Unitek Microsoft CRM Blog

The recommendations that follow are among some of the first suggestions I make to my customers in order to make using Microsoft CRM 3.0 easier for their users. While the recommended customizations are simple and easy to implement, they contribute greatly toward making the Microsoft CRM easier to use and can potentially have big payoffs in terms of user acceptance. So be a friend to your users and implement these recommendations.

Tip #1: Stop confusing your users.

Microsoft CRM’s Advance Find uses attribute’s Display Name to list each entity’s searchable fields. Having a label on a form that is different from the Display Name of the field can become very confusing and can create unnecessary frustration for your users.

1. This mismatch between Form Labels and attribute Display Names exists in the standard installation of Microsoft CRM 3.0. So my recommendation to you is that the first chance you get, go through your Microsoft CRM installation and change either the Display Name of the attributes or the Label on the Entity Forms so that they match. In most cases you will be changing the Display Name of the attributes to match the Labels on the Entity Forms than the other way around.
2. When creating new customized attributes to be used on the Forms, keep this tip in mind and make sure the Labels and the Display Names for fields, used on the Forms, match.

Tip #2: Don’t make your users plow through hundreds of fields.

All attributes that have their “Searchable” parameter set to yes, will show up in Advance Find’s list of searchable fields. In Microsoft CRM 3.0 by default all attributes are set to be searchable. This means even attributes that are not being used will end up on Advance Find’s list of searchable fields. Following is a step by step instruction on how to turn an unused attribute’s “Searchable” parameter off so that it won’t show up in the Advance Find’s list of searchable fields. Instructions are given to change an existing attribute of the Account entity:

Display Name: “Address 1: Freight Terms”

Schema Name: “address1_freighttermscode”

1. In Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0, on the Navigation Pane (left hand side of the screen), click Settings, click Customization, on the Main Grid (to the right of the Navigation Pane), click Customize Entities, double-click Account.
2. On the Entity: Account form, click Save and Close.
3. Search through the list of Display Names for attributes and find “Address 1: Freight Terms”, click on it.
4. Click Save and Close. This leaves the Entity: Account form open. Locate the Searchable parameter and turn its search-ability off by setting its option to “NO”. (see image below)
5. On the Entity: Account form, click on the Actions button in the top toolbar, click Publish.
6. On the Entity: Account form, click Save and Close.
7. Confirm that this field does not show up in Advance Find’s list of searchable fields for the Account entity.

As you see, it is pretty easy to make these customizations. If you have any questions in this regard, please feel free to leave a comment.

RM
Microsoft CRM Consultant

Trackback URI | Comments RSS