CRM allows auto-numbering for cases and other select entities, but there can be a lack of flexibility with configuring the numbering format to just be a sequential number. Furthermore, auto-numbering can be useful for other entities for auditing and integration purposes. This entry will discuss how to implement auto-numbering by leveraging SQL Server Identity columns to handle the distinct generation of integers with the help of a simple plug-in.

One issue we’ve run into with two of our Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Online customers pertains to importing their customizations into a new CRM Online instance. The error you receive when you attempt to import the customizations is “Failure: lead-contact: This attribute map is invalid. A valid attribute map must meet these requirements: - The data type must match. - The length of the target attribute cannot be shorter than the source attribute. - The format should match. - The target attribute must not be used in another mapping. - The source attribute must be visible on the entity form. - The target attribute must be a field a user can enter data into. - Address ID values cannot be mapped.”

IFrames are a powerful extension tool within Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0. In addition to allowing you to host custom websites, IFrames allow you to present relevant data from external websites within the context of an open entity. As a quick example, this blog post will show how to present historical information regarding a company’s stock price from within an account form. I hope this example will inspire you to find many other ways to present relevant data to users through the use of IFrames.

Most companies have certain contacts that many users interact with and want in their Outlook but Microsoft CRM does not give you an easy way to do this. Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 offers powerful functionality to synchronize data between CRM and your local Outlook. This can be especially useful to users who sync their smart phones, blackberries, etc. to Outlook or Exchange because they can now access their CRM contacts through their phones address book. Here at Altriva, one of the many “quick business facilitation configurations” we have in our toolkit extends this functionality to allow users (and multiple users per contact) to easily add and remove contacts synchronized to their Outlook. This allows multiple users to sync the same contact to Outlook effortlessly and allows users to decide which contacts they bring to their Outlook.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM assumes a vertical tab order within a section. In other words, if you've selected a field on a form and press tab, focus will shift to the field below the previous field as opposed to the right of the previous field. This can be frustrating when designing field layout since it is often useful to tab horizontally when filling out a form. This entry will discuss a simple work around using sections without visible headers to allow for horizontal tabbing when appropriate.