the Default Solution to create a backup

1. Make sure you have the System Administrator security role or equivalent permissions in

Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Customizations. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Customize the System.

4. In the solution explorer, choose Export Solution.

5.

When you’re prompted to open or save Default_1_0.zip, choose Save.

Important

Some user information may be exported when exporting workflows, for example, the domain logon, the forms authentication user name, or the Microsoft account unique user identifier (PUID) value.

Export a solution to create a custom package

1. Make sure you have the System Administrator security role or equivalent permissions in

Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

266

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Solutions. (How do I get there?)

3. In the list, select the solution you want to export, and then choose Export.

4. In the Publish Customizations step of the Export Solution wizard, you have the option to Publish All Customizations. Note that only published customizations are exported.

When you’re ready to proceed, choose Next.

Note

Installing a solution or publishing customizations can interfere with normal system operation. We recommend that you publish customizations when it’s least disruptive to users.

5.

If your solution contains any missing components that are required, you’ll see the

Missing Required Components step. Disregard this warning only if you intend to import the solution as an unmanaged solution back into the original organization. Otherwise, follow the instructions in the dialog box to cancel the export, and then add the required components. Read more about managed and unmanaged solutions .

6. In the Export System Settings (Advanced) step, you can choose certain system settings to include in your solution. If your solution depends on any of the groups of system settings, select them, and then choose Next. For more information on these settings, see Settings options for solution export .

7. In the Package Type step, choose whether to export the solution as an Unmanaged or

Managed solution, and then choose Next.

Note

Export a solution as a managed solution only when it’s complete and you’re ready to distribute it. After exporting a managed solution, you can’t import it back into the organization it was exported from; you can only import it into a different organization. Read more about managed and unmanaged solutions .

8. In the Source CRM Version step, select the CRM version you want to export to. For example, you might want to test a solution that you intend to distribute to organizations using an earlier version of CRM. Note that if you install Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013

Service Pack 1 (SP1) (version 6.1), and you choose version 6.0 as the target for your solution export, solution components dependent on features added in Microsoft

Dynamics CRM 2013 Service Pack 1 (SP1) will be removed. Learn more about exporting a solution for a specific CRM version .

9. Choose Export to download the solution file.

10. When prompted to open or save the compressed (.zip) file, choose Save As.

11. Choose a location to save your solution, and then choose Save.

Important



Don’t add files to a compressed (.zip) file that contains customizations and settings exported from Microsoft Dynamics CRM. CRM will attempt to import the first file in the compressed

(.zip) file. If it’s not a valid file, the import will fail.



Some user information may be exported when exporting workflows, for example, the domain logon, the forms authentication user name, or the Microsoft account unique user identifier

(PUID) value.

267

Privacy notice

You can import and export solutions to and from Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online. When you do so, the solutions, which may contain personal information, are transferred over a Secure Sockets

Layer (SSL) connection between your computer and Microsoft servers. In turn, third-party code imported to CRM Online could eventually transmit Customer Data to an external system (i.e.

InsideView) or configure/expand entities that get synchronized (i.e. exported) to other external systems that are controlled by a party other than Microsoft.

If a solution to be imported is meant to transmit Customer Data outside of the security boundaries of CRM Online, Administrators are invited to verify the types of Customer Data that will be called by the service/software/application prior to uploading third-party code to their CRM Online instance.

Extraction of Customer Data by third party services/software/applications or solutions is controlled by the customer, not Microsoft. The final destiny and privacy policies applicable to the data points extracted by these external solutions are controlled by the Administrator; adequate review of the policies applicable by the third parties operating these services/software/apps is recommended.

See Also

Introduction to solutions

Package and distribute extensions with solutions

Add a solution component

Adding a component to a solution extends the functionality or usefulness of that solution for users. You can add a component to an existing unmanaged solution, or you can create a new unmanaged solution and add a component to it. This procedure guides you through the process of creating an unmanaged solution and adding new or existing components. While you can add new or existing components for most component types, for the following types you can only add components that already exist in Microsoft Dynamics CRM:



Client extensions



Plug-in assemblies



SDK message processing steps



Service endpoints

Components can be created in the Customization area of Microsoft Dynamics CRM, or they can be developed outside of Microsoft Dynamics CRM. More information: MSDN: Introduction to

Solutions

Important

Customization tasks can be performed only while you’re online.

1. Make sure that you have the System Administrator or System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

268

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Solutions. (How do I get there?)

3. On the command bar, choose New.

4. Complete the required fields, and then choose Save.

By default, this saves an unmanaged solution.

5. To add a new or existing component to a solution, in the Component Type list, choose the type you want to add, and then, on the command bar choose New or Add Existing.

The steps required for adding each type of component are available in the Help on This

Page topic associated with the type of component you’re adding.

6. After specifying the necessary details for the component, choose Save and close the window, or choose Save and Close (depending on the type of entity you created or added).

7.

To set the managed properties for each component that you’re adding, on the command

bar, choose Managed Properties. More information: Edit or view managed properties

8. Choose Save and Close to save your unmanaged solution and any components that you added to it.

9. When your customizations are complete, publish them:



To publish customizations for only the component that you’re currently editing, choose the entity you’ve been working on, and then choose Publish.



To publish customizations for all unpublished components at one time, choose

Entities, and then on the command bar, choose Publish All Customizations.

Note

Installing a solution or publishing customizations can interfere with normal system operation. We recommend that you schedule a solution import when it’s least disruptive to users.

See Also

MSDN: Introduction to Solutions

Edit or view managed properties

All solution components, except for plug-in assemblies, have an IsCustomizable managed property. This property appears in the interface with the label Can be customized. Managed properties only become effective after their associated components are installed as part of a managed solution.

While an entity has managed properties in addition to IsCustomizable, the value or the

IsCustomizable property, the type of entity, and the type of solution all have an impact on the behavior of an entity, as follows:



If the entity is part of a managed solution and the IsCustomizable managed property is set to

False

, you can’t edit any of the managed properties.



If the entity is part of a managed solution and the IsCustomizable managed property is set to

True, you can edit the managed properties.

269



If the entity is part of the default solution or an unmanaged solution and it is a business entity, you can edit all managed properties except for IsCustomizable.



If the entity is part of the default solution or an unmanaged solution and it is a custom entity, you can edit all managed properties including IsCustomizable.

1. Make sure that you have the System Administrator or System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Customizations. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Customize the System.

4. Under Components, choose the component and the record that you want to edit or view managed properties for.

5. On the command bar, choose Managed Properties.

Note

If Managed Properties doesn’t appear on the command bar, you can’t edit or view the managed properties for that component and record.

6. In the Set Managed Properties dialog box, you can view all of the properties associated with the component, and you can edit selected properties based on the behaviors listed previously.

7. Choose Set to save the settings.

See Also

TechNet: Customization concepts

View or edit default solution components

All components that make up a default solution or an unmanaged solution are listed in the window for that solution.

All components that comprise the managed solution are listed in the solution explorer. You can view all components and properties for a managed solution, but you can’t edit the properties or perform any actions on the components.

Warning

If you attempt to install some solutions without first installing product updates, you’ll receive a warning. This warning will give you the option to install a solution without the components that depend on product updates, but it’s very likely the solution may not

270

function as designed. When a solution import is complete, you can check the import log to see which components were imported successfully.

Installing a solution or publishing customizations can interfere with normal system operation. We recommend that you schedule a solution import when it’s least disruptive to users.

View a managed solution in the solution explorer

1. Make sure you have the System Administrator security role or equivalent permissions in

Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Customizations. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Solutions.

Edit a customizable component for the default solution or an unmanaged solution

1. Go to Settings > Customizations. (How do I get there?)

2. Choose Solutions.

3. In the Solution window, choose Components to see a list of all default solution components in the main pane. To see components for an individual type, choose a type from the Component Type list.

The component type and the properties set by the creator of the component determines whether a component is customizable. This is indicated in the Customizable column.

The following table lists actions that you can perform on some components. These actions are available on the command bar.

Actions

New

Add Existing

Delete

Comments

Create a new component. You can create new components for most types. The exceptions are SDK message processing steps, client extensions, plug-in assemblies, and service endpoints.

(Applies to an unmanaged solution only.)

Add a component from the default solution or other unmanaged solution to this solution.

Delete an existing component. You can delete unmanaged components or

271

Remove

Publish

Activate or Deactivate

Show Dependencies

Managed Properties

Add Required Components managed components that are customizable. You cannot delete any system entities. If the component has dependencies such as relationships, you must remove the dependencies before you can delete the component. See Show

Dependencies.

Remove a component from the solution.

The component will still be available in the default solution after you remove it here.

This action applies to the entity component. Publish customizations to your Microsoft Dynamics CRM organization, including changes to forms, fields, views, charts, and relationships.

Do this for workflows, dialogs, and SDK message processing steps.

Open a dialog box that lists the other components that are dependent on this component. If you want to delete this component, you must remove the dependencies first.

This action lists the managed properties settings for the component.

(Applies to an unmanaged solution only.)

Add required components to your solution.

This helps you avoid an error when you export the unmanaged solution.

See Also

Edit or view managed properties

Export your customizations as a solution

Export customized entity and field text for translation

Import translated entity and field text

Edit a solution publisher

You can edit some of the properties in the publisher record of an unmanaged solution or the

Microsoft Dynam ics CRM default solution. You can’t edit any properties for a publisher record that was imported as part of a managed solution. Customization tasks can be performed only while you are online.

272

1. Make sure that you have the System Administrator or System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Customizations. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Publishers.

4. In the list, double-click the row for the publisher record that you want to edit.

5. Modify the Display Name for the publisher. The name that you enter here is added as an option to the Publisher list in a solution record. When someone creates a new solution, that person can select this publisher.

Note

The value in the Name box is created with the record a nd can’t be edited.

6. In the Prefix box, edit the text prefix that you want added to any entity or field created for a solution that has this publisher. This text prefix, plus an underscore, is added before the value in Name.

7. In the Option Value Prefix text box, edit the set of integers that are a prefix for any option set created in a solution for this publisher.

8. Choose Save and Close.

Note

Installing a solution or publishing customizations can interfere with normal system operation. We recommend that you schedule a solution import when it’s least disruptive to users.

See Also

TechNet: Use solutions for your customizations

Customize your system by using the default solution

When you customize the Microsoft Dynamics CRM system directly, you work with a special solution called the default solution. The default solution contains all the components in your system. If you want to back up your customizations, you export the default solution. For more information about the default solution, and solutions in general, see TechNet: What you need to know about solutions.

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Create, edit, and delete solutions

If you want to share or transport customizations from one organization to another, you can use solutions. For more information on creating, editing, and deleting solutions, see TechNet: Use solutions for your customizations .

Add or edit a solution publisher

Every solution has a publisher. Information about the publisher (for example, address and support contact info) is stored in a record. Each solution has a look-up field that associates the solution with the appropriate publisher record for that solution.

The default solution has a publisher named “Default Publisher for <your organization name>”.

The publisher record contains a prefix value. The default value of this prefix is

“new”. When you create a new solution component, this prefix is appended to the name. This is a quick way to indicate the solution that the components belong to. Before you start customizing your system, we recommend that you change the prefix value for the default publisher to something that identifies your company. For information about solution publishers, and how to change the prefix value for the default publisher, see TechNet: What you need to know about solutions .

Manage system settings

System Settings dialog box - Sales tab

System Settings dialog box - Marketing tab

System Settings dialog box - Service tab

System Settings dialog box - Reporting tab

System Settings dialog box - Formats tab

System Settings dialog box - Email tab

System Settings dialog box - Customization tab

System Settings dialog box - Outlook tab

System Settings dialog box - Auditing tab

System Settings dialog box - General tab

System Settings dialog box - Goals tab

System Settings dialog box - Calendar tab

What are Preview features and how do I enable them?

Work with fiscal year settings

Customize regional options - system settings

Enable or disable languages

View system status and notifications

Set privacy preferences for an organization

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System Settings dialog box - Sales tab

Use the settings on this page to configure system-level settings for the sales area of Microsoft

Dynamics CRM.

Important

For Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online organizations, this feature is only available if you've installed the CRM Online 2015 Update.

For on-premises CRM organizations, this feature is only available if you've updated to

CRM 2015.

Interested in getting this feature? Find your CRM administrator or support person.

1. Make sure that you have the System Administrator or System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

2. Go to Settings > Administration. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose System Settings and then select the Sales tab.

4. Fill in the information:

Settings Description

Create products in active state

To set the products to active state by default after creation, choose Yes

. This option applies only to products that don’t have a parent product family. To create products in the Draft state, choose No.

Allow selection of default pricelist for opportunity via inbuilt rule

Maximum number of products in a bundle

Choose Yes if you want the default price list to be selected for an opportunity based on the inbuilt rule (based on the default price lists defined for territories). Otherwise, choose No.

Type the maximum number of products a bundle can have.

Use system pricing calculations

Choose Yes to use the pricing calculations of Microsoft Dynamics

CRM. To use custom pricing by using a plug-in, choose No. When set to No, the default pricing calculations won’t be done on opportunity, quote, order and invoice records.

Discount calculation method

Select Per unit if you want the pricing engine to calculate the discount based on the prices per unit instead of a line item. By

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default, the calculations are done on a line item-basis. The following table shows the difference between the two calculations

Discount method

Product Price per unit

Quantity Discount Amount

10 Line item

Product

1

100 11

Per unit Product

2

100 11 10

(100*11)-

10=1090

(100-

10)*11=990

Maximum number of properties that are allowed for a product or bundle

Type the maximum number of properties (specifications) a product or bundle can have. Product properties are added to a product family record, and all the child products and bundles under the product family inherit the properties added to the parent product family. The number specified in this setting is applied only when you publish a product or a bundle with the associated properties.

See Also

Set up a product catalog: Walkthrough

Create price lists and price list items to define pricing of products

Set up a discount list

Create product bundles to sell multiple items together

Use properties to describe a product

System Settings dialog box - Marketing tab

Use the settings on this page to configure marketing settings for Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Open the Marketing System Settings dialog box (if it isn’t already open)

1. Make sure that you have the System Administrator or System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Administration. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose System Settings > Marketing tab.

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Settings

Set whether direct email through mail

merge is enabled in campaigns

Enable Direct Email via Mail Merge

Description

Default: Yes. If Yes, users can send email as a campaign activity using the mail merge feature.

Note

To enable this option, the security role assigned to users for whom you want to enable mail merge must also include the Mail Merge privilege.

Set whether campaign responses are created for incoming campaign activity email (Available only if Email tracking is

enabled)

Create campaign responses for incoming email

Set the auto-unsubscribe options

(Available only if Email tracking is enabled)

Default: Yes. If Yes, Microsoft Dynamics CRM creates campaign response records automatically when email messages are received in response to a specific marketing campaign.

Set "Do Not Send Marketing Material" option when unsubscribe email is received

Send acknowledgement to customers when they unsubscribe

Template for Acknowledgement Email

Default: No. If Yes, when an unsubscribe email is received, the preference setting for the account, contact, or lead from the marketing list gets updated automatically to not send marketing materials.

If the previous setting

Set “Do Not Send

Marketing Material” is Yes, you can use this setting to send a response to customers when they unsubscribe.

If the two previous settings are Yes, you must specify an email template to use to respond to customers when they unsubscribe.

System Settings dialog box - Service tab

Use the Service tab in System Settings to set preferences for the customer service area, such as service level agreements and entitlements in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Important

For Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online organizations, this feature is only available if you've installed the CRM Online 2015 Update.

277

For on-premises CRM organizations, this feature is only available if you've updated to

CRM 2015.

Interested in getting this feature? Find your CRM administrator or support person.

1. Make sure that you have the System Administrator or System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Administration. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose the System Settings > Service tab.

4. Fill in the information using the following table for guidance.

Settings

Disable SLAs

Disable Service Level Agreements(SLAs) on case records

Description

SLAs are enabled by default. You can enable or disable them for cases in your organization. For example, you might want to disable SLAs during maintenance activities or when you're importing cases and you don't want the SLAs to apply to the cases. To disable, choose Yes. To enable, choose No.

Select On Hold Case Status

Note

When SLAs are disabled, SLA records can still be created or modified. SLAs won’t be applied to case records, however.

Select the case statuses for which the SLA calculation should be paused. View

(double-click) the statuses in the

Available Values column. When a service rep sets a case to one of the On Hold status values you set here, CRM pauses the SLA calculation. When the service rep

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Automatically apply entitlement changes the status of the case back to a status other than an On Hold status, CRM updates the failure and warning time in the enhanced SLA service KPIs. It also tracks the total time for which a case record is on hold.



Select whether to automatically apply the default customer entitlement when a case is created.



Select whether to automatically apply the default customer entitlement when a case is updated and the customer, contact, or product field has changed.

See Also

Define service level agreements (SLAs)

System Settings dialog box - Reporting tab

Use the settings on this page to configure reporting settings for Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Open the

Reporting System Settings dialog box (if it’s not already open)

1. Make sure that you have the System Administrator or System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Administration. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose System Settings > Reporting tab.

Settings

Specify report categories

Description

Default categories:

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Settings

Default Value

Description



Sales Reports



Service Reports



Marketing Reports



Administrative Reports

Note

If you add a new category or change existing categories, you should also change the default views available for the Report record type. Otherwise, users won't have a way to see all reports in the new categories.

Default: Unassigned Value. Select the default report category.

System Settings dialog box - Formats tab

You can control how Microsoft Dynamics CRM displays numbers, currencies, times, and dates for your organization.

Open the Formats System Settings dialog box (if it isn’t already open)

1. Make sure that you have the System Administrator or System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Administration. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose System Settings > Formats tab.

Settings

Organizational Standards and Formats

Current Format

Description

Default: your organization’s language and locale. Choose Customize to customize number, currency, time, and date formats for your organization.

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Settings

Format Preview

Description

Preview the settings for the selected language and locale.

See Also

Customize regional options - system settings

System Settings dialog box - Email tab

Use the settings on this page to set up email processing in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Open the System Settings dialog box (if it i sn’t already open)

1. Make sure that you have the System Administrator or System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Email Configuration. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Email Configuration Settings.

Settings Description

Configure email processing

Process Email Using Select whether you want to process email by using server-side synchronization or the Email

Router.

More information:



TechNet: Set up email through server-side synchronization



TechNet: Install the Email Router for

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2015 and CRM

Online

Configure default synchronization method For any mailbox that is automatically created in CRM when a user or queue is created, the default email settings as defined in this section will be applied.

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Settings

Server Profile

Incoming Email

Outgoing Email

Appointments, Contacts, and Tasks

Description

Select the email server profile that you want to use as the default for processing. More information: TechNet: Create an email server profile

Select whether you want to use Dynamics

CRM for Outlook, the Email Router, serverside synchronization, or a forward mailbox for processing incoming email. More information:

TechNet: Create forward mailboxes or edit mailboxes

Select whether you want to use Dynamics

CRM for Outlook, the Email Router, or serverside synchronization for processing outgoing email.

Select whether you want to use Dynamics

CRM for Outlook or server-side synchronization to synchronize appointments, contacts, and tasks between Outlook and

CRM.

Email processing for unapproved users and queues

Note

CRM doesn’t support the combination of POP3 and SMTP for server-side synchronization of appointments, contacts, and tasks.

Select these check boxes if you want to allow email processing only for users and queues whose email addresses have been approved by the system administrator.



Process email only for approved users



Process email only for approved queues

Configure folder-level tracking and email

correlation

Use folder-level tracking for Exchange folders

(server-side synchronization must be enabled)

Users can set up Exchange tracking folders, and then move messages to those folders to track them automatically on virtually any

device. More information: Track Outlook email by moving it to a tracked Exchange folder

Folder-level tracking provides 100% tracking accuracy. To use folder-level tracking:



You must be using CRM Online, and you must install Microsoft Dynamics CRM

Online 2015 Update 1.



You must select this check box.

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Settings Description



Your organization must synchronize email through server-side synchronization. More information: TechNet: Set up server-side synchronization

Use correlation to track email conversations Select this check box if you want to link email activities with other related records using the information in the email headers. This method uses email properties for correlation and is more accurate than smart matching, but less accurate than folder-level tracking or tracking tokens. More information: TechNet: Email message filtering and correlation

Use tracking tokens

Use smart matching

Note

Email correlation using email headers works best when email is processed using server-side synchronization. If you’re using the Email Router to process email, you can use tracking tokens or smart matching to correlate email activities with related records.

Select this check box to use tracking tokens and to configure how CRM displays them in the Subject line of the email messages.

Tracking tokens provide 100% tracking accuracy. If you don’t want to see tokens in

Subject lines, however, consider folder-level tracking, which also provides 100% tracking accuracy.

You can configure prefixes and other sections of tracking tokens. Long prefixes or too many prefix changes may cause lost data in history, however. More information: TechNet: Email message filtering and correlation

Select this check box to use smart matching to correlate email based on the similarity between email messages. Smart matching isn’t as accurate as tracking tokens or folderlevel tracking. More information: TechNet:

Email message filtering and correlation

Set tracking options for emails between

CRM users

Track email sent between two CRM users as two activities

Select this option to create two email activities between CRM users, one for the sender and one for the recipient.

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Settings

Set email form options

Use secure frames to restrict email message content

Allow messages with unresolved recipients to be sent

Set file size limit for attachments

Maximum file size (in Kilobytes)

Configure alerts

Description

If this is set to Yes, you may see the following error message when you’re reading email:

“This content cannot be displayed in a frame”.

Although this can make sending sensitive content in email less secure, changing the setting to No typically eliminates this error.

Set this to Yes if you want to send email messages that have unresolved recipients.

Increase or decrease the maximum file size for attached files. The default size is 5120K. The maximum size is 32768K.

Select check boxes for the type of alerts that must be sent to CRM users:



Error (default)



Warning



Information (default)

Notify mailbox owner

Tip

Select Warning if you’re troubleshooting or testing or want to get more detailed messages on the alert wall.

By default, the system administrator is notified of any error that occurs for an email server profile.

Select this check box if you also want to notify the mailbox owner.

See Also

Track Outlook email by moving it to a tracked Exchange folder

Synchronizing data with Outlook or Exchange FAQ

TechNet: Set up email through server-side synchronization

TechNet: Install the Email Router for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2015 and CRM Online

System Settings dialog box - Customization tab

Use the Customization tab in System Settings to set preferences for plug-in and workflow tracing and also the use of application mode..

284

Open the System Settings dialog box (if it isn’t already open)

1. Make sure that you have the System Administrator or System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Administration. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose System Settings and then choose the Customization tab.

Settings Description

Application Mode

Set whether Microsoft Dynamics CRM can be opened in a browser window without menu, navigation, and command bars.

Open Microsoft Dynamics CRM in Application mode

Select this check box to enable application mode. When this mode is enabled, Microsoft

Dynamics CRM can be opened in a browser without menus, navigation, or toolbars. Hiding these parts of the browser causes Microsoft

Dynamics CRM to appear like a separate application rather than a website. By default, application mode isn’t enabled.

Preview Mode

Enable web resource and inline frame support for CRM for tablets

Select this check box if you want to be able to add web resources and inline frames to CRM for tablets. After selecting the check box, you’ll need to also select the I have read and

accept the license terms check box.

Important

This is a preview feature and is only available for:



Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online and you must install the Microsoft Dynamics CRM

Online 2015 Update. This preview feature isn’t available for on-premises versions of

Microsoft Dynamics CRM.



Selected geographic instances.

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Settings Description



Android and iOS tablets that are currently supported by CRM for tablets.

Preview features are not meant for production use and Microsoft does not provide support for this preview

feature. More information: Preview feature: iFrame and web resource support in CRM for tablets

Plug-in and custom workflow activity

tracing

Enable logging to plug-in trace log You can now store detailed information about an exception or trace event raised by a custom code to help developers debug plug-ins or custom workflow activity that they develop using the customization methods supported by

Microsoft Dynamics CRM.



To capture trace logs only for exceptions, select Exception.



To capture logs for all errors and general trace events, select All.



To disable capturing trace logs, select Off.

More information: MSDN: Debug a plug-in

Warning

We recommend that you don’t keep this option enabled for an extended period because it may have performance implications in your organization.

See Also

MSDN: Debug a plug-in

System Settings dialog box - Outlook tab

Use the settings on this page to configure how Microsoft Outlook interacts with Microsoft

Dynamics CRM.

Open the System Settings dialog box (if it’s not already open)

1. Make sure that you have the System Administrator or System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.

286

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Administration. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose System Settings > Outlook tab.

Settings

Set email promotion options for Dynamics

CRM for Outlook

Perform checks as new email is received

Description

Promote incoming email every

Send pending CRM email every

Default: Yes. If Yes, email is checked for tracking as soon as it arrives.

Default: 10 minutes. Looks for and links incoming email on the specified interval.

Default: 10 minutes. Sends pending Microsoft

Dynamics CRM email on the specified interval.

Set whether users can schedule synchronization in Dynamics CRM for

Outlook

Users can schedule synchronization

Minimum Time between synchronizations

Default: Yes. If Yes, users can set whether or not Dynamics CRM for Outlook synchronizes with Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Default: 15 minutes. Synchronizes Dynamics

CRM for Outlook and Microsoft Dynamics

CRM on the specified interval.

Set whether users can update their local data in the background in Dynamics CRM

for Outlook

Users can schedule background local data synchronization

Minimum time between background local data synchronizations

Set schedule for address book synchronization in Microsoft Dynamics

CRM for Outlook

Default: Yes. If Yes, users can update the data that is stored on their computer to use offline.

Default: 15 minutes. Local data is synchronized with Microsoft Dynamics CRM on the specified interval.

287

Settings Description

Users can schedule background address book synchronization

Default: Yes. If Yes, users can update the address book that is stored on their computer to use offline.

Minimum time between address book synchronizations

Default: 1 hour. The local address book is synchronized with Microsoft Dynamics CRM on the specified interval.

Set whether users see Dynamics CRM for

Outlook message

Users see “Get Dynamics CRM for Outlook” option displayed in the message bar

Default: Yes. If Yes, the Get CRM for

Outlook button is displayed in Microsoft

Dynamics CRM.

System Settings dialog box - Auditing tab

Enable auditing to track ch anges to your organization’s data and maintain a log of changes.

Open the System Settings dialog box (if it’s not already open)

1. Make sure that you have the System Administrator or System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Administration. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose System Settings > Auditing tab.

4. Under Audit Settings, you can start auditing and specify whether or not to audit user access. You can also stop auditing if it is currently enabled.

If you enable auditing and audit user access, CRM tracks when the user started accessing CRM and whether or not the user accessed the application by using the web application or Dynamics CRM for Outlook.

5. Under Enable Auditing in the following areas, you can specify to audit specific areas of the product, as described in the following table.

288

Auditing area

Common Entities

Sales Entities

Marketing Entities

Customer Service Entities

Enable the start of auditing for these entities

Account, Contact, Lead, Marketing List,

Product, Quick Campaign, Report, Sales

Literature, Security Role, and User

Competitor, Invoice, Opportunity, Order, and

Quote

Campaign

Article, Case, Client Feedback, Contract, and

Service

See Also

Audit data changes

View the audit history of individual records

System Settings dialog box - General tab

Use the settings on this page to change general system-level settings like preferences for saving, decimal and currency precision, and other default settings for Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Open the System Settings dialog box (if it isn’t already open)

1. Make sure that you have the System Administrator or System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Administration. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose the System Settings > General tab.

Settings

Select the default save option for forms

Enable auto save on all forms

Description

If Yes, which is the default, after a record is created (initially saved), any changes made to a form will automatically be saved thirty seconds after the change is made. The 30second period starts again after a change is

289

Settings

Set the IM presence option

Enable presence for the system

Set the full-name format

Name Format

Set up Quick Find

Enable Quick Find record limits

Description

made. If no changes are made, the automatic save doesn’t happen. More information:

TechNet: Manage auto-save .

If Yes, which is the default, instant messaging will display the current status for users, contacts, opportunities, or leads. This only applies to lists and sub-lists for entities with an updated user interface.

Select the order in which you want customer and user names to be displayed. The default is

First Name Last Name.

Set the currency precision that is used for

pricing throughout the system

Pricing Decimal Precision Select how many decimal points to use for a currency. The default is 2.

Set whether reassigned records are

shared with the original owner

Share reassigned records with original owner Select whether a record is shared with the original owner of the record, or completely reassigned to another user. The default is No.

Set blocked file extensions for

attachments

Prevent users from attaching files with specific file name extensions.

Set the currency display option

Display currencies by using Set how to display currencies, either by a currency symbol, which is the default setting, or by currency code. For example, a currency symbol could be $, and the currency code could be USD.

Select entities for search on Microsoft

Dynamics CRM for tablets

Enable Bing Maps

Show Bing Maps on forms

If Yes, which is the default, if more than 10,000 records are found, a message will be displayed that suggests a more selective search.

Choose Select to choose the entities to include when users do a search in Microsoft

Dynamics CRM for tablets.

If Yes, which is the default, Microsoft

Dynamics CRM on-premises users will need to

290

Settings

Please enter Bing Maps key

Set the default country/region code

Enable country/region code prefixing

Country/Region Code Prefix

Set the telephony provider

Select provider for Click to call

Set whether users see CRM for tablets

message

Users see app download message

Set custom Help URL

Use custom Help for customizable entities

Global Custom Help URL

Append Parameters to URL

Description

enter a Bing Map key. CRM Online users don’t need to enter a key.

On-premises users can obtain a Bing Map key from: https://www.bingmapsportal.com/

If enabled, which is the default, CRM will prefix the country/region code to numbers that users are trying to call.

The default is+1, which is the country/region calling code for North America.

Choose which provider to enable outbound calls from within CRM. This setting doesn’t apply to CRM for tablets or Microsoft

Dynamics CRM for phones.

If Yes, which is the default, users will see a message regarding downloading the Microsoft

Dynamics CRM for tablets app.

If you want to replace the default Help content with custom Help designed for your users, choose Yes. After you enable custom Help, you can enter a Global Custom Help URL.

Note

This feature is available if you’re using

CRM Online and you have installed t he 2015 Update, or if you’re using

CRM 2015.

To replace the default Help with a single URL for all customizable record types (entities), enter the URL here. You also have the option of entering override URLs for each record type

(entity) for customizable record types. More information: TechNet: Customize the Help experience

If you choose Yes to append parameters to the

URL, you can make your Help content more

291

Settings

Disable Social Engagement

Prevent feature from receiving social data in

CRM

Set whether users see navigation tour

Display navigation tour to users when they sign in

Description

dynamic. For example, you can access parameters for User Language Code, Entity

Name, Entry Point, and Form ID. More information: TechNet: Customize the Help experience

Default: No. If you don’t want to receive social data in CRM, select Yes. If you disable social engagement, your organization will not be able to receive social data in CRM. Users can continue to work with existing social data, however.

When users start CRM, they’re presented with a welcome screen (navigation tour) that provides a quick overview of CRM. Choose No to disable this tour for all users in your organization.

Note

This feature is available if you’re using

CRM Online and you have installed the 2015 Update, or if you’re using

CRM 2015.

Use legacy form rendering

For compatibility, use the legacy form rendering engine. Note that performance may be adversely affected.

With CRM Online 2015 Update 1, we've made enhancements to Microsoft Dynamics CRM forms so that they load faster.

However, if you have forms that include unsupported customizations, these enhancements can cause compatibility problems. To avoid this, you can temporarily turn the form enhancements off by choosing

Yes.

Important

We recommend that you reset this setting to No after addressing scripting problems so you can take advantage of optimized forms.

Note

When a form that includes unsupported customizations is used, such as unsupported JavaScript, the form may fail to load or the user will receive an error message.

292

Settings Description



If the form just fails, set the Use legacy

form rendering option to Yes. If the form loads after you choose legacy form rendering, you may have unsupported customizations.



If the user receives an error, choose "View the data that will be sent to Microsoft" and see the details in the

<CrmScriptErrorReport> tags. More information: TechNet: What kind of customizations are not supported?

See Also

TechNet: Manage auto-save

TechNet: Customize the Help experience

TechNet: What kind of customizations are not supported?

System Settings dialog box - Goals tab

Set the duration and frequency of the automatic rollup of goals. These settings only affect the automatic handling of all goals set in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. You can always perform a manual rollup for any goal at any time.

Open the System Settings dialog box (if it isn’t already open)

1. Make sure that you have the System Administrator or System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Administration. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose the System Settings > Goals tab.

Settings

Set the roll-up expiration time and the roll-

up frequency.

Description

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Settings

Days after the goal end date when the rollup will stop

Roll-up recurrence frequency

Description

Default: 30 days. Set the number of days after the ending date of a goal for Microsoft

Dynamics CRM to stop including a goal in a rollup.

Default: 24 hours. Set the number of hours between each Microsoft Dynamics CRM goal rollup.

System Settings dialog box - Calendar tab

Use the settings on this page to configure calendar settings for Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Open the Calendar System Settings dialog box (if it isn’t already open)

1. Make sure that you have the System Administrator or System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Administration. (How do I get there?)

3. Go to System Settings > Calendar tab.

Settings Description

Set scheduling options

Maximum duration of an appointment in days CRM users can create appointments to meet or talk to customers. Users create these appointments on the Service Calendar or in the Activities area.

You can use this setting to control the maximum number of days that your users can schedule an appointment for. The default is 10 days.

See Also

Create or edit an appointment

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What are Preview features and how do I enable them?

Preview features are features that aren’t complete, but are made available on a “preview” basis so customers can get early access and provide feedback. These features may be available only in selected geographic areas or may have limited or restri cted functionality. They aren’t meant for production use.

Preview features are subject to separate Supplemental Terms of Use .

What Preview features are included in Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online 2015 Update 1?

The following table lists the Preview features included in CRM Online 2015 Update 1 as well as learning resources for each feature.

Preview feature

Support for inline frame and web resource in

Microsoft Dynamics CRM for tablets

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Web API

Microsoft Dynamics CRM App for Outlook

Microsoft Office 365 Groups

Learning resource

MSDN: Create web resources and IFRAME content for use with the CRM for tablets client

TechNet: Enable Web API Preview

CRM App for Outlook User's Guide

TechNet: Deploy Office 365 Groups

How do I enable a Preview feature?

To enable a Preview feature, you must be a CRM administrator.

Note

Office 365 Groups are deployed through a solution, so they don’t have to be enabled through this tab. More information: TechNet: Deploy Office 365 Groups

1. Go to Settings > Administration. (How do I get there?)

2. Choose System Settings, and then choose the Previews tab.

3. Read the license terms , and if you agree, select the

I’ve read and agree to the license

terms check box.

4. For each Preview feature you want to enable, choose Yes.

How do I report an issue or provide other feedback?

If you’d like to provide feedback, offer suggestions, or report issues for a Preview feature, please go to Microsoft Connect . This website provides a collaboration platform for gathering actionable feedback to build and improve products and services.

See Also

iFrame and web resource support in CRM for tablets

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TechNet: What's new for administrators and customizers in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2015 and

CRM Online

Work with fiscal year settings

You can set the fiscal year period, and how it’s displayed, for your organization.

Important

After you set the fiscal year options, you can’t change them. Fiscal year options affect the way in which your organization's data is stored in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

1. Make sure you have the System Administrator security role or equivalent permissions in

Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile ..

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Business Management. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Fiscal Year Settings.

4. Type information in the text boxes. a. In the Start Date box, select the date to start the fiscal year. b. In the Fiscal Period Template drop-down list, select how your fiscal year is divided. c. In the Fiscal Year drop-down list, select how you want to display the fiscal year. d. In Name Based On drop-down list, select whether the fiscal year name is displayed on the start or end of the fiscal year. e. In the Fiscal Period drop-down list, select how you want to display the fiscal period. f. In the Display As drop-down list, select how you want the fiscal year abbreviation and the year to appear.

5. Choose OK.

See Also

Manage Business Management Settings

Work with salespeople

Work with Territories

Customize regional options - system settings

You can customize how numbers, currencies, times, and dates appear to everyone in your organization.

296

1. Make sure you have the System Administrator security role or equivalent permissions in

Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Administration. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose System Settings.

4. Choose the Formats tab.

5. From the Current Format list, select the language and country or region, and then choose Customize.

6. In the Customize Regional Options dialog box, you can change the default settings for the selected format. View how the changes will look in the preview boxes.



Choose the Number tab to change the decimal symbol, digit grouping symbol, digit groups, and negative numbers.



Choose the Currency tab to change the currency format, negative currency amounts, and number of decimal places.



Choose the Time tab to change the time format, time separator, and notation for morning and afternoon.



Choose the Date tab to set the type of calendar, first day of the week, first week of the year, formats for long and short dates, and whether or not to show week numbers in calendar views.



Choose Apply to apply the changes and continue working in the dialog box, or choose OK to save the changes and close the dialog box.

7. Choose OK.

See Also

System Settings dialog box - Formats tab

Enable or disable languages

You can enable or disable languages in Microsoft Dynamics CRM to address your business requirements. However, you can’t disable the base language.

Important

If you’re running Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook, before you can enable additional languages, you must download one or more Language Packs on the same computer.

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1. Make sure that you have the System Administrator or System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Administration. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Languages.

4. Select the languages you want to enable and clear those you want to disable.

5. Choose Apply.

6.

When you’re finished enabling and disabling languages, choose Close.

See Also

TechNet: Install and enable a Language Pack

View system status and notifications

Use this page to view current notifications from Microsoft Dynamics CRM about your organization and subscription.

1. Make sure that you have the System Administrator or System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Administration. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose System Notifications.

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Set privacy preferences for an organization

Manage users’ data privacy by controlling when to send error notifications, and also let users know how their privacy is protected by displaying your organization’s own privacy statement instead of the one from Microsoft.

Important

For Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online organizations, this feature is available only if your organization has updated to Dynamics CRM Online 2015 Update 1. Interested in getting this feature? Find your CRM administrator or support person . This feature is not available for Dynamics CRM (on-premises).

Set error reporting preferences for the organization

When errors occur in the product, data about the problem is sent to Microsoft. This data

– an error report - allows Microsoft to track and address errors relating to Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

You can help Microsoft improve products and services when you allow the system to send these error reports.

By default, individual users in Dynamics CRM have a measure of control over whether to send error reports to Microsoft. But you, as an administrator, can override their preferences and set up the error reporting preferences for the entire organization.

1. Make sure that you have the System Administrator or System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Administration. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Privacy Preferences.

4. Under Select your error notification preferences, choose Specify the Web

application error notification preferences on behalf of users, and then select one of the options.

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When you use this setting, you can control error reporting for the entire organization by:



Not allowing users to make changes in how error reporting occurs.



Changing the default behavior for how error reporting happens.

Replace the privacy statement for the organization

By default, the Microsoft privacy statement is always shown to users with an administrator role only, and not to other (business) users. As an administrator, you can add a link to specify your organization's privacy statement, which is then shown to other users in your organization.

1. Make sure that you have the System Administrator or System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Administration. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Privacy Preferences.

4. Under Select your privacy statement link preferences, choose Show a link to the

privacy statement, and then, in the Privacy statement URL box, type the link of the webpage you want to show.

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5. To make sure the link is correct, choose Test URL.

After you add the privacy statement URL, the link directs all Microsoft Dynamics CRM users to the specified link.

Note

Any user with the System Administrator security role will always see the Microsoft privacy statement and not the organization’s privacy statement.

See Also

Get Help from the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Community

Enable or manage auditing

Audit data changes

View the audit history of individual records

Recover database space by deleting audit logs

View the audit summary

Audit data changes

Track changes made to your business data by enabling auditing. Analyze the history of a particular record, view a summary of everything that changed, or track when a user accesses

Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Keep track of the changes done to a record, a field, or by a user.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM automatically creates logs for the changes that are tracked.

More information about how to view what changed in a record: View the audit history of individual records

View the audit history of individual records

Organizations often need to be in compliance with various regulations to ensure availability of customer interaction history, audit logs, access reports, and security incident tracking reports.

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You may want to track changes in Microsoft Dynamics CRM data for security and analytical purposes.

You can view the audit history of records only when auditing is enabled for the organization and enabled for the record types and fields.

1. Make sure that you have the System Administrator, System Customizer, Sales Manager,

Vice President of Sales, Vice President of Marketing, or CEO-Business Manager security role or equivalent permissions.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Open a record type you want to audit (for example, open Accounts or Contacts).

3. Open a record in the list.

4. Do one of the following:



In CRM: On the nav bar, beside the record name, choose the down arrow > Audit

History.



In CRM for Outlook: Under Related, choose Audit History.

5. Use the Filter on drop-down box to choose the field that you want to see the audit history for.

6. To open the change list for an item, double-click the item.

See Also

Audit data changes

System Settings dialog box - Auditing tab

Recover database space by deleting audit logs

When you enable auditing, Microsoft Dynamics CRM stores the change history for transactions in the form of audit logs in the database. You can delete the old or unwanted logs to clean up the database space.

Caution

When you delete an audit log, you can no longer view the audit history for the period covered by that audit log.

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1. Make sure that you have the System Administrator or System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Auditing. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Audit Log Management

4. Select the oldest audit log. Then, on the command bar, choose Delete Logs.

5. In the confirmation message, choose OK.

Note

You can only delete the oldest audit log in the system. To delete more than one audit log, continue to delete the oldest audit log until you have deleted enough logs.

See Also

View the audit history of individual records

View the audit summary

Log changes made to customer records and user access so that you can review the activities later. The auditing feature is designed to meet the auditing, compliance, security, and governance policies of many regulated enterprises.

Audit logs help administrators answer questions such as:



Which user was accessing the system and when?



Who updated this field value on this record and when?



What was the previous field value before it was updated?



What actions has this user taken recently?



Who deleted this record?



What locale was used to make the update?

For more information on auditing, see TechNet: Audit data and user activity

Set up server-side synchronization for email processing

Set up email processing through server-side synchronization

Server-side synchronization isn't working for your mailbox

To use folder tracking, server-side synchronization must be enabled

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Set up email processing through server-side synchronization

You can use server-side synchronization to set up email processing. Server-side synchronization connects Microsoft Dynamics CRM with one or more Exchange servers or POP3 servers for incoming email, and one or more SMTP or Exchange servers for outgoing email. With server-side synchronization, you can centrally manage mailboxes and profiles, configure email for users and queues, and track errors about email processing.

You can also use server-side synchronization to synchronize appointments, contacts, and tasks between CRM and Outlook.

To learn more about setting up server-side synchronization, see TechNet: Set up server-side synchronization of email, appointments, contacts, and tasks .

See Also

Synchronizing data with Outlook or Exchange FAQ

Server-side synchronization isn't working for your mailbox

You’re trying to track email using Exchange folder tracking, but server-side synchronization isn’t working for your mailbox. Folder tracking requires that your email be synchronized using serverside synchronization. Contact your CRM administrator for help. More information:

For Admins

In addition to setting up server-side synchronization, you need to make sure the synchronization method for the user’s mailbox is set to Server-Side Synchronization or Email Router for incoming email.

More information:



For information about Exchange folder tracking, see Track Outlook email by moving it to a tracked Exchange folder .



For admin information about setting up server-side synchronization, see TechNet: Set up server-side synchronization .

See Also

Track Outlook email by moving it to a tracked Exchange folder

TechNet: Set up server-side synchronization

To use folder tracking, server-side synchronization must be enabled

To use Exchange folder tracking, your email must be synchronized using server-side synchronization. Contact your CRM administrator for help. More information:

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For Admins

The following table shows requirements for folder tracking and where to go to find more information.

Requirement

Set up server-side synchronization for email

Set the synchronization method for the user’s mailbox record for incoming email to Server-

Side Synchronization or Email Router

Configure Exchange folder tracking

Resource

TechNet: Set up server-side synchronization

TechNet: Set up server-side synchronization

TechNet: Configure Exchange folder tracking

See Also

Track Outlook email by moving it to a tracked Exchange folder

Set up an activity feed

Administer the activity feed

Administer the activity feed

Enable Activity Feeds to let users see their most recent activities on the wall. When you first install Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Activity Feeds is available and turned on by default, though it is a solution and you’ll administer it as you would any other solution.

Your organization also can use Yammer, which is an alternative to using activity feeds

—you can use either one, but not both.

Many record types allow for activities to be associated with them. For example, for an opportunity, you might have an associated phone call activity. If you want to stay up to date with what's happening in your organization, viewing all the activities you and your colleagues have recorded in the system is an effective way to do that. With activity feeds, you'll see the most recent news about everything you're interested in

—colleagues and records alike—in one single-page view.

You can do the following in Activity Feeds:



Create a personal page. Here, you can post a profile picture along with other personal data about you and the work you do.



View recent news in one view. On your personal page, you'll see a feed of updates from colleagues as well as updates about records.

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

Follow your colleagues. When a colleague you follow posts a comment, you'll see it on your feed page. If the colleague changes a record, you'll see that on your feed page as well.



Follow records. You can stay up to date on records by following them in activity feeds. Even if you're not following the user who changes them, your feed page will display posts about opportunities, leads, and cases that you follow.

See Also

Stay up-to-date with customer news with the activity feed

Display your picture on the activity feed

Set up SharePoint document management

Set up SharePoint document management

Enable SharePoint document management for specific entities

Create or add a location for the first time

Edit existing SharePoint site records

Create or edit document location records

Upgrade to server-based SharePoint integration

Set up SharePoint document management

You can store the documents related to your Microsoft Dynamics CRM records in Microsoft

SharePoint folders and manage the folders and documents in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Integrating SharePoint document management with CRM makes it easier to access and share documents associated with your CRM records.

For information about setting up SharePoint integration by using a wizard, see TechNet: Set up

SharePoint integration with Microsoft Dynamics CRM

See Also

TechNet: Set up SharePoint integration with Microsoft Dynamics CRM

Enable SharePoint document management for specific entities

Enable SharePoint document management for specific entities

Store the documents related to Microsoft Dynamics CRM entity records in Microsoft SharePoint and quickly access, share, and manage these documents from Microsoft Dynamics CRM by enabling document management on the specific entities.

Tip

If you’re using Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, and you haven’t set up server-based

SharePoint integration, you may want to do that before enabling document management for specific entities. For more information, see TechNet: Set up SharePoint integration with Microsoft Dynamics CRM

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1. Make sure you have the System Administrator security role or equivalent permissions in

Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Or verify that you have Read and Write privileges on all record types that are customizable.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Document Management. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Document Management Settings.

4. Select the entities that you want to use to manage SharePoint documents.

5. Enter the URL of the site where the document locations and folders for storing documents will be created, and then choose Next.

If you’re on CRM Online with server-based integration turned on

a. If you want the document libraries and folders to be automatically created, specify a valid SharePoint Online URL, and make sure the site is under the same Office 365 tenant as your CRM instances. For more information on server-based integration, see TechNet: Set up SharePoint integration with

Microsoft Dynamics CRM

If you’re on CRM on-premises or CRM Online without server-based integration

a. If you want the document libraries and folders to be created automatically, specify a valid SharePoint Server 2010 or SharePoint Server 2013 site URL, and make sure the site has the Microsoft Dynamics CRM List Component for

SharePoint Server installed. Note, this will also work if you specify a

SharePoint online site URL.

Note

The list component has been deprecated as of Microsoft Dynamics

CRM Online 2015 Update 1. For information on converting from the

List Component, see TechNet: Switching from the list component or changing the deployment . b. The remaining steps are described assuming that the specified site is on

SharePoint Server 2010 or SharePoint Server 2013 and the site collection for this site has the Microsoft Dynamics CRM List Component installed.

By default, a folder for each record is created under the corresponding document library for the entity. For example, for an opportunity record “100 Bikes”, a document library

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“opportunity” is created, and in it, a folder “100 Bikes” is created. The path is

../opportunity/100 Bikes.

6. To have the folders created under the parent account or contact, select the Based on

entity check box. In the list next to the check box, choose Account or Contact.

When you select this option, the folders are created under the related account or contact folder.

The structure is:.../account/Margie's Travel/opportunity/100 Bikes where “account” is the document library for the referenced entity that you selected from the list, and “Margie's

Travel” is the folder for the referenced record of the selected entity, which in this case it the Opportunity entity.

7. Choose Next.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM creates document libraries for the selected entities on

SharePoint. Microsoft Dynamics CRM also creates the corresponding document location records that contain the links to these document libraries. The Document Management

Settings wizard shows the creation status of the document libraries.

See Also

Edit existing SharePoint site records

TechNet: Set up SharePoint integration with Microsoft Dynamics CRM

Create or add a location for the first time

Before you can manage documents for a record from Microsoft Dynamics CRM, you must create a location record in Microsoft Dynamics CRM that points to libraries and folders on SharePoint where the documents will be stored.

1. Open the Microsoft Dynamics CRM record that has the documents you want to manage.

2. Under Related, click or tap Documents.

3.

If a location isn’t associated, CRM displays the Add Document Location dialog box or

Create SharePoint Location dialog box. The following table shows the possible scenarios. Depending upon what you see, perform the steps in th e “Next steps” column.

Scenario

There is at least one site record in Microsoft Dynamics

CRM that points to a site collection in SharePoint, and the site record has the List

component is installed check box selected.

What appears

Add Document Location opens with an option to specify either an absolute

URL or a relative URL.

Next steps

1. In the Name box, verify or type the name. The document location record is created in Microsoft

Dynamics CRM with this name.

2. In the Document Location box, enter the URL of the

SharePoint folder to which the location record points.

This location is associated with the Microsoft

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Scenario

There is one site record in

Microsoft Dynamics CRM but the List component is

installed check box is not selected.

Add Document Location appears with only the absolute URL option.

There is no existing location associated with the record, the URL specified in the

Document Management

Settings wizard is for a site collection on SharePoint

Server 2010 or SharePoint

Server 2013, and this site record has the List

component is installed check box selected.

What appears

Create SharePoint

Location appears.

Next steps

Dynamics CRM record to store the documents.

- OR -

Click or tapCreate a new

folder. In the Parent Site or

Location box, click or tap the

Lookup button to select an existing document location record under which the folder will be created on SharePoint.

In the Folder Name box, verify or change the name, and click or tap OK. A folder with this name is created in SharePoint.

3. Click or tap Save.

1. In the Name box, verify or type a name. The document location record is created in Microsoft

Dynamics CRM with this name.

2. In the Document Location box, enter the URL of the

SharePoint folder to which the location record points.

This location record is associated with the

Microsoft Dynamics CRM record to store the documents.

3. Click or tap Save.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM tries to automatically create a folder in SharePoint. If the folder is created successfully, Microsoft

Dynamics CRM opens Create

SharePoint Location with the

URL of the new folder.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM creates a document location record that contains the URL of this new folder and associates the document location record with the Microsoft Dynamics

CRM record.

Click or tap OK.

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A new document location record is created in Microsoft Dynamics CRM that contains the links to the folders in SharePoint. The location that you just associated is added to the Document

Locations list.

See Also

Manage SharePoint documents from within Microsoft Dynamics CRM

Create or edit document location records

Edit existing SharePoint site records

Store documents related to your Microsoft Dynamics CRM records in Microsoft SharePoint folders and manage the folders and documents from within Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Integrating

SharePoint document management with CRM makes it easy to access and share documents associated with your Microsoft Dynamics CRM records.

Tip

If you’re using CRM 2013 SP1 or later, you can take advantage of server-based

SharePoint integration between CRM Online and SharePoint Online. Server-based

SharePoint integration provides an immersive document management experience consistent with the look and feel of Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Microsoft Dynamics CRM

Online 2015 Update 1 extends server-based SharePoint integration to on-premises and hybrid SharePoint deployments. For information about setting up server-based

SharePoint integration using a wizard, see TechNet: Set up SharePoint integration with

Microsoft Dynamics CRM

If you have already set up SharePoint document management, and want to edit your site records, use the following procedure.

Edit site records

1. Make sure you have the System Administrator security role or equivalent permissions in

Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Document Management. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose SharePoint Sites.

4. Select the site record you want to modify, and then choose Edit.

5. Modify any of the following settings:



Name. Add or change the name for the site..



Owner. By default, the person who created the site is listed as the owner of the site record.



Description. Add or change the description for the site. For example, specify what documents the site contains.

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



URL Type. Choose whether you want to add an absolute (full) or relative URL for the site.



Absolute URL. To point this site record to a site collection or site in SharePoint, specify the fully qualified URL of the site collection or site. You can use this record as a parent site to create other site records with relative URLs for sites inside the site collection or sites on the same SharePoint site.



Relative URL. Use this option when you have at least one site record pointing to a site collection in SharePoint. In the Parent Site box, select an existing

Microsoft Dynamics CRM site record. If the site record that you selected as a parent site points to a site collection on SharePoint, specify the name of an existing site in the second box. If the site record that you selected as a parent site points to a site on SharePoint, specify the name of an existing subordinate site on SharePoint.

List component is installed. Choose this check box if the URL that you specified is a site collection on SharePoint Server 2010 or SharePoint Server 2013 and if the site collection has the Microsoft Dynamics CRM List component installed. This check box is available only if you use the Absolute URL option.

Tip

The List component has been deprecated in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. For information on switching from the List component to server-based integration, see TechNet: Switching from the List component or changing the deployment

6. Choose Save.

7. Choose Save and Close.

Note

To activate or deactivate a site record, on the SharePoint Sites page, select the site record, and then in the Records group, choose Activate or Deactivate.

See Also

TechNet: Set up SharePoint integration with Microsoft Dynamics CRM

TechNet: Switching from the List component or changing the deployment

Create or edit document location records

SharePoint document locations are records in Microsoft Dynamics CRM that point to a

SharePoint document library or folder.

To store documents for Microsoft Dynamics CRM records, the document libraries or folders must be in place. If Microsoft Dynamics CRM is unable to create the document libraries and folders automatically, you can manually create these in SharePoint. After you create the document libraries and folders in SharePoint, you must create document location records in Microsoft

Dynamics CRM to point to these SharePoint document libraries and folders.

1. Go to Settings > Document Management. (How do I get there?)

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2. Choose SharePoint Document Locations.

3. Choose New.

4. Specify the following information as required:



Name. Type a name for the document location. This name displays in the location list in the entity record.



Owner. By default, you are added as the owner of this location record.



Description. Type a description for the document location.



URL Type. Select whether you want to create the location with an absolute URL or relative URL.



Select Absolute URL, and in the Absolute URL box, specify the fully qualified

URL of the location of the folder in SharePoint.

- OR -



Select Relative URL. In Relative URL, to create a relative document location to the existing site or document location record, select the existing SharePoint site or document location record. In the second box, enter the name of the

SharePoint folder.



Regarding. Choose the Lookup button . In the Look Up Record dialog box, in the Look

for list, select the type of records you want to find. Search and select the record for which you want to create the location record in Microsoft Dynamics CRM, and choose OK.

5. Choose Save and Close.

Note

To activate or deactivate a document location, on the Document Locations page, select the document location record, and choose Activate or Deactivate.

See Also

Set up SharePoint document management

Create or add a location for the first time

Upgrade to server-based SharePoint integration

If you’re using the Microsoft Dynamics CRM List Component to integrate SharePoint document management with CRM Online, you can upgrade to server-based SharePoint integration. Serverbased SharePoint integration provides an immersive document management experience consistent with the look and feel of Microsoft Dynamics CRM. The new integration displays the documents in the native CRM grids and users can access SharePoint actions directly from the

CRM command bar. More information: TechNet: Set up SharePoint integration with Microsoft

Dynamics CRM

See Also

TechNet: Set up SharePoint integration with Microsoft Dynamics CRM

Enable SharePoint document management for specific entities

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Work with templates

Save time by creating templates for commons tasks like email, KB articles, and contracts.

Templates contain prefill ed data that you specify, so you don’t have to reenter the same information.

Create templates for articles

Create templates for contracts

Work with mail merge templates

Create or edit a campaign template in the CRM marketing work area

Set up entitlements quickly with templates

See Also

eBook: What’s new in customer service eBook: Use KB articles to help your customers

Create templates for articles

Article templates help you create new articles for your organization's knowledge base library. You can also create templates with boilerplate text to help article writers use consistent language and messaging.

1. Make sure you have the System Administrator security role or equivalent permissions in

Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Service Management. (How do I get there?)

3. Click or tap Article Templates.

4. To create a new article template, choose New.

5. In the Article Template Properties dialog box, type the new article title, select the language, and then click OK.

6. To add a section, in the Common Tasks area, choose Add a Section, and specify the following: a. In the Title box, type a title.

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b. In the Instructions box, type a description of the information that users should provide in this section when they use this template.

When a user creates a new article with this template, these instructions appear in the body text for this section, and disappear when the user starts typing.

7. To reposition a section from the template, select the section you want to reposition, and in the Common Tasks area, click the green arrows to move the section to the position you want.

When you select a section, its border turns green and the border lines become solid.

8. To remove the section, select the section you want to remove, and in the Common

Tasks area, click Remove a Section.

9. To edit a section, select the section you want to edit, and in the Common Tasks area, click Section Properties. Edit the title and description.

10. To format the text, font, and color of the article title, headings, and body text of each section, use the tools on the Modify toolbar.

11. When you’re done, choose Save or Save and close.

After you save the template, it is immediately available for use. If the template is not complete and you want to finish it later, you can save the template, deactivate it (make it ready-only), and then complete it later. When the template is complete, you can reactivate it.

Note

If you need to back up your templates, or export them for use in a different implementation of Microsoft Dynamics CRM, you can export them as part of exporting

customizations. More information: Export your customizations as a solution .

See Also

Create or edit a contract

eBook: Use KB articles to help your customers

Create templates for contracts

Quickly create consistent contracts prefilled with basic information like the service level and discount, and the time and days when you’ll provide support, by using a contract template in

Microsoft Dynamics CRM. For example, create a template for gold members, and then use this template to create contracts for every gold customer in your organization.

After a contract template is saved, the template is read-only and cannot be changed.

1. Make sure you have the System Administrator security role or equivalent permissions in

Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

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b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Service Management. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Contract Templates.

4. To create a new contract template, choose New.

5. Type information in the fields: a. Name: Enter a name. When you create a new contract, this name will appear in the list of available contract templates. b. Abbreviation: Enter an abbreviated name. The name will be displayed as the abbreviated contract template name. c. Billing Frequency: Select how often the customer should be billed. d. Allotment Type: Select the criteria needed to track the cases. You cannot change the allotment type for contract lines in contracts that are created from a contract template. e. Calendar: Mark the days and times your organization offers customer support. Green dots indicate when the support is offered. f. Contract Service Level: Select the service level that will be allocated to the customer. g. Description: Enter a description of the template or any notes about how this template is to be used. h. Use Discount as Percentage: If you want the discount to be calculated in a percentage, select Yes.

6. Choose Save or Save and Close.

Note

If you need to back up your templates, or export them for use in a different implementation of Microsoft Dynamics CRM, you can export them as part of exporting

customizations. More information: Export your customizations as a solution .

See Also

Create or edit a contract

Create templates for email

Save time when creating multiple email messages by making email templates. Email templates contain prefilled data that you specify, so you don’t have to reenter the same information for each article.

An email template is attached to an email activity after the activity is created. Typically, each type of email activity has its own email template type; for example, an email activity created from a case record would use a case email template. You can also create global templates that are available for any record type, or personal templates available only to you, or organizational templates available to anyone in your organization.

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1. Make sure you have the System Administrator security role or equivalent permissions in

Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Templates. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Email Templates.

4. On the Actions toolbar, click or tap New.

5. In the Email Template Type dialog box, in the Template Type list, select the type, and then click or tap OK.

Important

If you choose a specific record type, such as lead or opportunity, the template is available only for that record type. This cannot be changed. To use the same content for another record type, create a new template.

6. On the Email Templates form, enter a Title and Subject.

7. You can type a description of the template. This is not displayed to the recipient.

8. Type the text you want to send in this message. Use the Formatting toolbar to edit the text.

Tip



Although you cannot insert images or HTML directly into Microsoft Dynamics CRM email messages or email templates, you can use the copy feature in Internet Explorer to copy an image from a website and paste it into the email message or email template. The image is available as long as the website is accessible.



To include a hyperlink in an email template, type the URL including the http://, for example, http://www.microsoft.com, and then press Enter. Do not include a period or comma or a space after the URL or the link will break. A link is automatically added to the URL and the text is underlined and changed to blue.



There is no spell check built into Microsoft Dynamics CRM. There might be thirdparty solutions available. For more information, visit Microsoft Dynamics CRM

Solution Finder .



The Formatting toolbar has limited fonts and font sizes. However, you can copy and paste content from Microsoft Office Word. This allows you to take advantage of features such as spell checking and some advanced text formatting. To single-space a line of text, at the end of the line press Shift+Enter.

9. To insert data fields to display information such as a customer's name or data from a quote, from a Microsoft Dynamics CRM record, click or tap Insert/Update, and then in the Data Field Values dialog box, click or tap Add.

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10. In the Add Data Value dialog box, select the Record type and Field, and then click or tap OK.

11. Click or tap OK again to insert the data.

12. To enter customers' first and last names, you'll need to repeat these three data-insertion steps; first and last names are separate data values.

Tip

Use the Default Text box to define what text is displayed if the record does not have data for the field.

13. Click or tap Save or Save and Close.



Note

To change a shared template to a personal one or a personal template to a shared one, on the template form, on the Actions menu, click or tap Revert to Personal Template, or click or tap Make Template Available to Organization.



If you use an email template as a signature in another template, insert the signature template first. Otherwise, the Subject line will be overwritten.



If you need to back up your templates, or export them for use in a different implementation of

Microsoft Dynamics CRM, you can export them as part of exporting customizations. More

information: Export your customizations as a solution .

See Also

Work with templates

Create or edit a campaign template in the CRM marketing work area

Save time when creating multiple campaigns by creating a campaign template. Campaign templates contain prefilled data that you specify, so you don’t have to reenter the same information for each campaign. You can either create a new campaign template or copy an existing campaign to use as a template.

Create a campaign template

1. Go to Marketing > Campaigns. (How do I get there?)

2. Choose New Template.

- OR -

Open the campaign you want to edit.

3. Add information in the template form just as you do when creating a campaign. In the template form, enter the information you want to appear in campaigns based on this template, and add items such as planning tasks, campaign activities, and marketing lists.

4. Choose Save or Save and Close.

Copy an existing campaign as a template

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

Open the campaign that you want to copy. Choose Copy as Template, type a name for the template, and choose Save.

If you need to back up your templates, or use them in a different implementation of Microsoft

Dynamics CRM, you can export them as part of exporting customizations. More information:

Export your customizations as a solution

Note

This topic applies to the Marketing work area within Microsoft Dynamics CRM. The

Dynamics CRM Marketing work area provides a way for your sales force to run salesdriven marketing activities. If you use Microsoft Dynamics Marketing along with Dynamics

CRM, you might be looking for a similar topic for that product. Dynamics Marketing provides a full-scale set of functionality, automation, and analytical insights for multistage and multichannel campaigns. More information: Microsoft Dynamics Marketing Help

Center

See Also

Get started with CRM marketing

Create a marketing list in the CRM marketing work area

Create or edit a campaign in the CRM marketing work area

Create a quick campaign in the CRM marketing work area

Add an activity to a campaign in the CRM marketing work area

Add a marketing list, sales literature, or product to a campaign in the CRM marketing work area

Track a campaign response in the CRM marketing work area

Microsoft Dynamics Marketing Help Center

Set up entitlements quickly with templates

Quickly create other entitlements prefilled with the basic information like the start and end date, service level agreement (SLA), allocation type, and total term by using an entitlement template in

Microsoft Dynamics CRM. For example, create a template for a standard entitlement, and then apply this template for every standard customer in your organization.

Note

For Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online organizations, this feature is available if you've applied product updates for CRM Onli ne Spring '14, or if you’ve installed the CRM Online

2015 Update.

For on-premises CRM organizations, this feature is available if you've installed CRM

2013 Service Pack 1, or if you’ve updated to CRM 2015.

Interested in getting this feature? More information: Find your CRM administrator or support person

Create an entitlement template

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1. Make sure that you have the Customer Service Manager, System Administrator, or

System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Service Management. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Entitlement Templates.

4. To create a new entitlement template, choose + New.

-OR-

To edit an entitlement template, in the list of records, select the template, and on the command bar, choose Edit.

5. Type or modify information in the text boxes.

Hovertips provide hints about what to enter.



Entitlement Template Name



Start Date. Select the date from which the entitlement will be valid.



End Date. Select the date until which the entitlement will be valid.



Restrict based on entitlement terms. To restrict creating case when the entitlement term is over, select Yes. Otherwise, Select No.



SLA. Select an SLA record to associate the service levels or key performance indicators for the support you are providing with this entitlement.

Under Entitlement Terms, specify the term details for the entitlement.



Allocation Type. Select whether the entitlement is for number of hours or number of cases.



Decrease Remaining On. Select whether to decrease the remaining term on case creation or resolution.



Total Term. Specify the total amount of support the customer is entitled for with respect to the allocation type. For example, if the allocation type is number of cases and you specify 100 in Total term, then the customer is entitled for support up to 100 cases.

6. Choose Save.

Add entitlement channels

Use the Entitlement Channels section to define the channels your customers are entitled to, and track the customer support term for each channel separately. For example, to use phone and email as support channels, and restrict them to 80 and 20 hours respectively, create an entitlement channel for each of them.

Note

You must save the template record before you can add entitlement channels to the template.

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1. In the Entitlement Channel section, choose +.

2. Specify the total terms that you want to allot to the particular channel.

The remaining term is auto-calculated and shows the total number of hours or cases remaining for the customer’s entitlement.

Associate a product with the entitlement template

If you want the entitlement template to be applicable to specific products for an individual customer, associate a product to the template.

1. While in the template record, in the Products section, choose +.

2. In the Search box, type the first few letters of the name of the product that you want to associate with the template.

If a product isn’t available, choose New to create a new product record.

See Also

Define service level agreements (SLAs)

Create an entitlement to define the support terms for a customer

Work with mail merge templates

You can use mail merge templates with Microsoft Office Word to create customer-ready letters, faxes, e-mail messages, and quotes.

Microsoft Office Word templates are created and edited in Microsoft Office Word, but can be uploaded to Microsoft Dynamics CRM to use with mail merge and share with other users. Only

Microsoft Office Word .xml documents can be used as templates. To learn more about how to create mail merge templates, see the online Help for Microsoft Office Word.

1. Make sure you have the System Administrator security role or equivalent permissions in

Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Templates. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Mail Merge Templates.

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4. To create a new mail merge template, choose New.

5. In the Mail Merge Templates form, enter a Name and an Associated Entity (record type).

6. You can enter a description of the template. This is not displayed to the recipient.

7. Enter the Ownership and Owner information. Use the handy tooltips as a guide.

8. If you have enabled additional languages, you can select one for the template.

9. To attach the template, choose Browse, search for the template on your computer, and then choose Attach. Only .xml documents can be uploaded.

10.

When you’re done, choose Save and close.

Note

To change a personal template to a shared one, after you save the record on the template form, on the More Actions menu, choose Make Available to Organization. To revert the template to a personal one, choose Make Personal.

See Also

Work with templates

Create a Microsoft Word mail-merge document with CRM for Outlook

You can use Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook with Microsoft Office Word to create documents for your customers that display Microsoft Dynamics CRM data.

With mail merge, you can:



Create new templates or use an existing template to generate form letters for yourself or, with the appropriate permissions, for the whole organization.



Send form letters or form email messages to contacts, accounts, or marketing mailing lists.



Resend old letters to new recipients.



Create faxes.



Create quotes.

In Dynamics CRM for Outlook, only one mail merge can be run at a time. If you receive the message "Microsoft Dynamics CRM Mail Merge is already running" and want to discontinue a mail merge, close and then reopen Microsoft Office Word or Internet Explorer.

To use mail merge, your email format must be HTML.

Record types that use mail merge:



Account



Campaign

To use mail merge with a campaign, you must first distribute a mail campaign activity to a selected marketing list.



Contact



Lead



Opportunity



List Member in Marketing List



Quick Campaign

In Dynamics CRM for Outlook, you can create a mail merge, and then at the end of the process, create a quick campaign.

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

Quote

With mail merge, you can print only one quote at a time.

Create a mail merge document

1. In Dynamics CRM for Outlook, open the list of records you want.

Tip

This list can be the results of an Create, edit, or save an Advanced Find search .

2. In the list, select the record you want to add to the mail-merge recipient list.

3. On the Add tab, in the Marketing group, click or tap Mail Merge.

4. If you have other languages installed, you can select a language to filter the list of templates.

In the Mail Merge dialog box, select the type of document you want to use.

5. Choose whether you want to start with a blank document or a template. If you select a template option, click or tap the Lookup button to select a template.

New mail merge templates are created in the Settings area. More information: Work with mail merge templates

6. If necessary, you can add or delete data fields.

Microsoft Office Word supports up to 62 data fields, of which Dynamics CRM for Outlook reserves two data fields to store the primary key and the record owner.

7. Click or tap Download.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM automatically opens a Word document. You may need to select

Microsoft Office Word in the task bar.

This is not your mail-merge document. This is an interim page.

8. In the Mail Merge Recipient dialog box, verify that the list is accurate, and then click or tap OK.

9. To continue the mail merge, follow the instructions provided by the Mail Merge pane. For more information, see the Microsoft Office Word Help documentation for mail merge.

Tip



To display the information you want and select the format, in the Mail Merge wizard, click or tap Address Block and then Greeting Line.



To add data fields to display more information, click or tap More Items. You can use up to 62 data fields.

10. If you have either created a new template or updated an existing template, you can upload the template.



To save the document as a template, on the Complete the merge pane, click or tap

Upload Template to CRM.

11. If you have saved the document as a template, you can go back and edit the template with Settings > Business > Templates. Click or tap your template to review and edit it.

Privacy notices

To use Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook, you are required to sign in by using your credentials (an email address and password). You may choose to save this information locally so that you are not prompted for your credentials each time you open Outlook. If you do choose to save this information locally, CRM for Outlook will automatically connect to Microsoft Dynamics

322

CRM Online every time you open Outlook.

After the first time you sign in and use CRM for Outlook, the connection between your computer and CRM Online will always be open when you have access to the Internet. You may choose to turn off the connection between your computer and CRM only by using a configuration setting, but if you do turn off the connection, CRM for Outlook may exhibit decreased performance.

If you use CRM for Outlook to track email, the email thread will be visible to users in your organization who have permission to view it.

For every email you receive, CRM for Outlook will send CRM Online the sender’s email address, the recipient’s email address, and the subject line of the message. This allows CRM Online to validate whether or not a particular mail should be stored by the CRM Online service. When you track an item, a copy of that item will be maintained by the CRM service and will be visible to other users in your organization who have the appropriate permissions. When you untrack an item, that copy is automatically deleted from CRM Online only if you own the item.

If you use Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, when you use the Sync to Outlook feature, the CRM data you are syncing is “exported” to Outlook. A link is maintained between the information in

Outlook and the information in CRM Online to ensure that the information remains current between the two. Outlook Sync downloads only the relevant CRM record IDs to use when a user attempts to track and set regarding an Outlook item. The company data is not stored on the device.

An administrator determines whether your organization’s users are permitted to sync CRM data to Outlook by using security roles.

See Also

Work with templates

Send bulk email to customers

Go mobile

CRM for Phones and Tablets User's Guide

Install CRM for phones and tablets

Sign in to CRM for phones and tablets

Work offline in CRM for phones and tablets

Sign out of or reconfigure CRM for phones and tablets

Get around in CRM for phones and tablets

Manage accounts, contacts, leads, and opportunities in CRM for phones and tablets

Nurture leads through the sales process in CRM for phones and tablets

Pin your favorites in CRM for phones and tablets

Email and call customers in CRM for phones and tablets

Search in CRM for phones and tablets

Track your progress with charts in CRM for phones and tablets

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Manage activities in CRM for phones and tablets

Track customer service cases in CRM for phones and tablets

Use Cortana voice commands in CRM for phones

Get help for CRM for phones and tablets

Preview feature: iFrame and web resource support in CRM for tablets

Get started with CRM for phones express

Install the CRM for phones express app

Take a tour of CRM for phones express

Admin and troubleshooting for CRM for phones and tablets

Secure your mobile data with Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Good

Customize CRM for phones

Troubleshoot a CRM for Windows 8.1 app start-up error

Troubleshoot error code 800c0019 on Windows Phones

CRM for Phones and Tablets User's Guide

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Get started

Install the mobile apps

Sign in

Work offline

Sign out

Connect with your customers

Get around in the apps

Manage your accounts, contacts, leads, and opportunities

Nurture leads through the sales process

Pin your favorites

Email and call customers

Search, track progress, and more

Search in the mobile apps

Track your progress with charts

Manage your activities

Track customer service cases

Use Cortana voice commands

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For admins

Get help and troubleshooting info

TechNet: Set up CRM for phones and tablets

Need the previous version of the phone app?

Get started with CRM for phones express

Install CRM for phones and tablets

Keep track of your contacts, leads, and activities on the go with the Microsoft Dynamics CRM for phones and Microsoft Dynamics CRM for tablets apps. You get the same intuitive experience on both your phone and tablet.

First things first: Is your mobile device supported?

If your CRM admin already told you your device can run CRM for phones or tablets, you’re good to go. If you’re not sure—

Check the list of supported devices on TechNet

Install the app from your device’s app store

Choose the download link for your device:

CRM for phones app CRM for tablets app

Looking for a different version of the CRM for phones app?

If you or your organization isn’t ready to use the latest CRM for phones app, you can still use the earlier version, which is now called CRM for phones express.

Get CRM for phones express

Having trouble with your app?

If you’re having trouble with your mobile app, it’s a good idea to contact your IT department. If you want to do some troubleshooting on your own, try these resources:

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

Start up error on a tablet If you got an error while starting CRM for tablets that looks like this: “Additional steps may be needed to configure Microsoft Dynamics CRM for this organization. Please contact your system administrator,” you need to install the

Windows 8 app , and notify your CRM administrator that you received this error.

If you’re an admin trying to diagnose this error, see

Troubleshoot a CRM for Windows 8.1 app start-up error .



The app’s not working well on your device If your app isn’t working well on your mobile device, be sure to check the compatibility information in TechNet: Support for CRM for phones and CRM for tablets .



Something else is wrong For all other problems, see to know about CRM for phones and tablets .

TechNet: Troubleshooting and things

Note

Microsoft Dynamics CRM for phones is available for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online

2015 Update 1. If your organization hasn’t yet updated, you can still use the previous version of the phone app, Microsoft Dynamics CRM for phones express. For more

information, see Get started with CRM for phones express .

User’s Guide

Sign in

Privacy notice

Licensed Dynamics CRM Online users with specific Security Roles (CEO

– Business Manager,

Sales Manager, Salesperson, System Administrator, System Customizer, and Vice President of

Sales) are automatically authorized to access the service by using CRM for tablets, as well as other clients.

An administrator has full control (at the user security role or entity level) over the ability to access and the level of authorized access associated with the tablet client. Users can then access CRM

Online by using CRM for tablets, and Customer Data will be cached on the device running the specific client.

Based on the specific settings at the user security and entity levels, the types of Customer Data that can be exported from CRM Online and cached on an end user’s device include record data, record metadata, entity data, entity metadata, and business logic.

See Also

Mobile CRM User’s Guide

TechNet: Phone and tablet support

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Sign in to CRM for phones and tablets

Now that you’ve installed your app, let’s get started! First, you need to sign in. You’ll need your

Microsoft Dynamic s CRM web address, user name, and password. If you don’t have any of these, contact your CRM admin.

Find your CRM administrator or support person

1. Open your app, type in your CRM web address, and tap .

2. Type in your user name and password, and tap Sign in.

A few basic navigation tips appear while your app starts up.

Note

Microsoft Dynamics CRM for phones is available for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online

2015 Update 1. If your organization hasn’t yet updated, you can still use the previous version of the phone app, Microsoft Dynamics CRM for phones express. For more

information, see Get started with CRM for phones express .

Install the app

Work offline

See Also

Mobile CRM User’s Guide

Work offline in CRM for phones and tablets

How to

Stay productive when your phone doesn’t have service, or when your tablet’s not connected to the Internet. The mobile apps keep records that you’ve used recently, so you can still access them even when you’re disconnected.

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You can also capture new information by creating drafts of new records like accounts, contacts, and activities. When you’re connected again, save the records that you created while you were offline.

Your offli ne experience might look a little different than when you’re connected, because charts and some images aren’t available offline.

Reconnect your device to CRM

Once you have phone service or Internet again, tap the offline indicator on your device to reconnect.

Save your drafts to make them available

While offline, you can view and create records as you normally would. Once you’re reconnected, the app tells you that you have unsaved drafts. Be sure to review and save them as soon as you can. Any drafts you don’t save are only available to you on your mobile device.

1. From the menu, tap Draft Records.

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2. Select each record individually, review the record and make any necessary changes, and then tap Save.

A few limitations for creating draft records

There are a few things you should know about working with offline drafts in the mobile apps:



While offline, you can only create new records. To edit existing records, you need to be connected. However, you can edit records that you created while you were offline.



While disconnected, you can only create standalone records or associate records to those that are available for offline access on your device. For example, you can create an opportunity for an account only if that account was created be fore you went offline, and if it’s available for offline access. You can’t create an opportunity for an account while offline if you also created the account while offline.



When you’re offline, you can’t set the value for lookup fields. If you create a record that is associated with another record, such as adding a phone call to a contact, some lookup fields might populate automatically (in this case, the To and From fields might pre-populate). You need to fill these fields in once you re-connect while you review and save your drafts.

About cached data on your device

The records you’ve recently used are kept on your mobile device, and are also known as cached data. Cached data is specific to your device, so if you use both the phone and tablet apps, the ca ched data on each device will be different, depending on the records you’ve viewed on each one.

Warning

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Cached data is not encrypted. You can use BitLocker to encrypt the entire hard drive on a Windows 8 device.

If you’re prompted to sign in while you’re disconnected

If you’re prompted to sign in to CRM while you’re disconnected, and if you tap the Back button on the signin page, you’ll still be able to work in offline mode on iPad and Windows 8 tablets until you can reconnect. On all phones and Android tablets, however, you can no longer work in offline mode and will be redirected to the

Let’s get started page until you can reconnect and sign in again.

Working offline with on-premises CRM deployments

If you’re using your CRM for tablets app with Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2015 (on-premises), you can continue to use CRM for tablets while disconnected. However, with the Windows 8 app, once you close CRM for tablets (like when you start another app), you can’t use CRM for tablets until you can connect to the Internet. With the Windows 8.1 app, you can continue to access your data even if you close the app. If you’re not sure whether your organization has an on-premises deployment, contact your CRM admin to find out.

Find your CRM administrator or support person

Note

Before installing the Windows 8.1 app, you need to make sure that your organization is ready for you to install it. If your organization isn’t ready, you can still use the Windows 8 app on a Windows 8.1 tablet.

Install the Windows 8 app on your tablet

Sign in

Sign out

Watch the video

https://www.youtube.com/embed/MgvdfRkVheY

See Also

Mobile CRM User’s Guide

Sign out of or reconfigure CRM for phones and tablets

If you share a tablet with another person, or if you need to sign in to a different organization or

CRM server (for example, if you need to sign in to a test installation), you don’t have to uninstall and reinstall the CRM for phones and tablets app. You can use either the sign out or the reconfigure options instead.

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Sign out of the CRM for tablets app

If you share a tablet with another person, this is the option you should choose, so you can sign out and another person can sign in.

1. From your Home page, tap on the phone app or on an iPad or Android tablet. On a Windows

8 tablet, swipe in from the right to open the charms bar.

2. Tap Settings.

3. Tap Sign Out.

You can sign in again as the same or different user, or you can sign in to a different organization.

Reconfigure the CRM for tablets app

If you’re an admin, tester, or trainer, this is most likely the best option for you to choose, so you can sign into a different environment, like a CRM sandbox installation.

1. Tap on the phone app or on an iPad or Android tablet. On a Windows 8 tablet, swipe in from the right to open the charms bar.

2. Tap Settings.

3. Tap Reconfigure.

You can now sign in to a different server or organization.

What’s the difference between sign out and reconfigure?

Sign out

Signing out deletes data and authentication tokens from the cache, and it also deletes cookies on iPad and Android tablets. Signing out doesn’t delete metadata. This means that if a user signs in again after signing out, a metadata sync is not required before using the application again, which can save a few minutes when you sign in.

Caution

CRM for tablets makes a best effort to delete data and authentication tokens from the cache; it is not guaranteed that this will occur in every situation.

Reconfigure

Reconfiguring deletes all data and metadata from the cache.

If you sign out from one organization and sign in to another, and use the Reconfigure option on the second one, your metadata will still remain for the first organization. If you want to remove your metadata from the first one, you’ll need to sign in to it and use the Reconfigure option there, as well.

Caution

CRM for tablets makes a best effort to delete data and metadata from the cache; it is not guaranteed that this will occur in every situation.

A note about pinned tiles

If you’re using a Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 phone or tablet and had pinned tiles on your

Start screen, those tiles will remain whether you use the Sign Out or Reconfigure option.

These tiles will only work for users who have access to that record or view, however. For example, if you sign in as user1 from org1 and pinned a tile to Start, someone who signs in as user2 from org2 and taps that tile will receive an error message saying the record isn’t available.

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Work offline

Get around

See Also

Mobile CRM User’s Guide

Get around in CRM for phones and tablets

How to

When you first sign in to CRM for phones and tablets, you’ll see your home page for CRM for tablets, which provides a quick overview of your CRM data, including different views and charts.

Navigation is intuitive, and it’s easy to view or create new records right from your Home screen or dashboard. Just swipe left and right to view more items.

Display the menu

When you want to view all of your accounts, contacts, leads, or other records, use the menu.

Tap the menu icon on the top of the page (on the right in the phone app, and on the left in the tablet app), and then select the type of record you want to work with.

Display the command bar

You can add a new record, change views, or do other tasks from the command bar.

If you’re using the phone app, or if you’re using the tablet app on an iPad or Android device, tap

on the bottom of the page.

If you’re using a Windows 8 tablet, swipe up from the bottom of the screen.

On any device, you can also press and hold an item to display the command bar.

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The command bar is context-sensitive, and the available commands change depending on where you are in the app. When you display the command bar for a specific item (when you press and hold the item), the commands that appear are relevant to that item.

Switch to a different dashboard

If you want to use a different dashboard, it

’s easy to switch back and forth.

Just tap Dashboards in the menu and then select the dashboard you want to use.

When you want to go back to your Home screen, tap Home.

To create new dashboards in CRM and enable them for use in CRM for phones and tablets, see

Create a dashboard .

Use your browser if you need a feature not in the CRM for tablets app

The following features in the web application aren’t available in CRM for phones and tablets:



Yammer and activity feeds



Bing Maps integration



SharePoint document libraries



Custom web resources and iFrames



Parature, from Microsoft knowledge base integration

If you need to use these features or want to view a record in the web application, you can do that in your tablet’s browser. (You can only do this in the tablet app.)

1. Press and hold the record or view you want to see.

2. Tap Open in browser.

3. Sign in to the web application when it appears. The web app goes right to the record that you were working on in the mobile app.

A note about using the mobile app on Android tablets

Navigation on Android tablets is a little different than on iPad or Windows 8 tablets.

When you scroll on an Android tablet by swiping left or right, the app scrolls a whole page at a time instead of a partial page. You can also use the arrow buttons at the bottom of the screen to scroll left or right.

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Depending on where you are in the app, the Android Back button takes you to the previous form, cancels dialog boxes or error messages, closes the keyboard, or performs other actions depending on context.

Sign out

Manage records

Watch the video

https://www.youtube.com/embed/MgvdfRkVheY

See Also

Mobile User’s Guide

Manage accounts, contacts, leads, and opportunities in CRM for phones and tablets

How to

As a sales professional, you’ll be working a lot with the following types of records:



Accounts Account records contain information about the companies you do business with.



Contacts Contact records contain information about the people you know and work with.

Usually, multiple contacts are associated with one account. Contacts could include people responsible for making purchasing decisions, people in charge of paying invoices, support technicians, or anyone you work with at the company.



Leads Leads are potential sales, and you or your company can get leads from many different sources. For example, you can generate sales leads from marketing campaigns, inquiries from your website, mailing lists, social media posts, or in person at a trade convention.



Opportunities

When you qualify a lead, it becomes an opportunity, or a deal that you’re getting ready to close.

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CRM is easy to customize to match the way your organization does business, so it

’s possible you might see different types of records in your CRM system.

Here are a few quick tips to view, add, or change records in CRM for phones and tablets.

Work with records on the dashboard

To do this:

View all the records for a record type on the dashboard in CRM for tablets (for example,

Leads).

Do this:

Tap the header of the list. This opens your records in a grid view on your tablet.

Open the form for a record on the dashboard. Tap the record.

Create a new record from the dashboard. Tap the + on the right side of the header of the type of record you want to create (for example, My Activities).

Change views for a list on the dashboard



In CRM for tablets, press and hold the name of the list and tap Select View on the command bar.



In CRM for phones, tap

… and tap Select View on the command bar.

Create or edit stakeholders or sales team members

1. In Stakeholders or Sales Team for a lead or opportunity, tap the New Item button +.

2. Enter a contact name to look up in the dropdown that appears.

3.

Either select from the contacts that appear or, if it’s a new contact, tap the Add button and complete the information in the form that appears.

4. Select a role for the contact.

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Resize columns

You can resize columns in a grid in the CRM for tablets app, and the app will remember your settings the next time you view that grid.

1. On the command bar, choose Resize Columns.

2. Drag the column handles that appear above the grid to the width you want.

Sort items

You can also sort items in a grid in the CRM for tablets app:



To sort in ascending order by a column, tap that column’s header.



To sort in descending order, tap the column’s header again.

Get around

Sales process

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Watch the video

https://www.youtube.com/embed/MgvdfRkVheY

See Also

M obile User’s Guide

Nurture leads through the sales process in CRM for phones and tablets

How to

Move customers through the sales process, from lead to close, with the process bar in the CRM for phones and tablets apps. You complete each step in the process by entering data or marking a step complete in the process bar. When you’ve completed all the steps in one stage, you can move on to the next one. The process bar highlights the stage you’re in so you know where you are in the process, and shows you what to do next.

For example, in the preceding illustration, you start the process with a lead. In the first stage

(Qualify), you qualify or disqualify the lead based on criteria established by your company. If you qualify the lead, it’s converted to an opportunity. The process bar then walks you through the rest of the stages: Develop, Propose, and Close.

The process bar helps you and everyone on your sales team follow best practices. The process bar that your company uses might have different stages than the one illustrated, to match the way you do business.

Qualify a lead

To qualify a lead and convert it to an opportunity, choose Qualify on the command bar.

Disqualify a lead

To disqualify and close a lead, choose Disqualify on the command bar and then select a reason.

Reopen a lead you thought wasn’t interested

To reopen a closed lead, select Reopen Opportunity on the command bar.

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Manage records

Pin your favorites

Watch the video

https://www.youtube.com/embed/MgvdfRkVheY

See Also

Mobile User’s Guide

Pin your favorites in CRM for phones and tablets

How to

Pinned tiles provide quick access to your records, contacts, views, and dashboards. You can pin as many tiles as you want to the Pinned Tiles section of your Home screen or to the Start screen of Windows 8 devices.

With Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2015, you can also pin dashboards to your Home screen or to the

Start screen of Windows 8 devices.

Press and hold the item you want to pin, or display the command bar while viewing a record, and then choose Pin to Home.

Create a communication card

Communication cards provide a quick way to email or call your contact just by tapping the email address or phone number on the card. Communication cards appear on contact forms, but you can also create a communication card from a contact in the Pinned Tiles section of your Home screen by expanding the pinned tile.

Press and hold a contact tile that’s pinned to the dashboard, and then tap Larger on the command bar.

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Sales process

Email and call

Watch the video

https://www.youtube.com/embed/MgvdfRkVheY

See Also

Mobile User’s Guide

Email and call customers in CRM for phones and tablets

How to

Call or send email to your customers easily from the mobile apps. Tap any phone number in a record to start a call, or on the communication card for a contact, choose the email icon to send an email, or the phone icon to start a call.

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In CRM for tablets, choosing the phone icon starts a Skype call. In CRM for phones, it starts a phone call.

When you’re finished with your call, the app prompts you to enter details about the call. If you’re using a Windows 8 tablet, you can enter details while you’re on the call, because Skype snaps to the screen next to the CRM for tablets app.

Pin your favorites

Search

Watch the video

www.youtube.com/embed/MgvdfRkVheY

See Also

Mobile CRM User’s Guide

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Search in CRM for phones and tablets

How to

To launch a search, tap on the top of the page, type one or more letters in the search box, and tap next to the search box. The following image shows where you can find search in Microsoft

Dynamics CRM for phones.

Search results include only records that begin with the letters you type. For example, if you want to search for “Alpine Ski House,” type alp in the search box. If you type ski, the record won’t show up.

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Important

Although you can use wildcard characters in your search (such as *ski

), it’s best to avoid wildcards due to possible performance issues.

Filter search results

To filter results by record type, choose a record type from the Filter with: drop-down box.

Email and call

Use charts

Watch the video

https://www.youtube.com/embed/MgvdfRkVheY

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See Also

Mobile CRM User’s Guide

Track your progress with charts in CRM for phones and tablets

How to

Your charts give you a quick view of how you’re tracking to your goals. They’re interactive, so you can tap an area of a chart to see the data for that area, or you can tap the area outside the chart to see the data for the entire chart. In the phone app, swipe left and right to view the chart and its associated records.

Tap any of the records to see more information.

Change the chart view

Changing the chart view shows you a different breakdown of your data, such as opportunities opened within a specific time period.

1. On the command bar, choose Select View.

2. Select the view you want.

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Show a different chart

You can change the chart to show data for a different type of record in much the same way.

1. Choose Select Chart on the command bar.

2. Select the chart you want to display.

Search

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Manage activities

Watch the video

https://www.youtube.com/embed/MgvdfRkVheY

See Also

Mobile User’s Guide

Manage activities in CRM for phones and tablets

Use activities to keep track of all your customer communications. For example, during the course of a sale, you might send emails, make phone calls, set up appointments, or assign tasks. All of these are considered activities, and the CRM for phones and tablets apps help you track them so you don’t miss an important follow-up activity.

On your dashboard, My Activities shows your activities that are past due or due today in a darker color than those that aren’t. You can do the following from your activity feed:



To view an activity, select it from your My Activities feed on the dashboard.



To add an activity, tap + at the top of your My Activities feed.



To mark an activity complete, tap the check box next to the activity in the feed.



To see a subset of your activities:



On a tablet, press and hold My Activities and tap Select View on the command bar.



On a phone, tap Select View on the command bar.

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Use charts

Track customer service cases

See Also

Mobile User’s Guide

Track customer service cases in CRM for phones and tablets

As a Customer Service Manager, use the CRM for phones and tablets app to keep track of activities in your customer service organization while on the go. The app's dashboard lets you track your team's performance, monitor high priority cases, and route cases from your mobile device.

Open a case in the web app to work on it in more detail

If you need to perform more actions on a case than you can in the mobile app, you can easily open the case in your browser.

1. On the case screen, open the command bar.

2. Tap Open in browser.

3. Sign in to the web application when it appears. The web app goes right to the case you had open in the mobile app.

Differences in the customer service area between the web app and the mobile apps

CRM for phones and tablets is optimized for Customer Service Managers who are always on the move and need to keep track of activities in their customer service organization. Due to these optimizations, the service areas in the mobile apps have a different appearance and functionality than the web app in some cases, as shown in the following table:

Web app feature

Merge cases

Difference in the mobile apps

Not available.

KB article lookup

Queue filter in Queue Items list

Queue Item Details button on forms for items that you can route to a queue; for example, cases

Similar Cases area on the case form

Not available (appears as locked in the app).

Not available. However, you can change the view so that it filters items by queues. More information: TechNet: Customize CRM for phones and tablets

Not available.

Not available.

Customer contact card on the case form Tap the customer name on the case form to view the customer record and communication card.

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Web app feature

Case origin icons on the Cases list

Subject lookup in Case Details area

Find Case step in Identify, Similar Cases step in Research, and Resolve Case step in

Resolve case business process flow

Entitlement lookup

Parature, from Microsoft knowledge base integration

Manage activities

Use Cortana voice commands

Difference in the mobile apps

The Cases list shows the list of cases without the icons. The case origin appears on the individual case form.

Instead of selecting from a tree view, type in letters to start a search.

These actions don’t appear in the case process. However, to resolve a case, you can use Resolve in the command bar.

You can’t filter results in entitlement lookup.

Not available in the mobile apps.

See Also

Mobile CRM User’s Guide

Use Cortana voice commands in CRM for phones

You can use the following CRM voice commands with Cortana if you’re using Cortana on

Windows 8.1 phones. Cortana voice commands for CRM are only available in English at this time.

To do this in CRM

Open an item

Show a view

Say this

CRM open <item> called <item name>.

Example:

“CRM open account called Contoso.”

Variation:

“CRM open account named Contoso.”

CRM show <view name>.

Example:

“CRM show my active accounts.”

Variation:

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To do this in CRM

Search for an item

Create a new item

Create a phone call activity

Create an appointment

Create a task

Open task list

Say this

“CRM show me my active accounts.”

CRM find <item> called <name>.

Example:

“CRM find account called Contoso.”

Variation:

“CRM find account named Contoso.”

CRM create <item type> called <item name>.

Example:

“CRM create contact called Maria Campbell.”

Variation:

“CRM add new contact named Maria

Campbell.”

CRM remind me to call <call name>.

Example:

“CRM remind me to call Maria Campbell to set up appointment.”

CRM schedule meeting to <subject>.

Example:

“CRM schedule meeting to discuss quote with

Maria Campbell.”

CRM remind me to <task name>.

Example:

“CRM remind me to email Maria Campbell.”

Variations:

“CRM follow up Maria Campbell.”

“CRM follow up with Maria Campbell.”

“CRM follow up on Contoso.”

CRM what should I do next?

Example:

“CRM what should I do next?”

Note

The create commands work only with Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2015 and Microsoft

Dynamics CRM Online 2015 Update. The other commands work with Microsoft Dynamics

CRM 2013 and Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online as well as Microsoft Dynamics CRM

2015 and Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online 2015 Update.

For more information about using Cortana, see Meet Cortana .

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Track customer service cases

Get help

Privacy notice

Cortana does not have access to the data stored in the CRM database. Cortana only captures your voice commands. When you make a voice command through Cortana, in order to both understand the request and improve Microsoft speech recognition-related products and services,

Microsoft uses proprietary technologies such as, for example, acoustic and natural language processing models to record and interpret your user’s request. Voice-dictated Bing search queries are treated like other text-based search requests and may be used to improve Bing search results; however, the CRM-voice-dictated commands listed here are not used to provide advertising. For more information about privacy and Cortana, see Cortana and my privacy FAQ .

If you are an administrator, you can manage enterprise access to Cortana with the

PolicyManager configuration service provider through a separate device management service.

The policy for this is set at the phone level and can’t be set just for the CRM for phones app. For more information, see the MSDN topic PolicyManager configuration service provider .

See Also

Mobile User’s Guide

Meet Cortana

Get help for CRM for phones and tablets

Get help while using the app

If you ever need to get help while you’re in the mobile app, do one of the following:



If you’re using the phone app, or if you’re using the tablet app on an iPad or Android device, tap Help on the command bar.



If you’re using the tablet app on a Windows 8 tablet, swipe in from the right to open the charms bar, and then tap Help.

Get deployment and troubleshooting help

If you’re an admin looking for resources to help you set up or troubleshoot CRM for phones and tablets, try these resources:

TechNet: Set up CRM for phones and tablets

TechNet: Set up CRM for phones express

TechNet: Create and edit mobile forms

TechNet: Troubleshoot problems with CRM for tablets

TechNet: Troubleshoot problems with CRM for phones express

TechNet: Troubleshoot problems with CRM in your mobile browser

Troubleshoot a CRM for Windows 8.1 app start-up error

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Use Cortana voice commands

User’s Guide

See Also

Mobile CRM User’s Guide

Preview feature: iFrame and web resource support in CRM for tablets

Important information about preview features

Preview features aren’t meant for production use and are subject to separate

Supplemental

Terms of Use for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online Previews .

The preview release of this feature is intended to facilitate early development and testing of touch-enabled controls for Microsoft Dynamics CRM for tablets. This preview also helps the CRM product team to collect feedback from the field.

Note

Microsoft doesn’t provide support for this preview feature.

iFrames and web resources in CRM for tablets

You can add iFrames and web resources in forms and dashboards in the Microsoft Dynamics

CRM web app. This preview feature enables iFrames and web resources in CRM for tablets as well.

Issues and feedback

Microsoft Connect provides a collaboration platform for gathering actionable feedback to build and improve best in class products and services. Please use this channel to report issues, offer suggestions, and provide any other product feedback for this preview feature.

Availability

This feature is available for preview only for selected geographic instances and is not available for on-premises versions of Microsoft Dynamics CRM. In addition, this feature is only available for

Android and iOS tablets that are currently supported by CRM for tablets.

This preview feature is only available in Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online 2015 Update and later versions.

Enable iFrames and web resources for CRM for tablets

To enable this preview feature, you must be a CRM administrator.

1. Go to Settings > Administration. (How do I get there?)

2. Choose System Settings, and then choose the Customization tab.

3. Under Preview feature, choose agreement terms to review the Supplemental Terms of

Use for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online Previews.

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4. Under Preview Mode, select both check boxes to enable web resources and iFrames in

CRM for tablets.

For more information about using this preview feature, see MSDN: Create web resources and iFrame content for use with the CRM for tablets client .

Known issues



You can’t use popups for authentication or other purposes from within iFrames and web resources on CRM for tablets.



Authentication for embedded Office 365 sites isn’t available.



Errors and memory leaks in iFrames and web resources can cause CRM for tablets to stop responding, and can cause client side data loss.



This preview feature can adversely affect application performance.



Microsoft Silverlight and image web resources aren’t available on CRM for tablets.

See Also

Supplemental Terms of Use for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online Previews

MSDN: Create web resources and iFrame content for use with the CRM for tablets client

Get started with CRM for phones express

Microsoft Dynamics CRM for phones express is the previous version of the phone app for

Microsoft Dynamics CRM. If you’re looking for the most recent, full-featured version of the phone

app, see the CRM for Phones and Tablets User's Guide .

CRM for phones express helps you stay connected and productive wherever you are. Stay up to date with your customer info

—even when you’re on the go. Arrive prepared for every appointment, and update your notes, tasks, contacts, accounts, leads, and opportunities while the details are still fresh in your mind.

You can do the following with the CRM for phones express app:



See your CRM data quickly displayed and optimized for a mobile screen.



Add and modify contacts, tasks, and notes as well as other relevant sales data.



View activity feeds and see addresses on Bing Maps (Windows Phone only).



Get back to recently viewed records even when you’re not connected (Windows Phone only).

The following articles provide more information about how to install and use CRM for phones express:



Install the CRM for phones express app



Take a tour of CRM for phones express



Use Cortana voice commands in CRM for phones

 eBook: Go mobile with CRM for phones express

See Also

TechNet: Troubleshooting and things to know about CRM for phones express

TechNet: Set up CRM for phones

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TechNet: Create and edit mobile forms

Install the CRM for phones express app

While on the go, you can use Microsoft Dynamics CRM on your mobile phone with the Microsoft

Dynamics CRM for phones express app.

CRM for phones express is the previous version of the phone app for Microsoft Dynamics CRM. If you’re looking for the most recent, full-featured version of the phone app, see the CRM for

Phones and Tablets User's Guide.

Before you can use the app, you need to check to make sure your CRM admin has set up CRM for phones express for you. Your admin might have provided you with instructions on how to install and start the app, but if not, you can use these instructions.

Install CRM for phones

If your admins have told you to download the CRM for phones express app, choose the link in the following table for your p hone. The link will take you to the app in your phone’s app store.

Phone

Windows Phone

Apple iPhone

Android phone

App link

Windows Store

Apple App store

Google Play

Start CRM for phones express

1. Open the CRM for phones express app.

2. On the Get Started screen, type your company’s CRM web address.

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3. Tap Go to continue.

Having trouble with your app?

If you’re having trouble with your CRM for phones express app, it’s a good idea to contact your IT department. If you want to do some troubleshooting on your own, try these resources:



If your app isn’t working well on your phone, be sure to check the compatibility information in

TechNet: Mobile phone support for Microsoft Dynamics CRM .



For specific problems and error messages, see TechNet: Troubleshooting and things to know about CRM for phones express .

Privacy notice

Licensed Dynamics CRM Online users with specific Security Roles (CEO

– Business Manager,

Sales Manager, Salesperson, System Administrator, System Customizer, and Vice President of

Sales) are automatically authorized to access the service by using CRM for phones, as well as other clients.

An administrator has full control (at the user security role or entity level) over the ability to access and the level of authorized access associated with the phone client. Users can then access CRM

Online by using CRM for phones, and Customer Data will be cached on the device running the specific client.

Based on the specific settings at the user security and entity levels, the types of Customer Data that can be exported from CRM Online and cached on an end user’s device include record data, record metadata, entity data, entity metadata, and business logic.

See Also

Get started with CRM for phones express

Take a tour of CRM for phones express

TechNet: Troubleshooting and things to know about CRM for phones express

TechNet: Set up CRM for phones express

Take a tour of CRM for phones express

If you’re new to Microsoft Dynamics CRM for phones express, check out this quick tour to see how to navigate or work in the app.

When you first open CRM for phones express, you’ll see a list of record types such as accounts, contacts, and leads.

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Follow the instructions here to navigate, search, and do other common tasks.

Use Cortana on Windows 8 phones

You can speak your CRM for phones express commands if you’re using Cortana on Windows 8.1 phones.

For a list of commands you can use with Cortana, see Use Cortana voice commands in CRM for phones .

For more information about using Cortana, see Meet Cortana .

For more information about privacy and Cortana, see Cortana and my privacy FAQ .

Display a list of records



From the list of record types, tap the one you want, for example Contacts.

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Search for records from a list

1. Tap the Search button at the bottom of the screen. Type in the text to search for.

2. Tap the Search button .

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Search for records from a lookup field

1. In a lookup field, tap the Search button .

2. Tap Look Up More Records.

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3. Enter a few characters to search and tap Find.

4. Select the record and tap Done.

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Change the current view



Tap the view name and select the view you want.

Scroll down to see more records if you don’t see the one you want.

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Start a call or email



Tap a phone number or email address to start a call or launch your email app.

Mark activities complete

Follow the steps for the app you’re using.

Windows Phone



On a Windows Phone, tap the check button.

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iPhone or Android phone



On an iPhone or Android, tap the more button, and then tap MarkActivityAsComplete.

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Add an attachment to a record



Tap the attachment button and select the document, picture, or other item that you want to attach.

Use additional features in the Windows Phone app

The CRM for phones express app for Windows Phone includes the following added features:



Activity feeds



Record panorama (you can swipe to view additional information or related records)



Offline experience (you can see recently viewed data while disconnected from the network, but you can’t edit it)



Ability to synchronize customizations by clearing the local cache

View activity feeds



Tap

what’s new and view the posts.

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Use the record panorama



To view additional information, swipe left and right.

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Synchronize customizations by clearing the local cache

1. From time to time, your CRM administrator might make changes to the system. While the app will automatically check for changes every eight hours or so and synchronize them, you can manually start a synchronization if you need it sooner. To synchronize customizations to the app, tap the gear button on the home page.

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2. Tap clear local cache.

See Also

Cortana voice commands for Microsoft Dynamics CRM for phones eBook: Go mobile with CRM for phones express

Get started with CRM for phones express

Install the CRM for phones express app

TechNet: Troubleshooting and things to know about CRM for phones express

TechNet: Set up CRM for phones express

365

Admin and troubleshooting for CRM for phones and tablets

Secure your mobile data with Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Good

Customize CRM for phones

Troubleshoot error code 800c0019 on Windows Phones

Troubleshoot a CRM for Windows 8.1 app start-up error

Secure your mobile data with Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Good

Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Good, integrated with Good Dynamics, protects your CRM data even if you lose or leave your mobile device somewhere. For example, if you leave your device in a taxi cab and can’t get it back right away, your CRM data is protected by Good encryption. If you lose your device entirely, just notify your admin, who can remotely wipe your Microsoft Dynamics

CRM for Good data from your device.

This app is intended for use only with Good Dynamics server software and services from Good

Technology. If you’re not using Good Dynamics, download Microsoft Dynamics CRM for phones or Microsoft Dynamics CRM for tablets instead from the Apple App store .

Download the Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Good app

You can download the Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Good app from the Apple App store . You can also find the app on the Good Dynamics Marketplace .

Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Good requires iOS 7.0 or later.

Start and sign in to the Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Good app

1. Open the Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Good app.

2.

When prompted, type in your email address and Good access key. (If you don’t have a

Good access key, contact your Good admin to get one.) Instead, the sign-in screen might ask for your Auth Delegate or password for other Good apps you might have installed for easy activation.

3. When prompted, select a Good security password.

4. On the

Let’s get set up! screen, enter your company’s CRM web address.

5. Choose the Arrow button in the lower right corner to continue.

6. When prompted, type in your CRM credentials.

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Now that you’re signed in to the Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Good app, check out the

CRM for

Phones and Tablets User’s Guide

to find out all you can do.

Accessing email and other apps through Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Good

If you get an alert when you try to use email or other apps through Microsoft Dynamics CRM for

Good, your admin may be controlling communication to these apps for security purposes. Contact your Good admin to find out which apps your company uses in conjunction with Microsoft

Dynamics CRM for Good, along with any settings that need to be configured.

Information for admins

For a list of supported tablets, see the compatibility information in TechNet: Support for CRM for phones and CRM for tablets .

For information on what your enterprise needs to do before using Microsoft Dynamics CRM for

Good, see TechNet: Set up CRM for phones and CRM for tablets .

If you’re having problems with the app, see

TechNet: Troubleshooting and things to know about

CRM for phones and tablets .

See Also

CRM for Phones and Tablets User’s Guide

Customize CRM for phones

You can select which entities are available to Microsoft Dynamics CRM for phones users. For each entity, you can define which attributes are available on the form for the entity.

Edit the entity to show or hide it in CRM for phones. For more information, see TechNet: Create and edit entities .

Edit the mobile form to select which fields you want to display and in what order you want them to appear. For more information, see TechNet: Create and edit mobile forms .

You can also define who has permission to use CRM for phones by setting the CRM for phones privilege. All default security roles include this privilege. If a user's security role gives them access to an entity in Microsoft Dynamics CRM, they have the same permission in CRM for phones. For more information, see TechNet: Create or edit a security role .

Troubleshoot a CRM for Windows 8.1 app start-up error

Did you receive this error?

Additional steps may be needed to configure Microsoft Dynamics CRM for this

organization. Please contact your system administrator.

Users:

Admins:

Install and use the Windows 8 app instead, and notify your CRM administrator that you received this error.

To enable the Microsoft Dynamics CRM for

Windows 8.1 app, you need to make some configuration changes. More information:

TechNet: Set up CRM for phones and tablets

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See Also

Install CRM for phones and tablets

Get started with CRM for tablets

Troubleshooting and things to know about CRM for phones and tablets

Troubleshoot error code 800c0019 on Windows Phones

If you get error code 800c0019 when you try to sign in to your Microsoft account while using the

Microsoft Dynamics CRM for phones or CRM for phones express apps, chances are that you have the wrong date and time settings on your Windows 8 phone. This can occur after updating your Windows 8 phone, removing and replacing the battery, or after a time change.

In most cases, your phone’s date and time is set automatically by your mobile operator. If it’s not, you need to set it manually so you can sign in to your Microsoft account successfully. Here’s how:

1. On Start, flick left to the App list and choose Settings.

2. Choose Date+time.

3. Turn off Set automatically.

4. Set the correct values for Time zone, Date, and Time.

See Also

Troubleshooting and things to know about CRM for phones express

Troubleshooting and things to know about CRM for phones and tablets

CRM for phones and tablets

Insert introduction here.

Section Heading

Insert section body here.

Subsection Heading

Insert subsection body here.

Set up and use CRM for Outlook

Set up and configure

Set up CRM for Outlook

Configure another organization to use with CRM for Outlook

Set up and configure CRM for Outlook from Office 365

The Outlook email address should be the same as the CRM email address

Get started with CRM for Outlook

Do your CRM work in Outlook

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Overview of tracking records in CRM for Outlook

Customize the Reading Pane in CRM for Outlook

Track email, appointments, contacts, and tasks

Track Outlook email by moving it to a tracked Exchange folder

Track Outlook email by choosing a button in CRM for Outlook

Set an option to automatically track incoming Outlook email in CRM for Outlook

Track Outlook contacts in CRM for Outlook

Use a wizard to add and track multiple Outlook contacts in CRM for Outlook

Track Outlook tasks in CRM for Outlook

Track Outlook appointments in CRM for Outlook

Deleting records that have been tracked with CRM for Outlook

Synchronize data

Synchronizing data with Outlook or Exchange FAQ

Choose the records to synchronize between CRM and Outlook or Exchange

View the fields that are synchronized between CRM and Outlook

Synchronize records manually with CRM for Outlook

Control field synchronization between CRM and Outlook or Exchange

Which fields can be synchronized between CRM and Outlook?

How security affects synchronization between CRM and Outlook or Exchange

System Settings dialog box - Synchronization tab

Create or modify synchronization filters or view synchronizing fields

Work offline

Work offline with CRM for Outlook

Choose records to work with offline in CRM for Outlook

Example of going offline with CRM for Outlook

Set options

Set address book options in CRM for Outlook

Customize your regional settings (number, currency, time, and date) in CRM for Outlook

Set personal options that affect tracking and synchronization between CRM and Outlook or

Exchange

Set up and configure

Set up CRM for Outlook

Configure another organization to use with CRM for Outlook

Set up and configure CRM for Outlook from Office 365

The Outlook email address should be the same as the CRM email address

Set up CRM for Outlook

CRM 2015 for Outlook

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If you’re like many people, you use Microsoft Office Outlook as your communications, scheduling, and contact management hub for business. You can continue to use the familiar Outlook interface and integrate Microsoft Dynamics CRM at the same time by using Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2015 for Outlook. Dynamics CRM 2015 for Outlook can also provide access to CRM data while you’re

offline. More information: Do your CRM work in Outlook

Watch a video on setup, configuration, and upgrading (5:19)

Important



To install and use Dynamics CRM 2015 for Outlook, your organization must be running

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server 2015.



Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 for Microsoft Office Outlook is not compatible with Microsoft

Dynamics CRM Server 2015. At a minimum, you must update CRM 2013 for Outlook to UR1 to use it with Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server 2015. More information: TechNet: Upgrading from CRM 2013 for Outlook to CRM 2015 for Outlook

Step 1: Review installation prerequisites

Sign in as a Local Administrator



To install Dynamics CRM for Outlook, you must be able to sign in to your computer as a user with Local Administrator privileges.

In smaller companies, Dynamics CRM for Outlook is often installed manually, on a computer-by-computer basis. Administrators or individual users who have Local

Administrator privileges and who possess a general familiarity with installing software can do these installations.

Review software requirements



TechNet: Get information on software requirements

Review hardware and network requirements



TechNet: Get information on hardware and network requirements

Install updates



Before you install Dynamics CRM for Outlook, make sure you have all the latest Microsoft

Office updates, including all security updates from Microsoft Update. Go to Microsoft

Update .

Verify permissions



To install Dynamics CRM 2015 for Outlook, you must have the appropriate security permissions. TechNet: Learn about permissions .

Step 2: Download the software

Before you or your users install Dynamics CRM 2015 for Outlook, please note the following:



Make sure you have completed your desired CRM customizations. If your users will use

Dynamics CRM 2015 for Outlook in offline mode, for best performance, enable only the minimum required record types (entities) and views for offline use. For more information, see

TechNet: Customize your CRM system .

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

Group Policy Folder Redirection with offline files is not supported in Dynamics CRM for

Outlook. If your CRM data is stored with redirected offline files, users may be unable to use

Dynamics CRM for Outlook. More information: TechNet: Using Folder Redirection



For synchronization to work correctly, we recommend that you turn on Cached Exchange

Mode in Outlook. More information: Office: Turn Cached Exchange mode on or off

Download the software

1. In the CRM user interface, choose Get CRM for Outlook on the message bar.

Tip

If you prefer, you can download the software from this page .

2. If you see one or more Security Warning dialog boxes, choose Run in each.

The software will start downloading and you’ll see the following dialog box:

3. In the Getting Started with CRM for Outlook dialog box, under 2. Configure, choose

Copy to copy your organization’s URL to your computer’s Clipboard. You’ll paste this

URL in the following Configure step.

4. Choose Run, when prompted, to download the software.

5. In the Browse For Folder dialog box, select a folder to store the extracted Outlook files.

We recommend that you store the extracted files in a separate folder (choose the Make

New Folder option in the dialog box to create a folder without exiting the wizard).

6. On the License Agreement page, if you accept the license agreement, select I accept

the license agreement, and then choose Next.

7. Do one of the following:



To install Dynamics CRM for Outlook without offline capability, choose Install Now.



To install Dynamics CRM for Outlook with offline capability, choose Options, select the Offline Capability check box on the Customize Installation page, and then

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choose Install Now

. If you don’t install offline capability during installation, you can add it later by choosing Go Offline in Dynamics CRM for Outlook.

Important

If you aren’t able to install offline capability, check to make sure you don’t have any pending Windows updates. Learn more about Windows updates

8. When prompted, restart Outlook.

Step 3: Configure CRM for Outlook

After restarting Outlook, you’ll see the following dialog box:

1. Press Ctrl+V to paste the URL you copied in the preceding Download the software step, and then choose Connect. You can also enter a Server URL or a Discovery URL.

2.

If you’re prompted for a password, enter the password.

Tip

If you want to add another organization, you can run the Configuration Wizard again after you have successfully configured the first organization. To run the

Configuration Wizard, in the Windows 8 Start screen, search for Configuration

Wizard and run it. In earlier versions of Windows, choose Start > All Programs

> Microsoft Dynamics CRM, and then choose Configuration Wizard.

CRM 2013 for Outlook

If you’re like many people, you use Microsoft Office Outlook as your communications, scheduling, and contact management hub for business. You can continue to use the familiar Outlook interface and integrate Microsoft Dynamics CRM at the same time by using CRM 2013 for Outlook.

Dynamics CRM for Outlook can also provide access to CRM data while you’re offline. More

information: Do your CRM work in Outlook

Important

If you’re using Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 (on-premises), don’t update to the

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 for Outlook client; continue to use the Microsoft Dynamics

CRM 2011 for Outlook client.

If you’re using CRM 2013 (on-premises) or CRM Online, you can upgrade to CRM 2013 for Outlook or you can use Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 for Outlook if you’re not ready to upgrade yet. If you use Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 for Outlook with CRM 2013 for

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Outlook or CRM Online, you can’t use the Outlook client in offline mode, however. We recommend that you update to CRM 2013 for Outlook at your earliest convenience.

Step 1: Review installation prerequisites

Sign in as a Local Administrator



To install Dynamics CRM for Outlook, you must be able to sign in to your computer as a user with Local Administrator privileges.

In smaller companies, Dynamics CRM for Outlook is often installed manually, on a computer-by-computer basis. Administrators or individual users who have Local

Administrator privileges and who possess a general familiarity with installing software can do these installations.

Review software requirements



TechNet: Get information on software requirements

Review hardware and network requirements



TechNet: Get information on hardware and network requirements

Install updates



Before you install Dynamics CRM for Outlook, make sure you have all the latest Microsoft

Office updates, including all security updates from Microsoft Update. Go to Microsoft

Update .

Step 2: Download the software

Before you or your users install CRM 2013 for Outlook, please note the following:



Make sure you have completed your desired CRM customizations. If your users will use CRM

2013 for Outlook in offline mode, for best performance, enable only the minimum required record types (entities) and views for offline use. For more information, see TechNet:

Customize your CRM system .



Group Policy Folder Redirection with offline files is not supported in Dynamics CRM for

Outlook. If your CRM data is stored with redirected offline files, users may be unable to use

Dynamics CRM for Outlook. More information: TechNet: Using Folder Redirection



For synchronization to work correctly, we recommend that you turn on Cached Exchange

Mode in Outlook. More information: Turn Cached Exchange Mode on or off

Download the software

1. Run the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 for Outlook Setup to download the software. You can start the Setup from any of the following places:



From the message bar in CRM: In the CRM user interface, choose Get CRM for

Outlook on the message bar. If you see one or more Security Warning dialog boxes, choose Run in each.

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

From the web: Go to the download page , and then download and run the appropriate executable file (32-bit or 64-bit), depending on your system and the version of Outlook you use.



From a DVD: Double-click SetupClient.exe in the appropriate Microsoft Office installation folder (32-bit or 64-bit).

2. In the Browse For Folder dialog box, select a folder to store the extracted Outlook files.

We recommend that you store the extracted files in a separate folder (choose the Make

New Folder option in the dialog box to create a folder without exiting the wizard).

3. On the License Agreement page, if you accept the license agreement, select I accept

the license agreement, and then choose Next.

4. In the Select the installation page, do one of the following:



To install Dynamics CRM for Outlook with offline capability, choose Options, select the Offline Capability check box on the Customize Installation page, and then choose Install Now

. If you don’t install offline capability during installation, you can add it later by choosing Go Offline in Dynamics CRM for Outlook.

Important

If you aren’t able to install offline capability, check to make sure you don’t have any pending Windows updates. Learn more about Windows updates



To install Dynamics CRM for Outlook without offline capability, choose Install Now.

CRM installs Dynamics CRM for Outlook. You may need to restart your computer to complete the installation.

5. On the final page of the wizard, choose Close.

Step 3: Configure CRM for Outlook

You must configure Dynamics CRM for Outlook after installing it. When you restart Outlook after installing, the Configuration Wizard starts automatically.

Note

If the Configuration Wizard doesn’t start automatically, in the Start screen, search for

Configuration Wizard and run it. In earlier versions of Windows, choose Start > All

Programs > Microsoft Dynamics CRM, and then choose Configuration Wizard.

1.

In the Configuration Wizard, you’ll see a Server URL drop-down list. Choose the arrow next to the drop-down list, and then do one of the following:



To connect to a CRM Online organization, select CRM Online

. If you don’t know if you’re using the online or on-premises version of CRM, look in your browser at the web address for Microsoft Dynamics CRM. If the web address contains

“dynamics.com” after the name of your organization, you’re using the online version.

Otherwise, it’s the on-premises version.



To connect to a CRM 2013 (on-premises) organization, there are two types of URLs, depending on whether your computer is connected to the Internet or not:



For internal deployments (not connected over the Internet), type the Microsoft

Dynamics CRM server or discovery service URL using the following format:

http://crmserver or http://crmserver:5555.



To connect over the Internet, use the discovery service URL using the following format: https://dev.crmserver.contoso.com.

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Note

If you’re unsure of what URL to use, check with your CRM administrator.

2. Choose Test Connection. This adds organizations to the Organization Information list.

If you’re prompted for credentials, select from the following options:



For a CRM Online organization, do one of the following:



If your organization connects through Office 365, enter your Microsoft online services user name and password, and then choose OK. This information was sent to you in email when your account was created.



If you’re connecting with an earlier online services platform, enter your Microsoft account (formerly Windows Live ID) and password, and then choose OK. This information was sent to you in email when your account was created.



For a CRM on-premises organization, you may not be prompted because CRM uses your Active Directory domain credentials.

3. In the Organization list, select the CRM organization you want to connect to, and then choose OK. Then choose Close.

Tip

If you have problems installing and configuring Dynamics CRM for Outlook, try

Configuration Troubleshooting Wizard .

Privacy notices

To use Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook, you are required to sign in by using your credentials (an email address and password). You may choose to save this information locally so that you are not prompted for your credentials each time you open Outlook. If you do choose to save this information locally, CRM for Outlook will automatically connect to Microsoft Dynamics

CRM Online every time you open Outlook.

After the first time you sign in and use CRM for Outlook, the connection between your computer and CRM Online will always be open when you have access to the Internet. You may choose to turn off the connection between your computer and CRM only by using a configuration setting, but if you do turn off the connection, CRM for Outlook may exhibit decreased performance.

If you use CRM for Outlook to track email, the email thread will be visible to users in your organization who have permission to view it.

For every email you receive, CRM for Outlook will send CRM Online the sender’s email address, the recipient’s email address, and the subject line of the message. This allows CRM Online to validate whether or not a particular mail should be stored by the CRM Online service. When you track an item, a copy of that item will be maintained by the CRM service and will be visible to other users in your organization who have the appropriate permissions. When you untrack an item, that copy is automatically deleted from CRM Online only if you own the item.

If you use Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook, when you go offline, a copy of the data you are working on is created and stored on your local computer. The data is transferred from CRM

Online to your computer by using a secure SSL connection, and a link is maintained between the local copy and CRM Online. The next time you sign in to CRM Online, the local data will be synchronized with CRM Online.

An administrator determines whether or not an organization’s users are permitted to go offline with Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook by using security roles.

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Users and administrators can configure which entities are downloaded via Offline Sync by using the Sync Filters setting in the Options dialog box. Alternatively, users and Administrators can configure which fields are downloaded (and uploaded) by using Advanced Options in the Sync

Filters dialog box.

If you use Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, when you use the Sync to Outlook feature, the CRM data you are syncing is “exported” to Outlook. A link is maintained between the information in

Outlook and the information in CRM Online to ensure that the information remains current between the two. Outlook Sync downloads only the relevant CRM record IDs to use when a user attempts to track and set regarding an Outlook item. The company data is not stored on the device.

An administrator determines whether your organization’s users are permitted to sync CRM data to Outlook by using security roles.

See Also

Do your CRM work in Outlook

TechNet: Set up CRM for Outlook

TechNet: Upgrade to Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2015 for Outlook

TechNet: Install CRM for Outlook for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013

TechNet: Upgrade Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 for Outlook to Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 for Outlook

TechNet: Troubleshooting and things to know about Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook

Configure another organization to use with CRM for Outlook

If you’re a member of more than one Microsoft Dynamics CRM organization, you can configure each organization to use with Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2015 for Outlook.

1. Close Outlook.

2. Do one of the following:



In Windows 8, choose Start, search for Configuration Wizard, and then press

Enter.



In earlier versions of Windows, choose Start, point to All Programs, choose

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2015 > Configuration Wizard.

3. In the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2015 for Outlook Configuration Wizard dialog box, choose the Add button to add a new organization.

You’ll see the following dialog box:

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4. Do one of the following:



If you’re using CRM Online, select CRM Online from the list.



If you’re using CRM 2015 on-premises, open a browser, log in to your CRM organization’s website, copy the URL address (copy the whole address) from the address bar, and then paste it in the Add a Microsoft Dynamics CRM Organization dialog box.

5. Choose Connect.

6. If prompted, enter your credentials.

7. Repeat steps 2 through 5 for each organization you want to add.

8. If you want to change the organization that synchronizes email messages, appointments, contacts, and tasks, select the row for the organization, and then choose Synchronize.

When you’re prompted about whether you want to change your synchronizing or primary organization, choose OK.

Note

You can synchronize information with only one organization. You can connect to or work with more than one organization. If you connect to more than one organization, they are both listed in the Dynamics CRM for Outlook Navigation

Pane.

9. Choose OK.

10. In the wizard, choose Close.

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Privacy notices

To use Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook, you are required to sign in by using your credentials (an email address and password). You may choose to save this information locally so that you are not prompted for your credentials each time you open Outlook. If you do choose to save this information locally, CRM for Outlook will automatically connect to Microsoft Dynamics

CRM Online every time you open Outlook.

After the first time you sign in and use CRM for Outlook, the connection between your computer and CRM Online will always be open when you have access to the Internet. You may choose to turn off the connection between your computer and CRM only by using a configuration setting, but if you do turn off the connection, CRM for Outlook may exhibit decreased performance.

If you use CRM for Outlook to track email, the email thread will be visible to users in your organization who have permission to view it.

For every email you receive, CRM for Outlook will send CRM Online the sender’s email address, the recipient’s email address, and the subject line of the message. This allows CRM Online to validate whether or not a particular mail should be stored by the CRM Online service. When you track an item, a copy of that item will be maintained by the CRM service and will be visible to other users in your organization who have the appropriate permissions. When you untrack an item, that copy is automatically deleted from CRM Online only if you own the item.

If you use Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, when you use the Sync to Outlook feature, the CRM data you are syncing i s “exported” to Outlook. A link is maintained between the information in

Outlook and the information in CRM Online to ensure that the information remains current between the two. Outlook Sync downloads only the relevant CRM record IDs to use when a user attempts to track and set regarding an Outlook item. The company data is not stored on the device.

An administrator determines whether your organization’s users are permitted to sync CRM data to Outlook by using security roles.

See Also

Do your CRM work in Outlook

Set up CRM for Outlook

Synchronizing data with Outlook or Exchange FAQ

Set personal options that affect tracking and synchronization between CRM and Outlook or

Exchange

Set up and configure CRM for Outlook from Office 365

You can use Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook together with Microsoft Dynamics CRM to access CRM data while you’re working within the familiar Outlook interface. Dynamics CRM for

Outlook can also provide access to CRM data while you’re working offline.

Learn more about doing your CRM work in Outlook .

You can install Dynamics CRM for Outlook directly from the Office 365 dialog box, but before you install the add-in, review the following installation prerequisites and configuration instructions.

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Step 1: Review installation prerequisites

Logging on as a Local Administrator



To install Dynamics CRM for Outlook, you must be able to log on to your computer as a user with Local Administrator privileges.

Software requirements



TechNet: Get information about software requirements

Hardware and network requirements



TechNet: Get information about hardware and network requirements

Installing updates



Install all the latest Microsoft Office updates, including all security updates, from Microsoft

Update. Go to Microsoft Update .



To ensure that you stay up-to-date with future releases of Dynamics CRM for Outlook, it is highly recommended that you ensure that Windows Update is enabled on your computer. Learn how to turn on automatic updates .

Step 2: Install and configure CRM for Outlook

1.

If you haven’t already done so, choose Install in the Office 365 dialog box to install

Dynamics CRM for Outlook.

2. When prompted, restart Outlook. This will automatically start the Configuration Wizard and you’ll see the following dialog box:

Note

If the Configuration Wizard doesn’t start automatically, in the Start screen, search for Configuration Wizard and run it.

3. In the list, select CRM Online, and then choose Connect.

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Privacy notice

To use Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook, you are required to sign in by using your credentials (an email address and password). You may choose to save this information locally so that you are not prompted for your credentials each time you open Outlook. If you do choose to save this information locally, CRM for Outlook will automatically connect to Microsoft Dynamics

CRM Online every time you open Outlook.

After the first time you sign in and use CRM for Outlook, the connection between your computer and CRM Online will always be open when you have access to the Internet. You may choose to turn off the connection between your computer and CRM only by using a configuration setting, but if you do turn off the connection, CRM for Outlook may exhibit decreased performance.

If you use CRM for Outlook to track email, the email thread will be visible to users in your organization who have permission to view it.

For every email you receive, CRM for Outlook will send CRM Online the sender’s email address, the recipient’s email address, and the subject line of the message. This allows CRM Online to validate whether or not a particular mail should be stored by the CRM Online service. When you track an item, a copy of that item will be maintained by the CRM service and will be visible to other users in your organization who have the appropriate permissions. When you untrack an item, that copy is automatically deleted from CRM Online only if you own the item.

If you use Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, when you use the Sync to Outlook feature, the CRM data you are syncing is “exported” to Outlook. A link is maintained between the information in

Outlook and the information in CRM Online to ensure that the information remains current between the two. Outlook Sync downloads only the relevant CRM record IDs to use when a user attempts to track and set regarding an Outlook item. The company data is not stored on the device.

An administrator determines whether your organization’s users are permitted to sync CRM data to Outlook by using security roles.

See Also

TechNet: Software compatibility

Do your CRM work in Outlook

The Outlook email address should be the same as the CRM email address

You’re seeing the following error message:

“To track emails and perform synchronization, your Outlook email address should be the

same as your email address in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.”

This message is common when you have multiple Microsoft Office Outlook email addresses or have access to more than one CRM organization. For example, your company may use multiple

CRM organizations for testing or upgrade purposes.

You may also see this error message if you are configuring Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook, but you don’t have an Outlook email address, or you haven’t set the primary email address field in

CRM.

In any case, here’s how to fix this:

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If you’re using Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online and Microsoft Office 365

You need to change the CRM email address to match the Office 365 email address. Here’s how:

1. Make a note of the Office 365 email address.

2. Make sure that you have the System Administrator or System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

3. Go to Settings > Security. (How do I get there?)

4. Choose Users.

5. Under Enabled Users, choose First name Last name.

6. In the Primary Email field, enter the Office 365 email address.

7. On the command bar, choose Save & New.

8. On the command bar, choose Approve Email.

If you’re using CRM on-premises

If you’re using CRM on-premises, you can change the Outlook email address to match the CRM email address or you can change the CRM email address to match the Outlook email address. If you change the CRM email address to match the Outlook email address, you must make sure you’re using the primary Outlook email address. Most people have just one Outlook email address.

Find the primary Outlook email address

1. In Outlook, choose File.

2. Under Account Information, choose Account Settings, and then select Account

Settings from the list.

In the Account Settings dialog box, you’ll see a check mark next to the primary email address. Make a note of the exact address.

Important

You must use the exact email address that you see in the Account Settings dialog box. For example, the following email addresses are not equivalent: [email protected] [email protected]

Change the email address in CRM to match the Outlook address

1. Make sure that you have the System Administrator or System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.

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Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Security. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Users.

4. Under Enabled Users, choose First name Last name.

5. In the Primary Email field, enter the Outlook email address.

6. On the command bar, choose Save & New.

7. On the command bar, choose Approve Email.

Change the email address in Outlook to match the address in CRM

1. In Outlook, choose the File menu.

2. Under Account Information, choose Add Account, and then enter the account information.

Get started with CRM for Outlook

Do your CRM work in Outlook

Overview of tracking records in CRM for Outlook

Customize the Reading Pane in CRM for Outlook

Do your CRM work in Outlook

If you’re like many people, you use Microsoft Outlook as your communications, scheduling, and contact management hub for business. You can continue to use the familiar Outlook interface and integrate Microsoft Dynamics CRM at the same time by using Microsoft Dynamics CRM for

Outlook, an Outlook client provided by Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

On this page:

What CRM for Outlook offers

Explore CRM for Outlook

What Outlook features are unavailable in CRM for Outlook?

Privacy notices

What CRM for Outlook offers

When you use Dynamics CRM for Outlook, you can access all the CRM core functionality directly from Outlook. Dynamics CRM for Outlook also provides extra functionality that isn’t available in the web client. For example, you can:

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

Track Outlook email, appointments, contacts, and tasks. When you track a record in

Dynamics CRM for Outlook, a copy of that record is “pushed” to CRM and the two records are synchronized. After a record is tracked, you can update it in Dynamics CRM for Outlook or in CRM. Tracking provides a great way to keep your personal information separate from your business information, because only the information you manually track is pushed to

CRM. Dynamics CRM for Outlook also automatically synchronizes records you own from

CRM to Dynamics CRM for Outlook. More information: Overview of tracking records in CRM for Outlook



Apply CRM email templates, or attach sales literature and Knowledge Base articles from

CRM when you are sending an Outlook email message to customers.



Take advantage of native Outlook functionality to customize views of CRM data. For example, you can sort, filter, format, group, and categorize views the same way you manage views in Outlook, and you can open multiple views at once. You can also add conditional formatting and set follow-ups.



Access your CRM data on the go by working in offline mode. Dynamics CRM for Outlook provides offline synchronization filters that you can modify before you go offline so you take just the data you need with you. When you’re offline, changes are stored to your local drive.

When you go back online, Dynamics CRM for Outlook automatically synchronizes the data

again with the CRM server. More information: Work offline with CRM for Outlook



Create Microsoft Word mail-merge documents to send form letters or form email messages to contacts, accounts, or marketing mailing lists. You can also use mail merge to create faxes

and quotes. More information: Create a Microsoft Word mail-merge document with CRM for

Outlook

Note

If people in your organization share the same computer by using different user accounts, each person can install and use Dynamics CRM for Outlook for their own account.

Explore CRM for Outlook

When you Install CRM for Outlook , the software adds several user interface elements to your

Outlook screen.

Navigation pane

You’ll see a folder for your organization in the navigation pane on the left side of the screen.

Under your organization name, you’ll see a list of CRM folders. Use these folders to navigate to your area and open different record types.

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If you connect to more than one organization, you’ll see a separate folder for each organization in the navigation pane.

Ribbon

You access commands in Dynamics CRM for Outlook through the ribbon. The ribbon displays different buttons and features depending on context. For example, if you view a list of opportunities, the ribbon displays buttons that apply to opportunities. For appointments, contacts, and tasks, you’ll see a special CRM section on the ribbon.

Lists, views, and the reading pane

When you use the navigation pane to open a folder for a type of record (Accounts, for example), you’ll see a list of records. The list is determined by the view you’re in and any search criteria or filter you have applied.

When you choose a record in a list, the details for that record are displayed in the reading pane below the list. Data in the reading pane is read only

—it’s a quick way to view the contents of a record. If you want to edit the data in CRM, just double-click the record in the list.

384

You can change the location of the reading pane or turn it off or on. You can also customize what

you see in the reading pane. More information: Customize the Reading Pane in CRM for Outlook

What Outlook features are unavailable in CRM for Outlook?

Microsoft Dynamics CRM uses standard Internet Explorer controls, so some Outlook features are unavailable in Dynamics CRM for Outlook. Use the workarounds in the following table for features that aren’t available.

Feature

Email signatures

Full-text editing features

Attach files during creation

Move records by dragging and dropping.

Reminders

Workaround

Use a global email template or use native email signatures in Outlook.

Use standard editing controls. For example, press Enter for double-spaced lines and

Shift+Enter for single-spaced lines.

Save an email activity before attaching files.

There’s no workaround for dragging and dropping records. Dragging and dropping records causes data loss.

After synchronization with Outlook, 15-minute reminders are created for appointments and service activities created in the Microsoft

Dynamics CRM folders or in the web application.

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Feature

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Service calendar

Workaround

The CRM Service calendar isn’t available by default, but you can ask your system administrator to add it.

Privacy notices

To use Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook, you are required to sign in by using your credentials (an email address and password). You may choose to save this information locally so that you are not prompted for your credentials each time you open Outlook. If you do choose to save this information locally, CRM for Outlook will automatically connect to Microsoft Dynamics

CRM Online every time you open Outlook.

After the first time you sign in and use CRM for Outlook, the connection between your computer and CRM Online will always be open when you have access to the Internet. You may choose to turn off the connection between your computer and CRM only by using a configuration setting, but if you do turn off the connection, CRM for Outlook may exhibit decreased performance.

If you use CRM for Outlook to track email, the email thread will be visible to users in your organization who have permission to view it.

For every email you receive, CRM for Outlook will send CRM Online the sender’s email address, the recipient’s email address, and the subject line of the message. This allows CRM Online to validate whether or not a particular mail should be stored by the CRM Online service. When you track an item, a copy of that item will be maintained by the CRM service and will be visible to other users in your organization who have the appropriate permissions. When you untrack an item, that copy is automatically deleted from CRM Online only if you own the item.

If you use Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, when you use the Sync to Outlook feature, the CRM data you are syncing is “exported” to Outlook. A link is maintained between the information in

Outlook and the information in CRM Online to ensure that the information remains current between the two. Outlook Sync downloads only the relevant CRM record IDs to use when a user attempts to track and set regarding an Outlook item. The company data is not stored on the device.

An administrator determines whether your organization’s users are permitted to sync CRM data to Outlook by using security roles.

See Also

Overview of tracking records in CRM for Outlook

Work offline with CRM for Outlook

Create a Microsoft Word mail-merge document with CRM for Outlook

Customize the Reading Pane in CRM for Outlook

Synchronizing data with Outlook or Exchange FAQ

CRM for Outlook compatibility

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Overview of tracking records in CRM for Outlook

You can use Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook to track email messages, contacts, tasks, and appointments. When you track an email message, contact, task, or appointment record, a copy of that record is saved as an activity in Microsoft Dynamics CRM and synchronized with the Outlook record. You can then view and edit that record in Dynamics CRM for Outlook or CRM. If you sync

Outlook on your mobile device, you can also access these records on that device.

Tracking records in CRM for Outlook is a manual process. This gives you the ability to keep your personal Outlook records separate from your CRM records.

Tip



If you want, you can set an option to track email automatically. More information: Set an option to automatically track incoming Outlook email in CRM for Outlook



If you’re using CRM Online, have installed Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online 2015 Update 1, and your organization synchronizes records through server-side synchronization, you can track email messages through folder tracking. Folder tracking is a powerful and intuitive way

to track email directly from virtually any device. More information: Track Outlook email by moving it to a tracked Exchange folder

On this page:

Using the Track button vs. the Set Regarding button

Using the tracking pane

What can you do after you track a record?

Other things to know about tracking records

Using the Track button vs. the Set Regarding button

To track a record in Dynamics CRM for Outlook, you click or tap the Track button or the Set

Regarding button for the record you want to track.

You can use either button to track a record, but it’s almost always better to use the Set

Regarding button. When you use the Set Regarding button, you can link an email message, appointment, or task to a specific CRM record such as an account or opportunity, or even a custom record type (entity). Some organizations also use the Set Regarding button to track projects.

Using the tracking pane

When a record is tracked, a Microsoft Dynamics CRM pane (also known as the “tracking pane”) appears at the bottom of the record. This pane shows:



Whether the item is tracked



The regarding record, if set



The name of the parent account for contacts, if set

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

Links to CRM records for email recipients. This is very useful when you want to quickly access the CRM contact record of an email recipient or see other information stored in CRM.



Related records, along with a symbol that identifies the record type in CRM



Whether email addresses, names, or distribution lists in an email message are CRM records

For example, the following screen shot shows the tracking pane for a tracked task linked to the

Adventure Works account:

You can open the regarding record, parent record for a contact, or related records directly from the tracking pane. The tracking pane also includes an Options button that provides quick access to personal tracking options.

Note

If you track an email message without first expanding a distribution list, the tracking pane displays the name of the distribution list. To track the individual email addresses, expand the distribution list before you track the message.

What can you do after you track a record?

After you track a record, you can use the buttons on the Dynamics CRM for Outlook ribbon to do the following tasks.

To do this task

Open the record directly in

CRM

Add a connection between the record and any CRM record capable of tracking connections

Convert the record into a

CRM opportunity, lead, or case

Insert a CRM template

Choose Applies to

Email, appointments, contacts, and tasks

Email, appointments, contacts, and tasks

Email, appointments, and tasks

Email

Insert a CRM Knowledge base article

Attach CRM sales literature

Email

Email

Tip

If these buttons aren’t available, it may be that the record marked to be tracked isn’t synchronized yet. This can happen if your organization uses server-side synchronization

388

to synchronize email, appointments, contacts, and tasks, but the synchronization hasn’t happened yet. If the View in CRM button is enabled, the record has been synchronized.

You can also use the tracking pane (as described previously) to determine whether the record has been synchronized.

Other things to know about tracking records



Using multiple computers. You can use multiple computers to track items using Dynamics

CRM for Outlook. For example, you might use a desktop computer and a laptop. Only one computer can be the synchronizing computer, however. Changes or updates to synchronized records will not show up in CRM if the synchronizing computer is not connected to the CRM

server. More information: Set personal options that affect tracking and synchronization between CRM and Outlook or Exchange



Choosing data to store locally. The CRM data stored on your local computer is determined by online synchronization filters. You can edit, deactivate, or delete these filters. More

information: Choose the records to synchronize between CRM and Outlook or Exchange



Deleting tracked records. When records are tracked, special rules apply when deleting

records. More information: Deleting records that have been tracked with CRM for Outlook



Delegating access.

If you’ve delegated access to your Outlook account, the delegate can track items on your behalf. These items won’t synchronize with CRM until you connect to the

CRM server. More information: Allow someone else to manage your mail and calendar

Privacy notices

To use Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook, you are required to sign in by using your credentials (an email address and password). You may choose to save this information locally so that you are not prompted for your credentials each time you open Outlook. If you do choose to save this information locally, CRM for Outlook will automatically connect to Microsoft Dynamics

CRM Online every time you open Outlook.

After the first time you sign in and use CRM for Outlook, the connection between your computer and CRM Online will always be open when you have access to the Internet. You may choose to turn off the connection between your computer and CRM only by using a configuration setting, but if you do turn off the connection, CRM for Outlook may exhibit decreased performance.

If you use CRM for Outlook to track email, the email thread will be visible to users in your organization who have permission to view it.

For every email you receive, CRM for Outlook will send CRM Online the sender’s email address, the recipient’s email address, and the subject line of the message. This allows CRM Online to validate whether or not a particular mail should be stored by the CRM Online service. When you track an item, a copy of that item will be maintained by the CRM service and will be visible to other users in your organization who have the appropriate permissions. When you untrack an item, that copy is automatically deleted from CRM Online only if you own the item.

If you use Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, when you use the Sync to Outlook feature, the CRM data you are syncing is “exported” to Outlook. A link is maintained between the information in

Outlook and the information in CRM Online to ensure that the information remains current between the two. Outlook Sync downloads only the relevant CRM record IDs to use when a user attempts to track and set regarding an Outlook item. The company data is not stored on the device.

An administrator determines whether your organization’s users are permitted to sync CRM data

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to Outlook by using security roles.

See Also

Track Outlook email by moving it to a tracked Exchange folder

Track Outlook email by choosing a button in CRM for Outlook

Track Outlook appointments in CRM for Outlook

Track Outlook contacts in CRM for Outlook

Track Outlook tasks in CRM for Outlook

Deleting records that have been tracked with CRM for Outlook

Set personal options that affect tracking and synchronization between CRM and Outlook or

Exchange

Synchronizing data with Outlook or Exchange FAQ

Customize the Reading Pane in CRM for Outlook

When you use Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook, you can choose the sections in Microsoft

Dynamics CRM records that are displayed in the Reading Pane so that you don't have to open the record to see the details.

1. In the Dynamics CRM for Outlook Navigation Pane, click or tap your organization. How do I get there?

2. Click or tap the area that contains the records you want to work with (for example,

Service), and then click or tap the record type.

3. Click or tap the View tab, and then in the List group, click or tap Customize Reading

Pane.

By default, all the sections that you can add or remove are listed in the Displayed

Sections box.

4. To remove a section, in the Displayed Sections box, click or tap the section, and then click or tap Remove.

5. To add a section, in the Available Sections box, click or tap the section, and then click or tap Add.

6. To change the order of the sections in the Reading Pane, in the Displayed Sections box, click or tap the section, and then click or tap the Move Up or Move Down button.

7. Click or tap OK.

See Also

Do your CRM work in Outlook

Overview of tracking records in CRM for Outlook

eBook: CRM for Outlook Basics

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Track email, appointments, contacts, and tasks

Track Outlook email by moving it to a tracked Exchange folder

Track Outlook email by choosing a button in CRM for Outlook

Set an option to automatically track incoming Outlook email in CRM for Outlook

Track Outlook contacts in CRM for Outlook

Use a wizard to add and track multiple Outlook contacts in CRM for Outlook

Track Outlook tasks in CRM for Outlook

Track Outlook appointments in CRM for Outlook

Deleting records that have been tracked with CRM for Outlook

Track Outlook email by moving it to a tracked Exchange folder

How to

Track customer interactions wherever you are, and from virtually any device by using folder tracking. After you set up a tracked folder, you can drag or move email to that folder to track it automatically in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Additionally, if you set a regarding record (such as a specific account or opportunity record) for the folder, CRM automatically links all email in that folder to that specific record. Tracked folders work in Dynamics CRM for Outlook, Exchange

Online, Outlook Web App, or any other mobile app that supports Exchange.

Tip

Tracked folders work with Exchange Inbox rules. This makes it easy to automatically route email messages to a particular folder. For example, set up an Exchange rule that

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automatically routes email from a Contoso contact to a tracked Contoso folder, which is linked to a specific Contoso opportunity. Tell me more about setting up rules .

On this page:

Requirements for using tracked folders

Set up a tracked folder

Best practices for folder tracking

What happens when you untrack, move, delete, or rename folders, or change the regarding record?

Requirements for using tracked folders



For Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online organizations, this feature is available only if your organization has updated to Dynamics CRM Online 2015 Update 1. Interested in getting this feature? Find your CRM administrator or support person . This feature is not available for

Dynamics CRM (on-premises).



The tracking folders feature must also be enabled by your administrator. For more information, contact your CRM administrator. For admin information on enabling tracked folders, see TechNet: Configure folder-level tracking .



Your organization must use server-side synchronization as your email synchronization method. If you don’t know which synchronization method your organization uses, contact your CRM administrator. For admin information about setting up server-side synchronization, see TechNet: Set up server-side synchronization .

Set up a tracked folder

1. Go to Options:



In the web app: On the nav bar, choose Options .



In Dynamics CRM for Outlook: Choose File > CRM > Options.

2. In the Set Personal Options dialog box, choose the Email tab, and then under Select

the email messages to track in Microsoft Dynamics CRM, choose Configure Folder

Tracking Rules.

3. In the Folder-Level Tracking dialog box, under Exchange Folder, choose + New

Folder Mapping, choose the down arrow in the box that appears, and then select the folder you want to track.

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Note

You can only track folders or subfolders inside your Exchange Inbox. Only the folder you select will be tracked. For example, if you select a folder that includes subfolders, the subfolders aren’t tracked unless you specifically select them in this dialog box. The maximum number of folders you can track is 25.

4. If you want to link the folder to a specific record

—for example, an account or opportunity— under Regarding Record in CRM, choose the Lookup button , and then search for the record.

5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for any additional folders you want to track and (optionally) link to regarding records.

6. When you’re done adding and linking folders, choose Save.

Best practices for folder tracking



Make sure to take advantage of folder tracking on your mobile devices. If your device supports Exchange email, folder tracking will work automatically. You don’t need to install anything. Just drag or move email to a tracked folder to automatically track that email in

CRM.



Whether you set a regarding record for a folder or not depends on how you plan to use the folder:



If you receive a small volume of email from many different customers, you may want to create a single folder called “Track in CRM” (or similar name) that isn’t linked to a particular record. That way, you can drag messages to that folder to track them

393

automatically. If you later want to link an email message in that folder to a specific CRM record, open that activity record in CRM, and then fill in the Regarding field.



If you receive large volumes of email from a particular customer, create a folder (or use an existing folder) just for that customer and link it to a specific record. For example, create a Contoso folder and set the regarding record to a Contoso account record or opportunity record.



You can set up multiple folders that link to the same regarding record. For example, you could link a Contoso Sales Proposal folder and a Contoso Legal Matters folder to the same

Contoso account record.



It’s best not to use the same folder for different records over a period of time. For example, let’s say you’re tracking email communications for an opportunity with Customer 1, but you’ve won the opportunity, and now you don’t need to track further communications with that customer. You may be tempted to simply change the regarding record for that folder to a new customer (Customer 2) you’re working with. If you do that, however, all email in that folder, including the email pertaining to Customer 1, will be associated with Customer 2. So it’s best in this case to create a new folder associated with Customer 2, and then set the regarding record for that new folder to Customer 2. Then you can delete the regarding record for the

Customer 1 folder.



You can include an untracked folder inside a tracked folder. For example, let’s say you want to store personal email from a Contoso contact. You can create a Personal subfolder under the Contoso folder and leave it untracked.



If you no longer need to track a folder, it’s a good idea to untrack it for performance reasons.

To untrack a folder, remove it from the Folder-Level Tracking dialog box.

What happens when you untrack, move, delete, or rename folders, or change the regarding record?

The following table shows what happens when untrack, move, or delete folders, or change the regarding record linked to a tracked folder.

Action

Untrack a folder by deleting it from the Folder-

Level Tracking dialog box

Result

All email messages previously included in that folder will still be tracked, and the regarding record will still be linked to those email messages. New email messages you add to that folder won’t be tracked.

Delete a folder from Outlook or Exchange

Move a folder in Outlook or Exchange

Rename a folder in Outlook or Exchange

All email messages included in that folder will be deleted from Outlook or Exchange Online.

Email messages already tracked through that folder will not be deleted from Microsoft

Dynamics CRM, however.

The folder and all its contents will continue to be tracked. If you move a folder outside your

Inbox, folder-level tracking rules will be disabled.

The folder and all its contents will continue to be tracked.

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Tip

When you rename folders, the software uses the Exchange folder ID for tracking purposes

– it’s not dependent on the actual name of the folder. This is important to know if you delete a folder, and then rename a new folder with the same name as the deleted folder. For example, le t’s say you delete Folder 1, create Folder 2, and then rename Folder 2 to be Folder

1. The tracking information for the original Folder 1 won’t be retained in this case.

Remove the link between a tracked folder and a specific record by deleting the link in the

Folder-Level Tracking dialog box

Move an email message in a tracked folder that’s linked to a specific record to a different folder

All messages in that folder that were previously linked will continue to be linked.

New messages added to that folder won’t be linked.

If the new folder doesn’t have a regarding record, the email message will continue to be linked to the original record. If the new folder has a regarding record, the email message will be linked to that regarding record.

Manually change the regarding record for an email message that’s linked to a different regarding record through a tracked folder

The tracked folder rule takes precedence.

When the folder is synchronized, the email message will be re-linked to the record specified in the folder tracking rule, even if you change the regarding record manually. To change the regarding record in this case, do one of the following:



Move the message to a tracked folder linked to the record you want.



Remove the link to the regarding record in the Folder-Level Tracking dialog box before you manually change the regarding record.



Move the specific email message outside the tracked folder, and then manually change the regarding record for that email message.

Two users move the same email message to separate folders that have different regarding records

You can only set one regarding record for an email message. In this case, the record that’s processed first is linked to the regarding record.

Watch this video

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Want to see folder tracking in action? This demo puts it all together for you. https://www.youtube.com/embed/HiNpINvFKq8

To see video captions, choose the Closed Caption (CC) button in the lower-right corner of the YouTube window.

Video transcript

A big part of working in Microsoft Dynamics CRM is creating and recording different types of activities that revolve around a sales or service process, such as sending emails, creating opportunities, and assigning tasks. If you want to associate an activity with a more specific record and opportunity for example, you can set the regarding record for that activity.

By using folder-level tracking, you can easily track and set the regarding record for an email by dragging or moving it into an Exchange folder.

Let's take a look at a scenario with folder-level tracking.

Nancy, a dedicated sales rep, finds and qualifies leads. Nancy has just started to work on a new opportunity called Northwind Traders. She wants to track and associate all the emails that relate to this opportunity.

First, Nancy needs to create a folder in Exchange. She already has folders for her current accounts and opportunities, so she simply creates a new folder under the Opportunities folder.

Then she needs to map the Exchange folder she has just created to CRM.

Nancy clicks Options, and chooses the Email tab. She clicks Configure and creates a new mapping between the Exchange folder and the requested CRM record ‒ Northwind Traders in our example. Now, whenever Nancy gets an email that relates to Northwind Traders, she can simply drag and drop the email into the folder she created.

The new email will be associated to the Northwind Traders opportunity within CRM. Also, Nancy can track emails while she's on the go by using her mobile device. She can simply move the email to the Northwind Traders folder using her native email application.

Finally, since Morgan is the main contact person in Northwind Traders, all the emails from him relate to this opportunity. Instead of manually copying the emails from Morgan, Nancy can create an Exchange rule that will automatically copy all the emails that Morgan sends to the Northwind

Traders' folder.

By doing so, the emails will be automatically tracked in CRM and will be associated to the

Northwind Traders opportunity.

Folder-level tracking allows you to easily track and associate emails to CRM, manually from any device, or automatically by setting Exchange rules.

See Also

Track Outlook email by choosing a button in CRM for Outlook

Overview of tracking records in CRM for Outlook

Synchronizing data with Outlook or Exchange FAQ

TechNet: Set up and manage email processing

TechNet: Configure folder-level tracking

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Track Outlook email by choosing a button in CRM for Outlook

To get the most out of Microsoft Dynamics CRM, it’s important to keep track of all your customer interactions, and email communications are key. Create a central repository of your Outlook email communications by “tracking” them in Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook. When you track an email message in Dynamics CRM for Outlook, the email is saved as an activity record in CRM.

Then you, or anyone who has access to your activity records, can view that email message along with all other customer activities in CRM, Dynamics CRM for Outlook, or on a mobile device.

Tracking email in Dynamics CRM for Outlook is a manual process. This gives you the ability to keep your personal email separate from your customer email. You can also set an option to

automatically track email messages. More information: Set an option to automatically track incoming Outlook email in CRM for Outlook

Tip

If you’re using CRM Online, you have installed Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online 2015

Update 1, and your email is synchronized through server-side synchronization, you can track email automatically by dragging it to a tracked folder. Folder-level tracking is a powerful and intuitive way to track email messages directly from virtually any device.

More information: Track Outlook email by moving it to a tracked Exchange folder

On this page:

Requirements for tracking email messages

Which records are associated with the email activity?

Track an email message

What else to I need to know about tracking email records?

Requirements for tracking email messages

To track email in Dynamics CRM for Outlook, your Outlook email address must match your CRM email address. You can’t synchronize to or from multiple email addresses.

Which records are associated with the email activity?

By default, when you track an email message, Dynamics CRM for Outlook uses the CRM address book to link the message to CRM contacts on the To, From, and Bcc lines. You can also link the email message to a more specific record, such as a specific account, opportunity, or case. It’s usually best to link a message to a more specific record, if possible. This will make the record easier to find.

397

Track an email message

1. In Dynamics CRM for Outlook, select the email message you want to track.

2. Do one of the following:



To track the email message without linking it to a particular record in CRM, on the

Home tab, in the CRM group, choose Track.

-Or-



To track the email message and link it to a particular record in CRM, on the Home tab, in the CRM group, choose Set Regarding, choose More, and then search for the record in the Look Up Record dialog box. After you find the record you want, choose Add.

When you choose the Track button or the Set Regarding button, a Microsoft Dynamics

CRM pane (also known as the “tracking pane”) appears at the bottom of the email record.

This pane shows that the record is tracked and provides links to related records. If you set a “regarding” record, the tracking pane also provides a link to that record. More

information: Overview of tracking records in CRM for Outlook

You can also tell that a record is tracked by looking in the Outlook folder. You’ll see the

Tracked in CRM symbol next to any tracked records.

3. To modify the CRM activity record (for example, to change the regarding record), open the email message in Outlook, and then, in the CRM group, choose View in CRM.

What else to I need to know about tracking email records?



CRM address book. The address book is installed automatically when Dynamics CRM for

Outlook is installed. This makes it possible to search for a CRM contact from the To field of an email message or appointment when you create it. By default, Dynamics CRM for Outlook only searches for contacts you own. You can set a personal option to broaden this search.

More information: Set address book options in CRM for Outlook



Working offline. Email m essages you track when you’re offline are saved as activities when

you go back online. More information: Work offline with CRM for Outlook



Replies to tracked messages. You can set whether replies to tracked messages are also

tracked. More information: Set personal options that affect tracking and synchronization between CRM and Outlook or Exchange



Editing tracked email messages. After an email mess age has been sent, you can’t edit it, but you can set or change a regarding record for it.



Attachments. Any tracked email message can be accessed by anyone who has permission to view your activities. If the email has attachments, the attachments are included in the activity. If you don’t want to make an attachment available, delete it from the email activity.

Your administrator can block messages from being saved if they contain attachments of specific file types, such as .exe files. Any messages stored in locations other than the default

Microsoft Exchange location can’t be linked.

Privacy notices

To use Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook, you are required to sign in by using your credentials (an email address and password). You may choose to save this information locally so that you are not prompted for your credentials each time you open Outlook. If you do choose to save this information locally, CRM for Outlook will automatically connect to Microsoft Dynamics

398

CRM Online every time you open Outlook.

After the first time you sign in and use CRM for Outlook, the connection between your computer and CRM Online will always be open when you have access to the Internet. You may choose to turn off the connection between your computer and CRM only by using a configuration setting, but if you do turn off the connection, CRM for Outlook may exhibit decreased performance.

If you use CRM for Outlook to track email, the email thread will be visible to users in your organization who have permission to view it.

For every email you receive, CRM for Outlook will send CRM Online the sender’s email address, the recipient’s email address, and the subject line of the message. This allows CRM Online to validate whether or not a particular mail should be stored by the CRM Online service. When you track an item, a copy of that item will be maintained by the CRM service and will be visible to other users in your organization who have the appropriate permissions. When you untrack an item, that copy is automatically deleted from CRM Online only if you own the item.

If you use Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, when you use the Sync to Outlook feature, the CRM data you are syncing is “exported” to Outlook. A link is maintained between the information in

Outlook and the information in CRM Online to ensure that the information remains current between the two. Outlook Sync downloads only the relevant CRM record IDs to use when a user attempts to track and set regarding an Outlook item. The company data is not stored on the device.

An administrator determines whether your o rganization’s users are permitted to sync CRM data to Outlook by using security roles.

See Also

Track Outlook email by moving it to a tracked Exchange folder

Overview of tracking records in CRM for Outlook

Deleting records that have been tracked with CRM for Outlook

Set personal options that affect tracking and synchronization between CRM and Outlook or

Exchange

Create templates for email

Synchronizing data with Outlook or Exchange FAQ

Set an option to automatically track incoming Outlook email in CRM for

Outlook

When you use Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook to track an email message, a copy of the email record is saved as an activity in Microsoft Dynamics CRM and synchronized with the

Outlook record. More information: Overview of tracking records in CRM for Outlook

By default, tracking email is a manual process

—you have to choose the Track button or the Set

Regarding button for each email message you want to track. Manual tracking provides a way for you to keep your personal email separate from your customer email. As an alternative, you can set an option to track email messages automatically.

Tip

If you’re using CRM Online and have installed Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online 2015

Update 1, you can use Exchange folder tracking as an alternate method for tracking

399

messages automatically. With folder tracking, you can track messages directly from

virtually any device. More information: Track Outlook email by moving it to a tracked

Exchange folder

Automatically track email messages

1. In Dynamics CRM for Outlook, on the File tab, choose CRM, and then choose Options.

2. In the Set Personal Options dialog box, on the Email tab, in the Select how Dynamics

CRM for Outlook should integrate email with Microsoft Dynamics CRM section, select the Check incoming email in Outlook and determine whether an email should

be linked and saved as a Microsoft Dynamics CRM record option.

3. To specify whether to track all email messages or only certain types, in the Select the

email messages to track in Microsoft Dynamics CRM section, in the Track list, select one of the following options:



All email messages. Tracks all email messages (sent and received) related to CRM email messages. If you select this option, CRM will track junk mail as well as business conversations, so choose this option carefully.



Email messages in response to CRM email. Only replies to or forwards of email messages that have already been tracked will be saved as email activities. This is the most common option.



Email messages from CRM Leads, Contacts, and Accounts. Tracks email messages only if they originate from someone with a Microsoft Dynamics CRM lead, contact, or account record.



Email messages from Microsoft Dynamics CRM records that are email enabled.

Tracks email messages from all record types (including custom record types) that contain an email address field.

Note

Keep in mind that the more you use the same email address for tracking purposes, the less useful it becomes since it will be mapped to many records.

4. If you want to automatically create contract or lead records for tracked email messages, in the Automatically create records in Microsoft Dynamics CRM section, choose the

Create check box, and then choose Contacts or Leads from the list. When this check box is selected, Dynamics CRM for Outlook will try to match the email address of recipients to an email address in CRM. If it can’t find a matching record, it will automatically create a contact or lead record.

Note

Contact and lead records won’t be created if you don’t have the appropriate security permissions. More information: How security affects synchronization between CRM and Outlook

Note

More than one custom record type can contain the same email address. When this happens, Microsoft Dynamics CRM links the email messages received from this email address to the custom record type created first. For example, let’s say a Patient record

400

type created in January lists the email address [email protected]. A Doctor record type created in February lists the same email address. Microsoft Dynamics CRM links the email messages received from [email protected] to the Patient record type only.

Sending an email message to [email protected] links the email message to the

Patient record type and the Doctor record type, however.

Privacy notices

To use Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook, you are required to sign in by using your credentials (an email address and password). You may choose to save this information locally so that you are not prompted for your credentials each time you open Outlook. If you do choose to save this information locally, CRM for Outlook will automatically connect to Microsoft Dynamics

CRM Online every time you open Outlook.

After the first time you sign in and use CRM for Outlook, the connection between your computer and CRM Online will always be open when you have access to the Internet. You may choose to turn off the connection between your computer and CRM only by using a configuration setting, but if you do turn off the connection, CRM for Outlook may exhibit decreased performance.

If you use CRM for Outlook to track email, the email thread will be visible to users in your organization who have permission to view it.

For every email you receive, CRM for Outlook will send CRM Online the sender’s email address, the recipient’s email address, and the subject line of the message. This allows CRM Online to validate whether or not a particular mail should be stored by the CRM Online service. When you track an item, a copy of that item will be maintained by the CRM service and will be visible to other users in your organization who have the appropriate permissions. When you untrack an item, that copy is automatically deleted from CRM Online only if you own the item.

If you use Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, when you use the Sync to Outlook feature, the CRM data you are syncing is “exported” to Outlook. A link is maintained between the information in

Outlook and the information in CRM Online to ensure that the information remains current between the two. Outlook Sync downloads only the relevant CRM record IDs to use when a user attempts to track and set regarding an Outlook item. The company data is not stored on the device.

An administrator determines whether your organization’s users are permitted to sync CRM data to Outlook by using security roles.

See Also

Track Outlook email by moving it to a tracked Exchange folder

Track Outlook email by choosing a button in CRM for Outlook

Overview of tracking records in CRM for Outlook

Synchronizing data with Outlook or Exchange FAQ

Track Outlook contacts in CRM for Outlook

When you track a contact in Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook, a copy of that contact record is saved in Microsoft Dynamics CRM and synchronized with the Outlook record. After your contacts are tracked, you’ll be able to see any email, tasks, appointments, and account records associated with those contacts. You can access the records in Dynamics CRM for Outlook or

CRM.

401

Tracking contacts in Dynamics CRM for Outlook is a manual process. This gives you the ability to keep your personal contacts separate from your CRM contacts. Synchronization of contacts from

CRM to Dynamics CRM for Outlook is automatic, however. Any contacts that you own in CRM will automatically be available in Dynamics CRM for Outlook. If you sync Outlook on your mobile device, you can also access your CRM contact records on that device.

1. In Dynamics CRM for Outlook, choose People in the navigation pane, and then select up to 20 contacts.

Tip

If you want to select more than 20 contacts, or if you want to track all your

Outlook contacts in CRM, you can use the Add Contacts wizard. More

information: Use a wizard to add and track multiple Outlook contacts in CRM for

Outlook

2. To track the contact, do one of the following:



To track the contact record without linking it to a parent (account) record in CRM, on the Home tab, in the CRM group, choose Track.

-Or-



To track the contact and link it to a parent (account) record in CRM, on the Home tab, in the CRM group, choose Set Parent, and then search for the parent record in the Look Up Record dialog box. After you find the record you want, choose Add.

When you choose the Track button or the Set Parent button, a Microsoft Dynamics

CRM pane (also known as the “tracking pane”) appears at the bottom of the contact record. This pane shows that the contact is tracked and provides links to related records. If you choose the Set Parent button, Dynamics CRM for Outlook also provides a link to the parent record. Tell me more about how tracking works

In Dynamics CRM for Outlook, the Tracked in CRM icon is displayed next to any tracked contacts.

3. To add additional information about the contact to the Contact form in Microsoft

Dynamics CRM, choose the contact, and then in the CRM group, choose View in CRM.

Notes



To add additional information about the contact to the Contact form in Microsoft Dynamics

CRM, choose the contact, and then in the CRM group, choose View in CRM.



If the contact is linked to a parent record, you can open the parent record from the Outlook contact record in Dynamics CRM for Outlook. In the contacts list, open the record. In the

CRM group, choose View Parent (or select the link in the tracking pane).



The Company field for an Outlook contact is not automatically added to the parent account of

the new Microsoft Dynamics CRM contact. More information:. Set personal options that affect tracking and synchronization between CRM and Outlook or Exchange

Avoiding duplicate contact records

When you track contacts, CRM checks for duplicate records. CRM also checks for duplicates when you synchronize records manually or go online if you’re been working offline.

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If CRM detects that a contact might be a potential duplicate, instead of saving the contact, CRM displays the Duplicates Detected dialog box.

Here’s what you need to do if this happens:

1. In the Potential duplicate records list, double-click or tap the record.

2. If your new or updated record is not a duplicate, to create the new record, choose Save

Record.

- OR -

If your new or updated record is a duplicate, to cancel your changes, choose Cancel.

3. If the duplicate-detection rule identified potential duplicate records in other record types, review records from each record type listed.

Important

Duplicate detection can take place only if duplicate detection is enabled and if at least one duplicate-detection rule exists for the record type.

Privacy notices

To use Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook, you are required to sign in by using your credentials (an email address and password). You may choose to save this information locally so that you are not prompted for your credentials each time you open Outlook. If you do choose to save this information locally, CRM for Outlook will automatically connect to Microsoft Dynamics

CRM Online every time you open Outlook.

After the first time you sign in and use CRM for Outlook, the connection between your computer and CRM Online will always be open when you have access to the Internet. You may choose to turn off the connection between your computer and CRM only by using a configuration setting, but if you do turn off the connection, CRM for Outlook may exhibit decreased performance.

If you use CRM for Outlook to track email, the email thread will be visible to users in your organization who have permission to view it.

For every email you receive, CRM for Outlook will send CR

M Online the sender’s email address, the recipient’s email address, and the subject line of the message. This allows CRM Online to validate whether or not a particular mail should be stored by the CRM Online service. When you track an item, a copy of that item will be maintained by the CRM service and will be visible to other users in your organization who have the appropriate permissions. When you untrack an item, that copy is automatically deleted from CRM Online only if you own the item.

If you use Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, when you use the Sync to Outlook feature, the CRM data you are syncing is “exported” to Outlook. A link is maintained between the information in

Outlook and the information in CRM Online to ensure that the information remains current between the two. Outlook Sync downloads only the relevant CRM record IDs to use when a user attempts to track and set regarding an Outlook item. The company data is not stored on the device.

An administrator determines whether your organization’s users are permitted to sync CRM data to Outlook by using security roles.

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See Also

Overview of tracking records in CRM for Outlook

Deleting records that have been tracked with CRM for Outlook

Use a wizard to add and track multiple Outlook contacts in CRM for Outlook

Set personal options that affect tracking and synchronization between CRM and Outlook or

Exchange

Synchronizing data with Outlook or Exchange FAQ

Use a wizard to add and track multiple Outlook contacts in CRM for

Outlook

You can track your Microsoft Office Outlook contacts in Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook.

When you track a contact, a copy of that contact’s record is saved in Dynamics CRM for Outlook and synchronized with the Outlook record. After your contacts are tracked, you’ll see any CRM email, task, or appointment activities associated with those contacts. If you sync Outlook on your mobile device, you can also access your contact records on that device.

Tracking contacts in Dynamics CRM for Outlook is a manual process. You can track up to 20 contacts at one time by choosing the Track button or the Set Parent button in Dynamics CRM for

Outlook. If you want to add more than 20 contacts at one time, or if you want to add all your

Outlook contacts to CRM, you can use the Add Contacts wizard. The wizard can also help you set a number of options. For example, you can specify if future communications with the tracked contacts should be synchronized with Dynamics CRM for Outlook.

Important

To track contacts in Dynamics CRM for Outlook, your Outlook email address must match your CRM email address. You can’t synchronize to or from multiple email addresses.

Step 1: Get ready

Before you add your Outlook contacts:



For best results, make sure your Outlook contact data is as complete and accurate as possible. Fill in any missing info and verify that people’s names are spelled correctly.



Because you will have the opportunity to “map” the company names in your Outlook contact list to an account name in Microsoft Dynamics CRM, make sure the accounts have the same spelling in both applications.

Step 2: Run the wizard

1. Choose File > CRM > Import Contacts > Add Contacts.

2. Choose Next.

3. Confirm the folder where your Outlook contacts are stored, and then choose Next.

Note



The wizard determines the folder, usually called Contacts. You can select or clear subfolders in the Contacts folder.



If you allow someone else to manage your email (called a “delegate”), you can’t add contacts from that person’s contacts folder.

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4. Select how to group your contacts. The groups are:



Company Name. Group the contacts by the matching account name in Microsoft

Dynamics CRM. The wizard lists the number of contacts associated with each account. Choose the link to verify the list of names for each account.



Email Domain. Group the contacts by email domain. The email domain is the part of the address after the @ symbol. For example, in the email address [email protected], "contoso.com" is the domain. Choose the link to verify the list of names in each domain.



Categories. Group the contacts by the category you use to organize contacts in

Outlook, if applicable. Choose the link to verify the list of names for each category.

If you don’t want to add all the groups, clear the check boxes to the left of any groups you don’t want.

Note

The Number of Contacts column displays a color to indicate how many of the contacts are already linked to Microsoft Dynamics CRM:

Green. All of the contacts are already in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Yellow. More than 50% of the contacts are already in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Red. At least one contact is already in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Tip

You may find that the groupings have many variations if the company names don’t match exactly. If so, it may be best to cancel the wizard, correct the company names in Outlook, and then run the wizard again.

5. Verify that Use Company Name to be the Account is selected (recommended).

Otherwise, if you want to associate an account name with each contact later in Microsoft

Dynamics CRM, clear this check box.

6. Select Track all communications for added contacts to track the messages, appointments, and tasks associated with these Outlook contacts in Microsoft Dynamics

CRM.

7. To manually select the accounts to associate the contacts with, choose Advanced. In the

Set Account column, choose the row for the contact. From the drop-down list, select one of the following:



Leave the field blank (Not Set) to associate the contacts with an account later in

Microsoft Dynamics CRM.



Select Use Company Name to associate the contacts with a Microsoft Dynamics

CRM account using the company name.



Select Pick Existing Account, select an account or contact, and then choose OK.

8. In the Include Communication column, clear the check box for any grouping for which you don’t want to track email messages, appointments, or tasks in Microsoft Dynamics

CRM.

9. Choose Add Contacts.

10. Review the Summary page and view any errors, if applicable. Then choose Close.

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See Also

Track Outlook contacts in CRM for Outlook

Overview of tracking records in CRM for Outlook

Deleting records that have been tracked with CRM for Outlook

Synchronizing data with Outlook or Exchange FAQ

Track Outlook tasks in CRM for Outlook

When you track a task in Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook, a copy of the task record is saved as an activity in Microsoft Dynamics CRM and synchronized with the Outlook record. You can then work on the task in Dynamics CRM for Outlook or CRM. If you sync Outlook on your mobile device, you can also access your task records on that device.

Tracking tasks in Dynamics CRM for Outlook is a manual process. This gives you the ability to keep your personal tasks separate from your CRM tasks. Synchronization of tasks from CRM to

Dynamics CRM for Outlook is automatic, however. You can use Dynamics CRM for Outlook to view any task records you own that were created in CRM.

Important

To synchronize tasks between Dynamics CRM for Outlook and CRM, your Outlook email address must match your CRM email address. You can’t synchronize to or from multiple email addresses.

Track a task

1. In Dynamics CRM for Outlook, create a task or open an existing task.



To create a task, choose Tasks on the navigation bar, and then choose New Task.



To open an existing task, choose Tasks on the navigation bar, and then double-click the task to open it.

2. In the Task dialog box, if it’s a new task, enter a subject in the Subject box. If it’s an existing task, the Subject box will already be filled out.

3.

If you haven’t already done so, fill out other fields such as Start date, Due date, and

Priority.

Note

When a task is created in Outlook, the system assigns the task a reminder time.

Reminder information is not synchronized from Outlook to CRM. However, when

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a task has a Due date time set in CRM, it will be synchronized to reminder time in Outlook.

If there is a Start date value but no Due date value in Outlook, the Due date value will automatically be set to the Start date value whenever you change the start date directly in Outlook. Likewise, if there is a Start date value but no Due

date value in CRM, the Due date value will automatically be set to the Start date value. These changes are controlled by Outlook or CRM independently. They don’t have anything to do with synchronization or synchronization direction.

4. If you want to make it a recurring task, choose Recurrence, and then specify how often you want the task to occur.

5. To track the task, do one of the following:



To track the task record without linking it to a particular record in Dynamics CRM, on the Task tab, in the CRM group, choose Track.

Note

To track the task record as a phone call, letter, or FAX, choose the down arrow on the Track button, and then select the appropriate item. It will then show up as a phone call, letter, or FAX on your Activities list.

-Or-



To track the task and link it to a particular CRM record (for example, a specific opportunity or case), on the Task tab, in the CRM group, choose Set Regarding, choose More, and then search for the record in the Look Up Record dialog box.

After you find the record you want, choose Add.

When you choose the Track button or the Set Regarding button, a Microsoft

Dynamics CRM pane ( also known as the “tracking pane”) appears at the bottom of the task record. This pane shows that the record is tracked and provides links to related records. If you set a Regarding value, Dynamics CRM for Outlook also provides a link to the Regarding record. Tell me more about how tracking works.

6. To save the task, choose the down arrow on the Actions button, and then choose Save

& Close.

Dynamics CRM for Outlook adds the People symbol to the task to show that it’s tracked.

Note

If you want to stop tracking a task, open the task record, and then on the Task tab, in the CRM group, choose Untrack

. It’s best to untrack items one at a time.

Assigning tasks

If you’re using Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2015 for Outlook, you can also track assigned tasks if your administrator has enabled this capability. Learn more about enabling tracking of assigned tasks

To track a task, you must be the owner of the task. You own a task that you create until you assign it to someone else. After you assign the task, the person you assign it to owns the task.

When a task is tracked, the task owner can work on the task in Dynamics CRM for Outlook or

CRM. The person who assigns the task can follow the progress of the task in either tool.

When a task owner updates a task, all copies of the task are updated, including copies owned by prior owners. When a task owner completes a task, a status report is automatically sent to the person who originally assigned the task, all other prior owners, and anyone else who requests a report.

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Note

The following limitations apply when tracking assigned tasks:



You can’t assign a task to someone in another organization.



You can’t track an assigned task if you go offline with Dynamics CRM for Outlook.



You can’t track recurring tasks.

Assign a task

1. Create a task or open an existing task as described in the previous procedure.

2. On the Task tab, in the Manage Task group, choose Assign Task.

3. In the Task dialog box, in the To box, enter the name or email address of the person you want to assign the task to. To select from a list, choose the To button.

Note

You can’t track tasks assigned to more than one person.

4. Select both the Keep an updated copy of this task on my task list check box and the

Send me a status report when this task is complete check box.

Important

You must select both of these check boxes to track an assigned task.

5. If you want to track the task before assigning it, choose the Track button or the Set

Regarding button as described earlier in this topic.

Note

With assigned tasks, you must track the task record specifically as a task. You can’t track it as a phone call, letter, or FAX by selecting from the drop-down list on the Track button.

6.

When you’re ready to assign the task, choose Send.

When you choose Send

, ownership of the record passes to the person you’re assigning the task to. If the per son you assign the task to declines the task, you’ll receive a declined

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task message. To reclaim ownership, open the message and choose Return to Task

List. After reclaiming ownership, you can reassign the task to someone else.

Accept, decline, or reassign a task assigned to you

1. If someone assigns a task to you in Dynamics CRM for Outlook, you have three options:



On the Task tab, in the Respond group, choose Accept. If you accept the task, you become the owner of the task.



On the Task tab, in the Respond group, choose Decline. If you decline the task, ownership of the task passes back to the person who assigned the task to you.



On the Task tab, in the Manage Task group, choose Assign Task. If you reassign the task, ownership of the task passes to the person you assign the task to.

Important

Dynamics CRM for Outlook can’t track tasks that are reassigned. If a task is already tracked and you reassign the task, the task will be untracked and deleted from CRM.

You can’t reassign a task by forwarding it.

2. To track a task after accepting it, choose the Track button or the Set Regarding button as described earlier in this topic.

Note

With an assigned task, you must track the task specifically as a task. You can’t track the task record as a phone call, letter, or FAX by selecting the down arrow on the Track button.

Send a status report about a task assignment

1. Open the task.

2. Make sure that Status and % Complete is current.

3. On the Task tab, in the Manage Task group, choose Send Status Report.

4. In the To or Cc boxes, enter the names or email addresses of the people you want to send the status report to.

5. In the body of the message, type any information you want to include in the status report.

6. Choose Send.

Follow the progress of tasks you assign



To follow the progress of tasks you assign, select either or both of the following check boxes when you assign the task:



To view tasks that you have assigned to others: a. Go to Tasks.

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 b. On the View tab, in the Current View group, choose Change View, and then choose

Assigned.

To view the list of people who receive updated copies of an assigned task: a. Open the assigned task. b. On the Task tab, in the Show group, choose Details, and then review the names in the Update list box.

See Also

Overview of tracking records in CRM for Outlook

Deleting records that have been tracked with CRM for Outlook

Synchronizing data with Outlook or Exchange FAQ

Track Outlook appointments in CRM for Outlook

You can track an appointment in Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook to save a copy of that appointment record as an activity in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Dynamics CRM for Outlook synchronizes the CRM record with the Outlook record so you can view or edit the appointment in either tool. If you sync Outlook on your mobile device, you can also access your appointment records on that device.

Tracking appointments in Dynamics CRM for Outlook is a manual process. This gives you the ability to keep your personal appointments separate from your CRM appointments.

Synchronization of appointments from CRM to Dynamics CRM for Outlook is automatic, however.

You can use Dynamics CRM for Outlook to view any appointment records that you own that were created in CRM.

If you’re using Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2015 for Outlook, you can also synchronize appointment attachments if your system administrator has enabled this capability. You can then view and update the attachments in Dynamics CRM for Outlook or CRM.

Important

To synchronize appointments between Dynamics CRM for Outlook and CRM, your

Outlook email address must match your CRM email address. You can’t synchronize to or from multiple email addresses.

Track an appointment

1. In Dynamics CRM for Outlook, create an appointment as you normally would in Outlook.

2. If you want to insert an attachment, choose the Insert tab, and then select an attachment. Note that some file extensions may be blocked by your system administrator.

More information: System Settings dialog box - General tab

Dynamics CRM for Outlook doesn’t support inline attachments (attachments included in the body of the message). Tell me more about inline attachments and how to convert them.

Note

The maximum size for an attachment is 5MB, although this can be increased to

32 MB by a system administrator.

3. To track the appointment, do one of the following:

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

To track the appointment without linking it to a particular record in CRM, on the

Appointment tab, in the CRM group, choose Track.

-Or-



To track the task and link it to a particular CRM record (for example, a specific account), choose Set Regarding, choose More, and then search for the record in the

Look Up Record dialog box. After you find the record you want, select Add.

When you choose the Track button or the Set Regarding button, you’ll see a Microsoft

Dynamics CRM pane (also known as the “tracking pane”) at the bottom of the appointment record. This pane shows that the record is tracked and provides links to related records. If you set a Regarding value, Dynamics CRM for Outlook also provides a link to the Regarding record. Tell me more about how tracking works.

Notes



To stop tracking an appointment, open the appointment record, and then choose the Untrack button.



After an appointment attachment is synchronized, if different users update the attachment in

Dynamics CRM for Outlook and CRM, the latest update will be saved.



After an appointment is synchronized, if you or another user changes the subject of the appointment in Dynamics CRM for Outlook or CRM, the appointment will be untracked (no longer synchronized).



You can’t synchronize attachments in recurring appointments or service appointments in

Dynamics CRM for Outlook.

See Also

Overview of tracking records in CRM for Outlook

Deleting records that have been tracked with CRM for Outlook

Synchronizing data with Outlook or Exchange FAQ

Deleting records that have been tracked with CRM for Outlook

You can use Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook to track email messages, contacts, tasks, and appointments. When you track an item, a copy of that record is saved as an activity in Microsoft

Dynamics CRM and synchronized with the Outlook record. More information: Overview of tracking records in CRM for Outlook .

The following rules apply whether you synchronize records with Dynamics CRM for Outlook or server-side synchronization.

Email messages



Deleting a tracked email message in Outlook does not delete the email message from

Microsoft Dynamics CRM.



Deleting an email message in Microsoft Dynamics CRM does not delete the tracked message from Outlook.



If you stop tracking an email message in Outlook, Dynamics CRM for Outlook asks whether you want to delete the email message in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Appointments

Deleting a tracked appointment in Outlook deletes the appointment in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Deleting a tracked appointment in Microsoft Dynamics CRM deletes the appointment in Outlook if the following is true:

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



The appointment is current.

You are the owner or organizer of the appointment record.

If you stop tracking an appointment, Dynamics CRM for Outlook asks whether you want to delete the appointment from Microsoft Dynamics CRM. The appointment record is deleted in Microsoft

Dynamics CRM if the following is true:



The appointment is current.



You are the owner of the appointment record.

Contacts



Deleting a tracked contact in Outlook does not delete the contact record from Microsoft

Dynamics CRM.



If you are not the owner of the contact record, deleting a contact from Microsoft Dynamics

CRM deletes the tracked contact from Outlook.



If you are the owner of the contact record, deleting a contact from Microsoft Dynamics CRM does not delete the contact from Outlook.



If you are the owner of the contact record, and you stop tracking the contact, Dynamics CRM for Outlook asks whether you want to delete the contact record from Microsoft Dynamics

CRM.



If you are not the owner of the contact record and you stop tracking the contact, Microsoft

Dynamics CRM deletes the contact record.

Tasks



Deleting a tracked task in Outlook deletes the task activity record in Microsoft Dynamics

CRM.



Deleting the task activity record in Microsoft Dynamics CRM deletes the task in Outlook if the task is current.



If you stop tracking the task, Dynamics CRM for Outlook asks whether you want to delete the task in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

See Also

Overview of tracking records in CRM for Outlook

Track Outlook email by choosing a button in CRM for Outlook

Track Outlook appointments in CRM for Outlook

Track Outlook contacts in CRM for Outlook

Track Outlook tasks in CRM for Outlook

Synchronize data

Synchronizing data with Outlook or Exchange FAQ

Choose the records to synchronize between CRM and Outlook or Exchange

View the fields that are synchronized between CRM and Outlook

Synchronize records manually with CRM for Outlook

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Control field synchronization between CRM and Outlook or Exchange

Which fields can be synchronized between CRM and Outlook?

How security affects synchronization between CRM and Outlook or Exchange

System Settings dialog box - Synchronization tab

Create or modify synchronization filters or view synchronizing fields

Synchronizing data with Outlook or Exchange FAQ

What does “synchronization” mean in Microsoft Dynamics CRM or CRM for Outlook?

“Synchronization” can mean a few different things when you’re synchronizing data between

Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Outlook or Exchange:



You can use Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook to “track” email messages, appointments, contacts, and tasks. When you track an email message, appointment, contact, or task record in Dynamics CRM for Outlook, a copy of that record is saved as an activity in CRM and synchronized with the Outlook record. You can then view and edit that record in Dynamics

CRM for Outlook or Microsoft Dynamics CRM. There are two ways to track records in

Dynamics CRM for Outlook. You can choose a button on the ribbon to manually track records, or you can move incoming email to a tracking folder to track records automatically.

More information: Overview of tracking records in CRM for Outlook



When you use Dynamics CRM for Outlook, CRM also automatically synchronizes appointments, contacts, and tasks that you own from the CRM server to your Outlook folders.

Dynamics CRM for Outlook uses online synchronization filters to determine the records to copy from CRM to your local hard drive. You can modify these filters or create new filters.

More information: Choose the records to synchronize between CRM and Outlook or

Exchange

If you want to go offline with Dynamics CRM for Outlook, you can choose the records to take with you by modifying the offline synchronization filters. You can reset these filters every

time you go offline so you always have just the data you need. More information: Choose records to work with offline in CRM for Outlook

Should I synchronize records through CRM for Outlook or through server-side synchronization?

If you’re an administrator, there are two ways to synchronize email, appointments, contacts, and tasks. You can use Dynamics CRM for

Outlook (also known as “Outlook sync”) or you can use serverside synchronization (also known as “Exchange sync”).

Exchange sync offers the following advantages over Outlook sync:



Dynamics CRM for Outlook is a client application, so users have to have Dynamics CRM for

Outlook open to synchronize data. If you set up server-side synchronization, the synchronization happens directly between the Exchange server and the CRM server, so us ers don’t have to keep an extra application open.



If you want to take advantage of Exchange folder tracking (available in Microsoft Dynamics

CRM Online 2015 Update 1), you must synchronize email through server-side sync.

Exchange folder tracking is a powerful and intuitive way to automatically track email from

virtually any device. More information: Track Outlook email by moving it to a tracked

Exchange folder



Synchronizing data through server-side synchronization can also significantly improve the performance of Dynamics CRM for Outlook (you can still use Dynamics CRM for Outlook to track records while synchronizing with server-side sync), since the burden of synchronizing

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happens at the server level. More information: TechNet: Learn more about server-side synchronization and what it has to offer

Is there a way to automatically synchronize CRM email?

Yes, there are two ways to automatically synchronize email:



If you’re using CRM Online, have installed Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online 2015 Update 1, and synchronize email through server-side sync, you can take advantage of Exchange folder tracking. After setting up a tracked Exchange folder, users can just move email to that folder to track it automatically. Folder tracking is a powerful and intuitive way to track email directly

from virtually any device. More information: Track Outlook email by moving it to a tracked

Exchange folder



You can also set different options to automatically track and synchronize email messages in response to CRM email. You can track all email messages in response to CRM email messages, track email messages only if the sender has a record in CRM, track email messages only if they originate from someone with a CRM lead, contact, or account record, or track email messages from all record types (including custom record types) that contain an

email address field. More information: Set an option to automatically track incoming Outlook email in CRM for Outlook

Can I still track records in CRM for Outlook if I synchronize records through server-side sync?

Yes, you can continue to use the Track button or the Set Regarding button to track records if you’re synchronizing through server-side synchronization. These buttons provide a convenient way to push records from Outlook to CRM. Note that if you’re synchronizing using server-side sync, records don’t get created in CRM immediately; they’re created when server-side synchronization processes synchronization for the mailbox.

If you’re using Exchange folder tracking (which requires server-side synchronization), users can set up their tracked folders in Dynamics CRM for Outlook or Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Users can

then just drag email to a tracked folder to automatically track that email. More information: Track

Outlook email by moving it to a tracked Exchange folder

If I synchronize records through server-side synchronization, what filters are used to determine the records that are synchronized?

Server-side synchronization uses the same filters as Dynamics CRM for Outlook to determine the synchronizing records. You can modify these filters or create new filters through Dynamics CRM

for Outlook. More information: Choose the records to synchronize between CRM and Outlook or

Exchange

How often are records synchronized?

By default, records are synchronized every 15 minutes. You can adjust the synchronization

interval through personal options. More information: Set personal options that affect tracking and synchronization between CRM and Outlook or Exchange

If you need to synchronize right away, you can synchronize records manually if you’re using

Dynamics CRM for Outlook. More information: Synchronize records manually with CRM for

Outlook

. If you’re synchronizing with server-side synchronization, the Synchronize button is

removed from the ribbon.

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I want to synchronize my data manually, but I can’t find the Synchronize button

If you’re synchronizing with server-side synchronization, you won’t find the Synchronize button on the ribbon. By default, synchronization happens automatically with server-side synchronization

(approximately every 15 minutes). You can’t force a synchronization if you’re synchronizing with server-side synchronization.

How do I change the synchronizing computer (client)?

If you have Dynamics CRM for Outlook installed on more than one computer, you have to select one computer as the synchronizing computer for email, appointments, contacts, and tasks. To change the synchronizing computer:

1. In Dynamics CRM for Outlook, on the File menu, choose CRM, and then choose Options.

2. On the Set Personal Options page, choose the Synchronization tab.

3. In the Set synchronization client section, select Set this computer to be the client to

perform synchronization between Outlook and your primary Microsoft Dynamics CRM

organization.

Note

This option only appears when you have multiple computers connected to the same organization.

Can I view or control the fields that are synchronized between CRM and Outlook?

Yes, you can view the synchronizing fields and determine whether fields are synced one way, two

ways, or not at all. More information: View the fields that are synchronized between CRM and

Outlook .

If you’re a system administrator or system customizer, you can also control field synchronization and sync direction. More information: TechNet: Control field synchronization between CRM and

Outlook or Exchange

Note

This feature is available if you’re using CRM Online and you have installed Microsoft

Dynamics CRM Online 20

15 Update, or if you’re using CRM 2015.

Do security permissions affect synchronization?

Yes, if a system administrator has implemented security for particular fields or records, it can affect the data that’s synchronized between CRM and Outlook or Exchange. More information:

TechNet: How field security affects synchronization between CRM and Outlook or Exchange

Note

This is only true if you’re using CRM Online and you have installed Microsoft Dynamics

CRM Online 2015 Update, or if you’re using CRM 2015.

Where can I find information on troubleshooting server-side synchronization issues?

You can find information on troubleshooting and known issues on Technet: Troubleshooting and things to know about server-side synchronization .

Privacy notice

If you use Microsoft Dynamics CRM, when you use server-side sync, CRM contacts and activities

(including emails, appointments, contacts, and tasks) are synchronized to your specified email system (such as Exchange).

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An administrator can configure server-side sync functionality to specify which users have the ability to send emails or appointments from CRM or synchronize activities and contacts between

CRM and the user’s mailbox. Both the administrator and end users can further customize filter criteria, and administrators can even define which entity fields synchronize.

If you use Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, when you use the Sync to Outlook feature, the CRM data you are syncing is “exported” to Outlook. A link is maintained between the information in

Outlook and the information in CRM Online to ensure that the information remains current between the two. Outlook Sync downloads only the relevant CRM record IDs to use when a user attempts to track and set regarding an Outlook item. The company data is not stored on the device.

An administrator determines whether your organization’s users are permitted to sync CRM data to Outlook by using security roles.

To use Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook, you are required to sign in by using your credentials (an email address and password). You may choose to save this information locally so that you are not prompted for your credentials each time you open Outlook. If you do choose to save this information locally, CRM for Outlook will automatically connect to Microsoft Dynamics

CRM Online every time you open Outlook.

After the first time you sign in and use CRM for Outlook, the connection between your computer and CRM Online will always be open when you have access to the Internet. You may choose to turn off the connection between your computer and CRM only by using a configuration setting, but if you do turn off the connection, CRM for Outlook may exhibit decreased performance.

If you use CRM for Outlook to track email, the email thread will be visible to users in your organization who have permission to view it.

For every email you receive, CRM for Outlook will send CRM Online the se nder’s email address, the recipient’s email address, and the subject line of the message. This allows CRM Online to validate whether or not a particular mail should be stored by the CRM Online service. When you track an item, a copy of that item will be maintained by the CRM service and will be visible to other users in your organization who have the appropriate permissions. When you untrack an item, that copy is automatically deleted from CRM Online only if you own the item.

See Also

Overview of tracking records in CRM for Outlook

Track Outlook email by moving it to a tracked Exchange folder

Synchronize records manually with CRM for Outlook

Set personal options that affect tracking and synchronization between CRM and Outlook or

Exchange

View the fields that are synchronized between CRM and Outlook

TechNet: Set up server-side synchronization

TechNet: What fields can be synchronized between CRM and Outlook?

TechNet: Control field synchronization between CRM and Outlook

TechNet: How field security affects synchronization between CRM and Outlook

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Choose the records to synchronize between CRM and Outlook or Exchange

Microsoft Dynamics CRM uses online synchronization filters to determine which records to synchronize between CRM and Microsoft Outlook (using Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook), or Exchange (using server-side synchronization). You can modify the existing online synchronization filters or create new filters to synchronize certain types of records. You can also delete, deactivate, or activate filters. You use the same set of filters (accessed through Dynamics

CRM for Outlook) whether you’re synchronizing through Dynamics CRM for Outlook or serverside synchronization.

Important

The synchronization filters for appointments only apply when synchronizing through

Dynamics CRM for Outlook, not server-side synchronization.

Email is not included in the synchronization filters because email is controlled by when the email is created in CRM, whether the user is on the recipient list or not. This is true for all email processing methods: Dynamics CRM for Outlook, server-side synchronization, or Email Router.

Tip

CRM also includes offline synchronization filters that you can use to choose records to

work with offline in Dynamics CRM for Outlook. More information: Choose records to work with offline in CRM for Outlook

Create or modify online synchronization filters



1. Go to Options:

In the web app: In the upper-right corner of the screen, choose the Settings button >

Options.



In Dynamics CRM for Outlook: Choose File > CRM > Options.

2. In the Set Personal Options dialog box, choose the Synchronize tab.

3. Under Synchronize Microsoft Dynamics CRM items with Outlook or Exchange, choose the filters link.

CRM displays the Synchronization Settings for Outlook or Exchange dialog box with the User Filters tab selected. You can use this tab to create or edit a filter, or to delete, activate, or deactivate a filter.

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Note

If you’re a system administrator, you can create or modify organization-wide filters (system filters) through the SDK. More information: MSDN: Tell me more about system filters

4. Do one of the following:



To open an existing filter, choose the filter.



To create a new filter, choose New.

Create or modify filter criteria

You use a criteria row to create or modify criteria in an offline synchronization filter. Each criteria row contains three values: the field to use in the filter (for example, City), an operator (for example, Equals or Contains), and the value to filter on (for example, WA).

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Add a criteria row

1. In the Look for list, select a record type.

2. Point to Select in the criteria grid, and then select the field to filter on from the list.

3. Select an operator from the list.

4. Enter a value to filter on.

Group rows of criteria

1. For each row you want to group, choose the down arrow to the left of the field name, and then choose Select Row.

To remove a row from a group, choose the down arrow to the left of the field name, and then choose Delete. To clear all rows from the criteria grid, choose Clear.

2. Choose Group AND or Group OR.

After creating a group, you can click the down arrow next to the And or Or to select from different options. You can select a group, ungroup the group, change a Group AND to a Group OR or vice versa, add a clause, or delete a group.

See Also

Choose records to work with offline in CRM for Outlook

Synchronizing data with Outlook or Exchange FAQ

View the fields that are synchronized between CRM and Outlook

In Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2015 for Outlook, you can view the appointments, contacts, and tasks fields that are synchronized between Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Outlook so you can see where the data is coming from. You can also determine whether the fields:



Are synchronized one way (from Outlook to CRM or from CRM to Outlook)



Are synchronized two way (from Outlook to CRM and from CRM to Outlook)



Aren’t synchronized

For example, if the fields are synchronized one way, from CRM to Outlook, you can update the field in Outlook and save the change, but your changes wo n’t be synced with CRM, and will be

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overwritten if the same field value is changed in CRM. So if fields are synced one way, there’s no need to change the value in the synchronized field.

View the synchronized fields

1. In Dynamics CRM for Outlook, choose File, and then choose CRM.

2. On the Synchronize button, choose the down arrow, and then choose Review

Synchronization Settings.

3. In the Synchronization Settings for Outlook or Exchange dialog box, choose the

Synchronization Fields tab.

4. In the Entity Type list, select the record type you want to view.

Outlook fields are displayed on the left and the corresponding CRM fields are displayed on the right. The blue arrows show the sync direction:

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This indicator Shows that the fields

Are synced one way from Outlook to CRM

Are synced one way from CRM to Outlook

Are synced two way

Aren’t synced

Note

Field synchronization direction can be impacted by security settings configured by your system administrator. For example, if you don’t have read privileges for a field, it won’t be synchronized in Outlook even if the field is configured for twoway synchronization. To determine whether you have read privileges for a field, choose the View in CRM button to open the record in CRM. If you see Lock icon, you can’t access the field.

See Also

Synchronizing data with Outlook or Exchange FAQ

TechNet: What fields can be synchronized between CRM and Outlook or Exchange?

TechNet: Control field synchronization between CRM and Outlook or Exchange (admins)

TechNet: How security affects synchronization between CRM and Outlook or Exchange

Synchronize records manually with CRM for Outlook

By default, changes made in Microsoft Dynamics CRM are synchronized with Microsoft Dynamics

CRM for Outlook every 15 minutes. You can set personal options in Dynamics CRM for Outlook to change how often data is synchronized, but you can’t synchronize data more frequently than every 15 minutes. If you need to synchronize right away, you can do a manual synchronization.



In Dynamics CRM for Outlook, choose File > CRM > Synchronize > Start

Synchronization.

Note

If you receive the error message "CRM server Not Found", verify that you have

Internet connectivity and that the Microsoft Dynamics CRM server is running.

Then try synchronizing again.

Privacy notices

To use Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook, you are required to sign in by using your credentials (an email address and password). You may choose to save this information locally so that you are not prompted for your credentials each time you open Outlook. If you do choose to save this information locally, CRM for Outlook will automatically connect to Microsoft Dynamics

CRM Online every time you open Outlook.

After the first time you sign in and use CRM for Outlook, the connection between your computer

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and CRM Online will always be open when you have access to the Internet. You may choose to turn off the connection between your computer and CRM only by using a configuration setting, but if you do turn off the connection, CRM for Outlook may exhibit decreased performance.

If you use CRM for Outlook to track email, the email thread will be visible to users in your organization who have permission to view it.

For every email you receive, CRM for Outlook will send CRM Online the sender’s email address, the recipient’s email address, and the subject line of the message. This allows CRM Online to validate whether or not a particular mail should be stored by the CRM Online service. When you track an item, a copy of that item will be maintained by the CRM service and will be visible to other users in your organization who have the appropriate permissions. When you untrack an item, that copy is automatically deleted from CRM Online only if you own the item.

If you use Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, when you use the Sync to Outlook feature, the CRM data you are syncing is “exported” to Outlook. A link is maintained between the information in

Outlook and the information in CRM Online to ensure that the information remains current between the two. Outlook Sync downloads only the relevant CRM record IDs to use when a user attempts to track and set regarding an Outlook item. The company data is not stored on the device.

An administrator determines whether your organization’s users are permitted to sync CRM data to Outlook by using security roles.

See Also

Choose the records to synchronize between CRM and Outlook or Exchange

Set personal options that affect tracking and synchronization between CRM and Outlook or

Exchange

Synchronizing data with Outlook or Exchange FAQ

Control field synchronization between CRM and Outlook or Exchange

If you’re a system administrator, you can control synchronization of appointments, contacts, and tasks fields between Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Outlook (using Dynamics CRM for Outlook) or

Exchange (using server-side synchronization). You can:



View and modify the fields that are synchronized between CRM and Outlook or Exchange.



Control whether a specific pair of fields is synchronized:



In one direction - from Outlook or Exchange to CRM or from CRM to Outlook or

Exchange



In both directions - from Outlook or Exchange to CRM and from CRM to Outlook or

Exchange

You can also disable field synchronization between a pair of fields.

For more information about controlling field synchronization, see TechNet: Control field synchronization between CRM and Outlook or Exchange

Important

To use this feature when synchronizing with server-side synchronization, you must use

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2015 or the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online 2015 Update. To use this feature when synchronizing with Dynamics CRM for Outlook, you must use CRM

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2015 or the CRM Online 2015 Update, and you must use Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2015 for Outlook.

See Also

View the fields that are synchronized between CRM and Outlook

Which fields can be synchronized between CRM and Outlook?

How security affects synchronization between CRM and Outlook

System Settings dialog box - Synchronization tab

Synchronizing data with Outlook or Exchange FAQ

Overview of tracking records in CRM for Outlook

Which fields can be synchronized between CRM and Outlook?

Microsoft Dynamics CRM administrators can control field synchronization between Microsoft

Dynamics CRM and Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook. For example, admins can control the synchronization direction between pairs of fields. For information about which fields can be synchronized between Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Dynamics CRM for Outlook, see TechNet:

Which fields can be synchronized between CRM and CRM for Outlook .

See Also

View the fields that are synchronized between CRM and Outlook

How security affects synchronization between CRM and Outlook or

Exchange

Synchronization of data between Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Microsoft Dynamics CRM for

Outlook or Exchange can be affected by security settings determined by your CRM administrator.

For example, you may not be able to synchronize data from CRM to Dynamics CRM for Outlook for a particular field if you don’t have read privileges for that field. For more information, see

TechNet: How field security affects synchronization between CRM and CRM for Outlook .

See Also

Synchronizing data with Outlook or Exchange FAQ

Which fields can be synchronized between CRM and Outlook?

System Settings dialog box - Synchronization tab

Use the settings on this page to determine how data is synchronized between Microsoft

Dynamics CRM and Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook. For example, you can control synchronization between pairs of fields or enable or disable synchronization of additional mailing addresses, assigned tasks, or appointment attachments.

Important

For Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online organizations, this feature is only available if you've installed the CRM Online 2015 Update.

For on-premises CRM organizations, this feature is only available if you've updated to

CRM 2015.

Interested in getting this feature? Find your CRM administrator or support person.

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Open the Sys tem Settings dialog box (if it’s not already open)

1. Make sure that you have the System Administrator or System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Administration. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose the System Settings > Synchronization tab.

Settings

Synchronize Microsoft Dynamics CRM

items with Outlook or Exchange

Description

View or manage the filters that determine the

CRM records that are synchronized to your

Outlook or Exchange folders.

View or manage the synchronized fields of your Outlook or Exchange items including appointments, contacts, and tasks.

Manage your offline filters and take your

information offline in CRM for Outlook

This setting provides access to the User

Filters tab in the Synchronization Settings

for Outlook or Exchange dialog box. You may want to view this tab to see the default online synchronization filter settings for users in your organization. More information:

Choose the records to synchronize between

CRM and Outlook or Exchange

This setting provides access to the

Synchronization Fields tab in the

Synchronization Settings for Outlook or

Exchange dialog box. Use this tab to view how appointments, contacts, and tasks fields are mapped between CRM and Outlook, and to change the synchronization direction or restrict synchronization for contacts and tasks fields. For example, if you want the contents of the contacts Notes field to be private, you can keep that field from synchronizing. More information: TechNet: Control field synchronization between CRM and Outlook or

Exchange

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Settings Description

Manage your offline filters to determine what

CRM data you need with you when you go offline in Dynamics CRM for Outlook.

This setting provides access to the User

Filters tab in the Go Offline Settings dialog box. You may want to view this tab to see the default offline synchronization filter settings for users in your organization. More information:

Choose records to work with offline in CRM for

Outlook

Configure general synchronization rules for your entire organization for

appointments, contacts, and tasks

Appointments

Synchronize appointment attachments with

Outlook or Exchange

Attachments take up database space, so synchronization of appointment attachments is turned off by default. Choose the check box to turn on synchronization of attachments.

Contacts

Synchronize mailing address only in Outlook contact

Synchronize all three addresses in Outlook contact

Tasks

Important

Synchronization of appointment attachments is not supported for recurring appointments or service activities.

More information: Track Outlook appointments in CRM for Outlook

By default, just one Outlook mailing address field is synchronized between CRM and

Outlook. This is sufficient for most organizations. If you want to synchronize all three Outlook mailing address fields

(Business, Home, and Other fields) choose the

Synchronize all three addresses in Outlook

contact option.

Warning

Be cautious when enabling this option as it can cause data loss in some situations if you have existing data.

This is due to the remapping of the attributes for existing tracked contacts.

The best practice is to do in-house testing to understand how the remapping affects your environment and data. In most cases, you should have the full data in one side (normally in

CRM) and sync to the other side

(normally Outlook or Exchange).

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Settings

Synchronize tasks that are assigned in

Outlook

Description

Outlook tasks are synchronized by default, but synchronization of assigned tasks is turned off by default. Most companies do n’t require this feature because tasks would usually be assigned directly in CRM by changing ownership in CRM.

You may want to enable this feature, however, if your company’s business processes involve creating and sending tasks in Outlook instead

of CRM. More information: Track Outlook tasks in CRM for Outlook

See Also

Choose the records to synchronize between CRM and Outlook or Exchange

Choose records to work with offline in CRM for Outlook

Track Outlook tasks in CRM for Outlook

Track Outlook appointments in CRM for Outlook

TechNet: Control field synchronization between CRM and Outlook or Exchange

TechNet: Which fields can be synchronized between CRM and Outlook?

Create or modify synchronization filters or view synchronizing fields

Looking for help on the Synchronization Settings for Outlook or Exchange dialog box or the

Go Offline Settings dialog box?



Synchronization Settings for Outlook or Exchange dialog box. This dialog box has three tabs:



User Filters. Use this tab to choose the records that are synchronized between CRM

and Outlook or Exchange when you’re online. More information:

Choose the records to synchronize between CRM and Outlook or Exchange



System Filters. System administrators can programmatically modify online synchronization filters for an entire organization. More information: MSDN: Offline and

Outlook filters and templates



Synchronization Fields. Use this tab to view the fields that are synchronized between

CRM and Outlook, and to view the synchronization direction (one-way or two-way

synchronization). More information: View the fields that are synchronized between CRM and Outlook



Go Offline Settings dialog box. This dialog box has two tabs:



User Filters. Use this tab to choose the records to work with when you go offline with

Dynamics CRM for Outlook. More information: Choose records to work with offline in

CRM for Outlook



System Filters. System administrators can programmatically modify offline synchronization filters for an entire organization. More information: MSDN: Offline and

Outlook filters and templates

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See Also

Choose the records to synchronize between CRM and Outlook or Exchange

Choose records to work with offline in CRM for Outlook

View the fields that are synchronized between CRM and Outlook

Work offline with CRM for Outlook

Work offline

Work offline with CRM for Outlook

Choose records to work with offline in CRM for Outlook

Example of going offline with CRM for Outlook

Work offline with CRM for Outlook

You can use Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook to access your Microsoft Dynamics CRM data when you’re on the go. For example, if you travel to a customer’s site, you can look up your CRM contacts, review and add new notes, and more without connecting to the Internet.

When you go offline with Dynamics CRM for Outlook, the software copies a subset of CRM data to your computer’s hard drive. Changes you make while you’re offline are stored locally. When you connect to the server again, the changes are automatically synchronized with the CRM server.

On this page:

Before you go offline

Go offline

Go back online

What features are unavailable offline?

Other things to know about going offline

Before you go offline

Dynamics CRM for Outlook uses offline synchronization filters to determine the subset of data to copy to your local hard drive when you go offline. Before you go offline, you can modify these filters or create new filters to synchronize just the data you need. You can also delete, deactivate,

or activate filters. More information: Choose records to work with offline in CRM for Outlook

Tip

The first time you go offline, it can take a significant amount of time to synchronize your local data with the CRM server if you have a lot of data. For example, in customer service situations, a parent case may have thousands of child cases. CRM isn’t available when

Dynamics CRM for Outlook is synchronizing. You can shorten the time by using the offline synchronization filters to limit the amount of synchronized data.

Go offline

When you’re ready to go offline, in Dynamics CRM for Outlook, choose File > CRM > Go Offline.

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When you choose Go Offline, Dynamics CRM for Outlook syncs your data to your local computer using the offline sync filters. When synchronization is complete, you can disconnect your computer from the network.

Tip

You can tell if you’re offline by using any of the following indicators:



The CRM toolbar displays the Go Online button.



The CRM menu displays the Go Online option.



If you’re using Outlook 2010 or Outlook 2013, the CRM tab displays the Go Online button.

Go back online

1.

Make sure you’re connected to your organization’s network.

2. Choose File > CRM > Go Online.

What features are unavailable offline?

Not available offline



Assigning records



Posts



Converting quotes to sales orders



Converting sales orders to invoices



Managing system administration



Updating system configuration



Managing service activities



Managing services



Using the Service calendar and Workplace calendar



Editing articles



Editing or managing sales literature



Changing organizations



Sharing records



Detecting duplicate records



Managing system jobs



Running some diagnostic tests



Running workflow rules



Create quick campaign and related activities from a mail merge



Tracking assigned tasks



Revise quote functionality



Follow or unfollow in the activity feed



Custom themes

Limited availability offline



Creating or viewing reports (based on local data groups and offline data)

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

Running some custom business processes (plug-ins)

Can be viewed, but can’t be edited offline



Articles



Sales literature



Mail-merge templates

Other things to know about going offline



Shared use of a computer. Any users who log on locally to a computer that has Dynamics

CRM for Outlook installed can potentially access CRM data stored in the offline database.

Shared use of a computer running Dynamics CRM for Outlook is not supported.



How CRM handles changes from multiple users. CRM applies additions and changes to the CRM server in the same order they’re entered. If you make a change to a record while you’re offline, and another user changes the same record during that time, when you go back online, your change will overwrite the changes that the other user made while you were offline.



Workflows. When you work offline, CRM disables workflow notifications. If the changes you make offline are set to trigger an automated workflow process or a system job, the process is automatically triggered when you go back online.



Duplicate detection. CRM disabl es duplicate detection when you’re offline. Duplicate detection is automatically re-enabled when you go back online. You can set a personal option to determine how duplicate records are handled during synchronization. More

information:. Set personal options that affect tracking and synchronization between CRM and

Outlook or Exchange



Undelivered messages. Email messages can fail to be delivered if the mail server is down, or can be blocked if the recipien t doesn’t want to receive the email. If this happens, Outlook saves the email message to your Drafts folder, but Microsoft Dynamics CRM creates a closed activity. In Microsoft Dynamics CRM, use the Pending E-mail view to see unsent messages.

When you’re working offline, email messages that you send are saved to your Outlook offline queue. When you go online, Microsoft Dynamics CRM automatically tries to send them and create the activities. If an email message can’t be sent, Microsoft Dynamics CRM saves it as a draft activity, but it does not appear in your Drafts folder in Outlook.



Offline security permissions. You have the same security permissions offline as when you’re online.



Adding a related record type using the Add button (+). related record type by using the Add button (+). Add the related record type while you’re online, and then go offline.

If you’re offline, you can’t add a

Privacy notices

To use Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook, you are required to sign in by using your credentials (an email address and password). You may choose to save this information locally so that you are not prompted for your credentials each time you open Outlook. If you do choose to save this information locally, CRM for Outlook will automatically connect to Microsoft Dynamics

CRM Online every time you open Outlook.

After the first time you sign in and use CRM for Outlook, the connection between your computer and CRM Online will always be open when you have access to the Internet. You may choose to turn off the connection between your computer and CRM only by using a configuration setting,

429

but if you do turn off the connection, CRM for Outlook may exhibit decreased performance.

If you use CRM for Outlook to track email, the email thread will be visible to users in your organization who have permission to view it.

For every email you receive, CRM for Outlook will send CRM Online the sender’s email address, the recipient’s email address, and the subject line of the message. This allows CRM Online to validate whether or not a particular mail should be stored by the CRM Online service. When you track an item, a copy of that item will be maintained by the CRM service and will be visible to other users in your organization who have the appropriate permissions. When you untrack an item, that copy is automatically deleted from CRM Online only if you own the item.

If you use Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook, when you go offline, a copy of the data you are working on is created and stored on your local computer. The data is transferred from CRM

Online to your computer by using a secure SSL connection, and a link is maintained between the local copy and CRM Online. The next time you sign in to CRM Online, the local data will be synchronized with CRM Online.

An administra tor determines whether or not an organization’s users are permitted to go offline with Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook by using security roles.

Users and administrators can configure which entities are downloaded via Offline Sync by using the Sync Filters setting in the Options dialog box. Alternatively, users and Administrators can configure which fields are downloaded (and uploaded) by using Advanced Options in the Sync

Filters dialog box.

If you use Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, when you use the Sync to Outlook feature, the CRM data you are syncing is “exported” to Outlook. A link is maintained between the information in

Outlook and the information in CRM Online to ensure that the information remains current between the two. Outlook Sync downloads only the relevant CRM record IDs to use when a user attempts to track and set regarding an Outlook item. The company data is not stored on the device.

An administrator determines whether your organization’s users are permitted to sync CRM data to Outlook by using security roles.

See Also

Set up CRM for Outlook

Choose records to work with offline in CRM for Outlook

Example of going offline with CRM for Outlook

Choose records to work with offline in CRM for Outlook

Choose a subset of Microsoft Dynamics CRM data to take with you when you go offline with

Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook by using offline synchronization filters. By default, these filters copy the appointments, contacts, and tasks records you own to your local drive. You might want to modify the filters to take a smaller subset of data with you or to synchronize particular records. For example, you might want to synchronize all reports since reports you don’t own wouldn’t normally be synchronized.

You can modify the existing filters or create new filters. You can also delete, deactivate, or activate filters. You can reset the filters every time you go offline.

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Tip

To synchronize data and go online and offline more quickly, you can decrease the

interval for automatic synchronization. More information: Set personal options that affect tracking and synchronization between CRM and Outlook or Exchange

Create or modify offline synchronization filters

1. Do one of the following:

In the web app:



Choose the Options button in the upper-right corner of the window, and then choose Options.



In the Set Personal Options dialog box, choose the Synchronize tab.

In CRM for Outlook:



On the File menu, choose CRM.



Choose Options, and then in the Set Personal Options dialog box, choose the

Synchronize tab.

2. Under Manage your offline filters and take your information offline in Dynamics

CRM for Outlook, choose the offline filters link.

CRM displays the Go Offline Settings dialog box with the User Filters tab selected. You can use this tab to create or edit a filter, or to delete, activate, or deactivate a filter.

431

Note

If you’re a system administrator, you can create or modify organization-wide filters (system filters) through the SDK. More information: MSDN: Tell me more about system filters

3. Do one of the following:



To open an existing filter, choose the filter.



To create a new filter, choose New.

Creating or modifying filter criteria

You use a criteria row to create or modify criteria in an offline synchronization filter. Each criteria row contains three values: the field to use in the filter (for example, City), an operator (for example, Equals or Contains), and the value to filter on (for example, WA).

Add a criteria row

1. In the Look for list, select a record type.

2. Point to Select in the criteria grid, and then select the field to filter on from the list.

3. Select an operator from the list.

4. Enter a value to filter on.

Group rows of criteria

1. For each row you want to group, choose the down arrow to the left of the field name, and then choose Select Row.

To remove a row from a group, choose the down arrow to the left of the field name, and then choose Delete. To clear all rows from the criteria grid, choose Clear.

2. Choose Group AND or Group OR.

After creating a group, you can click the down arrow next to the And or Or to select from different options. You can select a group, ungroup the group, change a Group AND to a Group OR or vice versa, add a clause, or delete a group.

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See Also

Work offline with CRM for Outlook

Example of going offline with CRM for Outlook

Choose the records to synchronize between CRM and Outlook or Exchange

Synchronizing data with Outlook or Exchange FAQ

Example of going offline with CRM for Outlook

Salespeople can make critical customer information available and up-to-date on business trips with filters. By specifying only the data you need to synchronize with your laptop, you can avoid wasting valuable laptop memory, stay current with the head office, and keep information on your laptop fresh. Meanwhile, managers and co-workers are up-to-date.

Using Dynamics CRM for Outlook, you can set up and activate filters with criteria similar to

Advanced Find by specifying the criteria for the Microsoft Dynamics CRM records that you want to be available when you go offline. In addition, you can change what data will be available when you synchronize by activating and deactivating the filters.

To see what data filters are being applied to your offline synchronization, in Outlook, on the File menu, click or tap CRM > Go Offline > Manage Offline Filters.

Note

You can have more than one active filter so you can take larger, combined sets of data offline.

Select the data you need with filters

To leverage local data, consider a trip to regional offices in the USA in Washington and Oregon.

You would want to define needed information in the Microsoft Dynamics CRM database that applies to customers in these states.

First, create a filter of the data for a record typ e. Save this filter as your “master,” and call it “My

Active Accounts”, for example. Second, modify this filter to create different versions for your business needs.



To edit an existing filter, on either tab, double-click or tap the item in the list. To keep the original data group, make a copy using Save As, and add additional criteria, such as

“Address 1: State/Province equals WA”. Save it with a new name such as “My Accounts in

Washington.”



Using Save As again, change the criteria to “Address 1: State/Province equals OR”, and name your new data group “My Accounts in Oregon.”

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Important

Before your trip, deactivate all filters, except those that apply to the customers in the first area you are visiting.

Deactivate or activate filters



To deactivate a filter, on the User Filters tab, select one or more filters. On the tool bar, click or tap the Deactivate button (a red circle with a red square).



To activate a filter, on the User Filters tab, select one or more filters and then click or tap the

Activate button (a green circle with a green triangle).

Take your data offline and synchronize your data



In Outlook, on the CRM menu, click or tap Go Offline.

While you are offline, you can add new contacts and accounts or update the accounts and contacts on your laptop. When connecting to your company's network again, you can synchronize your data.

Important

Users who log on locally to a device that has Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook installed can potentially access CRM data stored locally. Shared use of a device running

Dynamics CRM for Outlook is not supported.

Go back online and synchronize your data



In Outlook, on the CRM menu, click or tap Go Online.

Any updated data from your laptop will be synchronized with your company's Microsoft Dynamics

CRM database. You can now deactivate and activate a new set of filters for your next visits, using the procedures explained earlier in this article.

Combine data filters to take more information with you

Because filters are additive, you can have more than one active filter. For example, if you are going to the Northwest United States, you can activate the Washington and Oregon data filters you created and take both sets of data with you.

Privacy notices

To use Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook, you are required to sign in by using your credentials (an email address and password). You may choose to save this information locally so that you are not prompted for your credentials each time you open Outlook. If you do choose to save this information locally, CRM for Outlook will automatically connect to Microsoft Dynamics

CRM Online every time you open Outlook.

After the first time you sign in and use CRM for Outlook, the connection between your computer and CRM Online will always be open when you have access to the Internet. You may choose to turn off the connection between your computer and CRM only by using a configuration setting, but if you do turn off the connection, CRM for Outlook may exhibit decreased performance.

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If you use CRM for Outlook to track email, the email thread will be visible to users in your organization who have permission to view it.

For every email you receive, CRM for Outlook will se nd CRM Online the sender’s email address, the recipient’s email address, and the subject line of the message. This allows CRM Online to validate whether or not a particular mail should be stored by the CRM Online service. When you track an item, a copy of that item will be maintained by the CRM service and will be visible to other users in your organization who have the appropriate permissions. When you untrack an item, that copy is automatically deleted from CRM Online only if you own the item.

If you use Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, when you use the Sync to Outlook feature, the CRM data you are syncing is “exported” to Outlook. A link is maintained between the information in

Outlook and the information in CRM Online to ensure that the information remains current between the two. Outlook Sync downloads only the relevant CRM record IDs to use when a user attempts to track and set regarding an Outlook item. The company data is not stored on the device.

An administrator determines whether your organization

’s users are permitted to sync CRM data to Outlook by using security roles.

See Also

Work offline with CRM for Outlook

Choose records to work with offline in CRM for Outlook

Set options

Set address book options in CRM for Outlook

Customize your regional settings (number, currency, time, and date) in CRM for Outlook

Set personal options that affect tracking and synchronization between CRM and Outlook or

Exchange

Set address book options in CRM for Outlook

With Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook, when you compose an email message or set up a meeting, you can search for a CRM contact directly from the To field of the email message or appointment. By default, only the contacts that are synchronized with CRM for Outlook and other record types that you own (such as accounts and leads) appear in the address book. Use this process if you want to synchronize all CRM contacts, including contacts that you don’t own or to synchronize additional record types that you don’t own.

Note

The address book synchronizes with CRM automatically when you start Dynamics CRM for Outlook, and then once every 24 hours.

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1. In Dynamics CRM for Outlook, choose File, and then choose CRM > Options.

2. In the Set Personal Options dialog box, choose the Address Book tab.

Note

This tab is not available in the CRM web application.

3. For Contacts, select one of the following:



Match only against contacts synchronized to Microsoft Dynamics CRM. This option is selected by default. Leave as is if you only want to be able to access the contacts that are synchronized through the online synchronization filters. More

information: Choose the records to synchronize between CRM and Outlook or

Exchange



Match all contacts in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Select this option if you want all

CRM contacts to be available in the address book.

4. For Other record types, select one of the following:



Do not match. Select this option if you do not want to sync other record types, such as accounts or leads.



Match only the items I own.

This is the default option. Leave as is if you don’t want to sync additional record types that you don’t own.



Match all items in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Select this option if you want to sync all record types, including record types you don’t own.

5. If your address book is slow or if there are record types you want to exclude from your address book, under Change the record types being synchronized to your Address

Book, choose the Select or change the values for this field button .

6. Add or remove record types, and then choose OK.

7. To save your changes and close the dialog box, choose OK.

Privacy notices

To use Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook, you are required to sign in by using your credentials (an email address and password). You may choose to save this information locally so that you are not prompted for your credentials each time you open Outlook. If you do choose to save this information locally, CRM for Outlook will automatically connect to Microsoft Dynamics

CRM Online every time you open Outlook.

After the first time you sign in and use CRM for Outlook, the connection between your computer and CRM Online will always be open when you have access to the Internet. You may choose to turn off the connection between your computer and CRM only by using a configuration setting, but if you do turn off the connection, CRM for Outlook may exhibit decreased performance.

If you use CRM for Outlook to track email, the email thread will be visible to users in your organization who have permission to view it.

For every email you receive, CRM for Outlook will send CRM Online the sender’s email address, the recipient’s email address, and the subject line of the message. This allows CRM Online to

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validate whether or not a particular mail should be stored by the CRM Online service. When you track an item, a copy of that item will be maintained by the CRM service and will be visible to other users in your organization who have the appropriate permissions. When you untrack an item, that copy is automatically deleted from CRM Online only if you own the item.

If you use Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, when you use the Sync to Outlook feature, the CRM data you are syncing is “exported” to Outlook. A link is maintained between the information in

Outlook and the information in CRM Online to ensure that the information remains current between the two. Outlook Sync downloads only the relevant CRM record IDs to use when a user attempts to track and set regarding an Outlook item. The company data is not stored on the device.

An administrator determines whether your organization’s users are permitted to sync CRM data to Outlook by using security roles.

See Also

Choose the records to synchronize between CRM and Outlook or Exchange

Track Outlook contacts in CRM for Outlook

Set personal options that affect tracking and synchronization between CRM and Outlook or

Exchange

Synchronizing data with Outlook or Exchange FAQ

Customize your regional settings (number, currency, time, and date) in

CRM for Outlook

You can change how Microsoft Dynamics CRM displays number, currency, time, and date formats to match your company’s regional settings.

Note

The Set Personal Options dialog box is only accessible in CRM for Outlook.

1. In Outlook 2010 or Outlook 2013, on the File tab, click or tap CRM > Options.

2. In the Set Personal Options dialog box, on the Formats tab, in the Current Format list, select the name of the language and country or region for the format that you want to personalize, and then click or tap Customize.

In the Customize Regional Options dialog box, you can change the default settings for the format that you selected by selecting one of the following tabs:



Number. Set options for the decimal symbol, digit grouping symbol, digit groups, and negative numbers.

Important

Some negative numbering options always display numbers within parentheses, for example (100.00), regardless of the preferred setting in some countries/regions. Additionally, some long numbers will not appear with

437

commas as they should, for example 10000. This issue will be corrected in a future release.



Currency. Set options for the currency format, negative currency amounts, and number of decimal places.



Time. Set options for the time format, time separator, and notation for morning and afternoon.



Date. Set options for the type of calendar, whether or not to show week numbers in calendar views, and formats for long and short dates.

3. On each of the tabs, use the lists to change the default settings for the format that you selected, viewing the changes that you make in the preview boxes.

4. To apply the changes you have made to the default formats and continue working in the dialog box, click or tap Apply.

- OR -

To apply the changes you have made to the default formats and close the dialog box, click or tap OK.

Set personal options that affect tracking and synchronization between CRM and Outlook or Exchange

You can use the Set Personal Options dialog box in Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook or in

Microsoft Dynamics CRM to set many options that affect tracking and synchronization.

To open the Set Personal Options dialog box:



In Dynamics CRM for Outlook, on the File menu, choose CRM, and then choose Options.

-Or-



In CRM, choose the Settings button in the upper-right corner of the screen, and then choose

Options.

The following table summarizes the tracking and synchronization options available in the Set

Personal Options dialog box. The Available column indicates whether the option is available in

Dynamics CRM for Outlook, CRM, or both. This column also indicates if the option is available for

Outlook synchronization, serverside synchronization (also known as “Exchange

synchronization”), or both. More information:

Synchronizing data with Outlook or Exchange FAQ

To

Note

Some of the options on the Synchronization tab are available only if you’re using CRM

2015 or if you’re using CRM Online and you have installed the 2015 update.

On this tab

View or modify the online synchronizatio n filters used to determine the

Synchronizatio n

In this section See this

option

Synchronize

Microsoft

Dynamics

CRM items

View or manage the

filters that determine the

CRM records

Available



From Dynamics

CRM for Outlook or from CRM

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CRM records copied to your local hard drive

View or modify the offline synchronizatio n filters used to determine the

CRM records copied to your local hard drive when you go offline

Synchronizatio n

View the fields that are synchronized between

Outlook and

CRM

Synchronizatio n

Overwrite the names in the

Outlook contacts

Company field

Synchronizatio n with Outlook or

Exchange

Manage your offline filters and take your information offline in CRM for Outlook

Update the company field for Outlook contacts that are synchronized to your Outlook or Exchange folders.

More information:

Choose the records to synchronize between CRM and Outlook or

Exchange



For Outlook sync or server-side sync

Manage your

offline filters to determine what CRM data you need with you when you go offline.

More information:

Choose records to work with offline in

CRM for

Outlook



From Dynamics

CRM for Outlook or from CRM



For Outlook sync or server-side sync



From Dynamics

CRM for Outlook or from CRM



For Outlook sync or server-side sync

View or manage the

synchronized

fields of

Outlook or

Exchange items, including appointments, contacts, and tasks.

More information:

View the fields that are synchronized between CRM and Outlook

Update

Company fields with parent account names



From Dynamics

CRM for Outlook only

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with the parent account from

CRM contacts

Set the synchronizatio n client that synchronizes records between

Outlook and

Dynamics

CRM

Synchronizatio n

Set the synchronizatio n interval for synchronizing

CRM items

Synchronizatio n

Enable CRM to send email using

Dynamics

CRM for

Outlook

Email

Track incoming email automatically

Email



For Outlook sync or server-side sync

Set synchronizatio n client

Schedule automatic synchronizatio n with Outlook

Set this computer to be the client to perform synchronizatio n between

Outlook and your primary

Microsoft

Dynamics

CRM organization

Synchronize the CRM items in my Outlook folders every



From Dynamics

CRM for Outlook only



For Outlook sync only.

Note

This option only appears when you have multiple

Outlook clients that are connected to the same organization

.



From Dynamics

CRM for Outlook only



For Outlook sync only

Select how

Microsoft

Dynamics

CRM for

Outlook should integrate email with Microsoft

Dynamics

CRM

Allow Microsoft

Dynamics

CRM to send email using

Microsoft

Dynamics

CRM for

Outlook

From Dynamics CRM for

Outlook only

Select how

Microsoft

Dynamics

CRM for

Outlook should integrate email with Microsoft

Dynamics

CRM

Check incoming email in Outlook and determine whether an email should be linked and saved as a

Microsoft

Dynamics

CRM record.

From Dynamics CRM for

Outlook only

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Track incoming email automatically

Email

Track incoming email automatically

Email

Select the email messages to track in

Microsoft

Dynamics

CRM

Select the email messages to track in

Microsoft

Dynamics

CRM

More information:

Set an option to automatically track incoming

Outlook email in CRM for

Outlook

Track

More information:

Set an option to automatically track incoming

Outlook email in CRM for

Outlook

From Dynamics CRM for

Outlook or from CRM

Configure

Folder

Tracking Rules

More information:

Track Outlook email by moving it to a tracked

Exchange folder



From Dynamics

CRM for Outlook or from CRM



For server-side sync only

Automatically create contact or lead records if the sender of the email message or meeting invitation doesn’t already have a record in CRM

Email

Select how email recipients are matched to

Dynamics

CRM records

Automatically create records in Microsoft

Dynamics

CRM

Address Book Select how email recipients are reconciled with

Microsoft

Dynamics

CRM records

Create

More information:

Set an option to automatically track incoming

Outlook email in CRM for

Outlook

From Dynamics CRM for

Outlook or from CRM

All options

More information:

Set address book options in

CRM for

Outlook

From Dynamics CRM for

Outlook only

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Set the synchronizatio n interval for updating your local data when you go offline

Local Data

Select how duplicate records should be handled when going from offline to online

Local Data

Set how often to update local data

Select how duplicate records should be handled during synchronizatio n

Update local data every

Note: You may not be able to change the interval if your administrator has restricted changes.

From Dynamics CRM for

Outlook only

Enable duplicate detection during offline to online synchronizatio n

From Dynamics CRM for

Outlook only

Privacy notices

To use Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook, you are required to sign in by using your credentials (an email address and password). You may choose to save this information locally so that you are not prompted for your credentials each time you open Outlook. If you do choose to save this information locally, CRM for Outlook will automatically connect to Microsoft Dynamics

CRM Online every time you open Outlook.

After the first time you sign in and use CRM for Outlook, the connection between your computer and CRM Online will always be open when you have access to the Internet. You may choose to turn off the connection between your computer and CRM only by using a configuration setting, but if you do turn off the connection, CRM for Outlook may exhibit decreased performance.

If you use CRM for Outlook to track email, the email thread will be visible to users in your organization who have permission to view it.

For every email you receive, CRM for Outlook will send CRM Online the sender’s email address, the recipient’s email address, and the subject line of the message. This allows CRM Online to validate whether or not a particular mail should be stored by the CRM Online service. When you track an item, a copy of that item will be maintained by the CRM service and will be visible to other users in your organization who have the appropriate permissions. When you untrack an item, that copy is automatically deleted from CRM Online only if you own the item.

If you use Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, when you use the Sync to Outlook feature, the CRM data you are synci ng is “exported” to Outlook. A link is maintained between the information in

Outlook and the information in CRM Online to ensure that the information remains current between the two. Outlook Sync downloads only the relevant CRM record IDs to use when a user attempts to track and set regarding an Outlook item. The company data is not stored on the device.

An administrator determines whether your organization’s users are permitted to sync CRM data

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to Outlook by using security roles.

See Also

Track Outlook email by moving it to a tracked Exchange folder

Track Outlook email by choosing a button in CRM for Outlook

Synchronizing data with Outlook or Exchange FAQ

Set up email processing through server-side synchronization

Set up and use CRM App for Outlook

Insert introduction here.

Section Heading

Insert section body here.

Subsection Heading

Insert subsection body here.

CRM App for Outlook User's Guide

We’re excited to offer the new Microsoft Dynamics CRM App for Outlook as a Preview feature for

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2015 Update 1!

Here are a few things to know about Preview features:



They must be enabled by a CRM administrator.



The CRM administrator must agree to Supplemental Terms of Use before enabling a Preview feature.



These features:



Are available on a “preview” basis so customers can get early access and provide feedback.



May have limited or restricted functionality.



Aren’t meant for production use.



May be available only in selected geographic areas.

For more information about Preview features, see What are Preview features and how do I enable them?

Important

Dynamics CRM App for Outlook is not the same thing as Microsoft Dynamics CRM for

Outlook. For information about the Dynamics CRM for Outlook add-in, see the .

On this page:

What is Microsoft Dynamics CRM App for Outlook?

How is CRM App for Outlook different from CRM for Outlook?

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Prerequisites for installing and using CRM App for Outlook

Track an incoming email message from an unknown sender

Preview information about a sender that’s already stored in CRM as a lead or contact

Change the regarding record for a tracked email message

Open a CRM record from CRM App for Outlook

Send us your feedback!

What is Microsoft Dynamics CRM App for Outlook?

Dynamics CRM App for Outlook is a lightweight Office app that you can use together with Outlook

2013 or Outlook Web App (included with Office 365). You can use the app to track incoming email in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. When you track an email message, a copy of that message is stored as an email activity record in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. You or anyone with access to your

CRM activities can then access that activity record in CRM, Dynamics CRM App for Outlook,

Dynamics CRM for Outlook, or in the CRM mobile apps.

When Microsoft Dynamics CRM is installed, CRM data appears inline next to your Outlook email messages.

With Dynamics CRM App for Outlook, you can:



Tap the power of CRM while working in the familiar Outlook environment.



Track incoming email wherever you are, as long as you have access to a browser.



Track an incoming email message and (optionally) link it to an existing record in CRM. For example, you might want to link an email message to a specific account or opportunity. If a record doesn’t exist, you can create it right from within the app!



Find out whether an email message is already tracked, and change the regarding record (the

CRM record that the message is linked to).



Create CRM contact or lead records for people on the From list that aren’t already included in the CRM database. You can also create new CRM records for any entity (record type), as long as the entity has been enabled for mobile and for multi-entity search.

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

Preview information about contacts and leads stored in CRM. For example, you can find a number or company name for a contact or lead, or preview the last and next activities for a contact or lead.



Open CRM records directly to find or enter more detailed information.

How is CRM App for Outlook different from CRM for Outlook?

Dynamics CRM for Outlook (sometimes called the “Outlook client”) is a full-featured add-in for

Microsoft Office Outlook. With Dynamics CRM for Outlook, you can do all your CRM work within the familiar Outlook interface; you can even work offline. Dynamics CRM App for Outlook is a lightweight app that enables you to easily track incoming email wherever you are.

The following table contrasts Dynamics CRM App for Outlook with Dynamics CRM for Outlook:

Feature

Dynamics CRM App for

Outlook

Incoming email only

Dynamics CRM for Outlook

What you can track

Works with Outlook Web App Yes

Works with Outlook 2013 Yes

Yes Open and create CRM records directly

Apply custom forms and business logic

Work offline

Apply CRM email templates, and attach sales literature or

KB articles

Sort, filter, format, group, and categorize lists (views)

Yes

No

No

No

Create Word mail-merge documents

Control field synchronization

No

No

Email, appointments, contacts, and tasks

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

For more information on Dynamics CRM for Outlook capabilities, see the

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Prerequisites for installing and using CRM App for Outlook

Your CRM system administrator must deploy Dynamics CRM App for Outlook to your organization before you can access it. To deploy Dynamics CRM App for Outlook:



Your organization must use CRM Online, and Dynamics CRM 2015 Update 1 must be installed.



Your organization must use Exchange Online for email processing.



Your organization must synchronize email through server-side synchronization.



The system administrator must set up specific security roles.



The system administrator must enable the Dynamics CRM App for Outlook Preview feature.



The system administrator must add Dynamics CRM App for Outlook to your Exchange Online service.

For more information, see the following topics on TechNet:



Add and enable CRM for Outlook



Set up email processing through server-side synchronization

Supported browsers

You can use Dynamics CRM App for Outlook with Outlook Web App on the following browsers:



Internet Explorer 10 or Internet Explorer 11



Google Chrome version 41 or later

Note

At this time, Dynamics CRM App for Outlook is only available for desktop browsers.

Supported operating systems for Outlook 2013

You can use Dynamics CRM App for Outlook with Outlook 2013 on Windows 7, Windows 8, or

Windows 8.1.

Accessi

ng Dynamics CRM App for Outlook after it’s been deployed

After Dynamics CRM App for Outlook has been deployed by a system administrator, the app appears as a Dynamics CRM tab in the Outlook reading pane. Just choose the tab to access your CRM data.

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Track an incoming email message from an unknown sender

1. Select the email message in your Inbox, and then choose the Dynamics CRM tab.

When an email message is from an unknown sender (the sender isn’t already a contact or lead in CRM), you’ll see the Create Contact form.

447

The First Name, Last Name, and Email fields are already filled in for you. The Phone

Number field will be filled in if it’s available.

2. Fill in other fields (as much or as little as you like), and then choose Save when you’re done entering info, or choose Save and edit in CRM to open the CRM contact form to enter more details.

Note

If you want to enter information for a lead instead of a contact, don’t fill in any information in the Create Contact form. You can track the email regarding a new lead instead. Skip to the next step to learn how.

When you choose Save in the Create Contact form, the app displays contact card information, as well as empty sections for Next Activity, Last Activity, and the first two lists on the contact form. By default, these lists are Case Associated View and

Opportunity Associated View

. These sections are empty because the contact doesn’t have any related records in CRM yet.

3. To track the email, choose Track.

4. Do one of the following:



If you don’t want to link the email message to an existing CRM record, choose Or

track without setting a regarding record.

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

To link the email message to an existing record in CRM, in the search box, enter a keyword

(for example, a company name), choose Lookup , and then select one of the records in the resulting list.

When you select a record, the record appears next to To be tracked regarding. To open the record in CRM, choose the link.



To create a new record in CRM (for example, to create a lead record instead of a contact record) and link it to the email activity record: i. Choose New next to any enabled entity. ii. In the quick create form, fill out the fields. iii. Choose Save to save the record if you’re done adding information. To enter more detailed information, choose Save and edit in CRM.

Note

The entities shown on the tracking page have been enabled for mobile and enabled for multi-entity search. For more information on enabling entities, see TechNet: Entities and CRM for phones and CRM for tablets .

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Preview information about a sender that’s already stored in CRM as a lead or contact



Select the email message in your Inbox, and then choose the Dynamics CRM tab.

The information you’ll see includes:



Contact information about the person (lead or contact) the email message is from



Next and last activities



Other related records, which include records from lists on the associated entity’s main form

Note

The related records you see may vary based on whether your system has been customized. By default, Dynamics CRM App for Outlook displays two records from each view. If you want to see all records related to a contact or lead, choose the contact or lead name in the contact card.

Change the regarding record for a tracked email message

1. Open the email message, and then choose the Dynamics CRM tab.

2. Choose Change.

450



3. Do one of the following:



To untrack the record, choose Or track without setting a regarding record.

To select a different CRM record, enter a keyword (for example, a company name) in the search box, choose Lookup , and then select a record from the results list.



To create a new record in CRM and link it to the email activity record: i. Choose New next to any enabled entity. ii. In the quick create form, fill out the fields. iii. Choose Save to save the record if you’re done adding information. To enter more detailed information, choose Save and edit in CRM.

Open a CRM record from CRM App for Outlook

You can open CRM forms directly for contacts and other records. To open CRM records, choose any of the following links:



The name of the lead or contact



The Pop Out button



The name of the regarding record (once the email has been tracked)



Any record or activity tile

Send us your feedback!

We’d love your feedback on Dynamics CRM App for Outlook! To send us your feedback, choose the Feedback button in the upper-right corner of the app window.

See Also

TechNet: Add and enable CRM App for Outlook

TechNet: Set up email processing through server-side synchronization

CRM for Outlook User’s Guide

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Monitor social media

Add Social Engagement visuals to a dashboard or account

Set up your own searches for Social Engagement

Disable or enable social data for an organization

Connect your organization to Microsoft Social Engagement

Add Social Engagement visuals to a dashboard or account

Microsoft Social Engagement scours social networks like Facebook and Twitter to help you monitor what people are saying about your products or brand, and then analyzes the data and presents it to you in easy-to-read charts and graphs.

These vis uals help you spot emerging trends in people’s comments, respond to service issues before they escalate, track marketing campaigns, gain insights about your competitors, and more.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online users can add Microsoft Social Engagement charts and visuals to dashboards, or you can add them to account, contact, or competitor screens. You can also add

Microsoft Social Engagement charts and visuals to other types of records.

To help you get up and running quickly with Microsoft Social Engagement, a system administrator sets up lists of common search terms for your organization in advance. Everyone shares and can select from the same pre-set lists of search terms to listen for on social networks like Facebook and Twitter.

Or, you can Set up your own searches for Social Engagement for Microsoft Social Engagement

to monitor on social networks.

Create a Social Engagement dashboard

You’ll use a wizard to set up the search terms to listen for on social networks like Facebook and

Twitter, and to select the charts or visuals you want to include on a dashboard.

People in sales, service, or marketing can create their own dashboards. CRM admins can create dashboards to share with the entire organization.

1. To start the Social Engagement wizard, follow the steps for your role.

If you’re creating a dashboard for yourself

a. Go to Sales > Dashboards. (How do I get there?)

If you’re an admin creating a dashboard for your whole organization

a. Go to Settings > Customizations. (How do I get there?) b. Choose Customize the System > Dashboards.

452

2. Choose New.

3. Choose the layout to use for the dashboard, and then choose Create.

Tip

The 2-column regular dashboard layout is a good place to start because it gives you a simple design for up to four different charts.

4. Type a name for the dashboard.

5. To start the wizard, choose the Social Engagement button ( ) on the dashboard layout.

6. On the Set up Social Insights page, choose Search topic, and then choose Next.

7. In the Search topics list, select the list of terms to listen for, and then choose Next.

8. From the Visual name drop-down list, select the name of the chart or visual. Each one includes a brief description to help you select the one you want.

Tip

To add more than one chart or visual, choose Add visual, and then select another chart or visual from the list.

9. Choose Finish.

10. Choose Save, and then choose Close

. If you’re the CRM admin, on the command bar, choose Publish so that other people can use the dashboard.

Add a Social Engagement chart or visual to an account or other type of record

You’ll use a wizard to set up the search terms to listen for on social networks like Facebook and

Twitter, and to select the charts or visuals you want to include for an account.

You can also add Social Engagement charts or visuals to contacts, competitors, or other types of records.

1. Go to Sales > Accounts. (How do I get there?)

2.

You’ll see a list of accounts. You may need to scroll to see the whole list.

3. Choose the account you want.

4. To start the Social Engagement wizard, choose Configure Social Insights.

5. On the Set up Social Insights page, choose Search topic, and then choose Next.

6. In the Search topics list, select the list of terms to listen for, and then choose Next.

7. From the Visual name drop-down list, select the name of the chart or visual. Each one includes a brief description to help you find the one you want.

Tip

To add more than one chart or visual, choose Add visual, and then select another chart or visual from the list.

8. Choose Finish.

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See Also

Get ready for the next release

Set up your own searches for Social Engagement

To help you get up and running quickly with Microsoft Social Engagement, a system administrator sets up lists of common search terms (also referred to as “search topics”) for your organization in advance. Everyone shares and can select from the same pre-set lists of search terms to listen for on social networks like Facebook and Twitter.

However, if you want Microsoft Social Engagement to monitor different search terms, you can use a wizard to set up your own searches.

Set up your own search on a social Engagement dashboard

You’ll use a wizard to set up your own search terms to monitor on social networks, and to select the charts or visuals you want to include on a dashboard.

1. Go to Sales > Dashboards. (How do I get there?)

2. Choose New.

3. Choose the layout to use for the dashboard, and then choose Create.

Tip

The 2-column regular dashboard layout is a good place to start because it gives you a simple design for up to four different charts.

4. Type a name for the dashboard.

5. To start the wizard, choose the Social Engagement button ( ) on the dashboard.

6. On the Set up Social Insights page, choose Search topic > Create a new search

topic. Complete the fields on the screens.

To group this search by the type of record (for example, accounts, competitors, or contacts), in the Select a category for this search topic drop-down list, select the record type.

In the Keywords to search for field, enter the terms to search for, separated by commas. Social Engagement finds exact matches, but the terms aren’t casesensitive. For best results, include variations on the terms (for example, “phone” and

“phones”).

In the Keywords that must be INCLUDED in results field, enter additional terms that are required in results. These additional terms will narrow your search (think “AND”).

In the Keywords that must be EXCLUDED from results field, enter terms you don’t want in results. Use exclusions to avoid overwhelming your results with irrelevant keywords (think “NOT”).

7. Choose Next.

8. From the Visual name drop-down list, select the name of the chart or visual. Each one includes a brief description to help you find the one you want.

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Tip

To add more than one chart or visual, choose Add visual, and then select another chart or visual from the list.

9. Choose Finish.

10. Choose Save, and then choose Close.

Set up your own search for an account or other type of record

If you want to monitor emerging trends on social media for an account, you can use a wizard to set that up.

You can also add Social Engagement charts or visuals to contacts, competitors, or other types of records.

1. Go to Sales > Accounts. (How do I get there?)

2.

You’ll see a list of accounts. You may need to scroll to see the whole list.

3. Choose the account you want.

4. To start the wizard, choose Configure Social Insights.

5. On the Set up Social Insights page, choose Search topic, and then choose Create a

new search topic. Complete the fields on the screens.

To group this search by the type of record (for example, accounts, competitors, or contacts), in the Select a category for this search topic drop-down list, select the record type.

In the Keywords to search for field, enter the terms to search for, separated by commas. Social Engagement finds exact matches, but the terms aren’t casesensitive. For best results, include va riations on the terms (for example, “phone” and

“phones”).

In the Keywords that must be INCLUDED in results field, enter additional terms that are required in results. These additional terms will narrow your search (think “AND”).

In the Keywords that must be EXCLUDED from results field, enter terms you don’t want in results. Use exclusions to avoid overwhelming your results with irrelevant keywords (think “NOT”).

6. Choose Next.

7. From the Visual name drop-down list, select the name of the chart or visual. Each one includes a brief description to help you find the one you want.

Tip

To add more than one chart or visual, choose Add visual, and then select another chart or visual from the list.

8. Choose Finish.

See Also

Add Social Engagement visuals to a dashboard or account

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Get ready for the next release

Disable or enable social data for an organization

If your organization uses Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013

Service Pack 1 (SP1), or Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2015, you can receive social data in CRM to track what people are saying about your company, product, or brand across social channels like

Facebook or Twitter. More information: TechNet: Control social data

See Also

TechNet: Control social data

Automatically create a case from an email

Connect your organization to Microsoft Social Engagement

You can monitor

—right on a Microsoft Dynamics CRM screen—what people are saying on

Facebook, Twitter, or blogs.

TechNet: Connect to Microsoft Social Engagement eBook: Microsoft Social Engagement for CRM

Add Social Engagement visuals to a dashboard or account

Set up your own searches for Social Engagement

Microsoft Social Engagement Help Center

Microsoft Social Engagement Forum

Collaborate with Skype, Lync, and Yammer

Set up Microsoft Dynamics CRM to make calls with Skype or Lync

Place calls with Skype or Lync

Collaborate and communicate with Yammer

Connect Microsoft Dynamics CRM to Yammer

Set up Microsoft Dynamics CRM to make calls with Skype or

Lync

If your organization is set up to use Skype or Lync, you can call your contacts from within

Microsoft Dynamics CRM by clicking or tapping the person’s phone number. This capability is called “click to call.”

Note

Lync has been rebranded as Skype for Business. Currently, you’ll still see references to

“Lync” in Microsoft Dynamics CRM, but CRM will work with Skype for Business.

There are a few areas where system administrators configure settings for this feature.

Users install Skype themselves. You set up Lync and make it available to users.

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For more information about Lync integration, see TechNet: Lync and Skype integration with

Microsoft Dynamics CRM . See also TechNet: Set up CRM Online to use Lync Online

Supported versions of Skype or Lync

These versions of Lync and Skype are supported:



Microsoft Lync 2010 or Microsoft Lync 2013



Skype 6.0

Set whether your organization uses Skype or Lync

You can configure which telephony provider your organization uses for click to call.

1. Make sure you have the System Administrator security role or equivalent permissions in

Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Administration. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose System Settings.

4. On the General tab, under Set the telephony provider, for Select provider for Click to

call, select Skype or Lync.

5. Choose OK.

Set your organization’s prefix for phone numbers

For people to place Skype or Lync calls from within Microsoft Dynamics CRM, the phone numbers must be entered and stored in a valid number format: <country/region code><area code><number>. However, when entering data in Microsoft Dynamics CRM, users may not include the required country or region prefix in a phone number.

To solve this, you can enable country/region code prefixing, and the system will prefix the code to the number that you are trying to call. This prefixing can be done for the entire organization, or users can set the country or region code in their personal options. If a user has specified a different code than what is set for the organization, the user’s setting overrides the organization’s setting.

1. Make sure you have the System Administrator security role or equivalent permissions in

Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

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Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Administration. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose System Settings.

4. On the General tab, in the Set the default country/region code section, select the

Enable country/region code prefixing check box, and then in the Country/Region

Code Prefix, specify the country/region code, such as +01181 (81 is the country code for

Japan).

5. Choose OK.

See Also

TechNet: Lync and Skype integration with Microsoft Dynamics CRM

TechNet: Set up CRM Online to use Lync Online

Place calls with Skype or Lync

If your organization is set up to use Skype or Lync, you can click or tap a phone number to call your contacts from within Microsoft Dynamics CRM. This capability is called “click to call.”

Note

Lync has been rebranded as Skype for Business. Currently, you’ll still see references to

“Lync” in Microsoft Dynamics CRM, but CRM will work with Skype for Business.

To place calls from within Microsoft Dynamics CRM on your computer, you either need to install

Skype ; or you need to check with your system administrator for steps to install Lync.

To place calls from within CRM for tablets, you’ll need to download the Skype app. If you don’t already have the app when you tap a phone number, you’ll have the opportunity to download the app before the call is placed.

These versions of Lync and Skype are supported:



Microsoft Lync 2010 or Microsoft Lync 2013



Skype 6.0

Collaborate and communicate with Yammer

Yammer gives you one place to have conversations, create and edit documents, and share information with your colleagues without sending a single email or attending any meetings.

If your organization is set up to work with Yammer, you’ll see posts on your Microsoft Dynamics

CRM dashboard when colleagues update customer info and you can comment on their posts

— asking questions, offering congratulations, and so on.

Important

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Before you can use Yammer within Microsoft Dynamics CRM, your organization needs to buy Yammer enterprise licenses.

When you use Yammer wit hin Microsoft Dynamics CRM, here’s what you’ll be able to do:



The Yammer newsfeed displays on your dashboard. As you and your colleagues work with customers, you’ll stay up to date with the latest news about what’s happening, and you’ll be able to join in the conversation. Discuss project deadlines, share the latest files, gather feedback

– and more.



Colleagues receive updates on your customer interactions automatically. When you create a new lead, convert it to an opportunity, close it, and so on, Yammer displays this news in your organization’s newsfeed automatically.



You can share files and discuss content without ever leaving your browser. Share documents, PDFs, images, and videos across teams quickly and easily.

See Also

Visit the Yammer website

Connect Microsoft Dynamics CRM to Yammer

Yammer is a private social network that gives colleagues at your organization a central place to post conversations, create and edit documents, and share information without sending a single email or attending any meetings.

After you set up your organization to work with Yammer, employees will see posts in a newsfeed on their Microsoft Dynamics CRM dashboard whenever people update customer info, and they’ll be able to join in the conversation with their own posts.

Important

Before your organization can use Yammer in CRM, your organization needs to buy

Yammer enterprise licenses, and then connect your organization to Yammer. More information: TechNet: Connect Microsoft Dynamics CRM to Yammer

Visit the Yammer website

Follow best practices with business processes

Guide staff through common tasks with processes

Create a new business process

Activate a business process

Assign a security role to a business process

Add ready-to-use business processes

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Business process templates for CRM

Import business process templates from Microsoft PinPoint

Use a dialog to create an interactive process like a wizard

Create a business rule to apply logic in a form





Guide staff through common tasks with processes

To help you automate common business tasks and ensure that people handle customers consistently, Microsoft Dynamics CRM includes processes.

There are four types of processes, each designed for a different purpose:



Business process flow. Use when you want staff to move through the same stages and follow the same steps to interact with a customer. For example, use a business process flow if you want everyone to handle customer service requests the same way, or to require staff to gain approval for an invoice before submitting an order.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM includes several ready-to-use business process flows for common sales, service, and marketing tasks that you can use with little or no changes required. Or, you can create your own.

More information:



Create a new business process



Activate a business process



Add ready-to-use business processes



Import business process templates from Microsoft PinPoint



Assign a security role to a business process

eBook: Intro to business processes eBook: Customize a business process



Dialog. Use when you have a step-by-step script you want staff to read through when talking to customers. For example, create a dialog to guide customer service reps through a customer call to resolve a case.

More information: TechNet: Dialogs



Workflow. Use when you want to automate common tasks, such as automatically sending a confirmation email to a customer when an order ships.

More information: TechNet: Workflow processes



Action. Use when you want to automate a series of commands in the system.

More information: TechNet: Actions

See Also

TechNet: Create and edit processes

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Create a new business process

You can help ensure that people enter data consistently and follow the same steps every time they work with a customer by creating a business process in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2015 and

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online 2015 Update. For example, you might want to create a business process to have everyone handle customer service requests the same way, or to require people to gain approval for an invoice before submitting an order.

CRM comes with several ready-to-use business processes for common business scenarios. All you have to do is add them to your system. To find out how to add ready-to-use business

processes to CRM, see Add ready-to-use business processes .

1. Make sure that you have the Manager, Vice President, CEO-Business Manager, System

Administrator, or System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Processes. (How do I get there?)

3. On the Actions toolbar, choose New.

4. Complete the required fields.

For the Category, select Business Process Flow from the drop-down list.

For the Entity, select the type of record from the drop-down list.

5. Select New blank process.

6. Choose OK.

7. Type a description for the process. You can use up to 2000 characters.

8. If people will progress from one type of record to another in order, choose the Plus/Minus button , and then select the next type of record in the process. Select more types of records to use in the process, if desired.

9. Type a name for the stage in the process.

10. If desired, select a category for the stage, either Qualify, Develop, Propose, Close,

Identify, Research, or Resolve.

11. Type a name for the first step in the stage. To add more steps, choose the Add button and then type a name.

12. If you want people to enter data to complete a step, select the field from the drop-down list. Select Required if people must fill in the field to complete the step and move to the next stage of the process.

,

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13. If desired, choose the Add button to add another stage. Repeat steps 9 through 12 until you have added all the stages and steps to the process.

14. To save the process as a draft, choose Save at the top of the screen. (As long as a process is a draft, people won’t be able to use it.) To activate it so that people can use it, choose Activate.

See Also

Activate a business process

Assign a security role to a business process

Add ready-to-use business processes

Customize a business process

Activate a business process

Before people can follow the stages and steps in a business process, you need to activate it.

Note

If the business process includes workflows or portable business logic rules, you’ll need to activate those separately. For more information about business processes, see Create and edit processes .

1. Make sure that you have the Manager, Vice President, CEO-Business Manager, System

Administrator, or System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Processes. (How do I get there?)

3. On the list of processes, click or tap on the left of the process name to select it.

4. Choose Activate.

See Also

Create a new business process

Assign a security role to a business process

Add ready-to-use business processes

eBook: Customize a business process

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Assign a security role to a business process

After you create a business process, you need to enable the security roles of those who are going to use it. This allows people with the security role to assign the process to new and existing records.

1. Make sure you have the System Administrator security role or equivalent permissions in

Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Processes. (How do I get there?)

3. On the list of your processes, choose the process name.

4. Choose Enable Security Roles.

5. Select Enable for everyone, or select Enable only for the selected security roles and then select the security role.

6. Choose OK.

See Also

Activate a business process

Create a new business process

Add ready-to-use business processes

eBook: Customize a business process

Add ready-to-use business processes

Microsoft Dynamics CRM includes several ready-to-use business processes for common sales, service, and marketing scenarios

– to help you ensure that staff follow consistent steps every time they work with customers.

Before you can use these processes, you need to add them to the system.

Note

Ready-to-use business processes are activated automatically when you add them. If a ready-touse business process includes workflows or portable business logic rules, you’ll need to activate those separately. For more information about business processes, see

Create and edit processes .

The following table shows a list of ready-to-use business processes and what they help you do.

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This ready-to-use process

Phone sales campaign

Email sales campaign

Multichannel sales campaign

Marketing list builder

Helps you…

Call prospects, create and qualify leads, develop opportunities, and then close deals.

Email prospects, create and qualify leads, develop opportunities, and then close deals.

Contact prospects by phone and email, create and qualify leads, and then close deals.

Create targeted marketing lists for accounts, contacts, or leads, add prospects, and gain manager approval.

Service appointment scheduling

Service case upsell

Schedule service appointments, set up reminders, and make sure service activities are completed.

Upsell additional products or services while resolving a customer’s service request.

Guided service case Make sure that data is entered consistently for service cases, and that required activities are completed to resolve a case.

Opportunity to invoice (Business-to-Business) Follow a standard process for assessing needs, negotiating outcomes, fulfilling orders, and closing opportunities when selling to other businesses.

Contact to order Target sales by using a consistent method to interact with customers.

Upsell after service interaction

In store excellence

Turn a good service experience into an opportunity to upsell more products and services to the customer.

Suggest orders for store owners and field personnel and gain acceptance from store managers for those orders.

Add ready-to-use business processes

1. Make sure that you have the Manager, Vice President, CEO-Business Manager, System

Administrator, or System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

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2. Go to Settings > Processes. (How do I get there?)

3. Select Add Ready-to-Use Business Processes.

4. Choose Add.

See Also

Create a new business process

Assign a security role to a business process

Guide staff through common tasks with processes

eBook: Customize a business process

Business process templates for CRM

Check out Microsoft Dynamics Labs for business process templates that help organizations like yours follow best practices for common scenarios in your industry. These templates help you save time by giving you a great starting point for creating business processes that match the way you do business. They were developed by Microsoft employees from Research & Development,

Support, Microsoft Consulting Services, and other teams within Microsoft.

You can find additional business process templates offered by Microsoft Partners on Microsoft

PinPoint .

Before you can use these processes, you need to download them from the Microsoft Dynamics

Marketplace, and then import the template into your Microsoft Dynamics CRM system. Many templates include demo data so that you can experiment with them and see how they work. To

find out how to import business process templates and demo data, see Import business process templates from Microsoft PinPoint .

Important

Please note that these templates aren’t supported by Microsoft. The global community facilitated by the Microsoft Dynamics Marketplace provides a place for you to discuss and exchange ideas and questions.

Installing a solution or publishing customizations can interfere with normal system operation. We recommend that you schedule a solution import when it’s least disruptive to users. For more information about how to import templates, see Import, update, and export solutions on TechNet.

Industry

Financial Services

Business process template Description

Deal, On-boarding, and

Account Planning Process

Follow best practices through the complete client lifecycle for new and existing customers, from initial data gathering and on-boarding to account planning and running.

Life Insurance Sales Template Helps insurance companies sell life insurance policies from start to finish, including from prospecting for clients to quote, application, underwriting, and policy

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Industry

Manufacturing and

Distribution

Business process template

Coming Soon: Property and

Casualty (P&C) Insurance

Template

Coming Soon: Retail Banking

Template

Description

issuance. Helps agents, customer service reps

(CSRs), and district managers capture information from prospects, convert leads into opportunities, send price quotes, and create the policy.

Customer service reps can also follow the process to cross-sell insurance products during service calls. Doesn't include demo data.

Help property and casualty insurers and agents uncover new opportunities, streamline the sales process, manage claims, and more effectively serve customers.

Manage and leverage customer interactions, provide the right products and services, and streamline processes across the branch.

Wealth Management Process Gather required information from clients, develop investment proposals, and close transactions successfully. Doesn't include demo data.

Coming Soon: Automotive

Lead Qualification and

Management Template

Improve the lead qualification and nurturing process to increase the quality of leads passed from OEM to dealer.

Automotive Warranty Claims

Management Template

Simplify handling of warranty claims, including capturing key information from the customer, creating work orders for repairs, coordinating OEM review and approval of claims, and submitting required documentation.

Connected Marketing, Sales, and Service Template

View information from a 360 degree view, make impactful decisions, and act effectively on those decisions across multiple industry channels

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Industry

Nonprofit Organizations

Professional Services

Business process template

Sales Targeting in New

Markets for Manufacturing

Process

Description

(Manufacturing, Distribution, and Retail).

Create targeted marketing campaigns for products, and nurture campaign responses through the sales cycle to shipping an order. Guide sales representatives through each step to collaborate with the engineering team to create prototypes and manage change orders.

Service Call

—Repair and

Return Template

Donor and Volunteer

Management Template for

Large Organizations

Standardize how customer service reps (CSRs) assist customers with product fixes by phone, and manage product returns, replacements, and repairs.

Manage the donor management process in collecting contributions by volunteers.

Coming Soon: Donor and

Volunteer Management

Template for Small

Organizations

Manage and improve interactions with donors and volunteers using the power of

CRM combined with Microsoft

Office applications.

Event Management Template Plan, manage, and review events. Track event venues and sessions, internal and external team members, event packages, and group allocations. The web portal handles web registrations for events.

Government Contractor

Capture Management

Template

Helps contractors for the

United States federal government apply rigorous business development practices, scoping, estimation methods, and proactive risk management protocols to pursue and win the right contracts at the right price.

Service Appointment Booking

Template

Provide services by booking appointment for standardizing how customer service reps

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Industry

Public Sector

Business process template

Service Offering Innovation and Sales Template

Description

(CSRs) handle service appointment booking through phone. This template helps

CSRs provide customers discounts and specialized services based on their profile while booking a service appointment.

Turn innovation challenges to craft new service offering ideas using a CRM-based variant of the Microsoft

Innovation Management

Framework. Guide development and marketing of top-rated ideas. Coordinate every step of the pursuit process from opportunity identification to proposal creation, risks assessment, and escalation for go/no-go decisions. Develop, test, and drive new revenue and growth initiatives.

Sports Management Template Designed for professional sports teams. Manage the sale of tickets and merchandise, and track players and teams, including injuries, scouting reports, drug testing results, and contracts.

Doesn't include demo data.

Citizen Services Template Manage incoming service requests from citizens. Local, regional, or state governments can prioritize and assign service requests, estimate time and costs, and track progress until resolution.

Elected Official Transition

Template

Manage the recruiting and hiring process of staff by the transition team. Guides transition staff through standardized steps to help in the review, vetting, and investigation of new applicants. Dashboards provide visual status of

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Industry Business process template Description

applicants and where they are in the process.

Grant Management Template Manage and track grant awards to individuals, businesses, or other governments from application to the allocation of funds.

Healthcare Management

Process

Screen patients, provide appropriate counseling, and schedule follow-up appointments for patients.

Doesn't include demo data.

Health Plan Sales Template Designed for organizations that sell health insurance, this template helps agents, customer service reps, and district managers capture information from a campaign response, convert leads into opportunities, send price quotes, and create the policy.

Customer service reps can also follow the process to cross-sell insurance products during service calls. Doesn’t include demo data.

Higher Education Admissions

Sample Process

Coming Soon: Patient

Relationship Management

Template

Public Sector Case

Management Template

Manage admissions and enrollment for prospective students, including collecting student information, tracking receipt of application documents, and monitoring applications under consideration. Doesn't include demo data.

Healthcare providers track and manage their patient engagement lifecycle. With a patient data model and business processes, staff can store patient information, communicate via email, track these communications and set up automated workflows, for targeted outreach.

Follow standardized steps to assess cases, define and

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Industry

Retail

Sales & Service

Methodology

Business process template

Tax, Permitting, and License

Compliance Template

Description

approve mitigation plans, provide management reports, and ensure all required activities are completed to close a case.

Oversee the collection of licensing and permitting fees from businesses and citizens.

Coming Soon: Retail Customer

Service Template

Gives retail organizations the ability to have a scripted workflow of activity when dealing with retail problem scenarios. Helps retail customer support operations to effectively walk through customer transactional problems in a structured, repeatable way.

Coming Soon: Selling to

Business Accounts Template

Use salesforce automation to manage retail business customer accounts, expand on their footprint, and sell new or additional products.

Solution Selling

Cycle

Solution Selling

–

Strategic/Complex Sales Cycle

Solution Selling

– Short Sales

–

Transactional Cycle

Guide sales representatives through a simple sales cycle with two or three meetings with prospective customers or decision makers.

Guide sales representatives through a complex sales cycle with five or more meetings with prospective customers, decision makers, or sponsors.

Guide sales representatives through a highly scripted, “one call” sales cycle. Covers inbound and outbound calling scenarios.

Integrated Sales and Service

Template

Cross sell and upsell product and service offers through your customer service channel. Standardize how customer service representatives provide customers with product and service offers based on their interest and profile, and

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Other

Industry Business process template

Service Appointment Booking

Template

Service Management with

Entitlements Template

Cable and Telco Customer

Service Template

Coming Soon: Connected

Devices (IoT) Template

Description

create leads for their sales team.

Standardize how customer service representatives handle service appointment bookings. Provide customers with discounts and specialized services based on their profile during the booking process.

Provide differentiated services to customers based on their entitlements levels. This template provides a step

–by– step visualization of the process to be followed by customer service representatives and helps customer service organizations provide premium service to their customers based on their entitlements.

Respond to customer inquiries with more contextually relevant and insightful answers that nurture the customer relationship and proactively introduce upsell and cross-sell conversations that boost revenue growth.

The Internet of Things (IoT) with the ability to connect computing devices to offer advanced machine communications and learnings, is changing the way organizations think about engaging with customers and partners. This template takes the Connected Marketing,

Sales, and Service template to the next level by enhancing it with machine network integration and enabling CRM users to leverage machine data that is proactively sent from sensors to engage in rich

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Industry Business process template

Customer Portal

Partner Relationship

Management Portal

Description

marketing, sales, and customer service scenarios.

Deliver portal capabilities to customers while tracking and managing interactions.

Includes lead generation, service scheduling, case management, event calendar, product registration, self-help knowledge base, and content management.

Distribute sales leads and centrally manage sales opportunities across channel partners.

See Also

TechNet: Create and edit processes

Activate a business process

Create a new business process

Assign a security role to a business process

Import business process templates from Microsoft PinPoint

eBook: Customize a business process

Import business process templates from Microsoft PinPoint

Get innovative solutions for your Microsoft Dynamics CRM system from the Microsoft Dynamics

Marketplace. These include business process solutions from Microsoft Partners, as well as

Microsoft Dynamics Labs solutions developed by Microsoft employees from Research &

Development, Support, Microsoft Consulting Services, and other teams within Microsoft.

If your solution is from a Microsoft Partner, you’ll need to work with the Partner to purchase and get the files you need to download.

Important

Please note that these solutions aren’t supported by Microsoft. The global community facilitated by the Microsoft Dynamics Marketplace provides a place for you to discuss and exchange ideas and questions.

Installing a solution or publishing customizations can interfere with normal system operation. We recommend that you schedule a solution import when it’s least disruptive to users. For more information about how to import solutions, see Import, update, and export solutions on TechNet.

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Download your industry template

1. Select your industry template from Microsoft Dynamics Labs .

2. Choose Try It, choose I agree, and then save the file to the location you want.

3. Right-click the cabinet (.cab) file you just downloaded, choose Extract, and save the extracted file to the same folder.

4. Right-click the compressed (.zip) file you just extracted, choose Extract, and save the extracted file to the same folder.

5. Open the folder you just extracted, open the PackageDeployer folder, and double-click

PackageDeployer.exe.

6. Choose Continue to start Package Deployer for Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

7. On the next screen, select your deployment type and region, type in your credentials, and choose Login.

8. Choose Next on the next four screens, then choose Finish on the last screen.

See Also

Create a new business process

Activate a business process

Add ready-to-use business processes

Assign a security role to a business process

Business process templates for CRM

eBook: Customize a business process

Use a dialog to create an interactive process like a wizard

Dialogs are a type of process in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. A dialog is an input form, similar to a wizard that prompts users for information. You can use dialogs to help users follow complex processes. A dialog can include bra nching logic that’s based on input from the person stepping through a case, phone call, or other customer interaction. Dialogs are frequently used in call centers to provide scripts that allow customer-facing staff to apply consistent interactions with customers.

For more information, see TechNet: Dialogs.

See Also

Create a new business process

Create a business rule to apply logic in a form

Not every organization has a developer readily available to apply changes when the rules in an organization change. With Microsoft Dynamics CRM, you can create business rules to apply form logic without writing JavaScript code.

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Business rules provide a simple interface to implement and maintain fast-changing and commonly used rules. Business rules can be applied to Main and Quick Create forms for both the web application and Microsoft Dynamics CRM for tablets.

To learn more about business rules, see TechNet: Create and edit business rules

See Also

TechNet: Create and edit processes

Import data

Import contacts

Import accounts, leads, or other data

Upload a data import file

Review the file upload summary

Select a data map

Map record types

Map fields

Review the mapping summary

Review settings and import data

Import contacts

How to

Whether your contacts are stored in an email program, a spreadsheet, or on your phone, here’s how to import them into Microsoft Dynamics CRM so you have all your business contact information in CRM.

Step 1: Get your import file ready

First, you export your contacts into a file.

These file formats are supported:



Comma-separated values (.csv)



Text (.txt)



Compressed (.zip)



Excel Spreadsheet 2003 (.xml)

The maximum file size allowed for .zip files is 32 MB. For the other file formats, the maximum file size allowed is 8 MB.

Tip

If you need to import a larger amount of data, see the MSDN: Import Data for additional details.

If you store contacts in more than one program, add your import files to a single .zip file.

Then import the .zip file to bring in all the files at once.

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Follow the procedure for the program or location where your contacts are stored:

Export contacts from an email program

1. Export the contacts into a comma separated values file (.csv).

To find sp ecific steps to export contacts from your email program, open the program’s

Help, and search for “export.” Look for topics that include “exporting contacts” or

“exporting your address book” or “export wizard” in the title.

2. Save the file in a location where you can find it easily later.

Export contacts from a spreadsheet

1. Open the spreadsheet.

2. If necessary, edit any column name in the spreadsheet to match exactly with the corresponding name shown here.

Warning

If the spreadsheet doesn’t include all the column names listed, that’s okay.

However, if a column name does exist, it must match exactly with the corresponding name in the list or the import won’t work. Spaces are required.

Note that the word “Email” doesn’t contain a hyphen.

Column Name in Spreadsheet (spelling must

match exactly)

First Name

Middle Name

Last Name

Business Phone

Mobile Phone

Job Title

Business Street

Business City

Business State

Business Postal Code

Business Country/Region

Email Address

3. Save the file.

Export contacts from your phone

1. Use a USB cable or an app to export your contacts from your phone to your computer.

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To find specific steps to export contacts for your brand of phone, search for “export contacts from my phone” in your favorite search engine (like Bing).

To find an app, search your phone’s online store.

Step 2: Import the file

You’ll use the Import Data wizard to import your contacts.

1. Go to Settings > Data Management. (How do I get there?)

2. Click or tap Imports.

3. Choose Import Data.

4. Browse to the folder where you saved the file that contains the export of your contacts.

Select the file, then choose Open. Choose Next.

Tip

You can import only one file at a time. To bring in more files, run the wizard again later, or add all your contacts files to a single .zip file.

5. Review the file name, and if the file is in .csv or .txt format, verify that the field and data delimiters are correct. Choose Next.

Note

In most cases, you can accept the default delimiters.

6. Select Default (Automatic Mapping) for the System Data Map. Choose Next.

7. In the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Record Types drop-down list, select Contacts. Choose

Next.

8. For any record type with an alert icon, map the column from your contacts file to the corresponding field in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Choose OK, then choose Next.

9. Review the summary, then choose Next.

10. Choose Submit.

11. To verify that the wizard was successful, choose Imports, then review the report.

Otherwise, choose Finish.

Step 3: Check that the contacts imported successfully

After the wizard finishes, check your list of contacts to make sure they imported correctly.

1. Choose your role (either Sales, Service, or Marketing). Go to Contacts. (How do I get there?)

2. Scroll through the contact list. Check that each person is listed and verify the contents of the fields for accuracy.

Read this eBook

Want to see visuals of importing contacts? Check out this eBook.

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See Also

Import accounts, leads, or other data

Import accounts, leads, or other data

Whether your data is stored in spreadsheets, databases, or oth er systems, you’ll probably want to import the data into Microsoft Dynamics CRM so you can keep track of all your customer information in one place.

You can import any type of information, such as accounts, leads, or opportunities

– even activities or case s. (The different types of information are called “record types.”)

Note

Your import will fail if you use a template that you exported from CRM, add a new column to it, and then try to import the data back into CRM Online.

Note

Want to import contacts? More information: Import contacts

Step 1: Get your import file ready

First, you’ll need to get your data into a file.

Make sure your data is as complete and accurate as possible when you create the import file. Fill in any missing info, and verify that names and other information are spelled correctly.

These file formats are supported:

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

Comma-separated values (.csv)



Text (.txt)



Compressed (.zip)



Excel Spreadsheet 2003 (.xml)



Excel Workbook (.xlsx)

The maximum file size allowed for .zip files is 32 MB. For the other file formats, the maximum file size allowed is 8 MB.

Tip

If you need to import a larger amount of data, check out MSDN: Import data for additional details.

You can add multiple import files to a single .zip file, and then import the .zip file to bring in all the files at once. For example, if several salespeople enter leads from a tradeshow into different spreadsheets, you can gather them into one .zip file for import.

For best results, it’s a good idea to make sure you (or your CRM admin, if that’s someone else) have some rules in place to reduce any duplicates when you import the data (called

“duplicate detection rules”). More information:

Set up duplicate detection rules to keep your data clean

Step 2: Run the Import Data wizard

You’ll use the Import Data wizard to import the file.

1. Go to Settings > Data Management. (How do I get there?)

2. Choose Imports > Import Data.

3. Browse to the folder where you saved the file that contains the import file. Select the file, and then choose Open. Then, choose Next.

Tip

You can import only one file at a time. To bring in more files, run the wizard again later, or add all your import files to a single .zip file.

4. Review the file name, and if the file is in .xlsx, .xml, .csv, .txt or .zip format, verify that the field and data delimiters are correct. Then, choose Next.

Note

In most cases, you can accept the default delimiters.

5. Select how the wizard determines which fields to use for the data.



Select Default (Automatic Mapping) if you want the wizard to determine the corresponding fields in Microsoft Dynamics CRM automatically. If the wizard can’t find a field, you’ll have the opportunity to “map” it yourself.

-- OR --



Select For Generic Contact and Account Data if your import file contains contacts and accounts (and contacts are the main type of data).

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-- OR --



Select For BCM 2010 if your import file contains your contacts from Microsoft

Outlook 2010 with Business Contact Manager.

-- OR --



If available for your or ganization, select a custom data map. (You’ll see them in the list if they’re available to you.)

6. Choose Next.

7. If prompted, in the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Record Types drop-down list, select the type of records you are importing, for example Account or Lead. Then, choose Next.

8. For any record type with an alert icon, map the field from your import file to a corresponding field in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Scroll to see the whole list. Then, choose Next.

9. Review the summary, and then choose Next.

10. Select additional import settings.



If it’s okay for the Import Data wizard to import duplicate records, in the Allow

Duplicates section, select Yes.

Caution

In most cases, to avoid importing duplicate information, you should keep this option set to No.



To set who owns the imported records, in the Select Owner for the Imported Records section, choose the Lookup button . Select Look Up More Records

, type the person’s name, and then choose Add.

Note

How do you decide who should “own” the imported data? Usually, the owner is the person responsible for taking action on the data. Here’s an example: If your import file contains contacts you collected at a trade show and you want to assign a user to follow up with these contacts, select that person for the owner. To assign someone other than yourself as the owner of the imported records, your security role must include permissions to create records for the user. If you don’t have sufficient permissions, the wizard assigns you as the owner of the imported records by default.



To save these import settings so you can use them again, enter a name for the settings (called a “data map”).

The next time you run the Import Data wizard, you’ll see the new data map listed under Custom Maps.

11. Choose Submit.

12. To verify that the wizard was successful, choose Imports, and then review the report.

Otherwise, choose Finish.

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See Also

Import contacts

MSDN: Import data

Upload a data import file

File types that are supported are comma-separated values (.csv), text (.txt), compressed (.zip),

XML spreadsheet 2003 (.xml), and Excel Workbook (.xlsx).

The maximum file size allowed is 32 MB for compressed files (200 MB total for files added to the

.zip file), and 8 MB for other supported file types.

1. Before you run the Import Data wizard, create a file that contains the data you want to

import. Follow the steps in Import contacts . Or to import other types of data such as

leads, accounts, or cases, see Import accounts, leads, or other data .

2. Browse to the folder where you saved the file containing the import file. Select the file, and then choose Open. Choose Next.

Note

Your import will fail if you’re using a template that you exported from Microsoft Dynamics

CRM and then added a new column and are now importing the data back into Microsoft

Dynamics CRM Online.

See Also

Import contacts

Import accounts, leads, or other data

Review the file upload summary

1. Verify that the files you want to import are listed. For .zip files, the list includes each file added to the .zip file.

2. Click or tap Delimiter Settings, then select the characters used to separate the contents of fields and pieces of data. (These characters are called “delimiters.”)



The default delimiter for fields is a comma (,).The other supported delimiters for fields are colon (:), semicolon (;), and tab character (/t).

Example of field delimiter:

Company Name,Address,City,State



The default delimiter for data is double quotation marks (").The other supported delimiters for data are single quotation mark ('), and None.

Examples of data delimiter:

Company Name,Address

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"Fabrikam, Inc.","150 A Street"

Note

Because an XML file does not use delimiters, if you upload a file that is in XML

Spreadsheet 2003 format, or a .zip file that contains XML Spreadsheet 2003 files, the delimiter information won’t be available.

3. Click or tap Next.

See Also

Import contacts

Import accounts, leads, or other data

Select a data map

1. Select a data map to tell the Import Data wizard how to organize your imported data into the right columns and fields in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Select the default data map to let the wizard automatically map your data, or select a data map to match the type of information you’re importing.

The following table helps you decide which data map to use.

2. Click or tap Next.

System Data Maps

Default (Automatic Mapping)

For Generic Contact and Account Data

When to Use

Recommended. Use when you want the wizard to map the imported data to the columns and fields in Microsoft Dynamics

CRM automatically.

If the wizard can’t determine how to map your data, you’ll have an opportunity to map it manually later.

Important

Import files can only contain one type of data, such as contacts, leads, accounts, or cases. Also, the column headings in the source file must match exactly with the field names in

Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Use when the import file contains contacts or accounts.

Data Maps for Salesforce.com When to Use

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For Contact and Account Report Export

For Full Data Export

For Report Export

Use this map when your import file contains contacts or accounts from Salesforce.com.

Use this map when your import file is exported from Salesforce.com using Full Data Export.

Use this map when your import file is exported from Salesforce.com using Report Export.

Data Maps for Microsoft Outlook Business

Contact Manager

For BCM 2010

When to Use

Use this map when your import file contains data from Microsoft Outlook 2010 with

Business Contact Manager.

Custom Maps(optional)

Custom maps

When to Use

If available, custom data maps created for your organization are listed here.

See Also

Import contacts

Import accounts, leads, or other data

Map record types

1. For each import file, confirm that the Import Data wizard has identified the correct type of information (called a “record type”) contained in the file.

For example, if an import file contains contacts, the record type should be Contact. An import file containing accounts should have the record type Account, and so on.

2. For any import file marked Not Mapped or that has an incorrect record type, from the

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Record Types drop-down list, select the record type contained in the import file.

3. Click or tap Next.

See Also

Import contacts

Import accounts, leads, or other data

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Map fields

1. Confirm that the Import Data wizard has mapped all the pieces of info (call ed “fields”) in the import file to the correct fields in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. You may need to scroll down to see all the fields in the import file.

For example, an import file containing contacts may have a field for First Name, Last

Name, and Job Title. Make sure those fields are mapped correctly to the corresponding fields in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

2. For any field in the import file that is marked Not Mapped, go to the CRM Field Types drop-down list and select the field name to use in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. You may need to scroll down to see all available fields.

3. Click or tap Next.

See Also

Import contacts

Import accounts, leads, or other data

Create custom fields with the Import Data wizard

Review the mapping summary

Click or tap Edit if you want to change any record type or field mappings. Otherwise, click or tap

Next.

See Also

Import contacts

Import accounts, leads, or other data

Review settings and import data

Set whether the Import Data wizard checks for and handles duplicate data on import, decide who can edit or share the imported data, and save the settings you used for this import so you can use them again later.

Check for duplicate data

1. Make sure ther e is a duplicate detection rule for the type of information you’re importing.

By default, the system includes rules for contacts, accounts, and leads. If you’re importing a different type of data and need to set up duplicate detection rules, follow the

steps in Set up duplicate detection rules to keep your data clean .

2.

If it’s okay for the Import Data wizard to import duplicate records, in the Allow Duplicates section, select Yes.

Caution

In most cases, to avoid importing duplicate information, you should keep this option set to No.

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Set who owns the imported data

1. To set who owns the imported records, in the Select Owner for the Imported Records section, click or tap the Lookup button .

Important

Who should “own” the imported data? Most security roles allow people to view the data. However, the owner is also allowed to edit and share it. Here’s an example: If your import file contains contacts you collected at a trade show and you want to assign a user to follow up with these contacts, select that person for the owner.

To assign someone other than yourself as the owner of the imported records, your security role must include permissions to create records for the user. If you don’t have sufficient permissions, the wizard assigns you as the owner of the imported records by default.

Also, if applicable, ownership is assigned to the person defined in the data map metadata and users.csv file.

2.

In the search box, type the person’s name, then click or tap the Lookup button

.

3. Select the name, then click or tap Add.

Save these import settings to use again

1. To save these import settings so you can use them again, enter a name for the settings

(called a “data map”).

The next time you run t he Import Data wizard, you’ll see the new data map listed under

Custom Maps.

2. To import the data, click or tap Submit.

See Also

Import contacts

Import accounts, leads, or other data

Export data

Export Data to Excel

Export to an Excel PivotTable

Export to an Excel dynamic worksheet

Export to an Excel static worksheet

Analyze your CRM data in Excel Online

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Export Data to Excel

Do you need to analyze your data from Microsoft Dynamics CRM and convert that data into actionable items that help you drive more sales? Now you can do this when you export your data to Microsoft Excel or Excel Online to do a quick data analysis. Also, analyzing large datasets is not a problem because you can export up to 100,000 rows of data.

 

You can choose to export static worksheets or dynamic worksheets, which you can import back into CRM. If you need more advanced functions, you can export a dynamic PivotTable, which makes it very easy to organize and summarize data.

Export data to a standard Excel file that that you can use on any device such as your phone, tablet, or desktop computer. The data is exported in the same format as you see in CRM. Text will remain text, numbers will remain numbers, and dates will remain dates. However, when you export data from CRM to Excel the some cell format may change. The table below summarizes how you’ll see the data in CRM and how the cell format changes when you export the data to

Excel.

Cell format when data is exported from CRM to Excel

Data format in CRM Cell format in Excel

Text, Ticker Symbol, Phone, Options set, and

Look Up

Email, URL

Number

Currency

Date only, Date and Time

Calculated and Roll up fields

Secured fields

Shows as Text and option set becomes dropdown list

Shows as General

Shows as Number without group separator

Shows as Number and does not include “$” symbol

Shows as Date only

Editable in Excel but can’t be imported back to

CRM

Editable in Excel but can’t be imported back to

CRM

See which type of export works best for you

Task Learn more

Do an ad-hoc or what if analysis without modifying CRM data. Or, quick bulk edit to multiple CRM records.

Get a snapshot of the data at the current data and time or you want to share it with others.

Analyze your CRM data in Excel Online

Export to an Excel static worksheet

485

Task

Get the most update-to-date information and be able to refresh it in Excel and match what you see in CRM at any time.

View CRM data in a pivot table.

Learn more

Export to an Excel dynamic worksheet

Export to an Excel PivotTable



When you export data in Excel (.xlsx format) a nd then add or modify columns, you can’t import the data back in to CRM. This is not support for .xlsx file format.



If you’re using Excel 2010, \ you may get this error message when you export data from

Accounts area: “The file is corrupt and cannot be opened.”

The error message occurs due to a setting in Excel. To fix the issue, do this: a. Open Excel 2010 b. Choose File > Options. c. Choose Trust Center > Trust center settings. d. Choose Protected view. Then clear the check boxes for the first two options. e. Choose OK and then close the Options dialog box.

Privacy notice

If you use Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, exporting data to a static worksheet creates a local copy of the exported data and stores it on your computer. The data is transferred from CRM

Online to your computer by using a secure SSL connection, and no connection is maintained between this local copy and CRM Online.

When you export to a dynamic worksheet or PivotTable, a link is maintained between the Excel worksheet and CRM Online. Eve ry time a dynamic worksheet or PivotTable is refreshed, you’ll be authenticated with CRM Online using your credentials. You’ll be able to see the data that you have permissions to view.

An administrator determines whether or not an organization’s users are permitted to export data to Excel by using security roles.

Export to an Excel PivotTable

You can export Microsoft Dynamics CRM data to a Microsoft Office Excel PivotTable to see patterns and trends in data. An Excel PivotTable is a great way to summarize, analyze, explore, and present your CRM data.

If you’re on CRM Online 2015 Update 1, you can export up to 100,000 records at a time.

Prerequisites





Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook is required to export data to a PivotTable.

On a default Microsoft Dynamics CRM installation, before you export data to an Excel

PivotTable, make sure that your Microsoft SQL Server allows remote connections.

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

Allow remote connections to SQL Server a. Start Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio. b. Connect to the SQL Server instance. c. Right-click the SQL Server instance name, choose Properties, choose Connections, and then select the Allow remote connections to this server check box.

Windows Firewall allows remote SQL Server connections. More information: How to:

Configure a Windows Firewall for Database Engine Access .

Export to an Excel PivotTable

The option to export data to an Excel PivotTable isn’t available in all CRM record types. If you d on’t see the option, it’s not available for that record.

1. Open a list of records in the CRM web application or in Dynamics CRM for Outlook.

Choose Export to Excel.

2. Choose Dynamic PivotTable.

3. In the Select PivotTable Columns list, select or clear the check boxes for the fields as needed, and then choose Export.

By default, the PivotTable Field List includes only fields that are displayed in the Select

PivotTable Columns list.

4. Choose Save and then save the xlsx file. Make note of the location where you saved the file.

Note

If you’re going to edit the data file later, it’s recommended that you save the file before you open it. Otherwise, you may get this error message: Excel cannot

open or save any more documents because there is not enough available

memory or disk space.

To fix the issue do this: a. Open Excel and go to File > Options > Trust Center b. Choose Trust Center Settings, and then choose Protected View. c. Under Protected View, clear the check boxes for all three items. d. Choose OK, and then OK.

We still strongly recommend that you save and then open the data file, rather than disabling protected view, which may put your computer at risk.

5. Open Microsoft Office Excel and then open the . xlsx file you saved in the previous step.

6. If you see the security warning External Data Connections have been disabled, choose Enable Content.

7. To refresh data in the file, on the Data tab choose Refresh All.

8. Drag the fields from the PivotTable Field List to the PivotTable. For more information, see

Microsoft Office Excel Help.

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Tips



If you export a list to a dynamic worksheet or PivotTable that you think will be useful to other

Microsoft Dynamics CRM users, you can add the list as a report, and then share it with others or make it available to all Microsoft Dynamics CRM users.

If the recipients are in the same domain as you, and are Microsoft Dynamics CRM users, you can email a dynamic Excel file, or store it as a shared file. When recipients open the dynamic file, they will see data they have permission to view in Microsoft Dynamics CRM, so the data they see may be different from what you see.



In Microsoft Dynamics CRM, money values are exported to Microsoft Office Excel as numbers. After you have completed the export, to format the data as currency, see the Excel

Help topic titled “Display numbers as currency.”



The data and time values that you see in Microsoft Dynamics CRM show up as “Date” only when you export the file to Microsoft Office Excel but the cell actually shows both the date and time.



If you’re going to make changes and import the data file back in to CRM, remember that secured, calculated, and composite fields (such as Full Name) are readonly and can’t be imported in to CRM. You’ll be able to edit these fields in Excel but when you import the data back in to CRM these fields won’t be updated. If you want to update these fields such as a contact’s name, it’s recommend that you use that view to export your data, update them in

Excel, and import them back to CRM for changes.



Some system views, such as Accounts: No Campaign Activities in Last 3 Months, can be exported only to a static Excel worksheet.



For anyone who is not on CRM Online 2015 Update 1 and you are using the Office 365 Excel web app, you must save the file, open the file using the Excel desktop application, and then resave the file to the . xlsx format. You can then reopen the Excel document in Excel Online.

Privacy notice

If you use Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, exporting data to a static worksheet creates a local copy of the exported data and stores it on your computer. The data is transferred from CRM

Online to your computer by using a secure SSL connection, and no connection is maintained between this local copy and CRM Online.

When you export to a dynamic worksheet or PivotTable, a link is maintained between the Excel worksheet and CRM Online. Every time a dynamic worksheet or PivotTable is refreshed, you’ll be authenticated with CRM Online using your credentials. You’ll be able to see the data that you have permissions to view.

An administrator determines whether or not an organization’s users are permitted to export data to Excel by using security roles.

See Also

Export Data to Excel

Edit the default filter of a report

Data management top links

488

Create, edit, or save an Advanced Find search

Export to an Excel dynamic worksheet

Export data to a Microsoft Office Excel worksheet so users can have the latest Microsoft

Dynamics CRM information any time they view the worksheet. Imagine the CEO of your company getting the critical information they need without having to navigate Microsoft Dynamics CRM but instead, merely opening the Excel link on their desktop.

If you’re on CRM Online 2015 Update 1, you can export up to 100,000 records at a time.

Prerequisites

Dynamics CRM for Outlook is required to export data to a Dynamic PivotTable.

Export data to an Excel dynamic worksheet

You can’t export data to a dynamic worksheet in Excel for all CRM record types. If you don’t see the option, it’s not available for that record.

1. Open a list of records in the CRM web application or in Microsoft Dynamics CRM for

Outlook. Click or tap Export to Excel.

2. Choose Dynamic worksheet.

3. Under Common Tasks, configure the column settings and then choose Export.

4. Choose Save and then save the xlsx file. Make note of the location where you saved the file.

Note

If you’re going to edit the data file later, it’s recommended that you save the file before you open it. Otherwise, you may get this error message: Microsoft Excel

cannot open or save any more documents because there is not enough

available memory or disk space.

To fix the issue do this: a. Open Excel and go to File > Options > Trust Center

Settings Center Settings… >

Protected View. b. In Protected View, uncheck all three items. c. Then choose OK > OK.

We still strongly recommend that you save and then open the data file, rather than disabling protected view which may put your computer at risk.

5. Open Microsoft Office Excel and then open the . xlsx file you saved in the previous step.

6. If you see the security warning External Data Connections have been disabled, choose Enable Content.

7. To refresh data in the file, on the Data tab, choose Refresh All.

Note

If you have a phone numbers that starts with + or

–, for example +1-123-456-

7890, when you refresh the dynamic worksheet the phone number field will not

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display the number correctly.

To avoid the issue, use a space or parentheses (), like this: +1 123-456-7890 or

+1 (123)-456-7890

Tips



You can email a dynamic Excel file or store it as a shared file if the recipients are in the same domain as you. When recipients open the dynamic file, they’ll see data they have permission to view in Microsoft Dynamics CRM, so the data they see may be different from what you see.



Some system views, such as Accounts: No Campaign Activities in Last 3 Months, can be exported only to a static Excel worksheet.



In Microsoft Dynamics CRM, money values are exported to Microsoft Office Excel as numbers. After you have completed the export, to format the data as currency, see the Excel

Help topic titled “Display numbers as currency.”



The data and time values that you see in Microsoft Dynamics CRM show up as Date only when you export the file to Microsoft Office Excel but the cell actually shows both the date and time.



If you’re going to make changes and import the data file back in to CRM, remember that secured, calculated, and composite fields (e.g. Full Name) are readonly and can’t be imported in to CRM. You’ll be able to edit these fields in Excel but when you import the data back in to CRM these fields will not be updated. If you want to update these fields such as a contact’s name then it’s recommend that you use that view to export your data, update them in Excel, and import them back to CRM for changes.



If you’re not on CRM Online 2015 Update 1 and are using the Office 365 Excel web app, you must save the file, open the file using the Excel desktop application, and then resave the file to the .xlsx format. You can then reopen the Excel document in Excel Online.

Privacy notice

If you use Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, exporting data to a static worksheet creates a local copy of the exported data and stores it on your computer. The data is transferred from CRM

Online to your computer by using a secure SSL connection, and no connection is maintained between this local copy and CRM Online.

When you export to a dynamic worksheet or PivotTable, a link is maintained between the Excel worksheet and

CRM Online. Every time a dynamic worksheet or PivotTable is refreshed, you’ll be authenticated with CRM Online using your credentials. You’ll be able to see the data that you have permissions to view.

An administrator determines whether or not an organiz ation’s users are permitted to export data to Excel by using security roles.

See Also

Export Data to Excel

Edit the default filter of a report

Create, edit, or save an Advanced Find search

490

Export to an Excel static worksheet

When you want to present CRM information to an individual who doesn’t have access to

Microsoft Dynamics CRM, or you have data that doesn’t change often, consider exporting your

CRM data to a Microsoft Office Excel static worksheet.

If you’re on CRM Online 2015 Update 1, you can export up to 100,000 records at a time. And by default, CRM lists up to 50 records per page. Choose the Page arrows at the bottom of the list to view any additional pages.

Export data to an Excel static worksheet

You may have the option to export data to an Excel static worksheet in all record types however, in some cases the format may be legacy, or the data may not be filtered by what you see in CRM view.

1. Open a list of records in the CRM web application or in Microsoft Dynamics CRM for

Outlook. Choose Export to Excel, and then choose Static worksheet (Page only).

2. By default, an exported worksheet includes the fields that are displayed in the list, using the same field order, sorting, and field widths. To make changes to the columns in an

Advanced Find View, choose Edit Columns. More information: Create, edit, or save an

Advanced Find search

3. Choose Save and then save the . xlsm file. Make note of the location where you saved the file.

Note

If you’re going to edit the data file later, it’s recommended that you save the file before you open it. Otherwise, you may get this error message: Excel cannot

open or save any more documents because there is not enough available

memory or disk space.

To fix the issue do this: a. Open Excel and go to File > Options > Trust Center

Settings Center Settings… >

Protected View. b. In Protected View, uncheck all three items. c. Then choose OK > OK.

We still strongly recommend that you save and then open the data file, rather than disabling protected view, which may put your computer at risk.

4. Open Microsoft Office Excel and then open the .xlsm file you saved in the previous step.

By default, an exported worksheet includes the fields that are displayed in the list, using the same field order, sorting, and field widths.

Tips



You can email a static exported worksheet to anyone, or store it in a shared file. Anyone who opens the file will see all the data in the file, whether or not they are a Microsoft Dynamics

CRM user or have privileges to view the data in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

491



You can’t change the columns for a system view, such as All Active Accounts. You must either customize the view, which requires the System Administrator or System Customizer security role, or use Advanced Find to create your own view based on the current view.



If you’re not on CRM Online 2015 Update 1 and you’re using the Office 365 Excel web app, you must save the file, open the file using the Excel desktop application, and then resave the file to the .xlsx format. You can then reopen the Excel document in Excel Online.



In Microsoft Dynamics CRM, money values are exported to Excel as numbers. After you have completed the export, to format the data as currency, see the Microsoft Office Excel Help topic titled “Display numbers as currency.”



The data and time values that you see in Microsoft Dynamics CRM show up as Date only when you export the file to Microsoft Office Excel but the cell actually shows both the date and time.



If you’re going to make changes and import the data file back in to CRM, remember that secured, calculated, and composite fields (e.g. Full Name) are readonly and can’t be imported in to CRM. You’ll be able to edit these fields in Excel but when you import the data back in to CRM these fields will not be updated. If you want to update these fields such as a contact’s name then it’s recommend that you use that view to export your data, update them in Excel, and import them back to CRM for changes.

Privacy notice

If you use Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, exporting data to a static worksheet creates a local copy of the exported data and stores it on your computer. The data is transferred from CRM

Online to your computer by using a secure SSL connection, and no connection is maintained between this local copy and CRM Online.

When you export to a dynamic worksheet or PivotTable, a link is maintained between the Excel worksheet and CRM Online. Every time a dynamic worksheet or PivotTable is refreshed, you’ll be authenticated with CRM Online using your credentials. You’ll be able to see the data that you have permissions to view.

An administrator determines whether or not an organization’s users are permitted to export data to Excel by using security roles.

See Also

Edit the default filter of a report

Create, edit, or save an Advanced Find search

Analyze your CRM data in Excel Online

How to

No need to leave Microsoft Dynamics CRM to analyze your data. Now you can do a quick ad-hoc analysis using Microsoft Excel Online in Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online.

For example, if you’re a sales manager, you might want to analyze the opportunities your team owns and review key performance indicators (KPIs) to see how you can assist your team members. If you’re a sales rep, you can open your opportunities in Excel and conduct what-if analysis for different incentive scenarios. Or, you may want to quickly open the data in Excel

Online so that you can copy it somewhere else such as an email.

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When you make changes to your data in Excel Online, you can save the updated information in

CRM. Remember to keep the existing format of the Excel cells to prevent problems during import.

Adding additional information to the spreadsheet, such as graphs, charts, or colors, will not be saved.

Prerequisites



For Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online organizations, this feature is available only if your organization has updated to Dynamics CRM Online 2015 Update 1. Interested in getting this feature? Find your CRM administrator or support person . This feature is not available for

Dynamics CRM (on-premises).



You also need a Microsoft account.



You also need export to Excel privileges in CRM.

Open CRM data in Excel Online

The option to open data in Excel Online isn’t available in all CRM record types. If you don’t see the option, it’s not available for that record.



Note

Updated data in CRM won’t immediately be reflected in Excel Online if the same view was opened in the last two minutes in Excel Online. After that timeframe, any updated data should show in Excel Online.

Open a list of records in CRM Online. Choose Export to Excel > Open in Excel Online.

Note

By default, you can’t open your CRM data in Excel Online in the Advanced Find view.

However, you can save your advanced find as a personal view and then go to your personal view to do an ad-hoc analysis in Excel Online.

Save your data and import it back to CRM

1. On the top right, choose Save Changes to CRM.

Note



The data for ad-hoc analysis with Excel Online is stored temporarily. Any additions, such as charts, calculations, and columns won’t be saved from the ad-hoc analysis that you do

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in Excel Online back to CRM. If you need to make lots of changes to your data and import it back to CRM, it’s recommended that you export the worksheet in Microsoft

Excel.



The file import might fail if you made a lot of changes or changed the format of the Excel file. If you need to make lots of changes to your data and import it back to CRM, it’s recommended that you export the worksheet in Excel.



By design, you can’t do a File > Save As in Excel Online. If you do, you’ll get a Can’t

Save Workbook error message.

2. On the Data Submitted for Import dialog box, choose Close.

Check the status of the data import

After you save your changes from Excel Online to CRM, verify that the data has been imported back in to CRM Online.

1. In the Data Submitted for Import dialog box, choose Imports.

-OR-

Go to Settings > Data Management. (How do I get there?) Then choose Imports.

2. In the list of imported files, look for your imported file and check the status.

Watch this video

Find out how to analyze your data and transform it into meaningful knowledge with Microsoft

Dynamics CRM 2015 Update 1 Excel integration. https://www.youtube.com/embed/NZNvWz9xuZ0

To see video captions, choose the Closed Caption (CC) button in the lower-right corner of the YouTube window.

Read video transcript

Do you need to analyze your data from Microsoft Dynamics CRM and transform that data into meaningful knowledge that helps to drive sales?

Dynamics CRM allows you to do just that with your CRM Excel integrations. Quickly export your data to either Microsoft Excel for Rich Client or Microsoft Excel Online for easy consumption. The new Export to Excel feature is very simple. With a single click you can export data to a standard

Excel file that can be used on any client: Phone, tablet, desktop, as well as Excel Online. Data is exported in the same format as it is in CRM. You don't need to worry about data formats getting lost in translation; text will remain text, numbers will remain numbers, and dates will remain dates.

We can choose to export static or dynamic worksheets, both of which are importable. But what if you need more advanced functions?

You can also export a Dynamic Pivot Table, which makes it very easy to tabulate and summarize data. Also, analyzing large data sets is not a problem - CRM can export up to 100,000 rows.

Sometimes you may need more reports that are not in your standard business analytics tool box.

You can now quickly perform data analysis on CRM data by using the ad hoc analysis with Excel

Online.

Let's demonstrate a quick example.

Select Export to Excel, open Excel Online, and your data will be immediately available in Excel

Online. Now let's perform a quick analysis on the data. Let's determine the expected revenue for

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open opportunities. 0h, and my colleague just informed me that the estimated revenue for one opportunity went up ten thousand dollars. Let's make the change and send it back to CRM. Okay, now let's cover the details about this functionality. Ad hoc analysis with Excel Online is only available for CRM Online and does require an Office 365 license. In addition, the user will require

Export to Excel privileges in CRM. The data for ad hoc analysis with Excel Online is stored only temporarily. Any additions, such as charts, calculations, and columns won’t be saved from the Ad hoc Analysis Excel Online Editor back to CRM. If you need to perform heavy lifting with the CRM data, we recommend you export the worksheet for use in Excel Desktop.

Enjoy the new data analysis features in Dynamics CRM. We hope that you can leverage your data to bring you new insights about your business. Thanks for watching.

See Also

Export Data to Excel

Import accounts, leads, or other data

Manage the product catalog

Set up a product catalog: Walkthrough

Set up a discount list

Create a unit group and add units to that group

Create price lists and price list items to define pricing of products

Classify products and bundles into product families

Create a product family

Create a product

Create product bundles to sell multiple items together

Use properties to describe a product

Define related products to increase chances of sales

View product hierarchy

Product lifecycle--publish to retire

Publish a product or bundle to make it available for selling

Revise a product

Retire a product

Clone a product

Delete a family, product, or bundle

Translate product names and properties into multiple languages

Set up a product catalog: Walkthrough

Make it easier for your sales reps to increase their sales by creating a product catalog. The product catalog is a collection of products and their pricing information. To set up pricing, you need to define the units in which your products are sold, the amount to charge for each unit, and the discounts you want to offer based on volume purchased.

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Other than setting up the pricing for products, product catalog also supports product taxonomy that lets you create a rich classification of products. This helps ensure that your customers

receive the most appropriate and complete solution. More information: Classify products and bundles into product families

Note

For Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online organizations, the product taxonomy feature is only available if you've installed the CRM Online 2015 Update. For CRM on-premises organizations, this feature is only available if you've updated to CRM 2015. Interested in getting this feature? Find your CRM administrator or support person

Because of how units, discounts, and prices are tied together, it is important that you create each of these components in product catalog in the following sequence:

Step Description

Create discount lists to offer your products and service at different prices, depending on the quantity purchased.

Define the measurements or quantities your product will be available in.

Related topics

Set up a discount list

Create a unit group and add units to that group

Create products for the items you sell. You can create a standalone product or a product inside a family depending on how you want to organize and classify your products. Each product you create will be linked to a unit group and default unit.

You can also create a standalone bundle or a bundle inside a product family.

Classify products and bundles into product families

Define pricing for your products.

Create price lists and price list items to define pricing of products

Add price list items. A price list item defines the price per unit of a product. Add each new product to one or more price lists as price list items. You can do this either from the product form or the price list form.

Classify products and bundles into product families

- OR -

Create price lists and price list items to define pricing of products

Select one of the price lists to which you added the product, as the default price list for the product. Microsoft Dynamics

CRM uses the default price list for calculations when the

Classify products and bundles into product families

496

Step

Description

associated price list in the opportunity or order for the product does not contain a price definition of the product.

Related topics

497

498

Set up a discount list

Motivate customers to buy more by offering them discounts on bulk purchases. To offer discounts, you need to set up a discount list.

1. Make sure that you have the Manager, Vice President, CEO-Business Manager, System

Administrator, or System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Product Catalog. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Discount Lists.

4.

To create a new discount list, choose New.

-OR-

To edit a discount list, open it.

5. Fill in the information:



Name. Type a name that provides a good description of the kind of discount this list will include.



Type. To calculate the discount as a percentage of the price of the item, choose

Percentage or to give discount as a fixed amount, choose Amount.



Currency. If you chose to give discount as a fixed amount, select the currency.

6. Choose OK.

7. To set volume discounts, in the left pane, under Common, choose Discounts, and then on the Discounts tab, in the Records group, choose Add New Discount.

8. Fill in the information:

Here’s how:

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This discount list will offer a discount of 5% whenever the customer purchases between 3

– 5 boxes.

9. Choose Save or Save and Close.

Typical next steps

Create a unit group and add units to that group

Set up a product catalog: Walkthrough

See Also

System Settings dialog box - Sales tab

Create a unit group and add units to that group

Units are the quantities or measurements that you sell your products or services in. For example, if you sell gardening supplies, you might sell seeds in units of packets, boxes, and pallets. A unit group is a collection of these different units.

In CRM, you first create a unit group and then create units within that group. Let’s look at both of these tasks, using seeds as our example.

On this page:

Step 1: Create a unit group

Step 2: Create units in a unit group

Step 1: Create a unit group

1. Make sure that you have the Manager, Vice President, CEO-Business Manager, System

Administrator, or System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Product Catalog. (How do I get there?)

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3. Choose Unit Groups.

4.

To create a new unit group, choose New.

-OR-

To edit a unit group, open a unit group from the list.

5. Fill in your information:



Name. Type a meaningful name for the unit group. In our example, you would type

“Seeds.”



Primary Unit. Type the lowest common unit of measure that the product will be sold in. In our example, you would type “packet.” Other examples could include ounces, hours, or tons, depending on your product or service.

6. Choose OK.

Note

You cannot delete the primary unit in a unit group.

Step 2: Create units in a unit group

1. In the unit group you want to add the units to, in the left pane, under Common, choose

Units, and then on the Units tab, in the Records group, choose Add New Unit.

The unit that you specified as the primary unit earlier is already in the list of units.

2. Fill in your information: a. Name. Type a meaningful name for the unit. In our example, you would type “box.” b. Quantity. Type the quantity that this unit will contain. For example, if a box contains

12 packets, you would type “12.” c. Base Unit. Select a base unit. The base unit will establish the lowest unit of measur ement for the unit you’re creating. Using our example, you would select

“packet.”

If you then create a unit called “pallet,” and one pallet contains 48 boxes, you would type “48” in Quantity and select “box” in Base Unit.

Here’s how:

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3. Choose Save or Save and Close.

Typical next steps

Create a product

- OR -

Create product bundles to sell multiple items together

Set up a product catalog: Walkthrough

Create price lists and price list items to define pricing of products

Prices lists tell your sales agents what to charge for your products or services. You can create multiple price lists so that you can maintain separate price structures for different regions you sell your products in or for different sales channels.

Important

Price lists tie the unit, product, and pricing details together, so before you create a price list, make sure the units and products are in place.

On this page:

Step 1: Create a price list

Step 2: Add items to the price list

Step 3: Define default price list for territories

Step 1: Create a price list

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1. Make sure that you have the Manager, Vice President, CEO-Business Manager, System

Administrator, or System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2.

Go to Settings > Product Catalog. (How do I get there?)

3. In the Product Catalog area, choose Price Lists.

4.

To create a new price list, choose New.

-OR-

To edit a price list, open a price list from the list.

5. Fill in your information. Use the handy tooltips as a guide.

6. Choose Save.

Important

You must create at least one price list for each of the currencies that your organization does business in.

Step 2: Add items to the price list

Create a price list item for each unit in which the product is available. For example, if the product is available as a single item (each), in a dozen, and in a gross, create three list items. This lets you order the product in any quantity you want, using the same price list. You can add price list items from the product form also.

1. In the price list record, in the Price List Items section, choose the Add Record button .

2. Fill in your information. Use the handy tooltips as a guide.



In the Product and Unit box, select the product and unit for which you’re creating this price list item.



To offer a discount on the combination of the product and unit, select a discount list.



In the Quantity Selling Option drop-down box, select whether the product or service can be ordered in whole, partial, or both types of quantities. This information is used in the Quantity field of Quote Product, Order Product, and Invoice Product records:

No Control

. Microsoft Dynamics CRM doesn’t enforce a quantity selling option.

Whole

. Selling a partial product isn’t allowed. For example, digital cameras cannot be sold in fractions.

Whole and Fractional. The product can be sold both in whole and fractional units.

For example, wood chips can be sold in cubic yards, or in fractions of a cubic yard.

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

In the Pricing Method drop-down box, select an option that determines how the pricing will be calculated. It could be a certain amount, or a percentage of the current or standard cost.



If you selected Currency Amount as the pricing method, in the Amount box, type the amount at which the product will be sold.

-OR-

If you selected any value other than Currency Amount as the pricing method, type the percentage for the pricing method that you want.



If you selected a pricing method other than Currency Amount, you can set up a rounding policy. For example, if you want per unit prices to be in the form of $0.99, you can select a rounding policy where all prices per unit automatically have a price that ends in 99 cents. To do this, you select the rounding policy to round the price up, and then set the price to end in a certain amount, such as 99 cents.



None. Prices are not rounded.



Up. Prices are rounded up to the nearest rounding amount.



Down. Prices are rounded down to the nearest rounding amount.



To Nearest. Prices are rounded to the nearest rounding amount.



In the Rounding Option drop-down box, select Ends in or Multiple of if you want the price to end in a certain amount or multiples of a certain amount.



In the Rounding Amount box, enter the amount.

3. Choose Save.

Step 3: Define default price list for territories

Make sales agents' job easier by adding default pricelists for territories or customer segments the agents are managing. When sales agents are working on opportunities, they see the default price list. Sales agents can later select other price list that they’ve permission on. You can have one price list as the default for multiple territories.

Note

For Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online organizations, this feature is only available if you've installed the CRM Online 2015 Update.

For on-premises CRM organizations, this feature is only available if you've updated to

CRM 2015.

Interested in getting this feature? Find your CRM administrator or support person.

1. In the price list record, in the Territory Relationships section, choose the Add Record button .

2. In the Connection form, in Name, choose the Lookup button, and select a territory.

3. Choose Save & Close.

4. In the price list form, choose the Auto Save button .

When the sales agents set or change the customer for an opportunity, if a default price list is added to their territory (customer segment), it is shown.

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Typical next steps

Publish a product or bundle to make it available for selling

Set up a product catalog: Walkthrough

See Also

System Settings dialog box - Sales tab

Classify products and bundles into product families

Classify products and bundles into product families

A product catalog is a collection of products and their pricing information.

The product catalog in Microsoft Dynamics CRM also supports product taxonomy that lets sales managers:



Hierarchically organize products and product bundles into product families.



Define configurable properties for products to reduce the number of individual product records or stock keeping unit (SKUs) they would need to manage. The sales people can pick from these properties when they’re working on opportunities, quotes, orders, or invoices.



Group products and services into bundles to create attractive packages for customers



Define product relationships such as upsell and cross-sell products so sales people can see these products as recommendations at the time of building orders.

All these capabilities will help your sales agents quickly find products, see their properties, and also suggest other products to the customers, and consequently increase sales.

Note

For Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online organizations, this feature is only available if you've installed the CRM Online 2015 Update.

For on-premises CRM organizations, this feature is only available if you've updated to

CRM 2015.

Interested in getting this feature? Find your CRM administrator or support person.

Follow these links to learn more:



Create a product family



Create a product



Create product bundles to sell multiple items together



Use properties to describe a product



Define related products to increase chances of sales



Publish a product or bundle to make it available for selling



View product hierarchy



Translate product names and properties into multiple languages



Clone a product



Delete a family, product, or bundle

505

See Also

Set up a product catalog: Walkthrough

Create a product family

Make it easier for sales agents to find products and services in a product catalog by creating a product family and classifying similar products in it. A product family lets you group and categorize products, making it easier for you to manage them.

Note

For Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online organizations, this feature is only available if you've installed the CRM Online 2015 Update.

For on-premises CRM organizations, this feature is only available if you've updated to

CRM 2015.

Interested in getting this feature? Find your CRM administrator or support person.

With product families, you can:



Categorize your products in whichever way is most meaningful for your organization.



Create child products and product bundles within a product family. Product bundles allow you to sell multiple items together.



Create as many levels of product families as you want by creating a family within a family.

Note

The product family that you use for creating a product, bundle, or another product family becomes the parent family. You can’t change the parent family for the child products, bundles, or families. In the preceding example, “Televisions” is the parent family for “LED

TVs” and “Plasma TVs,” and you can’t change these to have a different parent family.

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1. Make sure that you have one of the following security roles or equivalent permissions:

System Administrator, System Customizer, Sales Manager, Vice President of Sales, Vice

President of Marketing, or CEO-Business Manager.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Product Catalog. (How do I get there?)

3. In the Product Catalog area, choose Families & Products.

4. To create a family, choose Add Family.

-OR-

To create a child product family under an existing family, select the family, and choose

Add Family

. The selected family becomes the parent family of the new family you’re creating.

If you want to see your current product family levels, see View product hierarchy .

5. Fill in your information. Use the handy tooltips as a guide.

Note

The Valid From and Valid To fields define the duration that a product is valid for.

There’s no business logic associated with these fields except that the Valid To date must be later than the Valid From date. If required, you can implement your own business logic in these fields with a workflow, plug-in, or by using the

Microsoft Dynamics CRM SDK. For example, you could run a scheduled job to automatically retire last season’s products using the date selected in the Valid

To field.

6. Choose Save.

7. In the list of products, families, and bundles, open the family that you just created.

8. In the Product Properties section, choose the Add Properties button , and add the

required properties. More information: Use properties to describe a product

Typical next steps

Use properties to describe a product

Create a product

Classify products and bundles into product families

See Also

Set up a product catalog: Walkthrough

Clone a product

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Create a product

Products are the backbone of your business. They can be physical products or services

— whatever your organization sells. Your sales reps use the products you create in Microsoft

Dynamics CRM to generate sales quotes, marketing campaigns, orders, and invoices. Your customer service reps might also use them when they create customer service cases.

Note

For CRM Online organizations, some of the features, like adding properties or adding related products, are only available if you've installed the CRM Online 2015 Update. For

CRM on-prem organizations, these features are only available if you've updated to CRM

2015. Interested in getting this feature? Find your CRM administrator or support person

1. Make sure that you have one of the following security roles or equivalent permissions:

System Administrator, System Customizer, Sales Manager, Vice President of Sales, Vice

President of Marketing, or CEO-Business Manager.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Product Catalog. (How do I get there?)

3. In the Product Catalog area, choose Families & Products.

4. If you want to create a child product to an existing product family, select the family in the list, and then choose Add Product. The selected family becomes the parent family of the new product you’re creating. You can’t change the parent of a product after the product is

created. More information: Create a product family

-OR-

If you want to create an independent product, simply choose Add Product.

5. Fill in your information:



Unit Group. Select a unit group. A unit group is a collection of various units a product is sold in and defines how individual items are grouped into larger quantities. For example, if you’re adding seeds as a product, you may have created a unit group called ”Seeds,” and defined its primary unit as ”packet.”



Unit. Select the most common unit in which the product will be sold. Units are the quantities or measurements that you sell your products in. For example, if you’re adding seeds as a product, you can sell it in packets, boxes or pallets. Each of these becomes a unit of the product. If seeds are mostly sold in packets, select that as the unit.

More information: Create a unit group and add units to that group

Note

The Valid From and Valid To fields define the duration for which a product is valid. There’s no business logic associated with these fields except that the Valid

508

To date must be later than the Valid From date. If required, you can implement your own business logic in these fields with a workflow, plug-in or Microsoft

Dynamics CRM SDK. For example, run a scheduled job to automatically retire last season’s products using the date selected in the Valid To field.

6. Choose Save.

7. In the Price List Items section, choose the Add a Record button , and create a price list

item for each unit the product is available in. More information: Create price lists and price list items to define pricing of products

8. In the Default price list box, select a default price list. Microsoft Dynamics CRM uses this price list for calculations when the associated price list in the opportunity or order for the product does not contain a price definition of the product.

Note

A price list will be available for selection only when the product you’re creating is added to it as a price list item (as described in Step 7).

9.

If you’re creating this product under a family, the product will inherit the properties from its parent family. To change a product’s property, in the Product Properties section, open the

property by clicking the name, and choose Override. More information: Use properties to describe a product

Note

You can’t add properties to an independent product.

10. In the Product Relationships section, choose the Add a Record button , and select a

related product. More information: Define related products to increase chances of sales

11. Choose the Save button in the bottom-right corner.

12.

After you’re done adding all the details, make sure to review everything and ensure it’s correct. On the command bar, choose Preview. The Properties Preview dialog box lets you verify how the product properties will appear to sales agents when they’re selling the product or bundle.

After you’re done verifying, choose Done.

Typical next steps

Create price lists and price list items to define pricing of products

Classify products and bundles into product families

See Also

Set up a product catalog: Walkthrough

Create product bundles to sell multiple items together

Encourage customers to buy more products instead of a single product by combining products in a bundle. Bundles replace the older kit functionality in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Kits have been deprecated, so we recommend that you start using bundles instead.

This list highlights the differences between kits and bundles:



You can’t sell the products in a kit individually or separately, but you can mark certain products in a bundle as optional, and sell them individually.



You can’t see individual products added in a kit when you create an opportunity or order, but you can see the products in a bundle.

509



You can create nested kits (kits within a kit), but you can only add products to a bundle; you cannot add product families, kits, or other bundles to a bundle.

Similar to a kit, a bundle is a collection of products that is sold as single unit. Product bundling is useful in cases like:



Pairing a top-selling product with a less popular product



Grouping products in a way that customers get more benefit from the full line of products, for example Microsoft Office Suite or a digital camera with lenses

Note

For Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online organizations, this feature is only available if you've installed the CRM Online 2015 Update.

For on-premises CRM organizations, this feature is only available if you've updated to

CRM 2015.

Interested in getting this feature? Find your CRM administrator or support person.

On this page:

Create a product bundle

Pricing of bundles

Create a product bundle

1. Make sure that you have the Manager, Vice President, CEO-Business Manager, System

Administrator, or System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Product Catalog. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Families & Products.

4. To add a standalone product bundle, choose Add Bundle.

-OR-

To add product to an existing family, select the family in the list, and then choose Add

Bundle.

5. Enter information, noting any restrictions or requirements as needed.

6. Choose Save.

7. In the Bundle Products section, choose , and select products that you want to add to the bundle.

The Product Association page opens.

8. Fill in your information. Use the handy tooltips as a guide.



Bundle

. The bundle you’re adding the products to is selected by default.



Product. Choose the Lookup button and select a product you want to add to the bundle.

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

Quantity. Choose the quantity of product you want to add to the bundle.



Required. Choose whether this product is required or optional. If you select a product as optional, you can sell the bundle without the product.



Unit. Select the unit in which you want to sell the product.

Note

The Valid From and Valid To fields define the duration for which a product is valid. There’s no business logic associated with these fields except that the Valid

To date must be later than the Valid From date. If required, you can implement your own business logic in these fields with a workflow, plug-in or Microsoft

Dynamics CRM SDK. For example, run a scheduled job to automatically retire last season’s products using the date selected in the Valid To field.

9. Choose Save and Close.

10. To change properties of an individual product in the bundle, choose Customize corresponding to the product, and change the values as required.

11.

If you’ve added this bundle to a family, the bundle will inherit the properties from its parent family. To change the bundle’s property, open the property and choose Override.

More information: Use properties to describe a product

12. In the Additional Details section, choose , and add a price list item. More information:

Create price lists and price list items to define pricing of products

13. In the Product Relationships section, choose , and select a related product. More

information: Define related products to increase chances of sales

Pricing of bundles

Typically, the pricing of products in bundles is different than the individual products. You can set a total and potentially discounted price for the bundle or if the bundle has optional products, add those products to the price list as price list items. Then the total for a bundle in an opportunity is calculated by adding up the prices for each price list item, including optional bundle products that your customer selects. If you don’t add an optional product in the price list, its price will be considered as zero.

Tip



After you’re done adding all the details, choose Preview on the command bar to look through the properties of the product bundle.



To create a new product bundle based on an existing one, on the command bar, choose

Clone. This opens a new product bundle record with the same information as the original product bundle record, except for the name and ID.

Typical next steps:

Create price lists and price list items to define pricing of products

Classify products and bundles into product families

See Also

Set up a product catalog: Walkthrough

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System Settings dialog box - Sales tab

Use properties to describe a product

Simplify product management and classification by adding properties that help distinguish products from one another. Adding well-defined properties to products cuts down on the time spent by your agents trying to find products with the right specifications or properties for your customers when they’re building orders.

A property of a product could be its size, color, or component and so on. Properties are added at the family level. You can add properties only to a family, and only when it is in a draft or under revision state. The child products, bundles, and families inherit the properties from their parent family.

Important

You can’t set different prices for the different properties you define for a product unless you’re using a custom pricing engine.

Note

For Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online organizations, this feature is only available if you've installed the CRM Online 2015 Update.

For on-premises CRM organizations, this feature is only available if you've updated to

CRM 2015.

Interested in getting this feature? Find your CRM administrator or support person.

On this page:

Add properties to product families

Change properties of product family, products, or bundles

Product versioning

Add properties to product families

1. Go to Settings > Product Catalog. (How do I get there?)

2. Choose Families & Products.

3. Choose the product family you want to add properties for.

4. In the product form, in the Product Properties section, choose .

5. Fill in your information. Use the handy tooltips as a guide.

Note

You can choose to hide a property by setting Hidden to Yes. When you hide a property, you block the child families or products from inheriting that property.

The following table shows a list of properties that you might want to add for a shirt product family:

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Property name

Color

Size

Data type

Option Set

Option Set

Values

red, blue, yellow, green small, medium, large

6. Choose the Save button in the bottom right corner, and close the form.

Repeat the steps to add multiple properties.

Change properties of product family, products, or bundles

You can make changes to the inherited properties of an individual product or family by overriding its properties. For example, for a shirt family, the size can vary between small, medium, and large. A product inside this family will inherit the same property. You can override the property to define the actual size of an individual shirt to medium.

1. Open the product you want to override the property of.

2. Choose the property you want to override.

3. In the Product Properties form, on the command bar, choose Override.

4. Change the details as required, and save the properties record.

Note

You can override properties only for products and families that have inherited properties from the parent family.

In the following cases, you’ll see the Overwrite option instead of the Override option:



You’re trying to change non-inherited properties of a product family that’s in the Under

Revision status.



You’re trying to change the inherited and already overridden properties of a child product family or produ ct. If the inherited properties of the child product or family weren’t overridden, you’ll see the Override option.

Note

Child families can have their own properties in addition to inherited ones.

Product versioning

At times, opportunities run for extended period. During this period, the associated product may change or retire. In such cases, the opportunity must still be taken through to completion.

When you revise a product and change the properties, CRM automatically creates a new version of the product and copies the product details from the existing product to the newer version. The new product version has all the details including price lists, product relationships, and properties.

The already-created opportunities with the older version of product can continue to refer to the older version of the product. The opportunities that are created after the product is revised or retired will refer to the current (newer) version.

See Also

Set up a product catalog: Walkthrough

System Settings dialog box - Sales tab

Classify products and bundles into product families

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Define related products to increase chances of sales

Improve your opportunities to increase sales by adding related products as suggestions for upsell, cross-sell, accessories, or substitutes. Defining related products will help your sales agents with their recommendations to customers. You can add related products to a product or product bundle, but not to product families.

The related products are displayed as suggestions to your sales agents during opportunity or order management. These suggestions help your sales agents recommend related products and bundles/kits to the customers, and increase product sales. You can define the following relationships for a product: Accessory, cross-sell, substitute, and up-sell. For example, for a

Microsoft Surface RT product, you can add Microsoft Surface Pro as an up-sell product so that when your sales agent is adding Surface RT to any opportunity, quote, order, or invoice, Surface

Pro is suggested as the up-sell option.

Note

For Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online organizations, this feature is only available if you've installed the CRM Online 2015 Update.

For on-premises CRM organizations, this feature is only available if you've updated to

CRM 2015.

Interested in getting this feature? Find your CRM administrator or support person.

1. Go to Settings > Product Catalog. (How do I get there?)

2. Choose Families & Product.

3. Open a product you want to define related products for. The product must be in the Draft,

Active or Under Revision state.

4. In the Product Relationships section, choose the Add Product Relationship button .

5. In the quick form, enter the following details:



Related Product. Select a product that you want to add as a related product to the existing product record you’re working on.



Sales Relation Type. Select whether you want to add the product as an up-sell, cross-sell, accessory, or substitute product.



Direction. Select whether the relationship between the products will be unidirectional or bi-directional. When you select Uni-Directional, the product that you select in Related Product will be shown as a recommendation for the existing product but not vice-versa.

6. Choose Save.

When you add a product to an opportunity, the sales agents can see the related product as suggestions for an opportunity.

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Note

The Suggestions dialog box on the opportunity record suggests only those products which are related to the main product and have the same price list as the one associated with the opportunity.

Typical next steps

Publish a product or bundle to make it available for selling

Set up a product catalog: Walkthrough

See Also

Classify products and bundles into product families

View product hierarchy

A product hierarchy gives you a visual snapshot of the products your organization sells. It makes it easy to see what products are available to sell and how they are connected. With this information at your fingertips, you can take whatever actions you need to on any product from a single place and improve your chances of a sale.

Note

For Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online organizations, this feature is only available if you've installed the CRM Online 2015 Update.

For on-premises CRM organizations, this feature is only available if you've updated to

CRM 2015.

Interested in getting this feature? Find your CRM administrator or support person.

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1. Go to Sales > Products. (How do I get there?)

2. In the list of products, open a product, product family, or bundle whose hierarchy you want to see, and on the command bar, select View Hierarchy .

You’ll see the product in a tree structure and a visual organization of all products in the hierarchy.

3. To know more about any product, family, or bundle, click their corresponding Open this

record button.

Tip

You could also select a product and use one of the common command bar actions on the product, family, or bundles such as Email a link or Edit.

See Also

Set up a product catalog: Walkthrough

Classify products and bundles into product families

Product lifecycle--publish to retire

It is important to understand the complete cycle a product goes through. First you create a product and add details to it in the Draft state. When the product is ready for selling, you publish it, which puts the product in the Active state. Then, if the product changes for any reason, you can revise it so that sales agents see updated product information. When you do this, the product is set to Under Revision status. After you’ve made the required changes, publish the product again. When your organization decides to stop selling a certain product, you retire it.

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Note

For Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online organizations, this feature is only available if you've installed the CRM Online 2015 Update.

For on-premises CRM organizations, this feature is only available if you've updated to

CRM 2015.

Interested in getting this feature? Find your CRM administrator or support person.

You can also activate a product or a kit. More information:: MSDN: Publish, revise, revert, retire, and activate products (product lifecycle)

Typical next steps

Publish a product or bundle to make it available for selling

Revise a product

Retire a product

Set up a product catalog: Walkthrough

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See Also

Classify products and bundles into product families

Publish a product or bundle to make it available for selling

When you’re ready to sell a product or bundle, publish it to make it available to the sales agents so they can build orders or create opportunities orders for customers. By default, product records are created in Draft state, and are available to your sales agents only after you publish it. For products that do not have a parent product family, you can create them directly in an Active state using a system setting, so that you don’t have to publish those after creation. More information:

System Settings dialog box - Sales tab

Note

For Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online organizations, this feature is only available if you've installed the CRM Online 2015 Update.

For on-premises CRM organizations, this feature is only available if you've updated to

CRM 2015.

Interested in getting this feature? Find your CRM administrator or support person.

1. Make sure that you have one of the following security roles or equivalent permissions:

System Administrator, System Customizer, Sales Manager, Vice President of Sales, Vice

President of Marketing, or CEO-Business Manager.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Product Catalog. (How do I get there?)

3. In the Product Catalog area, choose Families & Products.

4. Open the product, bundle, or family you want to publish, and on the command bar, choose Publish.

This will change the product status to Active and make it available for selling.

Tip

You can’t publish multiple product records at the same time. To publish all child products and families of a parent family at once, open the family, and choose Publish > Publish

Hierarchy. For product records that do not belong to a product family, publish them individually after creating or editing them to make them available to your sales agents.

Important

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A product or bundle with a parent family can only be published if their parent product family is in Active state.

Typical next steps

Revise a product

Retire a product

Product lifecycle--publish to retire

See Also

Set up a product catalog: Walkthrough

Revise a product

Keep the product inventory updated by quickly revising properties for the products as required, and republishing the information so that your sales agents can see the latest changes to the inventory.

Note

For Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online organizations, this feature is only available if you've installed the CRM Online 2015 Update.

For on-premises CRM organizations, this feature is only available if you've updated to

CRM 2015.

Interested in getting this feature? Find your CRM administrator or support person.

1. Make sure that you have one of the following security roles or equivalent permissions:

System Administrator, System Customizer, Sales Manager, Vice President of Sales, Vice

President of Marketing, or CEO-Business Manager.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Product Catalog. (How do I get there?)

3. In the Product Catalog area, choose Families & Products.

4. Open an active product, bundle, or family you want to change, and on the command bar, choose Revise.

This will change the product status to Under Revision.

5. Change the product properties, as required. More information: Use properties to describe a product

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6.

Once you’re done making the changes, on the command bar, choose Publish or Publish

Hierarchy.

Tip

If some o f the information that you changed doesn’t align with the customer or business needs, revert the changes and continue with the last active version of the product. To do this, choose Revert. This changes the status of the product back to Active.

Revising a family sets all the products and bundles under it to Under Revision state.

Typical next steps

Retire a product

Product lifecycle--publish to retire

See Also

Set up a product catalog: Walkthrough

Retire a product

If your organization doesn’t sell a product anymore, retire it so that the product is no longer available to your sales agents.

Note

For Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online organizations, this feature is only available if you've installed the CRM Online 2015 Update.

For on-premises CRM organizations, this feature is only available if you've updated to

CRM 2015.

Interested in getting this feature? Find your CRM administrator or support person.

1. Make sure that you have one of the following security roles or equivalent permissions:

System Administrator, System Customizer, Sales Manager, Vice President of Sales, Vice

President of Marketing, or CEO-Business Manager.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Product Catalog. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Families & Products.

4. Open an active product, bundle, or family that you want to retire, and on the command bar, choose Retire.

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Typical next steps

Product lifecycle--publish to retire

See Also

Set up a product catalog: Walkthrough

Clone a product

When you're creating a new product, family or bundle, save time by cloning an existing one. This creates a copy of the original record with all the details except for the name and ID. If the product, bundle or family has any properties, they’re also copied to the cloned record.

Note

For Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online organizations, this feature is only available if you've installed the CRM Online 2015 Update.

For on-premises CRM organizations, this feature is only available if you've updated to

CRM 2015.

Interested in getting this feature? Find your CRM administrator or support person.

1. Make sure that you have one of the following security roles or equivalent permissions:

System Administrator, System Customizer, Sales Manager, Vice President of Sales, Vice

President of Marketing, or CEO-Business Manager.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Product Catalog. (How do I get there?)

3. In the Product Catalog area, choose Families & Products.

4. Select a product family, product, or bundle record that you want to clone, and on the command bar, choose Clone. A new product record will open with the same details as the original one except for the name and ID.

The new record is created under the same parent node as the original one.

See Also

Set up a product catalog: Walkthrough

Classify products and bundles into product families

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Delete a family, product, or bundle

To stop selling a product, delete it. If you delete a parent family, its child products, families, and bundles are also deleted.

Warning

You can’t recover a deleted record.

Important

For Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online organizations, this feature is only available if you've installed the CRM Online 2015 Update.

For on-premises CRM organizations, this feature is only available if you've updated to

CRM 2015.

Interested in getting this feature? Find your CRM administrator or support person.

1. Make sure that you have one of the following security roles or equivalent permissions:

System Administrator, System Customizer, Sales Manager, Vice President of Sales, Vice

President of Marketing, or CEO-Business Manager.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Product Catalog. (How do I get there?)

3. In the Product Catalog area, choose Families & Products.

4. Select a product family, product, or bundle record you want to delete, and on the command bar, choose Delete.

See Also

Set up a product catalog: Walkthrough

Classify products and bundles into product families

Translate product names and properties into multiple languages

When you sell your products in different regions, it is important that you translate significant product details into multiple languages. Help sales agents find things they need easily by making all the relevant details like cross-sell or upsell suggestions, or properties, available to them in their preferred language.

Note

For Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online organizations, this feature is only available if you've installed the CRM Online 2015 Update.

For on-premises CRM organizations, this feature is only available if you've updated to

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CRM 2015.

Interested in getting this feature? Find your CRM administrator or support person.

On this page:

Step 1: Export data for translation

Step 2: Import translated data

Selection of language in different scenarios

Step 1: Export data for translation

1. Make sure that you have one of the following security roles or equivalent permissions:

System Administrator, System Customizer, Sales Manager, Vice President of Sales, Vice

President of Marketing, or CEO-Business Manager.

Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Data Management. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Export Field Translations.

4. In the Export Field Translations dialog box, choose OK.

All product fields that are marked as localizable by default will be exported. Your internal developers can mark the fields as localizable. More information: Work with localizable attributes.

5. Save the .zip file to your local computer.

Exported text is saved as a compressed file that contains a CrmFieldTranslations.xml that you can open by using Microsoft Office Excel. You can send this file to a linguistic expert, translation agency, or localization firm.

Step 2: Import translated data

When you get the localized data back from translation, import it into Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Important

It is important to provision the language packs first. If you imports translated values for languages that are not provisioned in the organization, they will be discarded. More information: TechNet: Install or upgrade Language Packs for Microsoft Dynamics CRM

1. Make sure that you have the Manager, Vice President, CEO-Business Manager, System

Administrator, or System Customizer security role or equivalent permissions.

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Check your security role

a. Follow the steps in View your user profile .

b.

Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

2. Go to Settings > Data Management. (How do I get there?)

3. Choose Import Field Translations.

4. In the Field Translation Import Jobs page, on the Action toolbar, choose Import Field

Translations.

5. In the Import Translated Text dialog box, choose Browse, and select the file that you’ve received from your translation agency.

6. Choose Import.

This starts the import job. You can check the status to see if the import has succeeded or failed.

After you’ve imported the translated text, users in your organization will see the data in their preferred language. If a value for the preferred language does not exist, the results will be shown in the user’s base language.

Selection of language in different scenarios

This section explains how the duplicate detection and workflow logic affect translation in Microsoft

Dynamics CRM:



Calculated fields logic, including conditional clauses, uses only the base language. The behavior of workflows and portable business logic is similar to Microsoft

Dynamics CRM SDK. The label for the user’s preferred language (user interface language) is used if present. Otherwise, the base language is used.



When a record is created or updated, duplicates are detected from the localizable fields

(attributes) that are in the base language. Creating or updating a localizable field is not applicable in a non-base language.



During data import,



For updating or creating records through import, when import is executed in base language, only the labels in the base language are used for duplication detection.



When import is executed in nonbase language, import fails because update can’t be performed in a non-base language.



When you run duplicate detection in the base language, only the base language is used in conditional clauses.



When you run duplicate detection job in the preferred language, label in the preferred language is used first. When preferred language is not available, it uses the base language.

See Also

Set up a product catalog: Walkthrough

Set up duplicate detection rules to keep your data clean

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Search

Create, edit, or save an Advanced Find search

How inline lookup works

Search for records

Create, edit, or save an Advanced Find search

Find the records you want in Microsoft Dynamics CRM by using the Advanced Find command.

You can also use Advanced Find to prepare data for export to Microsoft Office Excel so that you analyze, summarize, or aggregate data, or create PivotTables to view your data from different perspectives.

1. Go to Advanced Find. (How do I get there?)

2.

Specify what to search for. a. In the Look for list, select a record type. b. Choose Select to define search criteria: field (for example, Account Name or

City), the query relational operator (Part of an expression (for example "is equal to" or "contains") that defines how a specified attribute should be compared with a value.), and the values to locate (for example, "Seattle" or

"Email").

You can select fields from the current record type, or from related records. For example, an account might have many related contact records.

At the bottom of the Select list, the Related section shows related record types. For example, most record types have a related Notes record type. To select fields from a related record type, select field, and a new Select link appears.

3. Specify the columns to include in the search results. a. Choose Edit Columns, and then choose Add Columns. b. Select the record type that includes the columns you want to add. c. Select the columns you want to add, and then choose OK.

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4. Specify the sort order. a. Choose Edit Columns. b. Choose Configure Sorting. c. Specify the column to sort on, specify the sort order, and then choose OK. d. Choose OK.

5. Choose Results.

How inline lookup works

Quickly find the record you are looking for by using the inline lookup in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

By default, when you click or tap the Lookup button, you see the first 10 results for the specific record type.

You can use the inline lookup fields to search for records by using keywords. As you type, the inline lookup shows you the most recently used (recently searched, updated, or created) records in the list. The lookup resolves automatically if you enter partial text and tab out of the lookup field, and if a single matching record is found. If multiple matching records are found, you’ll see a list of matching results you can select a record from.

Note

The recently used records are shown only in the classic forms.

When you press Enter or click or tap the Lookup button, the search results that match your keyword are shown. Microsoft Dynamics CRM looks for matching records by searching for the keyword in columns defined in the quick find view of the entity or in the view that’s set as the default view of the entity. Lookup search results show the first three columns that are defined in the lookup view of the entity or the view that’s set as the default view of that lookup, including the primary field of that entity. More information: TechNet: Create and edit views

If a lookup field, such as Find Customer, points to two or more record types, the inline lookup results will include the results for accounts and contacts because a customer can be an account or a contact. You can click or tap Look Up More Records to open the standard Look Up

Records dialog box to search for more records.

If you don’t find a record, you can create a new record by clicking or tapping New in the inline lookup area. This lets you quickly create a new record.

Note

The lookup fields on the classic forms don’t have the option to create a new record.

See Also

TechNet: Create and edit views

Search for records

To find your records quickly in Microsoft Dynamics CRM, you can search across multiple record types all at the same time.

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Important

For Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online organizations, this feature is only available if you've installed the CRM Online 2015 Update.

For on-premises CRM organizations, this feature is only available if you've updated to

CRM 2015.

Interested in getting this feature? Find your CRM administrator or support person.

There are two ways to search.

Normal quick find:

Begins with - results include records that begin with a specific word. For example, if you want to search for “Alpine Ski House”, type alp in the search box; if you type ski, the record won’t show up.

Wildcard - for example: *ski or *ski*

Full text quick find:



Search within - results include records that contain a field with all of the words in the search term. The individual words can appear anywhere in the string and in any order. For example, if you search for “Alpine Ski House”, you could find results for “I left the house today to go skiing in the Alpine Meadows.” since all of the search words appear somewhere in the string.



Wildcards are not required.

For more information see, TechNet: Configure Quick Find options for the organization .

Start a search

1. From the top nav bar, type one or more characters in the search box.

2. Choose the Search button next to the search box.

Filter search results





To filter results by one record type, on the search screen, choose a record type from the

Filter with: drop-down box.

To search against all record types, choose None in the Filter with: drop-down box

See Also

Create, edit, or save an Advanced Find search

Office Integration

Set up and use OneNote in CRM

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OneNote in CRM FAQs

Collaborate with your colleagues using Office 365 Groups

Office 365 Groups in CRM FAQs

Set up and use OneNote in CRM

Gather your thoughts, ideas, plans and research in one single place with OneNote in Microsoft

Dynamics CRM.

When you turn on Microsoft OneNote integration in Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, you have the benefits of using OneNote to take or review customer notes from within your CRM records.

You can configure OneNote in CRM Online when you’re also using SharePoint Online. You must have a subscription to Office 365 to use OneNote in CRM Online.

Step 1: Turn on server-based SharePoint integration

Before you can enable OneNote integration, you need to turn on server-based SharePoint integration .

Make sure you have the System Administrator security role or equivalent permissions in Microsoft

Dynamics CRM. Or, make sure that you have Read and Write privileges on all record types that are customizable.

Check your security role



Follow the steps in View your user profile .



Don’t have the correct permissions? Contact your system administrator.

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Step 2: Turn on OneNote integration

When server-based SharePoint integration is turned on, OneNote integration is listed in

Document Management.

1. Go to Settings > Document Management. (How do I get there?)

2. Choose OneNote Integration.

3. Follow the instructions in the wizard to turn on OneNote integration for selected entities.

Choose entities that need a full notebook per record. Only entities that are already enabled for document management are listed. Choose Finish.

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4. You can also enable OneNote integration for an entity from the customization form, as long as document management has been enabled for that entity.

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5. A OneNote notebook is automatically created for a record the first time you select the

OneNote tab in the activities area in Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online. Once the dedicated

OneNote notebook is created for that CRM record, you can view and navigate to that notebook from any CRM client.

Step 3: Use OneNote in CRM Online

You can easily access a notebook directly from the activities area in CRM Online. This doesn’t replace the current Notes feature, but gives you another way to access notes stored in OneNote.

When you add a OneNote section to a notebook, it’s shown individually within CRM and in order of last modified time.

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Note

If you aren’t signed in to Office 365, you’ll go to the Office 365 sign-in page when you select the title of the OneNote notebook. When you sign in, you’ll go directly to the notebook.

1. In the activities area of a record, select OneNote.

2. Select a notebook to make entries.

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3. The notebook is stored in the associated SharePoint folder for the record. If there is more than one associated folder, the notebook is created in the first folder.

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Note



You can’t edit the OneNote file from within CRM. This can be done only from the

OneNote app that opens when you choose the OneNote link.



Don’t delete any OneNote. onetoc2 or .one file types in the OneNote section in CRM.

If you do, you won’t be able to access your CRM OneNote notebook.



Sections groups that keep related sections together in OneNote aren’t supported in

CRM.



You can only rename a section in the desktop version of OneNote. If you rename a section in OneNote online, you won’t see the updated section name in CRM.

Optional: Turn off OneNote integration

1. Go to Settings > Document Management. (How do I get there?)

2. Choose OneNote Integration.

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3. In the OneNote Integration Setting dialog box, uncheck all the entities and then choose

Finish.

See Also

OneNote in CRM FAQs

Turn on server-based SharePoint integration

Blog post: OneNote in CRM

OneNote in CRM FAQs

Why do OneNote files show a folder icon?

This is a known issue. Choose the file name to open the OneNote as expected.

Why aren’t my OneNote notebooks showing up in the OneDrive documents area?

OneNote notebooks saved to the Office 365 Groups OneDrive won’t be shown in Microsoft

Dynamics CRM Online.

I get this error message: We can’t find the notebook. The OneNote notebook might have been removed or moved to another location. Check the notebook location or contact your administrator to update the location record stored in CRM. (Error: 0x80060729)

1. To fix the issue, go to Settings > Document Management > Document Location Records.

2. Go to the OneNote view and search for the document location record that is regarding your account.

3. Open that document location record, and then change the corresponding URL to match your notebook location.

Can I edit a OneNote file from with CRM?

No. This can be done only from the OneNote app that opens when you choose the OneNote link.

I can’t access my CRM OneNote notebook.

Don’t delete any OneNote .onetoc2 or .one file types in the OneNote section in CRM. If you do, you won’t be able to access your CRM OneNote notebook.

Are section groups supported in CRM?

Sections groups that keep related sections together in OneNote aren’t supported in CRM.

Can I rename a section in OneNote Online?

No. You can only rename a section in the desktop version of OneNote. If you rename a section in

OneNote Online, you won’t see the updated section name in CRM.

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Why do I see records that should be in the OneNote tab?

This happens if you deleted all of the sections in the notebook. It’s recommended that you have at least one section in your OneNote notebook. To fix the issue do this:

1. Go to the record where you see the issue. For example, from the main menu choose, Sales >

Accounts > choose an account record.

2. From the main menu choose the drop down menu next to the record name, and then choose

Documents.

3. Choose Open in SharePoint and then create a new section using the desktop version of

OneNote.

See Also

Set up and use OneNote in CRM

Collaborate with your colleagues using Office 365 Groups

Office 365 Groups are a shared workspace for email, conversations, files, and events where group members can collectively get stuff done.

You can use Office 365 Groups to collaborate with people across your company

– even if they don’t have access to Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online. You can create a group for your sales team and invite other Office 365 users to join the group, and then share documents, conversations, meeting notes, and OneNote information related to specific accounts or opportunities.

Important

This preview feature is available with CRM Online 2015 Update 1 and is only available in

English.

To give feedback about this feature first, register your account on the Microsoft Connect site and then submit your feedback .

Prerequisites



For Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online organizations, this feature is available only if your organization has updated to Dynamics CRM Online 2015 Update 1. Interested in getting this feature? Find your CRM administrator or support person . This feature is not available for

Dynamics CRM (on-premises).



Before you can start using Office 365 Groups, make sure it’s turned on. For more info, see

Enable Office 365 Groups .

Create a group

1. Go to the record that you want to create a group for. For example, Go to Sales > Accounts.

(How do I get there?)

2. Choose an account.

3. On the nav bar choose the account name and then choose Office 365 Groups.

4. In the Welcome to Office Groups! section, choose Create Group.

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Join a meeting

Group meetings help all members coordinate their schedules. Everyone in the group automatically sees meeting invites and other events.



Choose the meeting title to view meeting details. If the meeting is an online meeting and you have Skype for Business installed, choose the Join link to directly join the meeting.

Start a conversation

Having a group conversation is a way to communicate with group members. The conversations section displays each message, where you can read, reply to, and create new conversations.



To start a new conversion, in the Start a group conversion box, type in your message.



In the Conversations section choose a conversion to read and reply to it.

Add notes

Share notes with everyone in your group using the OneNote notebook. OneNote lets multiple people write in the same notebook, on the same page, at the same time, and it automatically merges everyone’s changes.



In the Notebook section, choose the group's notebook. When OneNote opens, add your notes.

Share documents

When you create or upload a file in the group’s OneDrive for Business page, it’s automatically shared with all members of the group. When you add members to the group, they automatically get shared access to the files. By default, only group members have view/edit access to the files.

When you create a group in CRM it set to private, so no one else other than the group members can see information about the group including files, conversations, or even the group itself.



To add new documents, choose Upload and then add your files.



To see the latest list of documents, refresh the list using by choosing the refresh icon.



To manage all of your documents in OneDrive, choose Open OneDrive.

Note

Folders are not supported in CRM. All folders and the files inside the folders can only be viewed in OneDrive for Business.

See Also

Office 365 Groups in CRM FAQs

Find more help about Office 365 Groups

Office 365 Groups in CRM FAQs

Why can’t I create Office 365 Groups using bulk import?

Office 365 Groups will only be automatically created if your system administrator has turned on autocreate for the record type that you’re attempting to bulk import. In addition, to ensure performance and stability for others, Microsoft Dynamics CRM won’t create Office 365 Groups if you try to import a large number of records at once. We recommend a maximum of 20 records at

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a time if you need Office 365 Groups to be autocreated. If you import more than this, we can’t guarantee that an Office 365 group is created. If you need to create a group manually, you can navigate to that record's Office 365 Groups page.

Why don’t I see all of my group's meetings in CRM?

At this time we’re unable to show meetings that someone from outside of your company has set up and has invited your group to attend. We are working on a solution to this issue, but in the meantime you can use the Open Calendar link to check your group's calendar in Microsoft

Outlook Web App.

Why do I get a RetrieveOfficeSettings: 1 error when I navigate to the Office

365 Groups page?

This is a known issue. Refresh the page and the error message will go away.

When should we use Office 365 Groups versus Yammer?

Office 365 Groups is a great way to collaborate across your organization. It’s also integrated with

Microsoft Office 365 products, providing you quick and easy access to all of your conversations, meetings, documents, and Microsoft OneNote.

We recommend using Office 365 Groups for collaborations that requires lots of document sharing and quick access to other Office 365 products. In upcoming phases, there are plans to add

Yammer to the Office 365 Groups to unify collaboration across Office products.

See Also

Collaborate with your colleagues using Office 365 Groups

Find more help about Office 365 Groups

Accessibility

Accessibility for people with disabilities

Move around CRM by using keyboard shortcuts

Accessibility for people with disabilities

Microsoft is committed to making its products and services easier for everyone. More information: Microsoft Accessibility

Keyboard shortcuts in Microsoft Dynamics CRM

Microsoft Dynamics CRM offers keyboard shortcuts to address issues faced by people with limited dexterity or motion disabilit ies. Also, people who don’t use a mouse can use a keyboard to navigate and complete actions.

More information: Move around CRM by using keyboard shortcuts

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Accessibility info for browsers

For accessibility information about your browser, visit the following websites:



Internet Explorer 9 accessibility



Internet Explorer 10 accessibility



Firefox accessibility features



Safari accessibility features



Google Chrome accessibility technical documentation

Heighten color contrast of some text and images

The high contrast setting in Microsoft Windows heightens the color contrast of some text and images on your computer screen, making those items more distinct and easier to identify. You’ll find this setting on the Ease of Access page in Windows 8 and Windows 7 .

If you’re using the high contrast setting in Microsoft Windows, you should also select Enable high

contrast in your Microsoft Dynamics CRM personal options. On your dashboard, click or tap

>

Options. Click or tap the General tab, click or tap Enable high contrast, and then click or tap

OK.

Accessibility for users of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Deployment Manager

(on-premises)

Administrators who manage the day-to-day operation of on-premises deployments of Microsoft

Dynamics CRM using Microsoft Dynamics CRM Deployment Manager, a Microsoft Management

Console (MMC) application, can find accessibility info in these topics:



Navigation in MMC Using the Keyboard and Mouse



MMC Keyboard Shortcuts

See Also

Microsoft Accessibility

Move around CRM by using keyboard shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts give you an alternate way to do common tasks, instead of using your mouse or tapping with your finger. And because many keyboard shortcuts are the same across all

Microsoft products, some of these might already be familiar to you.

Note

The shortcut keys described in this section refer to the U.S. keyboard layout. Depending on your country/region and layout, you may not have the same keys.

Form keyboard shortcuts

The following keyboard shortcuts are included in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

To Press

Move to the next option, option group, or field Tab

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To

Move to the previous option, option group, or field

Complete the command for the active option or button

Move between options in an open list, or between options in a group of options

Cancel a command, or close a selected list or dialog box

Save

Save and Close

Cancel edits and close (Close)

Press

Shift+Tab

Enter

Arrow keys

Esc

Ctrl+S or Shift+F12

Alt+S

Esc

Open search

Delete the record (when forms are in Edit mode)

Save and then open a new form (Save and

New) (when forms are in Edit mode)

Open the lookup menu with the most recently used items in alphabetical order

Open lookup drop-down list

Close lookup drop-down list

Spacebar

Ctrl+D

Ctrl+Shift+S

Alt+Down Arrow

Enter

Esc

Ctrl+K Open a new instance of Microsoft Dynamics

CRM

Open a record found in lookup with forms in

Edit mode

Enter

Add a step in the business process editor Alt+Shift+N

Tab to the Command Bar when in the updated user experience

Ctrl+[ or Ctrl+]

Tab to the Navigation bar

Add an article to an email

Apply email template (when editing an email message)

Ctrl+Shift+3

Shift+Alt+A

Shift+Alt+T

Access submenus if you use a screen reader

If you use a screen reader, this section shows you how to access any of the submenus that are displayed when you hover the mouse over a navigation link.

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1. Navigate between the menu options using standard link navigation.

2. Activate the link by pressing Enter or the space key as you would usually do. A list of submenus will be displayed.

3. To access these submenu options, use the accessibility technology (AT) shortcut key to navigate to the next button. For example, if you use the NVDA screen reader, you would use the “b” shortcut key (NVDA+b). To navigate through all the options, press the key repeatedly.

Important

There are several areas in the UI that have auto-collapse built in for menus. This includes the Navigation Bar and Form Navigation. Both are click to expand, but after 30 seconds of inactivity, the items collapse.

Navigate through stages in a process using the keyboard

If you’re in a record, a lead, for example, this section shows you the keyboard shortcuts to navigate through the different stages in the process to qualify the lead, and how to make selections in those stages. For example, if you want to move easily from the Qualify stage through to the Close stage, try these keyboard actions:



After you select a stage, get to the fields by pressing the down arrow.



If a stage is collapsed, just press Enter to expand it.

Note

The process name is an icon at the bottom of the page, not the top.

Accessibility keyboard shortcuts

If you’re running Microsoft Windows, you can set system accessibility options to match the way you work. For example, you can use Windows Sticky Keys if you have difficulty holding down two or more keys at a time, such as Ctrl+P. Sticky Keys enable you to press the Ctrl key and have it remain active until you press the P.

To

Switch Sticky Keys on and off

Switch Filter Keys on and off

Switch Toggle Keys on and off

Switch High Contrast on and off

Switch Mouse Keys on and off

Tab into an Active X control

Press

Shift five times

Right Shift for eight seconds

Num Lock for five seconds

Left Alt+Left Shift+Print Screen

Left Alt+Left Shift+Num Lock

Alt+Shift+F10

Mac keyboard shortcuts

These keyboard shortcuts apply when using a Mac.

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Action

Tab

Access keys

Windows Keys

Tab

Shift+Tab

Alt+Access key

Microsoft

Dynamics CRM

Shortcut keys

Ctrl+key

Activate Control

Close topmost window

Space/Enter

Window+W

See Also

Accessibility for people with disabilities

Mac Keys

Tab

Shift+Tab

Ctrl+Alt+Access key

Ctrl+key

Space/Enter

Command+W

Notes

Enable Tabbing in

System Preferences and Safari Preferences

(refer to Apple and

Safari documentation).

For example, the Next button uses N as its access key.

For example, move to the first tab in the ribbon control with Ctrl+{. Save using Ctrl+S.

Refer to Apple support documentation.

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