There is a tool called Plug-in Configuration Manager Utility that was on codeplex (https://pluginconfigmgrutil.codeplex.com/)
Since codepleax is not available anymore I am wondering if someone has this tool and can share it with me please.
Related
I'm .NET Web Developer and new to Microsoft's CRM, so bear with me. I'm trying to find the correct way to connect to Microsoft Dynamics 365 and retrieve some PDF files. I need to know which is the correct way to do so. I have some questions of some topics found Googling around that don't make sense to me.
Accessing through the SDK
I have found this Microsoft documentation which explains the SDK. However there is a NOTE that says that this has changed with the 2016 update, and Googling more around, it seems to be that the SDK it's not used anymore. I am wrong?
Accessing data using Web API
There's yet another Microsoft documentation that tries to explain the way to connect through a Web Api, however from the start, it says: "This section contains reference documentation of the types, functions, and actions that constitute the Web API for Microsoft Dataverse and Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement (on-premises)".
That "On-Premises" comment bothers me. I don't want to learn something that doesn't work for me. Why the web api seems to work only on premise? Why not Dynamics in the cloud?
And for what you can see, I'm utterly confused as to how in the world I can access data to retrieve a file programmatically through C# code from Microsoft Dynamics 365 cloud based.
Please, if you can point me in the right direction, I will really appreciate it.
Thank you!
If your language is C# you can use the SDK provided by Microsoft, it works with the Online (cloud) version.
If you are using .NET Framework you can use this NuGet package:
https://www.nuget.org/packages/Microsoft.CrmSdk.XrmTooling.CoreAssembly/
If you are using .NET Core/.NET 5.0+ you can use this NuGet package (but in public preview):
https://www.nuget.org/packages/Microsoft.PowerPlatform.Dataverse.Client/
Some details about these packages here: https://www.crmanswers.net/2021/05/microsoftpowerplatformdataverseclient.html
Adding to Guido's excellent information here are a few more considerations:
Plugins and custom workflows are custom .NET assemblies where you would use the SDK. They currently only support the full .NET Framework.
To call into the system from a JavaScript library on a form (a.k.a. Client-side scripting), you'd use the WebAPI.
For console apps, web apps, and other external code, you can choose between the SDK and WebAPI. (And as Guido points out, the .NET Core version of the SDK is in preview).
When using the SDK there are two possible coding approaches: Early Bound and Late Bound.
With early bound, you generate proxy classes for DataVerse tables. The classes have properties for each column/attribute, which enables intellisense.
With late bound, you use the string names of tables and attributes.
This article has more info.
Tools for generating early bound classes include Microsoft's CrmSvcUtil.exe, Daryl LaBar's Early Bound Generator in the XrmToolbox,
and the commercial Visual Studio add-on for DataVerse XrmToolkit.
If you're going the WebAPI route, David Yack's API Helper might interest you.
My company uses MS dynamics CRM 4.0 and I can only access the client side of it (using the URL in IE to open the CRM system).
I can see that the system could do with some enhancements and plug-ins.I want to work on them because when I suggested these enhancements I was told that the system will be upgraded, after maybe 2 years. So no one is working on making it better even though the extension could really help the users.
Details: Currently, users enter details for each sale into the system. This takes a lot of time because the server and centralised database is in another continent. What I want to do is to have the users enter their data into an excel sheet and a system scheduler will upload the data overnight.
My question is can I develop, plug-ins or extensions etc, on the CRM with VS Express Edition? I have no access to the CRM Server or database since I'm using only the browser to use the system to enter data, just the client side CRM window.
Edit This is not lack of research. I have not found an answer to this anywhere.
I appreciate your expertise and experience.
If you are talking about .NET, server-side plugins, you'll need the following things as described on the "Creating a Simple Plug-in" page of the 4.0 SDK:
To complete this walkthrough, you will need the following:
Visual Studio 2005 or Visual Studio 2008.
A pre-built version of the Plug-in Registration tool.
A Microsoft Dynamics CRM SDK installation.
Network access to a Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 server.
A Microsoft Dynamics CRM system account with either the System
Administrator or System Customizer security role, which is also a
member of the Deployment Administrators group in Deployment Manager.
The line about network access to the server I'm not so sure about. If you register the plugin to the database as you typically would, I don't think you'd need network access; if you deploy to disk, that's when I think you need it.
If by "extensions" you mean things like adding scripts to forms, the only thing you'd need is the System Customizer or System Administrator roles.
Update based on your addition to question:
If you want to schedule a daily import, you should be able to do that with the limited, web-only access you have (assuming you have enough privileges to kick off imports [which, if you can do it through the UI, you can do it programmatically]). Your program could run and kick off import jobs (see "Configuring Data Import" page of SDK). I know for sure you could kick off imports of csv's, not sure about programmatically importing excel files, but you could programmatically transform the excel files to csv and then kick off the jobs.
I am evaluating UFT (formerly QTP) as an automation tool for testing a Microsoft Management Console app. The controls have the prefix MMC, e.g. MMCMainWindow.
I have contacted HP and so far they have not come up with a solution. The solutions architect I am working with suggested using the extensibility toolkit, but I'm not sure that was meant for creating custom controls for an entire application.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
My clients have bought an Office 365 SharePoint 2013 site and I'm in the process of configuring it.
Their business rules require a very complicated Workflow which can just about be developed in SharePoint Designer. However, as I'm an experienced Visual Studio .NET developer I'd rather do it programmatically and hopefully save some time.
At present I can't figure out how to connect my desktop version of Visual Studio to the Cloud-based SharePoint site. I've downloaded the Workflow Manager tool but I'm struggling to figure out how to configure the Farm Databases etc. Available documentation seems patchy.
Has anyone out there found a way of doing this? This link suggests that it might not be possible.
Thanks
Edward
According to this article it's possible, though probably not really nice.
You will have to deploy your Workflow as a SharePoint App. Which means you will only be able to call the webservices.
Another option which might be worth looking at is Nintex, which has a module for office 365 as well.
Nintex has alot of useful functions, though I don't know how good the office 365 version is.
You would have to check whether it suits your requirements.
Reading about TFS' MSF for Agile Software Development v5.0 template (for example here) I can see nice Documents and Reports installed by default:
but after I installed this template myself I can see no such nodes:
What should I do to see (or install) them?
The administrator either did a basic wizard install or they did advanced and opted out share point and reporting integration. The basic wizard is actually just a wizard and the result is equivalent to advanced with opted-out. So in that sense, there really is no such thing as a basic installation - just a basics wizard. After the wizard there's no way of telling how you got where you got.
If TFS is installed on a client OS, you will not be able to add Sharepoint and Reporting integration. If you are on a server OS you can go into the admin console on the server, go to the share point and reporting nodes and configure them.
At that point, you will have to install SharePoint and Reporting services. But, if you download TFS Dev11 CTP (just came out at build conference), the SharePoint integration wizard will take it E2E even after the fact. It will detect what's missing and just do it. However, Dev11 CTP is not go live - at Beta, you can upgrade to it.
Here's a document on adding share point to an existing TFS deployment:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee462861
After you configure SharePoint and Reporting services, you will need to enable them for existing projects:
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/greggboer/archive/2010/02/24/creating-sharepoint-portals-reports-and-upgrading-reports-for-an-existing-team-project.aspx
For reporting, go to the reporting node in the admin console. There's a link in there to configure. Point to your sql and analysis services and it should be fairly straight forward.
You have not made a full Team Foundation Server installation. Follow this guide: http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=24337
This installation guide gives lots of important information regarding installation of a Team Foundation Server. Including important information on the SQL Server setup. Reporting Server is used for reports. And documents are stored in a Sharepoint product.
I think you have made a Basic Installation.
The missing documents and reports, has nothing to do with the process template you are using (MSF for Agile Software Development v5.0).