July 31 Blog Review

Let’s finish off July with a great blog review! Check out the CRM news from the last few weeks.

PowerObjects posted a how-to article about Changing the Color of Custom and Out-of-the-box Entities in CRM 2015. This explains how to change the background color of the tiles in CRM 2015 Update 1.

PowerObjects also posted Exporting Data to Re-import: The invalid Column Headings issue. This discusses how having fields with the same display name can cause an issue when trying to re-import.

If you are interested in Parature check out Leon Tribe’s post on The Current State of Parature – Dynamics CRM Integration. You should also register to attend the August 12 CRMUGDC Meeting which will be focused on Customer Service!

We also have a few quick tips from CRM Tip of the day.

First Prevent Duplicate Outlook Contacts by using Server Side Sync. This prevents issues from installing or re-configuring CRM for Outlook.

Also check out the Tipsters guide to Dynamics CRM for Phones. This is a video showing the updated CRM for Phones app that came with the CRM 2015 update 1.

That’s all for today folks. Have a great weekend!

#CRMUGDC Summer Meet Up Recap

On Saturday July 18 the CRMUG chapters for DC, Maryland and Virginia came together to attend a Washington Nationals game! The previous night's game had been suspended so we actually got to see 1.5 games for the price of 1.

It was a good time to see chapter members in a more relaxed setting and enjoy some yummy food together! We even made sure to talk about CRM! (Specifically upgrading implications and concerns.)

Hopefully we will get to have many more events like this in the future. Check out the pictures below and make sure to join your local chapter community to learn about the next one (DC, Baltimore, Richmond). If you are not yet a member of CRMUG, I have compiled some useful information to get started!

P.S. I have lots more #CRMUGDC wristbands so come to our next meeting on August 12th to get one!

July 17 Blog Review

Welcome to this week’s blog review! The most important takeaway today is that all of you should join me at the Nationals Game tomorrow (July 18). This is a meet up for the Washington, DC area CRMUG chapters. It will be a great way to meet other CRM users and learn a bit more about CRMUG even if you haven’t come out to our quarterly meetings.

Back to other CRM news, check out PowerObject’s Dynamics CRM 2015 Spring Update 1: Date and Time Data Type. This is talking about the new data types of User Local and Time Zone Independent. This gives customizers a way to ensure that all users see the same date when they look at a date only field.

PowerObjects also posted on How to Define Scope for a Dynamics CRM Project. This talks about the steps you should take when you plan out the project and what pieces need to be identified.

The Microsoft Dynamics Team Blog announced a way to Track Incoming Email from Anywhere with the new CRM App for Outlook. This allows you to use the CRM for Outlook features from the Outlook web app or desktop app.

CRM Tip of the Day also talked about CRM for Outlook and posted Read Only Users and CRM for Outlook. This discusses how the CRM for Outlook configuration requires a user to have write access to CRM.

That’s all I have for today folks! Have a great weekend!

July 10 Blog Review

It is a beautiful day! Really makes you want to go to a baseball game!

Let’s quickly jump in to the news of the day!

CRM Tip of the day posed a video: Tipsters Guide to Folder Level Tracking for End Users. This shows users how to set up folder level tracking when you are using Server Side Synchronization.

Hitachi Solutions shared a quick tip – Hey! Where are the Users in CRM 2015!? In CRM 2015, instead of having users directly under Administration you need to look under Security.

The CRM Support Blog posted Dynamics CRM Support with Windows 10, Edge browser, and Office 2016. As some have speculated only CRM 2013 and CRM 2015 will be supported with Windows 10.

Finally, Jukka Niiranen discusses the State of Dynamics in 2015. This is a look at many topics around the state of Microsoft and CRM.

That’s all I have folks. Have a great weekend!

July 18th Nationals Game

If you are in the DC/Maryland/Virginia area - make sure you plan to attend the Nationals vs the Dodgers game on Saturday, July 18th at 4:05 PM.

This is a great way to connect with other CRM users and learn more about the CRM User Group especially the DC and Baltimore chapters.

I will be in the neon pink shirt and I will be handing out #CRMUGDC wristbands! Just come meet me in the Red Loft Bar. I plan to be there from when the doors open until 6pm. 

If you are planning on coming, let me know by Registering with CRMUG or commenting below.

Also make sure you buy your tickets! Looking forward to seeing everyone there!

July 1 Blog Review

This week’s blog review is a bit early due to the Holiday but the CRM news-machine is still running. Lots of great tips and tricks to share with you today.

PowerObjects posted two great how-to articles. How to Hide the Lead Qualify Button without Coding talks about how you can remove the Account and Contact create permissions to prevent some users from being able to qualify their leads.

Also see Aging using the ‘Older Than’ Clause with Advanced Find. This talks about the new “Older Than” option in Advanced Find with CRM 2015 Update 1. This will allow you to look at calls that are older than 24 hours or even Leads that were created 5 minutes ago. The possibilities are endless!

There are also a few CRM Tip of the Day posts that you should read. If your Child Workflow needs more than One Entity describes two options for getting the information to the child workflow. In CRM 2015 Update 1 you can create a process as global or you can use an intermediate entity to pass all the data (don’t forget to clean these records up!).

No email Without Activity reminds us that if you enable an entity for email you also need to enable it for Activities.

We have looked at Leon Tribe’s Secrets to a Successful CRM Deployment over the last few weeks. This week he released Part Three – Technology. This includes embracing and using the new features CRM offers such as Hierarchical views, Business Process Rules and Business Process Flows. All of the improvements in CRM 2015 (especially update 1) make CRM a very appealing product which will help make your project a success.

As organizations are updating from older versions to CRM 2013/2015 many questions come up in regards to what should stay in code and what should take advantage of the new features. If you are in this situation, be sure to read C5Insight’s article – Business Rules or JavaScript in CRM…that is the Question. This talks about the benefits and limitations of Business Rules to keep in mind while you are making your decision.

Finally, the CRM Team is continually working on providing better training and documentation for CRM customers. This week they announced a CRM eBooks and Videos Page. This is a great tool for finding the resources you need.

That’s all for today. Have a great holiday weekend!