 What are the top questions Microsoft CRM customers have about using the application? You don't need to spend long in the Microsoft CRM newsgroup to see that customization and data migration are hot topics. Same goes for accessing Microsoft CRM through Microsoft Internet Explorer.
We hand-picked a few recurring newsgroup questions on the daily use of Microsoft CRM and ran them by Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) Jürgen Beck, who's a Microsoft CRM trainer and expert. He weighs in with his answers here. Q: When I try to access to the Microsoft CRM server with Internet Explorer, the browser simply closes and disappears. How can I fix this on my machine? Jürgen Beck: This is the number one question customers ask me. To remedy this problem, simply disable your pop-up blocker (the tool you use to ward off those pesky online pop-up ads). If you're not sure how to disable your pop-up blocker, consult the tool's Help function or FAQ. Why must you disable this tool? Because Microsoft CRM uses the Window.open command in the Default.aspx file, and pop-up blockers effectively block this command. Q: How can I import data into my Microsoft CRM database? JB: You can easily import leads and contacts by using the Microsoft CRM import tool found on the Tools menu. You can import all other objects by using the Data Migration Toolkit. You can find the Data Migration Toolkit on your Microsoft CRM CD, in the MSDN Subscriber Downloads, or in the Microsoft Action Pack Subscription. To import data, follow these steps: 1. | Create the Common Database Format (CDF) database. Load the data you want from your Microsoft CRM database into the CDF database by using the Microsoft.Crm.DataMigration.InitializeCDF.exe tool. | 2. | Import your data (which can be data from your custom application) into this CDF database. Use the stored procedures in the CDF database to help you with this task. See the below table for an explanation of the various stored procedures. | 3. | Load the data from the CDF database into the Microsoft CRM database by using the Microsoft.Crm.DataMigration.CDFMigrationTool.exe tool. |
p_cdf_ListUnmappedUsers | Lists any user names from the OwningUserName or SalesRepIDName attributes in the entity base tables that do not have associated OwningUser or SalesRepId values that match SystemUserId values in the cdf_SystemUser table. | p_cdf_MapUser | Associates a source user name with the user name employed in Microsoft CRM. This data is stored in the SourceUserName attribute of the cdf_SystemUser table. | p_cdf_PopulateStringMap | Maps all drop-down list data from your entity tables into the cdf_StringMap table. |
For more information on this process, see the Data Migration Framework documentation. Q: How can I control the window size in my custom-built Microsoft CRM applications? JB: You can easily change the window size in the ISV.config file. To do so: 1. | Find the WinParams attribute of the Button tag. | 2. | Use the attribute's width and height parameters to set the window's dimensions. For example, the following Web page creates a custom button that's 100 x 100 pixels: |
<Button Title="Print"
ToolTip="Print an invoice as Word file"
Icon="/_imgs/ico/word.gif"
Url="/WordPrint.aspx"
PassParams="1"
WinParams="height=100, width=100"
WinMode="0"/> That's all there is to it. You've successfully resized your window! Jürgen Beck is a Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP), Microsoft Certified Solution Developer (MCSD) for Microsoft .NET, Microsoft Certified Database Administrator (MCDBA), Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE), and Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT). He is also certified in Microsoft CRM application, installation, and customization and is a Microsoft MVP for Visual C#. He lives in Germany.-
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