Advanced Find - Not In queries

Posted on 7th December 2017 at 18:26

One of the new features in Dynamics 365 v9 is the Not In query within Advanced Find.

For example, users can query for all Cases that do not have a related Task, or Open Opportunities without any related Activities.

To do this, users launch advanced find from the icon on the navigation bar. In the query, they choose what type of record to look for, and then select a related record type to see the Does not contain data operator.

Changing Quick Search Fields

Posted on 2nd July 2017 at 16:11

If you have specific fields that you need to be able to search on, for example you may have a unique reference number that you want to be able to search by, the Quick Find View can be customised to meet your needs.

Rollup Fields

Posted on 2nd July 2017 at 16:07

Rollup fields can be defined to provide further business metrics by showing an aggregate value related to a specific record - such as the value of Open Opportunities agains an Account. In more complex situations you can aggregate data over a hierarchy of records (such as all parent/child accounts).

Calculated Fields

Posted on 2nd July 2017 at 16:03

Calculated fields let you automate otherwise manual calculations and display the results in fields on Forms, Views and in Charts.

For example, a sales person may want to know their expected commission based on the estimated revenue of an opportunity, or you may want to calculate a delivery charge based on the order value.

Why Use Connection Roles

Posted on 2nd July 2017 at 15:36

Connection Roles allow you to link virtually any record type to another. They have been around for many releases and have not really changed much during that time.

However, they are not often used as they are not as intuitive as other areas of the system.

Is there a quick way to access frequenty used records?

Posted on 26th June 2017 at 19:59

As well as being able to quickly access recently used records or views, with Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2016 you can "pin" your favourites for quick access.

Drilling down to data in dashboards

Posted on 19th June 2017 at 20:03

The dashboards in Dynamics CRM / 365 provide a fantastic overview for users, but frustratingly double clicking on a graphical element does not drill down but instead provides a somewhat unhelpful "Select field" dialogue.

What is a Sandbox instance?

Posted on 12th June 2017 at 19:54

If you haven't come across this before, a Sandbox is a non-production CRM instance which gives administrators the ability to have a separate database for testing or training purposes.

Postcode Searching - Using wild characters

Posted on 5th June 2017 at 19:49

Searches and Filters applied to Views work on a "begins with" basis. To change a search to a "contains" search you can use the * as a wild character.

Using the * in Filters works in the same way - but has particular importance if you need to filter by postcode.

Reassigning Ownership - effect on activites

Posted on 29th May 2017 at 19:43

If when you reassign an Account/Contact/Case record all activities are also reassigned you may need to change some settings on your system.

For example, when you change the owner of an Account or Contact, the default behaviour is that completed tasks, emails and phone calls will also change owner. This typically is not the desired outcome when we reassign an entity. Ideally we want ONLY the open tasks, emails, phone calls etc to be reassigned.

This behaviour can be changed with a couple of straightforward changes to the system.