Start/End Date Validation (JavaScript)

As a CRM developer you may come across situations whereby you have to validate a start and end date pair of fields (IE the date in the end date field is the same as or later than the date in the start date field). To do so, simply implement the following 2 JavaScript functions (one on-change of the start date field, the other on-change of the end date field):

On-change of Start Date

Var startDate = Xrm.Page.getAttribute(“”); 
Var endDate = Xrm.Page.getAttribute(“”);
if (startDate.getValue() > endDate.getValue()) {
 alert(“Start Date is greater than End Date!”);
 endDate.setValue(null);
}

On-change of End Date

Var startDate = Xrm.Page.getAttribute(“”); 
Var endDate = Xrm.Page.getAttribute(“”);
if (startDate.getValue() > endDate.getValue()) {
 alert(“Start Date is greater than End Date!”);
 startDate.setValue(null);
}

Happy coding!

When To Utilise The Different Plugin Types (Pre-Validation, Pre-Operation and Post-Operation)

In Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011, plugins can be triggered to fire on a variety of messages (update, create, win etc). However you can also specify when exactly the plugin will fire in relation to the given message. Your choice is the following:

• Pre-validation of the given message (pre-validation of a record deletion for example). 
• Pre-operation (pre-operation of a record update for example). 
• Post-operation (post-operation of a record create). 

What trigger point you choose here can be very important, I will attempt to explain here when you should use each type:

Pre-Validation
Firstly, all delete operations that reference the target record will need to be run in this mode. Pre-Validation plugins run before the actual operation is validated within CRM and could allow the user to do such things as custom checks to determine if a record can be deleted at this point in time. 

Pre-Operation
Plugins that fire on this message tend to involve operations which could result in the updating of the target record itself before it is actually saved in the system.

Post-Operation
Note, avoid using this mode if your plugin is going to be updating the current entity. This mode is best utilised when the plugin simply needs to reference the newly created record (but not actually update it) in order to perform further operations on other records in the system.  Problems can arise if you try to update the target entity in a post-op plugin, for example if you have a plugin that runs post-update of an entity and the same plugin updates the target entity, then an infinite loop will occur.

I hope this post was helpful and if you think I've missed anything please leave a comment and let me know!

Using a Configuration Entity

Recently I was working on a project that required a lot of plugins and workflows to carry out a variety of calculations on data, however the calculations made use of a lot of variables that changed regularly (a few times a week say).
Therefore, the values could not be hard-coded by the plugins and needed to be easily editable by the users.  Initially I thought parameters would be the solution to this problem, the users could simply go in to the customisations and change them?  Then I thought of a much cleaner way to achieve the same functionality, a configuration entity.  The use of a configuration entity solves 3 problems here, firstly the everyday system users should never have to go into the customisations and make changes on a regular basis, even if they are just to process parameters.  Also, a lot of the same parameter values were being used in several different processes and plugins and related to that, plugins can't have parameters in the same way as workflow processes.

The idea is that you create an entity with a field for each value required, users can then access this entity in the front-end system and change the values to be used in the processes.  The processes access the parameters stored in the configuration record(s) by performing a simple retrieve on the configuration record(s) required and storing the required values in variables at the start of each execution.

This concept could obviously be applied in any Dynamics CRM system that had to make use of regularly changed values in its processes and plugins.

Record Auto-Numbering in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011

In this article I am going to show you, step-by-step, how to auto-number your records in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011.

* This article assumes you already have your environment set up.

• First, create a new solution with a name of your choice (I've called mine "JacksSolution").
• Create an option set in the solution called 'Prefix & Suffix Options', and give it the following options:

Option Set Options
Free Text
2-Digit
4-Digit

• Create a new entity called 'Auto-number'.
• Create the following fields on the entity:

Display Name	Field Type	Schema Name
Entity Name	Single Line of Text	jack_entity
Field Name	Single Line of Text	jack_field
Counter	Whole Number	jack_counter
Increment Unit	Whole Number	jack_incrementunit
Number Formatter	Single Line of Text	jack_numberformatter
Prefix	Single Line of Text	jack_prefix
Suffix	Single Line of Text	jack_suffix
Prefix Separator	Single Line of Text	jack_prefixseparator
Suffix Separator	Single Line of Text	jack_suffixseparator
Prefix Type	Option Set	jack_prefixtype
Suffix Type	Option Set	jack_suffixtype

• Arrange the fields neatly on the form, like so:

• In this example we are going to automatically number the Invoice entity, so go to the Invoice entity, add a field called 'Invoice ID' of type single-line of text and place it somewhere obvious on the form.

• Now, create a new JavaScript web-resource with a name of your choice and add the following JavaScript from the linked file to the file in CRM:

http://www.solidfiles.com/d/1a6655c709/

• Go back to the Auto-number entity and call the AutonumberOnLoad function on-load of the form.

• Also add the OnPrefixSuffixTypeChange function to the on-change event of both the 'Prefix Type' field and the 'Suffix Type' field and pass in the name of the calling field in string format as the parameter (in my case 'jack_prefixtype' and 'jack_suffixtype').

• Create a new auto-number record in the system and fill in the details, I used the following:

• Now comes the plugin itself, you will have to create one for each entity you wish to automatically number.  

• For this example, create a new plugin to fire pre-operation on-create of the invoice entity and add the code found in the following text file:

http://www.solidfiles.com/d/1990b2055a/

• Deploy the plugin to the auto-number solution.
• Now, create a new invoice and hey-presto, its been numbered!

This component can be easily modified to work with any entity in the system, including custom entities.

CRM 2011 With IE 10 & Windows 8 Issues

If you are using Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 On-Premise on a Windows 8 machine running IE 10, it is likely you are having a range of issues affecting your system (sometimes preventing you from using it completely).  I'm not going to go through these issues, I'm just going to show you how to fix it *.

Heres what you need to do:

1. Right-click the toolbar running along the top of the browser window.
2. Select 'Menu Bar'.
3. In the Menu Bar that has just appeared, select 'Tools'.
4. In Tools, select 'Compatibility View Settings'.
5. In here, you can either select 'Display All Websites In Compatibility View' or enter in the URL of your CRM 2011 on-premise environment.

* This fix should only be used if you don't have access to Rollup 12.  If you do, apply it and your problems should be resolved.

Address Lookup Button on Form

In this tutorial I'm going to show you how to place an address lookup button on the contact form.

First, create a new solution in your environment and add the 'Contact' entity to it from the default solution (you are going to edit it later).
Next, download the JQuery library from here :

http://jquery.com/download/

You'll need to add this to your solution in the form of a JavaScript web-resource.  To do so, create a new web-resource in the solution and give it an appropriate name, make it of type JavaScript, copy and paste the JavaScript from the downloaded JQuery file into the text editor and save it.

Next, create another new JavaScript web-resource file, and call it something like 'Address Lookup Library'.  Add the following JavaScript in the text editor and save it:

//***********************
//Contact Functions
//***********************
function contactsOnLoad() {
  addButton('address1_addresstypecode')
}

function addButton(attributename) {
    if (document.getElementById(attributename) != null) {
        var sFieldID = "field" + attributename;
        var elementID = document.getElementById(attributename + "_d");
        var div = document.createElement("div");
        div.style.width = "100%";
        div.style.textAlign = "left";
        div.style.display = "inline";
        elementID.appendChild(div, elementID);
        div.innerHTML = '';
        document.getElementById(attributename).style.width = "100%";
        document.getElementById(sFieldID).onclick = function () {CustomLookup(); };
    }
}

//***********************
//Contact Address Lookup Functions
//***********************
function CustomLookup() {
  //Get value of the selected customer account
  var lookupItem = Xrm.Page.getAttribute("parentcustomerid").getValue();
  
  if (lookupItem != null)
  {
    // Lookup Customer info
    //On-line
    //var url = '/_controls/lookup/lookupsingle.aspx?class=BrowseCustomerAddress&objecttypes=1071&browse=1//&bindingcolumns=line1%2cpostalcode&parentType='
//        + lookupItem[0].type + '&parentId='
//        + lookupItem[0].id + '&ShowNewButton=1&ShowPropButton=1//&DefaultType=1071';

    //On-premise
    var url = '/' + Xrm.Page.context.getOrgUniqueName() +
      '/_controls/lookup/lookupsingle.aspx?class=BrowseCustomerAddress&objecttypes=1071&browse=1&bindingcolumns=line1%2cpostalcode&parentType='
        + lookupItem[0].type + '&parentId='
        + lookupItem[0].id + '&ShowNewButton=1&ShowPropButton=1&DefaultType=1071';


    // shows a modal window to select the addresses
    var selectedAddress = window.showModalDialog(url, null, 'dialogWidth:600px;dialogHeight:400px;resizable:yes');
    
    // Validate address info in not null before continuing
    if (selectedAddress != null)
    {
      var addressFields =  jQuery.parseJSON(selectedAddress);
      // we have the id of the address - now use the json to get the values in an array.
      if (addressFields.items != null)
{
 var sLookupValue = addressFields.items[0].id;
      var xml = "" + "" + "" + decodeURI(GenerateAuthenticationHeader()) + " " + " " + " " +
                         " customeraddress" +
     " " +
     " " +
     " city" +
     " country" +
     " fax" +
     " line1" +
     " line2" +
     " line3" +
     " name" +
     " postalcode" +
     " primarycontactname" +
     " stateorprovince" +
     " telephone1" +
     " " +
     " " +
     " " +
     " customeraddressid" +
     " " +
     " " +
     " " + sLookupValue + "" +
     " " +
     " " +
     " " +
     " " +
     " " + "";

var xmlHttpRequest = new ActiveXObject("Msxml2.XMLHTTP");
      xmlHttpRequest.Open("POST", "/mscrmservices/2007/CrmService.asmx", false);
      xmlHttpRequest.setRequestHeader("SOAPAction", "http://schemas.microsoft.com/crm/2007/WebServices/RetrieveMultiple");
      xmlHttpRequest.setRequestHeader("Content-Type", "text/xml; charset=utf-8");
      xmlHttpRequest.setRequestHeader("Content-Length", xml.length);
      xmlHttpRequest.send(xml);

      var resultXML = xmlHttpRequest.responseXml;

      //alert(xmlHttpRequest.responseText);
      var oXmlDoc = new ActiveXObject("Microsoft.XMLDOM");
      oXmlDoc.async = false;
      oXmlDoc.loadXML(resultXML.xml);

      var businessEntities = oXmlDoc.getElementsByTagName('BusinessEntity');
                    
      for (i=0; i< 1; i++)
      {
        if (businessEntities[i].selectSingleNode('./q1:name') != null)
        {
          // Address Name Set
          Xrm.Page.getControl("address1_name").setDisabled(false);
          Xrm.Page.getAttribute("address1_name").setValue(businessEntities[i].selectSingleNode('./q1:name').text);
          Xrm.Page.getAttribute("address1_name").setSubmitMode("always");
          //Xrm.Page.getControl("address1_name").setDisabled(true);

          if (businessEntities[i].selectSingleNode('./q1:city') != null) {
            // Address City set
            Xrm.Page.getControl("address1_city").setDisabled(false);
            Xrm.Page.getAttribute("address1_city").setValue(businessEntities[i].selectSingleNode('./q1:city').text);
            Xrm.Page.getAttribute("address1_city").setSubmitMode("always");
            //Xrm.Page.getControl("address1_city").setDisabled(true);
          }
          else {
            // Address City set
            Xrm.Page.getControl("address1_city").setDisabled(false);
            Xrm.Page.getAttribute("address1_city").setValue(null);
            Xrm.Page.getAttribute("address1_city").setSubmitMode("always");
           // Xrm.Page.getControl("address1_city").setDisabled(true);
          }

          if (businessEntities[i].selectSingleNode('./q1:country') != null){
            // Country set
            Xrm.Page.getControl("address1_country").setDisabled(false);
            Xrm.Page.getAttribute("address1_country").setValue(businessEntities[i].selectSingleNode('./q1:country').text);
            Xrm.Page.getAttribute("address1_country").setSubmitMode("always");
            //Xrm.Page.getControl("address1_country").setDisabled(true);
          }
          else {
            // Country set
            Xrm.Page.getControl("address1_country").setDisabled(false);
            Xrm.Page.getAttribute("address1_country").setValue(null);
            Xrm.Page.getAttribute("address1_country").setSubmitMode("always");
            //Xrm.Page.getControl("address1_country").setDisabled(true);
          }               
          if (businessEntities[i].selectSingleNode('./q1:line1') != null){
            // Address Line 1 set
            Xrm.Page.getControl("address1_line1").setDisabled(false);
            Xrm.Page.getAttribute("address1_line1").setValue(businessEntities[i].selectSingleNode('./q1:line1').text);
            Xrm.Page.getAttribute("address1_line1").setSubmitMode("always");
            //Xrm.Page.getControl("address1_line1").setDisabled(true);
          }
          else {
            // Address Line 1 set
            Xrm.Page.getControl("address1_line1").setDisabled(false);
            Xrm.Page.getAttribute("address1_line1").setValue(null);
            Xrm.Page.getAttribute("address1_line1").setSubmitMode("always");
            //Xrm.Page.getControl("address1_line1").setDisabled(true);
          }

          if (businessEntities[i].selectSingleNode('./q1:line2') != null){
           // Address Line 2 set
           Xrm.Page.getControl("address1_line2").setDisabled(false);
           Xrm.Page.getAttribute("address1_line2").setValue(businessEntities[i].selectSingleNode('./q1:line2').text);
           Xrm.Page.getAttribute("address1_line2").setSubmitMode("always");
           //Xrm.Page.getControl("address1_line2").setDisabled(true);
         }
          else {
           // Address Line 2 set
           Xrm.Page.getControl("address1_line2").setDisabled(false);
           Xrm.Page.getAttribute("address1_line2").setValue(null);
           Xrm.Page.getAttribute("address1_line2").setSubmitMode("always");
           //Xrm.Page.getControl("address1_line2").setDisabled(true);
          }

         if (businessEntities[i].selectSingleNode('./q1:line3') != null){
           // Address Line 3 set
           Xrm.Page.getControl("address1_line3").setDisabled(false);
           Xrm.Page.getAttribute("address1_line3").setValue(businessEntities[i].selectSingleNode('./q1:line3').text);
           Xrm.Page.getAttribute("address1_line3").setSubmitMode("always");
           //Xrm.Page.getControl("address1_line3").setDisabled(true);
         }
          else {
           // Address Line 3 set
           Xrm.Page.getControl("address1_line3").setDisabled(false);
           Xrm.Page.getAttribute("address1_line3").setValue(null);
           Xrm.Page.getAttribute("address1_line3").setSubmitMode("always");
           //Xrm.Page.getControl("address1_line3").setDisabled(true);
          }

         if (businessEntities[i].selectSingleNode('./q1:postalcode') != null){
           //Address ZipCode set
           Xrm.Page.getControl("address1_postalcode").setDisabled(false);
           Xrm.Page.getAttribute("address1_postalcode").setValue(businessEntities[i].selectSingleNode('./q1:postalcode').text);
           Xrm.Page.getAttribute("address1_postalcode").setSubmitMode("always");
           //Xrm.Page.getControl("address1_postalcode").setDisabled(true);
         }
          else {
           //Address ZipCode set
           Xrm.Page.getControl("address1_postalcode").setDisabled(false);
           Xrm.Page.getAttribute("address1_postalcode").setValue(null);
           Xrm.Page.getAttribute("address1_postalcode").setSubmitMode("always");
           //Xrm.Page.getControl("address1_postalcode").setDisabled(true);
          }

         if (businessEntities[i].selectSingleNode('./q1:stateorprovince')!= null){
           //Address State set
           Xrm.Page.getControl("address1_stateorprovince").setDisabled(false);
           Xrm.Page.getAttribute("address1_stateorprovince").setValue(businessEntities[i].selectSingleNode('./q1:stateorprovince').text);
           Xrm.Page.getAttribute("address1_stateorprovince").setSubmitMode("always");
           //Xrm.Page.getControl("address1_stateorprovince").setDisabled(true);
         }
          else {
           //Address State set
           Xrm.Page.getControl("address1_stateorprovince").setDisabled(false);
           Xrm.Page.getAttribute("address1_stateorprovince").setValue(null);
           Xrm.Page.getAttribute("address1_stateorprovince").setSubmitMode("always");
          // Xrm.Page.getControl("address1_stateorprovince").setDisabled(true);
          }

}
     
       }// end if entity not empty
     }// end for i++
   }//end if no address selected
 }else {
     alert("No Parent Customer Selected.");
   }//  // end of if no customer seelcted
}// end of new address selected function

*Note: At the top of the function CustomLookup you'll notice there is a commented out section:

    //On-line
    //var url = '/_controls/lookup/lookupsingle.aspx?class=BrowseCustomerAddress&objecttypes=1071&browse=1//&bindingcolumns=line1%2cpostalcode&parentType='
//        + lookupItem[0].type + '&parentId='
//        + lookupItem[0].id + '&ShowNewButton=1&ShowPropButton=1//&DefaultType=1071';

Uncomment out this section and comment out the section:

    //On-premise
    var url = '/' + Xrm.Page.context.getOrgUniqueName() +
      '/_controls/lookup/lookupsingle.aspx?class=BrowseCustomerAddress&objecttypes=1071&browse=1&bindingcolumns=line1%2cpostalcode&parentType='
        + lookupItem[0].type + '&parentId='
        + lookupItem[0].id + '&ShowNewButton=1&ShowPropButton=1&DefaultType=1071';

If you would like to deploy this solution to a CRM On-line environment.

Finally, save and publish the solution and create a new contact.  There you have it, your address lookup button!  Simply click it and it will pull through one of the addresses related to the parent customer of the contact record.

Jack's CRM 2011 JavaScript Toolbox

Get the Value from a CRM Field

var varMyValue = Xrm.Page.getAttribute("CRMFieldSchemaName").getValue() ;

Set the Value of a CRM Field

Xrm.Page.getAttribute("CRMFieldSchemaName").setValue('My New Value');

Hide/Show Tab

Xrm.Page.ui.tabs.get(5).setVisible(false);
Xrm.Page.ui.tabs.get(5).setVisible(true);

Hide/Show Section

Xrm.Page.ui.tabs.get(5).sections.get(0).setVisible(false);
Xrm.Page.ui.tabs.get(5).sections.get(0).setVisible(true);

Call the On-Change Event of a Field

Xrm.Page.getAttribute("CRMFieldSchemaName").fireOnChange();

Get the Selected Value of a Pick-List

Xrm.Page.getAttribute("CRMFieldSchemaName").getSelectedOption().text;

Set Field Requirement Level

Xrm.Page.getAttribute("CRMFieldSchemaName").setRequiredLevel("none");
Xrm.Page.getAttribute("CRMFieldSchemaName").setRequiredLevel("required");
Xrm.Page.getAttribute("CRMFieldSchemaName").setRequiredLevel("recommended");

Set the Focus to a Field

Xrm.Page.getControl("CRMFieldSchemaName").setFocus(true);

Stop an On-Save Event

event.returnValue = false;
executionObj.getEventArgs().preventDefault();

Return Array of Strings Consisting of User Security Role GUIDs

Xrm.Page.context.getUserRoles();

Get Record GUID

var recordId = Xrm.Page.data.entity.getId();
var recordIdWithoutCurlyBraces = Xrm.Page.data.entity.getId().substring(1,37);

Get Event Source

var eventSource = executionContext.getEventSource();

Get Event Source (Field Name)

var fieldName = executionContext.getEventSource().getName();

Get Event Source (Value)

var fieldValue= executionContext.getEventSource().getValue();

Set Lookup Value

Xrm.Page.getAttribute('new_fieldid').setValue([{ id: 'guid', name: fullName, entityType: 'entityTypeName'}]);

Disable/Enable Field

Xrm.Page.getControl(fieldName).setDisabled(true);
Xrm.Page.getControl(fieldName).setDisabled(false);

Hide/Show Field

Xrm.Page.ui.controls.get(fieldName).setVisible(false);
Xrm.Page.ui.controls.get(fieldName).setVisible(true);

Get Form Type

var FORM_TYPE_CREATE = 1;
var FORM_TYPE_UPDATE = 2;
var FORM_TYPE_READ_ONLY = 3;
var FORM_TYPE_DISABLED = 4;
var FORM_TYPE_QUICK_CREATE = 5;
var FORM_TYPE_BULK_EDIT = 6;
var formType = Xrm.Page.ui.getFormType();
if (formType == FORM_TYPE_CREATE) {
}
else {
}

Modify Field Label Tooltip

document.getElementById("field_name_c").setAttribute("title", "tooltip text");

Modify Lookup Button Tooltip

document.getElementById("field_name").setAttribute("title", "tooltip text");

Call a field's On-Change Event

Xrm.Page.getAttribute("field_name").fireOnChange();