Microsoft Dynamics CRM UK Reseller

Allowing Regarding Field to be reset on Incoming Emails

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 18:27:38 GMT

Once the regarding field has been set on incoming emails / promoted emails it cannot be changed. This solution via JavaScript allows for the regarding field to be changed.

1. Add Status Reason field to Email Form

2. Email Form OnLoad Event

if (crmForm.all.statuscode.DataValue =='4')
{
    if (crmForm.all.regardingobjectid.Disabled == true)
    {
        crmForm.all.regardingobjectid.Disabled = false;
    }
}

3. Regarding field OnChange Event

if (crmForm.all.statuscode.DataValue =='4')
{
crmForm.Save();
}

We have moved

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 10:48:59 GMT

Following a fire in the ground floor/basement at our office block a week ago cutting off all power, telephone and Internet access we have moved to the Mansfield i-centre.

Our new address is:

Vigence Limited
Mansfield i-centre
Hamilton Way
Mansfield
Nottinghamshire
NG18 5BR

The Crown at Playhatch

Tue, 15 Jan 2008 00:24:30 GMT

I spent a couple of days at the end of last week at Microsoft TVP with the Microsoft Dynamics CRM PTS team (Phil and Reuben) running through the What's New in CRM 4.0 course ready for next week's course in Maidenhead

Reading, as you may know, suffers from some poor hotels so it was nice to discover a small friendly hotel with excellent facilities and a very good restaurant. The Crown is just outside Reading about 15 minutes drive from TVP. Highly recommended.

Microsoft Certified Trainer

Wed, 09 Jan 2008 20:57:30 GMT

My application to be an MCT has finally been approved. I had not forwarded my MCT assessment to the Microsoft Regional Service Centre (not that I was told I needed to do that when I applied....)

Email Problems

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 17:34:29 GMT

It appears we have been put on an email blacklist (again) because BT have marked our IP address as being in a non-static range when it is in fact a static IP address. if you have been sending us emails over the past few days then they may not have been received and you may not have received any emails we sent you.

This and the fact that we get thousands of SPAM emails per day means we need to use a third party to handle and filter email. We have chosen to trial ExchangeDefender and will let you know how we get on.

CRM 3.0 Small Business Edition and CRM 4.0 Upgrade Options

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 17:24:42 GMT

If you have CRM 3.0 Small Business Edition (SBE) and want to upgrade to CRM 4.0 there is no equivalent edition.

If you have more than 5 user licences then your upgrade option is to CRM 4.0 Professional Edition. If you are on Software Assurance then there is nothing additional to pay however when you come to renew Software Assurance then it will be at Professional Edition price i.e, about double what it would have been under CRM 3.0 SBE.

If you have 5 or fewer user licenses then you have a choice to make. You can either upgrade to Professional Edition, which is what I would recommend if you are not likely to increase your users, or upgrade to the Workgroup Edition which is limited to 5 users. If later you want to increase the number of users then you have to pay a Step-Up for the Professional Edition.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM System Tray Utility

Sun, 06 Jan 2008 20:12:45 GMT

The little utility I wrote which sites in the system tray and can be used to start CRM in a new browser window does work with CRM 4.0 and can be downloaded from here

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Connector for Sage Line 50

Sun, 06 Jan 2008 20:06:43 GMT

The Sage Line 50 integration we wrote for CRM 3.0 and which can be downloaded from CodePlex will not install under CRM 4.0 as the custom entities used cannot be imported into 4.0.

As to whether the integration will work if you install it under 3.0 and upgrade to 4.0 then I suspect it will work but I have not had chance to test it yet.

CRM 4.0 SDK Released

Sat, 05 Jan 2008 14:32:34 GMT

The SDK for CRM 4.0 has been released and can be downloaded from here.

The Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Software Development Kit (SDK) is for developers, system customizers, and report writers.

It contains all new information about creating plug-ins, working with custom workflow activities, using the new Web services, using new data management features, and much more.

This SDK contains information for developers writing server side code, custom business logic, integration modules, workflow assemblies, and more. It provides an architectural overview of Microsoft Dynamics CRM, the entity model, security model, and Web services. Sample code and walkthroughs guide you through the new features.

The SDK also contains information for developers customizing the Web client or Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Microsoft Office Outlook, including scripting, integration of custom Web pages, sample code, and a detailed user interface style guide.

Look for regular updates to this SDK. Future releases will include the ISV Guide and Report Writers Guide.

Sound in Windows 2003 under Virtual PC

Fri, 04 Jan 2008 03:58:33 GMT

Windows 2003 server doesn't include drivers for the Sound Blaster 16 emulated by Virtual PC but it is possible to get sound working using XP drivers.

More information here and here

C: Drive Full

Fri, 04 Jan 2008 03:57:04 GMT

I regularly come across customer systems where the C: drive is full or almost full. This is especially true of Dell systems as the default system partition size is only 10Gb on older machines

The cause is almost always IIS Logs. IIS Logging is turned on by default and generally for OWA and other web sites you can find log files going back 2-3 years! Each log file may only be a few Mb but overtime this can easily reach 1-2Gb.

So it is a good idea to keep track of the Logs which can be found in C:\Windows\System32\LogFiles and clear down old logs regularly or turn off Logging in IIS if you don't need it

8910 - What's New in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0

Thu, 03 Jan 2008 16:36:06 GMT

We are working our way through the CRM 4.0 training manuals ready to deliver the first run throughs of the new 4.0 courses and I thought I would give you an outline of the courses

The What's New course is aimed at those familiar with CRM 3.0 and who want to get to know the new features of CRM 4.0 e.g.,

Multi-Tenancy
Multi-Language
Multi-Currency
Data import and migration
Outlook Client and Offline Working
Enhanced entity relationships
Workflow

This is a technical course not an end user course and would be more appropriate to partners rather than end users.

The standard course is 1 day and consists of the following modules:

Overview of New Features
Installation and Deployment
Configuration
Data Management
Outlook and Business Applications
Customisation
Workflow
Programmability

The 1 day course doesn't provide much in terms of labs or hands on so the I am delivering a 2 day course with the following agenda:

Day 1	AM	Key New Features Licensing changes
		Installation of CRM 4.0	Server Roles Hardware/Software Requirements Upgrading to CRM 4.0 Email Router Outlook Client
		Labs/Hands On	Upgrade Installation
	PM	Configuration	Multi-Tenancy Multi-Currency Multi-Language
		Outlook Client	Diagnostic Tool Activities Synchronisation
		User Interface	Auto Resolution Convert Activities Mail Merge
		Data Management	Import Wizard Export for Import Data Migration Manager Outlook Duplicate Detection
		Reporting	Report Wizard Advanced Find Export Data from Related Entities
		Labs/Hands On	Importing Data Duplicate Detection Outlook Client Report Wizard Advanced Find
Day 2	AM	Customisation	Entity Relationships Views Import/Export Customisations
		Workflow	Windows Workflow Foundation in CRM Events: Update and Delete Dynamic Values Form Assistant Sales Processes
		Labs/Hands On	Entities Workflow
	PM	Programmability	Event Framework Plug Ins Synchronous and Asynchronous Workflow Web Services Multi-Tenancy/Organisations Upgrade from 3.0 Client Side
		Labs/Hands On	Plug Ins

Blog Links

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 17:49:05 GMT

I've updated the blog links on the right hand side to those I read regularly

What's New in Microsoft CRM 4.0

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 15:02:34 GMT

There are still a few spaces on the CRM v4 - What's New 2 days course at Xpertise in Maidenhead on 22-23 January which I will be delivering.

Tim Long's first impressions of CRM 4.0

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 03:24:55 GMT

Tim a member of the UK SBS Community has been using CRM 3.0. Tim has an interest as a user, developer and supplier and as such gives him a useful perspective

Check it out here

Media Centre Extender

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 02:59:11 GMT

(Or what I got up to over Christmas apart from CRM 4.0)

I have been using Windows XP Media Centre for 2 and a bit years now and I has totally changed the way I watch Television. I built my system around an Asus Pundit-R which is a compact desktop machine with a 160Gb SATA drive, LG DVD drive, Intel Celeron D335 2.8Ghz CPU and 512MB DDR RAM. I use 2 DVB-T (Freeview) tuners from Black Gold which allow me to record one programme and watch another or even record two programmes at the same time and watch another recorded programme.

The only drawback is it that the Pundit is noisy. The noise is down to the small cramped case and the small fans which spin very fast. A BIOS upgrade and use of the ASUS QFAN utility made a lot of difference but you can still hear the Pundit humming away.

The Pundit sits in the living room and I use WebGuide to control and view recordings from my PC. However, this still means plain ordinary TV in the bedroom which is, frankly, really frustrating.

Ian Dixon (Media Centre expert and Microsoft CRM user) put me onto using the new Xbox 360 Arcade as a Media Centre Extender as it has an HDMI port. I thought this would be ideal for the bedroom.

The Xbox 360 arrived for Christmas and I duly connected up the Xbox to my home network using a couple of HomePlug PowerLine devices. I was able to connect the Xbox 360 to the Media Centre but had trouble viewing recorded programmes for more than a few minutes. This was due to a couple of things;

First the Media Centre was connected via 802.11b Wireless running at 11Mbps which isn't good enough for video so I replaced my trusty Netgear ADSL modem/router and wireless access point with a new X-Gate ADSL modem/802.11g wireless device from GSEC1 [we use the GSEC1 Prodigy security device in the office].
Secondly, using a Media Centre Extender adds to the memory footprint and CPU load on the Media Centre and this caused the Pundit to run at high CPU usage and low on physical memory - a quick upgrade to 1Gb solved the memory problem and reduced memory paging and CPU usage.

I now am able to use the Xbox to access Media Centre and I am to say impressed with how it works. I have also linked the Xbox to my Windows Home Server for music and this is quite excellent. The issue is the noise from the Xbox which is too much for a bedroom.

I am still having a few problems; as both PCI slots on the Pundit are taken up with TV cards I have had to use USB for WiFi and it has a habit of dropping its connection, and CPU usage is higher than before leading to more heat, faster fans and an even noisier Pundit. I have ordered another PowerLine device to replace the WiFi connection. Now to address the noise.

I found this article on silencing a Pundit last year and bought an 80mm quiet fan, 70mm to 80mm adaptor and other bits and pieces from Quiet PC but never had the inclination to attempt this level of mod until now. I didn't bother changing the hard drive but concentrated on the CPU fan and after much cutting with the Dremel and trimming of the adaptor I managed to fit a larger quieter fan. I also found that changing the fan direction to blow hot air out made a significant difference in the new setup. Now I cannot hear the CPU fan at all. CPU, case and hard disk temperatures have dropped about 10C. This has the added effect of reducing the PSU fan which is the remaining source of noise.

After much hunting of the Internet I have found a suitable replacement PSU fan which I have duly ordered. I also bought a Pentium 4 Northwood 2.4Ghz CPU on eBay to replace the Celeron CPU. The reasoning for this is that the Celeron D335 is from Prescott family which runs very hot. The later Northwood family of processors (which the Pundit supports) runs cooler at 68W vs. 83W so this should reduce heat and I may be able to run the fans slower reducing noise further.

So when the fan arrives I will hopefully have a near silent Media Centre which brings us back to the need for a quiet Media Centre Extender as the Xbox has failed the noise test. I have been 'told' whatever goes into the bedroom must be silent so I am considering this from Tranquil PC and using WebGuide to stream TV.

Update: I have fitted the replacement PSU fan and I now have a near silent media centre system and which is running at lower temperatures than before.

Office Accounting 2008

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 17:51:25 GMT

Microsoft have released a small business accounting package which has been tailored for the UK.

There are two version Express (which is free) and Professional which has features such as Stock, Sales Orders and Job Costing and costs £150.

My colleague, Richard, is not particularly keen on a payroll service rather than software but at £9.95 per month for up to 25 employees this is a good deal. You can also sign up to e-payment services.

We run our business using CRM for projects, staffing, expenses and invoicing and Sage for accounts. I will be looking at integrating CRM with OA2008 (using the SDK) and am particularly interested in the job costing aspect to allow us better insight into project profitability

You can download Express or a 60 day trial of Professional

For those with an MSDN Subscription the Professional can be downloaded from there.

If you are an accountant Microsoft provide you with free software and support. Click here for more.

Windows Home Server

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 12:14:16 GMT

I was a beta tester for Windows Home Server which was released last month and is now available both as OEM and as pre-built systems

My own WHS is running on a Dell PowerEdge SC420 which although not as nice as the Tranquil PC or HP Media Smart Home Server dedicated systems does the job of backing my home PCs and my MediaCenter as well as storing all my pictures and other files making them available over the web.

Take a look at this marketing material Stay at Home Server

For more information and all news on Windows Home Server check out We Got Served

Internet Explorer crashing in CRM

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 11:30:38 GMT

If you are running Windows XP Service Pack 2 and Internet Explorer 6 and downloaded the latest IE security fixes then you may be experiencing IE crashing.

There is a hotfix for this. See KB946627 and KB942367

You also need to set the registry described in the document. For those who have difficulty or need to roll this out to multiple machines Jesper has done the hard work for you.

CRM 4.0 Training

Thu, 20 Dec 2007 01:26:40 GMT

My company, Vigence, was approached by Microsoft a few months ago to provide CRM training to partners and customers in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

The idea is to have the people delivering the training to be experienced in implementing Dynamics CRM.

My colleague Adrian Shaw was already a Microsoft Certified Trainer and, although I have delivered training throughout my career, I needed to become an MCT. I took the train the trainer course in October and passed the assessment. Hence we are now part of the Microsoft Dynamics Authorised Training Team.

Adrian and I have been preparing with an early look at the training material and we shall be continuing with this over the next few weeks.

A number of courses have been arranged:

What's New in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0: 22-23 Jan

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Installation and Deployment Training Course: 29-31 Jan

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Configuration & Customisation Training: 5-7 Feb

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 applications Training: Feb 12-14

Adrian and I are also delivering the Accelerated learning at Firebrand Training CRM and CRM Developer courses.

For details on all Microsoft Dynamics CRM Training click here

Photo Album: Partner of the Year

Mon, 28 May 2007 18:41:11 GMT

Partner of the Year

Small Business Specialist of the Year

CRN Best in Show

Award Winner

Logo

Banner

Photo Album: Vigence Exhibition Pics

Tue, 04 Jan 2005 13:04:15 GMT

Vigence Exhibition Pics

callcentre01

callcentre02

callcentre03

Blog list: Other Blogs

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 17:45:20 GMT

Other Blogs

Mark Harrison
SharePoint
Ian Dixon
Microsoft CRM user and Windows Media
The Enterprise System Spectator
What's happening in the ERP vendor market
SBS Diva
The first place to look for SBS
Vladvlle
Want an opinion?

Blog list: MSCRM Blogs

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 17:42:27 GMT

MSCRM Blogs

David Jennaway
Frank Lee
Workopia Microsoft CRM Blog
Dynamic Methods
Dynamic MSCRM
Matthew Wittemann
ICU MSCRM
Mike Snyder
Sonoma Partners
Anne Staton
Tidbits on MS CRM
Scott Colson
Yes, you CAN do that with CRM
Kjell-Sverre Jerijærvi
CRM InfoWorker Solutions
John O'Connor
CRMn IT
Erik van Hoof
CWR Mobility
Maarten Dominicus
CRM Watcher
Mike Taylor
CRM User
Arne Janning
Inside Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0
Michael Hoehne
stunnware's CRM.NET corner
Imran
Microsoft CRM 3.0
mscrmguy
John Straumann
Ronald Lemmen
Ronald Lemmen - CRM, C# and Cme
Aaaron Elder
Ascentium Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 Developer's Weblog

Blog list: Microsoft Blogs

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 17:36:34 GMT

Microsoft Blogs

Arash Ghanaie-Sichanie
Arash Ghanaie-Sichanie Blog
Jim Glass
A CRM Riff
Joriz Kalz
Joris Kalz's WebLog
Ben Vollmer
Mid Atlantic Microsoft CRM
Menno
A Freaky Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 Blog
Simon Hutson
Simon's Microsoft Dynamics CRM Technical Blog
Philip Richardson
Program Manager for Customization in the Microsoft CRM Product Team
Microsoft Dynamics CRM Team Blog
The official MSCRM blog

Book List: Book List

Thu, 20 Dec 2007 01:53:03 GMT

Custom List: Links

Thu, 20 Dec 2007 01:47:29 GMT

Links

Vigence
My Work
microsoft.public.crm
Google Groups
Microsoft CRM Community
A Microsoft Business Solutions Featured Community
Microsoft CRM Downloads
Updates and Documents for Microsoft CRM