Microsoft CRM 3.0 - Update Rollup 2 for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 (KB 927751)

Microsoft has released an update for MS CRM 3.0 for both the client and server components on the 25th June 2007. The update rollup 2 contains all fixes that were included in update rollup 1 for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0.

To download a copy and for more details click here:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=81674da5-ffef-492a-a7b1-7e1f1951b05f&displaylang=en

Remember to read all additional information included on the page before installation.

Microsoft CRM - An old marketing video for Microsoft CRM!?

I forgot how I came across this youtube video, but it seemed quite cute... looked like those kids were using the old MS CRM 1.2! Anyways here it is...

Microsoft CRM 3.0 - Integrating the CRM UI into SharePoint (Page Links)

CRM UI in SharePoint? Easy as 123!
I've been thinking of ways to directly integrate the CRM interface into another web application or web page, such as SharePoint. As a result, I've compiled a list of CRM links for various datagrids used for showing sets of records from CRM. These URL's can be embeded into a SharePoint 2007 page using either a "Site Aggregator" or "Page Viewer" Web Part.



If the page was to be embedded into an iframe within a web page, it is important to note that Internet Explorer may restrict access to it for security purposes. These security settings, however, can be disabled/enabled within Internet Explorer. Otherise a simple frame could be used.

Almost anything can be displayed using these URLs giving the situation satisfies the following:
1) The user account used to log into the client machine has the permissions to access Microsoft CRM records.
2) Integrated Security is enabled, so that credentials are passed
3) The user has access to a particular entity

And finally... the list of links for Microsoft CRM 3.0:

DataGrid Lists
Accounts - http://crm/_root/homepage.aspx?etc=1
Contacts - http://crm/_root/homepage.aspx?etc=2
Opportunities - http://crm/_root/homepage.aspx?etc=3
Leads - http://crm/_root/homepage.aspx?etc=4
Marketing List - http://crm/_root/homepage.aspx?etc=4300
Reports - http://crm/CRMReports/home_reports.aspx
Activities - http://crm/workplace/home_activities.aspx
Calendar - http://crm/workplace/home_calendar.aspx
Articles - http://crm/workplace/home_answers.aspx
Queues - http://crm/workplace/home_workplace.aspx
Competitors - http://crm/_root/homepage.aspx?etc=123
Products - http://crm/_root/homepage.aspx?etc=1024
Sales Literature - http://crm/_root/homepage.aspx?etc=1038
Quotes - http://crm/_root/homepage.aspx?etc=1084
Orders - http://crm/_root/homepage.aspx?etc=1088
Invoices - http://crm/_root/homepage.aspx?etc=1090
Quick Campaigns - http://crm/MA/home_minicamps.aspx
Campaigns - http://crm/MA/home_camps.aspx
Cases - http://crm/CS/home_cases.aspx
Contracts - http://crm/_root/homepage.aspx?etc=1010
Services - http://crm/_root/homepage.aspx?etc=4001

Miscellaneous
Advanced Find - http://crm/AdvancedFind/AdvFind.aspx
CRM Help - http://crm/help/default.aspx

For convenience during customisation, I've also posted the following links for settings and customisations in the following article:
http://sharepointsix.blogspot.com/2007/06/ms-crm-30-crm-settings-pages.html

Microsoft CRM 3.0 - CRM Settings Pages

For convenience during customisation, I've also posted the following links for settings and customisations:
Settings Pages
Settings - http://crm/tools/home_tools.aspx?pid=0
Customisation Menu - http://crm/tools/systemcustomization/systemcustomization.aspx
Entity Customisation DataGrid - http://crm/tools/systemcustomization/systemcustomization.aspx?PID=01
Import Customisations - http://crm/tools/systemcustomization/systemcustomization.aspx?PID=03
Export Customisations - http://crm/tools/systemcustomization/systemcustomization.aspx?PID=03
Subjects (Taxomony for Knowledge Base) - http://crm/tools/home_tools.aspx?pid=08
Advanced View of Settings - http://crm/tools/home_tools.aspx?vid=1

Microsoft CRM - Microsoft Dynamics CRM Developer Center

Theres a new Microsoft Dynamics CRM Developer Center on the Microsoft Site for all one-shop-stop information on CRM Developer resources!

The link is:
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics/crm/default.aspx

Read here for more info:
http://blogs.msdn.com/crm/archive/2007/06/08/new-microsoft-dynamics-crm-dev-center-on-msdn.aspx

Microsoft CRM 3.0 and MOSS 2007 - CRM and SharePoint Integration

I've recently been looking at the integration of Microsoft CRM 3.0 and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS) 2007 and my findings were pretty promising!

Of my findings, ways to integrate Sharepoint 2007 and Microsoft CRM include:

* Presenting CRM data in Microsoft's CRM list web part (More Info)
* Exposing basic lookup/view functionality from the CRM list web part
* Presenting KPIs, Reports, and CRM data with MOSS 2007 Excel Web Access Service
* Presenting CRM data, KPIs and more using MOSS 2007's Business Data Catalog (BDC) and BDC web parts (More Info)
* Exposing CRM data through MOSS 2007 Enterprise Search functionality using BDC
* Presenting CRM records in a SharePoint 2007 RSS feeder web part using the RSS adaptor from Microsoft (More Info)
* Storing CRM documents in a Sharepoint Document Library to leverage versioning control and better management (More Info)
* Integrating SharePoint 2007 document library with CRM information using a third party tool (c360 Word Mail Merge or MSCRM-Addons WordMailMerge)
* Integrating a SharePoint 2007 page into the Microsoft CRM interface as a sub application or as part of a tab using iFrame
* Using a CRM workflow and a CRM call-out assembly to create a Sharepoint workspace for a CRM record
* Using MOSS 2007's workflow (or an event handler) and Windows Workflow Foundation (WWF) to create a CRM record when a subsite or list item is created.
* Presenting CRM Reports in Sharepoint using SQL Reporting Services web parts (Report Explorer and Report Viewer)

And more...
* Remembering the fact that Microsoft CRM is built on SQL, other applications can be created pulling data from filtered views (It is best practice to only use filtered views created by CRM.)
* Remembering that Microsoft CRM offers web services, other applications can be created to leverage off CRM's web services. Data security of the CRM data provided by the web service is inherited from Microsoft CRM when the you authenticate whilst connecting.
* Remembering that Microsoft SharePoint also offers web services, and hence call-outs can leverage off SharePoint functionality!

A small number of Blogs/Articles which I've read as a part of my research:
* Sharepoint Integration Approaches http://mscrm.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!534230C9D7A90B1B!390.entry
* Sharepoint with MS CRM 3.0 http://microsoftcrm3.blogspot.com/2007/01/sharepoint-with-ms-crm-30.html
* Microsoft Dynamics CRM Official Site http://www.microsoft.com/dynamics/crm/default.mspx
* Microsoft CRM Integration & Customization: SharePoint Document Gateway http://www.albaspectrum.com/Customizations_Whitepapers/Microsoft-CRM-Integration-Customization-Sharepoint.htm
* Microsoft CRM Integration & Customization: SharePoint Document Gateway http://ezinearticles.com/?Microsoft-CRM-Integration-and-Customization:-SharePoint-Document-Gateway&id=26933
* Microsoft CRM 3.0 SDK http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa682866.aspx
* Reporting Services WebParts - Walkthrough http://blogs.sqlxml.org/bryantlikes/articles/628.aspx
* SQL Server Reporting Services Web Parts Review http://weblogs.asp.net/jan/archive/2005/01/21/358073.aspx
* Questions I asked on the CRM Community Site http://www.microsoft.com/Businesssolutions/Community/NewsGroups/dgbrowser/en-us/default.mspx?dg=microsoft.public.crm.deployment&tid=d6f67d53-fe75-4d6f-8bf8-d4fe79b15e5f&cat=〈=en&cr=US&sloc=en-us&m=1&p=1
* Microsoft Office Sharepoint Server 2007(MOSS 2007) And Microsoft CRM Integration http://www.codeproject.com/useritems/MOSS_2007-CRM_Integration.asp