Automatically close appointments after end date - Part 2

So we're having a nice discussion on the CRM newsgroup about creating the same workflow rule as I did for an appointment, but now for a SERVICE appointment. Take a look at this thread.

No problem, you would say. However, there seems to be some problem. I'm having no problem at all. I can create a timer condition and wait for the ServiceActivity.Scheduled End. However, Gavin and Dave don't see the Scheduled End field anywhere in the dropdownlist, they only see "CreatedOn". The other strange thing is, I see 4 date fields I can select from, but no "CreatedOn"!

Are we talking about the same thing? Or is this an example of some miscommunication? I don't know, but let's get this clear once and for all! :)

I've made some screenshots that show the 3 relevant steps in creating this workflow:
Step 1: Create the workflow
Step 2: Insert a 'wait for timer' condition
Step 3: Select the ServiceActivity.Scheduled End field to evaluate for the timer

The rest of the steps in creating the workflow don't matter, it's about setting the timer on the Scheduled End field.

So, this is how it works in my workflow manager, how does it work in yours?

Automatically close appointments after end date

I schedule my appointments in CRM. Most of the time however, I do not attach notes to that appointment or do something else with it. It's just a way to schedule my time.

So when the appointment is over, it can go to status "Complete" as far as I'm concerned. I'd rather not do that manually, it should just go to Complete if the end date is reached.

Luckily we have workflows! :) I created a simple workflow that uses a timer condition and checks for the Appointment.End Time. Click here for a screenshot.

For test purposes I set a timer of 1 minute, but you could easily set the timer to e.g. 1 day. That way you still have plenty of time to edit your appointment if necessary. After 1 day, it will automatically go to status "Complete".

I've also set some conditions; I don't want to change status to Complete if the status is Cancelled, or already Complete.

Just a simple example of how you can use workflows to make your life easier :)

Remote Management and Monitoring of Workflows (Update)

There was a post on the crm newsgroups about remotely managing and monitoring workflows. Is this possible? The textbox where you can indicate the target crm server gives the impression that it is. And yes, it is possible and actually quite simple! (once you know how to do it ;)

When I first tried it, I received a message about the server not responding. This was because I typed in the "http://" before the server name. Don't do this, it gets prefixed automatically. Makes sense, because the default value "localhost" also misses the "http://" prefix :S

After that I received a message about not having the privileges to run the workflow monitor. A quick look with Reflector showed that you need the create/read/write/delete workflowprocess(instance) privileges. Makes sense doesn't it, if you want to manage/monitor workflows? :)

So make sure you're a System Administrator or System Customizer, then you'll have those privileges. Chances are you are one if you want to manage/monitor workflows.

All that is left is to copy the necessary files to the computer where you want to do the managing/monitoring. The files you need are:
- Microsoft.Crm.Tools.WorkflowMonitor.exe
- Microsoft.Crm.Tools.WorkflowLibrary.dll
- Microsoft.Crm.Tools.WorkflowManager.exe

And that's it! No need for direct or terminal access to your crm server anymore. At least not for workflow managing/monitoring...

Update: Looks like I forgot something. I didn't realize I have the Outlook client installed on the machine I tested it on and therefore already had some dll's in the GAC that were needed. So, you also need the following dll's"
- Microsoft.Crm.dll
- Microsoft.Crm.Platform.Proxy.dll

And now it should really work :)

Spelling checker update released!

Today we released an update of our successful Email Spelling Checker for CRM 3.0!

Officially we cannot call it an Email Spelling Checker anymore, because now it also checks Knowledge base articles, so we'll just call it the Spelling Checker :)

However, it's still a freeware add-on that you can download from our product page. Try it out and if you have any feedback, leave it on our forum.

Have fun.

CRM Mobile Service on new PDA

Last week I received my new Dell Axim V51x. What a beautifull piece of hardware!

Just to show off (and to show what we are working on), I have added some pictures with our upcoming mobile application called CRM Mobile Service.

More details on this new product will follow in the first week of February, so watch our blog, and our website: http://www.cwrmobility.com for more info.

Online Demo of CRM 3.0

Are you wondering what CRM 3.0 looks like?

Have a look at John Straumann's Online 'Picture' demo of CRM 3.0.

CRM + SRS = powerful reporting

John Straumann (AKA the MSCRMGuy) has created a very nice Powerpoint which guides you through the creation of Reports for CRM 3.0 by using SQL Reporting Services.

This Presentation can be found: here

(Source: Microsoft CRM Sandbox)

Official Distributor for Experlogix

On monday January 10th, 2006 CWR Mobility has signed an exclusive distribution agreement with Experlogix for distributing their Product Configurator for Microsoft™ CRM in the Benelux.

With this agreement CWR Mobility continues to position itself as the supplier for add-ons for Microsoft CRM in the Benelux.

More information on Experlogix can be found on www.experlogix.com

More information on CWR Mobility can be found on www.cwrmobility.com

Second batch...

And another 4 languages of CRM 3.0 have been spotted on the MSDN download site:

- Dutch
- French
- German
- Russian

First batch of localized version released

Microsoft has released the first 4 localized version of Dynamics CRM 3.0.

And the lucky languages are:
- Danish
- Portuguese - Brazil
- Spanish
- Italian

Both Pro and SBE are available for download from the MSDN subscribers section.

FYI: Catching the SoapException

There are quite some posts on the news groups concerning exceptions when calling the Crm webservice, like this: "I'm trying to create an appointment, but I'm getting a 'Service was unable to process request' error." Followed by a large (and usually unuseful) stack trace.

This doesn't give much usable information, only a lot of overhead.

It might be obvious for some what to do, but apparently not for all. So, once and for all, here's what you do:
You catch the SoapException and you look at the Detail.InnerXml property. E.g.

try
{
 // call crmservice
}
catch(SoapException ex)
{
 string error = ex.Detail.InnerXml;
}

This will give you the real error message. Post this on the news group and people will probably be able to help you.