Microsoft Dynamics CRM Customization Essentials covers the essential structure and customization options available to a Dynamics CRM power user. The book takes you through the basics of the platform, explains the structure and relationship of various elements, and presents the customization options available on the platform. It also covers the administrative options at a high level.
Chapter 1, Getting Started, gives you an introduction to Dynamics CRM and guidance on setting up a free 30-day trial of Dynamics CRM Online, in order to be able to follow through the examples in the book. No prior knowledge of Dynamics CRM is assumed. When you complete this chapter, you will be able to replicate all the examples provided in this book in their newly created trial instance of Dynamics CRM.
Chapter 2, Dynamics CRM Application Structure, delves into the Dynamics CRM application structure, describing the standard modules, elements available for customization and their relationship with each module, as well as the available options to extend the platform further. In this chapter, you will understand how to manage the existing application structure, extend and modify the modules, and update the navigation accordingly.
Chapter 3, Customizing Entities, builds on the knowledge gained in the previous chapter, and goes one step further by showing you how to work with entities within the existing modules, customize and extend these entities, and create logical relationships between them. In addition, this chapter will loop back and reference the previous chapter by describing how these new customizations fit within the application modules and can live across various modules.
Chapter 4, Business Processes, takes you into the core of the application, by taking a look at how business affects the behavior of the platform. You will look at how to enforce business rules on the platform and create customizations that will guide and correct the user, thus making sure that the platform works in sync with the user.
Chapter 5, Social Features in Microsoft Dynamics CRM, lets you take a look inside and outside the platform, by first diving into the internal social aspect of the platform and then tapping into external data from the market, as well as at the customers and prospects. You will be introduced to some of the new features that have been introduced in the latest versions of Dynamics CRM as well as the analytics options available with the platform.
Chapter 6, Dynamics CRM Administration, guides you through generic administration options available on the platform. While it is by no means an exhaustive guide to application administration, this chapter aims at giving you enough knowledge on the administrative options to provide a base of knowledge. In addition, references to the Microsoft documentation will point you to the available sources to enhance your knowledge.
By following the instructions provided in Chapter 1, Getting Started, you will be able to create a 30-day trial of Dynamics CRM Online. This environment can be used to experiment with the configurations described in this book.
In addition, Microsoft Office Outlook can be used to integrate with this environment. Chapter 1, Getting Started, also describes how to configure this integration.
This book is a basic guide for both new and seasoned Microsoft Dynamics CRM users. It takes a gradual approach to present the platform, starting with the basic structure, then moving on to configuration options, and ending with solution administration concepts.
A new user will be slowly guided through the base concepts of the platform, the structure, and the configuration options so that he or she can become a power user.
An advanced user will find the coverage of a certain aspect of the platform that they have not yet worked with, or find specific gems about differences between the versions of the platform and the new features introduced with the latest version.
A power user will find details and concepts that will help them become better and faster as well as more efficient and proficient at customizing the platform. In addition, they will get an overview of the platform administration options, helping to close the communication gap between users and administrators.
This book takes a no-code approach to configuration and customization and is aimed at nondevelopers. It is intended as a guide for someone who is starting out with the platform and as a reference material during the platform life.
In this book, you will find a number of styles of text that distinguish between different kinds of information. Here are some examples of these styles, and an explanation of their meaning.
Code words in text, database table names, folder names, filenames, file extensions, pathnames, dummy URLs, user input, and Twitter handles are shown as follows: "This URL is in the format https://[OrganizationName.crm.dynamics.com]."
New terms and important words are shown in bold. Words that you see on the screen, in menus or dialog boxes for example, appear in the text like this: "With the URL in place, click on Test Connection."
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