Search results for 'app:weblogs' matching tag 'CRM'

Running CRM 2011 on Windows 8

LarryLentz — Sat, 04 Aug 2012 05:00:00 GMT

I recently installed the Release Preview of Windows 8 on my notebook computer. Naturally being able to run CRM 2011 on it was a key issue. I installed Office 2010 64bit and attempted to configure the CRM client for Outlook. Installing was no problem but when I attempted to configure it for my organization, I received the error “Cannot connect to Microsoft Dynamics CRM server because we cannot authenticate your credentials…”. After frustrating all other resourses, I posted my dilemma to the MVP list. Murat from the CRM Team came to my rescue with these instructions:

Go to the Legacy Control Panel (not the Metro Control Panel)
Click Programs
Under Programs and Features, click “Turn Windows features on or off”
Navigate to Windows Identity Foundation 3.5 and check the box.
Click Ok. This will install WIF and enable it
Auth should work normally now.

This worked! Thanks, Murat.

Next I had a problem with the CRM 2011 web client. It appeared to work at first but as I attempted to use it I found it did not function correctly. First I had to turn off the pop-up blocker, true for any OS or browser. But it still did not function correctly. Then my fellow MVP Scott Sewell suggested I configure it for compatibility mode. That was a little easier said than done. I had to search a bit to find the settings. I configured IE to expose the Menu Bar. From there I was able to access Tools and Compatibility View settings where I added my CRM website. Works great now.

The only remaining issue is using the Metro Internet Explorer browser. I haven’t figured out yet how to set it for compatibility view. When I do, I’ll blog it for you.

Windows Server Failover Cluster 2012 in Depth

TBittner — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Find here all sessions from Tech-Ed which covers all details about Windows Server Failover Cluster 2012. Every session takes about one hour. But it is worth taking time watching all of the sessions.

Troubleshooting CRM 2011 Security Role Issues

LarryLentz — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 05:00:00 GMT

I had a call the other day from a client who was having some issues with security roles. He had just hired a new inside sales rep and had assigned her the same security role as the other reps. But, she wasn’t able to properly access the data the way the others were. He examined the security roles and was unable to see any differences. So, he called me. As he was showing me the security role settings for the new and existing users, I asked him to show me the Team membership of the new user. She was not assigned to any teams. Then I asked to see the teams the existing users belonged to. Sure enough they were in an inside sales team. I asked him to check the security roles assigned to the team. There was one, the Salesperson role. I recommended he add the new user to the team. Problem solved!

CRM 2011 has added a new wrinkle (feature) of Team Ownership of records. In order to own records, a team must have a security role assigned to it. Members of the team acquire the access privileges provided by the team’s security roles.

When troubleshooting security roles in CRM 2011, be sure to check team membership, and the security roles that might be assigned to those teams as well.

CRM 2011 Access Denied! Oh no!!

LarryLentz — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 05:00:00 GMT

The other day I attempted to open my CRM 2011 and was asked to enter my user name and password. Strange I thought but I entered it nonetheless. It asked me for it again, apparently not liking what I had entered. I tried again, more carefully. And once again I was prompted for my user name and password. A third try resulted in a 401 Unauthorized error. Oh NO!! Had my CRM been hacked? Had someone messed with it? Everything seemed in order on the server.

I am running an Internet Facing Deployment, IFD, using Active Directory Federated Services, ADFS. Perhaps there is a problem with ADFS. I had a look there and it appeared OK as well. So I decided to temporarily disable IFD and Claims Based Authentication and see what happened. Much to my delight I was able to access CRM and found my data intact. So, the problem must be with the authentication.

I did a little digging with my favorite CRM troubleshooting tool, Bing, and eventually found a Knowledge Base article, http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2642530, that recommended setting the anonymous authentication permissions on the CRM 4 service end point (look to the article for the details.) I tried this but it still didn’t work Then, although the article didn’t include this step, I decided to run IISRESET. Yea! That did work and I now have my CRM back and life is good once again.

Dynamics CRM 2011 UR8 Download Update Rollup 8

jeffl — Thu, 03 May 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Here is a link to the Download:

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=29692

Jeff Loucks
Chief Strategy Officer | Winrox | 425-577-7377

Error when running .NET Application that is consuming CRM 2011 Services

Anonymous — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Hi All,

I was trying to run a .NET application that consumes CRM 2011 WCF Services and i was getting this exception:

Could not load file or assembly 'Microsoft.IdentityModel, Version=3.5.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35' or one of its dependencies. The system cannot find the file specified.

The cause of this issue is to due to missing dlls in your machine for Microsoft Identity framework that is required to have to run your application.

Install Microsoft Identity Framework in your computer that is compatible with your operating system.

For Windows 7 & Windows 2008 R2 you need to install Version 6.1

After you install this update re-run your application and will run with no exceptions!

Note: Make sure to stop your development web sever before rerun your application to reload all required assemblies.

**Download link:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=17331

Hope this helps!

Automatically Deleting Workflow Logs

LarryLentz — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 05:00:00 GMT

A nice new, hidden, feature in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 is the option to automatically delete the logs of successfully completed workflow jobs. This option is found at the bottom of the Administration tab of the workflow designer form.

The System Jobs log fills up with a lot of stuff, including workflow logs. This is an easy way to reduce it. However, be aware that you will no longer be able to see a record of a workflow having completed, neither in the System Jobs log, nor in Workflows on the affected records. So you might want to be sure a workflow is performing properly before setting this option. Also, the option is set on the individual workflows. I haven’t seen a global option to do this for all workflows.

Dynamics CRM–What is Supported–Different Rollups of Client and Server?

jeffl — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 06:00:00 GMT

In a recent conversation with the Dynamics CRM products team the topic of supportability recently came up between different User Rollups(UR). Sustained Engineering does some testing against both scenarios, i.e. higher UR version on servers vs. clients and higher UR version on clients vs. servers, for both CRM 4.0 and CRM 2011. However, the test matrix, especially for CRM 4.0, is huge, so spot checking is done; the entire matrix is not tested by any means. Test focus is probably on v-minus 1.

Standard rules of thumb are:

· Generally the servers are upgraded first and the clients after as quickly as feasible. Until the clients are updated, they’ll be missing any Outlook Client-specific binary fixes

· Sometimes due to lack of test resources re: server upgrades + known, impactful Outlook client issues available in the Client rollups, customers will roll out higher UR versions on their clients

· When there is a client/server mismatch,

Try to keep the situation temporary, getting the versions in sync ASAP
Try to minimize the “mismatch delta”; obviously, running (for example) RTM (UR0) clients against UR6 servers is more risky (and less likely to be tested) than running UR5 clients against UR6 servers.

Hope this is helpful,

Jeff Loucks
Chief Strategy Officer | Winrox | 425-577-7377

Dynamics CRM: 6 Principles of Customer Service to keep in Mind

jeffl — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 06:00:00 GMT

Many times I run into situations where people think of software as IT and IT as technical skill. However CRM is about customers and its use is about establishing a corporate culture which embodies a system of beliefs about how these most valuable relationships are handled with care. As I have with sales, I strive to remind people of the basic concepts and principles we are trying to instill in the systems we implement.

So here are six principles of customer service to keep top of mind:

Be friendly and demonstrate good manners. Teach employees to smile, leading by example. Establish a culture of high quality customer service and commit to deliver superior service whether over the phone, by email or face-to-face.
Make customers feel comfortable, valued, and appreciated.
Treat customers with respect, empathy, and efficiency.
Listen actively to be responsive and exceed customer expectations.
Effectively resolve the customer's problem.
Say "Thank you" and "Please" graciously.

These principles may seem to be common sense however their importance to success of a technical project which instills business process to service customers can never be underestimated.

Jeff Loucks

Chief Strategy Officer | Winrox | 425-577-7377

Dynamics CRM–5 Principles of Sales to bear in mind while implementing

jeffl — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 06:00:00 GMT

In the CRM world we always have to bear in mind the system is meant to reinforce good customer relationships. I have explored in my previous posts how from time to time people miss the mark. We need to bear in mind the principles which make sales people successful and gear the system to reinforce that success.

The following are five principles of sales which create opportunities for success. We use them to review the system implementation and ensure that we are enhancing the opportunities for the principles to be applied.

Listen to your customers
Seek to understand your customer’s situation
Identify your customer’s needs
Provide proof that your product or service can resolve their needs
Customer believes your solution is cost effective

For those implementing CRM, the goal is always to drive business value by reinforcing opportunities for those who use it to be successful.

Jeff Loucks

Chief Strategic Architect | Winrox | 425-577-7377