Microsoft EPM & CRM from novice point of view

CRM 2011 custom workflow: Cancelling an Activity and Adding Note to it

2011-07-12T18:56:00.003+06:00

After a lot of hardship i have come up with workflow which does a very straight forward thing. it looks for an activity with a certain subject line. when it finds the activity in question, if the activity has not been cancelled, it cancels it after adding a note to it. i have done it for all the activity types. to avoid duplication i am just sticking with the first two (task and email). Since i'm copy-pasting, there is a chance that there will be unmatched parenthesis.

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;

//my usings
using System.Activities;
using Microsoft.Xrm.Sdk;
using Microsoft.Xrm.Sdk.Workflow;
using Microsoft.Xrm.Sdk.Messages;
using Microsoft.Xrm.Sdk.Query;
using System.Collections.ObjectModel;
using Microsoft.Crm.Sdk.Messages;

using Microsoft.Xrm.Sdk.Client;

using Microsoft.Xrm.Sdk.Deployment;
using Microsoft.Xrm.Sdk.XmlNamespaces;
using System.Activities.Debugger;
using Microsoft.IdentityModel.Protocols.WSTrust;

namespace Don_Det_onUpdate
{
public sealed class DonarDetailsOnApproved : CodeActivity
{
[Input("Type of Activity")]
[RequiredArgument]
[Default("4212")]
[AttributeTarget("activitypointer","activitytypecode")]
public InArgument TypeOfActivity { get; set; }

[Input("Subject Line")]
[RequiredArgument]
public InArgument SubjectLine { get; set; }

protected override void Execute(CodeActivityContext context)
{
IWorkflowContext con = context.GetExtension();
IOrganizationServiceFactory objIOrganizationServiceFactory = context.GetExtension();
IOrganizationService service = objIOrganizationServiceFactory.CreateOrganizationService(con.UserId);

OptionSetValue ActType = TypeOfActivity.Get(context);

try
{
var crm = new XrmServiceContext(service);
Int16? ActivityId = Convert.ToInt16(ActType.Value);

// 07 july by imran

if (ActivityId.HasValue)
{
switch (ActivityId)
{
// this is a task...
case 4212:
var TaskList = crm.TaskSet.Where(t => t.Subject == SubjectLine.Get(context).ToString() && t.StateCode != TaskState.Canceled);

foreach (Task tsk in TaskList)
{
var note = new Annotation
{
Subject = "System generated note",
NoteText = "This activity is cancelled and no longer required.",
ObjectId = new EntityReference(tsk.LogicalName, tsk.Id),
ObjectTypeCode = tsk.GetType().ToString().ToLower()
};

crm.AddObject(note);
crm.UpdateObject(tsk);
crm.SaveChanges();

var k = new SetStateRequest
{
EntityMoniker = new EntityReference(tsk.LogicalName, tsk.Id),
State = new OptionSetValue(2),
Status = new OptionSetValue(-1)
};
crm.Execute(k);

break;
}
break;

case 4202: // email
var EmailList = crm.EmailSet.Where(t => t.Subject == SubjectLine.Get(context).ToString() && t.StateCode != EmailState.Canceled);

foreach (Email eml in EmailList)
{
var note = new Annotation
{
Subject = "System generated note",
NoteText = "This activity is cancelled and no longer required.",
ObjectId = new EntityReference(eml.LogicalName, eml.Id),
ObjectTypeCode = eml.GetType().ToString().ToLower()
};

crm.AddObject(note);
crm.UpdateObject(eml);
crm.SaveChanges();

var k = new SetStateRequest
{
EntityMoniker = new EntityReference(eml.LogicalName, eml.Id),
State = new OptionSetValue(2),
Status = new OptionSetValue(-1)
};
crm.Execute(k);

break;
}
break;

default:
break;

}
}
}

catch (Exception ex)
{

}
}
}
}

the question that pops up as soon as you come across to the code. that how the hell you come across to the activitytype (which i used in switch). i am damn sure there are lots of smart ways to find them. but i debugged and looked for the value. (silly me...)

System.Configuration.ConfigurationSettings.AppSettings’ is obsolete: ‘This method is obsolete, it has been replaced by System.Configuration!System.Con

2011-07-11T02:52:00.003+06:00

one of the great ways to save machine/server specific info into application is to save it in app.config or web.config file. these config files traditionally stores connection informations to the database. But how about if you want to store some other things like, the location of input and output folder for files.

below is a code snippet of two file locations that i am storing into app.config file

as you can probably understand i have created two key value pairs named "Source" and "Assembly" which stores a file location of my computer. now question is how to get them in your .cs file? answer is, use "ConfigurationSettings" class under system. so if you want to the value "source" in .cs just type in this

string k = ConfigurationSettings.AppSettings["Source"].ToString();

but as soon as you type that in, if you are using .net 4.0 you are going to encounter the second problem. the line will be underlined in green which will say some thing like,

System.Configuration.ConfigurationSettings.AppSettings’ is obsolete: ‘This method is obsolete, it has been replaced by System.Configuration!System.Configuration.ConfigurationManager.AppSettings

so then you will likely be using "ConfigurationManager" instead. now you face the third problem. it will say, "ConfigurationManager does not exists in current context" [i do not have clue why this sentence cannot be some thing like this "We cannot find the damn thing. check your references"]

Since "ConfigurationSettings" came under intelli-sense without referencing anything, logical deduction was i will see "ConfigurationManager" in the same list since both of them belong to System.Configuration. i googled it a lot and found out that you have to manually reference System.ConfigurationManager into the application. "why on earth you have to do this for Manager and do not have to do it for settings" is something i yet to discover.

So once you reference "System.ConfigurationManager" all will become cake walk to you. and the final code for getting the value of "Source" will be,

source = ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["Source"].ToString();

When you laugh at the irony...sometime it turns around and laughs at you....

2011-07-11T02:23:00.003+06:00

ok here's the thing...i have moved back to dynamics CRM again....the reason, i got a new job which deals with CRM development, the version of course is 2011. it gives me great pleasure to find out dynamics CRM has not been changed much from what it used to be two lives back. it still remains baffling and there are not much code example on the net. having said that, MSDN - CRM Community remains the great saviour for a novice programmer like me.

enough said. i don't want to provide a full proof article about my ignorance on CRM or any techs for that matter. i have done so many things on .NET lately. I'm sure if I don't safe keep the codings that i have done so far, they will soon be perished in the hard drive and i won't be finding them just when i need them.

so here's the plan. for the next few posts i will be providing some .net code which i have used over and over again. I will be spicing the posts with some small code snippets/thoughts/curses on dynamics CRM from my "novice point of view".

advisory statement: the codes may not seem very intriguing for all you smart asses. but these codes saved my life many a occasions. and obviously this is my post and i am writing it.

iron speed: upload a file to file system and save the location in database...solved

2010-02-04T03:56:00.004+06:00

This is the first time when a product documentation has come to my rescue. The iron speed code documentation has done the trick for me. I am trying to figure out a way to provide the code snippet a format other than image so that it can be in a ‘copy and paste’ format for later purposes. This is the image of the product documentation that had helped me for this particular problem. Okey first thing’s first. How I got around the problem? As I have discussed in phase one that I want upload a file into the filesystem using the fileInput control. At the same time I wanted to save that virtual address to the DB location. My approach was I will designate the savelocation value to the url Textbox and ask iron speed to take data from the url Textbox. Another approach may be to declare a hidden asp label. Then assign the savelocation value to the label. Iron speed will pull the data from the label. A normal procedure could have been taking the value from the input file directly. The reason I did not take the approach is because InputFile is an html control. I did not want to get in another hassle of converting html variable into aspx data. Rest is fairly easy.

public void try1_Click(object sender, EventArgs args) { bool shouldRedirect = true; try1_Click_Base(sender, args); //searching the html control called inputFile System.Web.UI.HtmlControls.HtmlInputFile inputFile; inputFile = ((System.Web.UI.HtmlControls.HtmlInputFile)(this.Page.FindControl("inputFile"))); if ((!(inputFile.PostedFile == null) && (inputFile.PostedFile.ContentLength > 0))) { // getting the filename // getting the savelocation string fileName = System.IO.Path.GetFileName(inputFile.PostedFile.FileName); string saveLocation = (this.Page.Server.MapPath("..\\Data") + ("\\" + fileName)); try { // start transaction to store the file location to DB DbUtils.StartTransaction(); // saving file to file system inputFile.PostedFile.SaveAs(saveLocation); // setting the control value = saveLocation this.ImageRecordControl.url.Text = saveLocation; // saving data to DB this.ImageRecordControl.SaveData(); this.CommitTransaction(sender); } catch (Exception ex) { this.Page.Response.Write(("Error: " + ex.Message)); shouldRedirect = false; BaseClasses.Utils.MiscUtils.RegisterJScriptAlert(this, "BUTTON_CLICK_MESSAGE", ex.Message); this.RollBackTransaction(sender); } finally { DbUtils.EndTransaction(); } if (shouldRedirect) { this.ShouldSaveControlsToSession = true; } } else { this.Page.Response.Write("Please select a file to upload."); } }

iron speed: upload a file to file system and save the location in database...[phase two] cont...

2010-02-04T01:04:00.002+06:00

i'm having no luck with the problem. it should have been a piece of cake. it has turned up to be a very hard nut to crack. the only update of my situation here is, i just accidentally clicked on code documentation instead of code customization which was just next to it. I was just having a look then i came across to this image of the class hierarchy...may be it will help.....

iron speed: upload a file to file system and save the location in database...[phase two]

2010-02-02T23:18:00.004+06:00

Now let us talk a bit about save button. As I was checking the code behind I saw the onclick event handler for save is calling a method named SaveButton_Click_Base(). This is the method from where the data is posted into the DB. The first thing that I noticed is the method is in a section called Do not modify the Section. Here I go again, falling in place where I have to do a prohibited thing with small calibre of knowledge I got..... As you can see there are four string type variables. They are

TargetKey
DFKA
Id
value

A Response.Redirect command will unfold what values each of them hold.

iron speed: upload a file to file system and save the location in database...[phase one]

2010-02-02T22:33:00.007+06:00

The image below show the page I am working in. When the save button is clicked the system stores what is in the url and id field. When the try1 button is clicked, the file in inputfile is stored in the DB. My approach as I have told you before is try to save the location in the db so that later on that location will be retrieved. As I ran through the codebehind class I saw that it creates customized function for onclick event for try1. The code snippet is given bellow, As you can see variable saveLocation stores the file in the virtual directory named ‘data’. So if I rephrase my problem statement then it would become like this, “I want the file to be stored in saveLocation and the value of id and savelocation should be stored in the database. so what i did is, i copied all the content of the codebehind separate file generate a new codebehind for the page.

iron speed: upload a file to file system and save the location in database...

2010-02-02T21:46:00.003+06:00

I have come across to iron speed designer in my previous organization. I think it very handy when it comes to development content manager like website. It has support for AJAX and new .net framework 3.X. The choices of design options are limited when it comes develop a new kind of websites. I am building a website for a collage now. The site will hold almost all kind of student information, some staff information and some specific reports. In this website I intend to save images in the file system of the website and store the location of image to the database. Iron speed has a customization support for uploading a file in file system in this article but next phase of my problem has not yet been considered. Let us see if I can manage to solve the issue.

From a place miles away from my destination

2010-02-02T21:27:00.002+06:00

This is year 2010....

The last time I have blogged is almost exactly three and half years ago. Although I have uploaded this blog with few of my researches every now and then, I haven’t been able to ‘blog’ in real sense if you know what I mean. If someone asks ‘What happened?’ I do not think that I have an appropriate answer for it. I have come across to many life changing events in these three years. Some have given me new prospective of life, and some were even worse than the horrific nightmares I see. Rest assured, I have left my dream of becoming youngest ever MSCRM and MSEPM professional miles away. I have started my life new as a rookie again. The blogs that I’ll post here after will be of the problems and issues that I come across to my day to day activities. It will not deal with EPM or CRM. Not anymore......

EPM 2003 : Unexpected Server Response - when try to connect to the project server from Project Professional

2008-01-14T11:14:00.000+06:00

this is one of the most common error of EPM 2003. there are number of things that need to be checked to get rid of of the error.

check whether the project server 2003 database is enlisted to the trusted sites list in the internet explorer. use fully qualified server name rather than just local computer name.

see whenther Authentication in security setting is set to , Automatic Logon with Current User Name and Password. if not make it.

Check the ActiveX settings for the internet explorer. what i did in my IE is that i put all enabled in any option related with ActiveX. works real good when you are intranet environment.

that's about it for today.............

EPM 2003: Adding Resource to Enterprise Resource Pool Problem - Part 2

2008-01-14T11:09:00.000+06:00

well i have resolved the problem. the problem lies with the resource name. here the resource name has to be same as the user account in project server. the default is set to be the windows user account name (the name written specified in Active Directory). when i changed the name according to the project server then the i can easily add the resources to the pool.

EPM 2003: Adding Resource to Enterprise Resource Pool Problem - Part 1

2008-01-10T11:44:00.000+06:00

The Highlighted enterprise resources either have invalid data or there is additional information about that resources displayed bellow. Edit any invalid values highlighted bellow to save and check in resources. when i click on the resource for more information then the following box appears. in the screen when i click windows user account then the following box appears i don't know what is going wrong...... searching for resolution....

Mircrosoft EPM 2003: the user could not be created...another stupid problem

2008-01-06T15:20:00.000+06:00

well today i received a new error while creating a new user in EPM server. the error goes like this.... i some how realized that my project server has lost its connection with the DNS. the computers object in AD does not show the project server computer name...so i added the project server into the domain....and that's it....

Microsoft EPM 2003: SQL Server service does not start successfully because of a logon failure

2007-12-30T12:40:00.000+06:00

Well this is one of the the errors that i faced when i went to my last visited organization to give EPM 2003 consultation. their EPM 2003 installation is very much straight forward. all the server and services are created by the user who has some Admin privileges. by some admin privileges i mean, the admin can do every thing except creating new Active Directory objects (i.e users, computers ..so forth). the symptom of the problem is, some of the time when the EPM server needs to be restarted, the SQL service does not start automatically. when i try to start the service manually then the error mentioned is the topic shows up. there are two links which came handy to me. they are,

i specially liked the second link because that contains simple process which is easier to remember. if some one asks me to briefly describe how to resolve the problem then i will simply say, change the SQL server log on to Domain Admin user's account and password.

CRM 3.0 redeployment: setup has detected a version mismatch between specified database and the current product

2007-12-30T12:21:00.000+06:00

Problem is solved Microsoft Business Solution Group has done the trick for me. in the post # 11 there is a query to update the buildversion table. i don't know yet why am i updating the buildversion table? nevertheless, my problem has been solved using the query. well the query goes here......

Update BuildVersion set Revision = 9 where BuildNumber = 5300

though the pre CRM setup assessment shows some warnings but the CRM server gets installed without any errors. i am testing the current CRM server now. so far no problem found.

CRM 3.0 redeployment: setup has detected a version mismatch between specified database and the current product

2007-12-30T09:42:00.000+06:00

well....its a new day....let's start from the beginning i had a CRM 3.0 installation previously....for some reason, i want to redeploy the CRM 3.0 using the older database.

my Active Directory is new (not back up new...it's just new, new). it has same name and users as in the previous installation.
installed the SQL server and restored the MSCRM and METABASE databases.
i have installed the CRMRedeployment tool and did exactly what is written in the redeployment manual.
when try to install in the diagnostic test the setup gives error under Microsoft SQL server.
setup has detected a version mismatch between specified database and the current product

i have checked the net for resolution but no good. still i got a number of post in different forums and blogs about the same problem. one of the links is Microsoft community. one guy here says that he did solved the problem but does not say how. he gives hint though that it has something to do with the build version in SQL server. as usual i've got no clue about what he wants to mean? another link is Microsoft Dynamics CRM newsgroup. it has a some sort of resolution. but i cannot say whether it will resolve my problem or not? it is about upgrading from CRM 1.2 to CRM 3.0. let's what happens?

CRM 3.0 redeployment part 3

2007-12-29T14:22:00.000+06:00

Step 5: Ok now comes the tricky part of the whole redeployment . i am stuck in this place for two days now. after setting the server and database name a window comes for specifying the organizational unit. i have selected the organizational unit correctly. additionally i have stayed with keep existing users. then if i continue the redeployment wizard by clicking next. the wizard migrates the system without any error. Step 6: I am trying to install the CRM server by connecting to the existing database in the server 1.....voila.......there are errors but different ones....... it has some problems with sql server 2005. it says, setup detected a version mismatch between specified database and the current product ($#@$##). i don't understand what on earth it is saying. if click for detail it shows this,

The Version of Your Microsoft CRM Database is Lower Than Expected

Cause

Setup has detected that the version of your current Microsoft CRM 1.2 database does not match the version required.

Solution

To resolve this problem, contact Microsoft Product Support Services. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services telephone numbers and information about support costs, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;[LN];CNTACTMS

as i said earlier i don't understand a single thing. i don't know from where CRM 1.2 database comes into play..... let's see if i can find any thing related to this issue on the net.....

CRM 3.0 redeployment part 2

2007-12-29T12:19:00.000+06:00

In the redeployment... i have not backed up the AD. rather i created a new AD and created the corresponding users on it. reference figure of the installation can be found in the page 1 of the installation guideline journal. i had 4 users in the previous installation, one user having marketing manager role, two having system administrator role (one is the domain administrator, other is the CRM administrator) and the last one having a custom created role. as in the redeployment documentation i have installed the CRM redeployement wizard in server 2. now let us go through the steps for restoring the server. Step 1: our laptops are not specifically used for CRM purposes, so there is no back up for laptop clients necessary. There is no Great Plains. No WorkFlows. Both .mdf and .ldf files for the databases My_Organization_Name_METABASE My_Organization_Name_MSCRM has been backed up. Step 2: Not necessary Step 3: AD domain controllers SQL server (with 2005 reporting services) Exchange 2003 has been installed..... Step 4: The CRM metabase and the database has been restored. the problem begins when restoring the MSCRM database. it shows a warning message (as shown in the figure). the message says, "one or more full text catalogs are used by this database. do you want to locate the full text database? (click No to skip attaching full text catalogs.)" in this stage i clicked No. and the database got attached with no error message.

CRM 3.0 redeployment part 1

2007-12-29T10:52:00.001+06:00

Now i am in my office working on redeployment of the CRM 3.0 server. it has been two days i'm stuck on the same point that i am now. i am following the redeployment guideline described in the redeployment journal of CRM 3.0. at first i found it on a Microsoft site, later i discovered that the same journal is stored in the CRM CD in \RedeploymentTool folder. before i go in deep into the installation procedures. let me give you an idea about the server layer of my organization. Server 1: OS: Windows 2003 Server (SP1) Enterprise Edition Services: 1. DNS 2. Active directory 3. IIS (with ASP. net) 4. NNTP and SMTP services from IIS Installed Servers: 1. Microsoft SQL server 2005 enterprise edition. 2. Microsoft SQL server 2005 reporting services. 3. Microsoft Exchange server 2003. Server 2: OS: Windows 2003 Server (SP1) Enterprise Edition Services: 1. IIS (with ASP .net) Installed Server: 1. Microsoft CRM 3.0 server 2. Microsoft SQL server 2000 Enterprise Edition ** 3. Microsoft EPM server 2003 ** ** these servers will be added later on for EPM 2003 server. OK...got to go....there is a recruitment going in my organization. i happen to be a member in recruitment panel.