Vector Format or Scalable Vector Graphics web resource in MS CRM Dynamics 365 9.0

Dynamics 365, version 9.0 introduced a new Image web resource called Vector Format  (SVG). SVG stands for Scalable Vector Graphics an XML-based vector image format. This is very useful for any icon presented in application. Earlier we have to define multiple of image with  different sizes to set an icon. Now, with Vector image you can define one vector image and re-use it rather than provide multiple sizes of images.

Test Database Connection

There are different ways to test database connection like SQL management studio or some C# code , but here we will talk about alternative way of testing database connection using UDL file.

Create a empty text file, I have given a name as databaseconnection.txt.

Now change the extension of .txt  to .udl, it will throw an alert and click yes. Now file will be looks like below.

Now open the file.

By passing the all the details over there you can test your data base connection.

Encrypt or Decrypt connection string in .Net

Connectionstring contains highly confidential information which we should secure carefully to prevent any kind of misuse., To secure this confidential information we don't need to write any addition code as we can do with ease in .Net. Below are the steps to encrypt and decrypt connection string.

Let assume you have a connection string as follows either in web.config or app.config.

Now go to below path to access aspnet_regiis.exe

"%WinDir%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\<versionNumber>"

And run below command

aspnet_regiis -pe "connectionStrings" -app "/MyApplication"

The above command with -app switch assumes that there is an IIS virtual directory called MyApplication. If you are using the Visual Studio .NET 2005 Web server instead of IIS, use the -pef switch, which allows you to specify the physical directory location of your configuration file.

aspnet_regiis.exe -pef "connectionStrings" C:\Projects\MyApplication

Note: As above command only looks for web.config, change your app.config name to web.config if you are using windows or console application. Don't worry you will change your config name back to app.config once this process is done.

If everything is fine then you will see below message in command prompt.

And your app.config or web.config will be like below.

You can use below code to retrieve conntionstring, as ConfigurationManager will take care of decrypting the password.

string connectionString = System.Configuration.ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings["testConn"].ConnectionString;

That’s all to maintain secure connection string in web.config or app.config.

Note   If your ASP.NET application identity does not have access to the .NET Framework configuration key store, the following message is returned:

Parser Error Message: Failed to decrypt using provider 'RsaProtectedConfigurationProvider'.
 Error message from the provider: The handle is invalid.
 

To grant access to the ASP.NET application identity

1. If you are not sure which identity to use, check the identity from a Web page by using the following code:
   using System.Security.Principal;
   ...
   protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
   {
     Response.Write(WindowsIdentity.GetCurrent().Name);
   }
    
2. By default, ASP.NET applications on Windows Server 2003 run using the NT Authority\Network Service account. Open a .NET command prompt, and use the following command to give this account access to the NetFrameworkConfigurationKey store:
   aspnet_regiis -pa "NetFrameworkConfigurationKey" "NT Authority\Network Service"
   If the command runs successfully you will see the following output:
   Adding ACL for access to the RSA Key container...
   Succeeded!
    
   You can check the ACL of the file in the following folder:
   \Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\Crypto\RSA\MachineKeys
   Your RSA key container file is the file in this folder with the most recent timestamp.

To change the connectionStrings section back to clear text, run the following command from the command prompt:

aspnet_regiis -pd "connectionStrings" -app "/MyApplication"

If the command is successful, you will see the following output:

To decrypt the connectionStrings section that specifies a physical path to your application's configuration file, use the -pdf switch as shown here.

aspnet_regiis -pdf "connectionStrings" C:\Projects\MyApplication

Unable to Login to Dynamics CRMOrganizationServiceProxy is null

Dlls Required:
Microsoft.Xrm.Tooling.Connector.dll

CRM connection code:

string connectionString = ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings["CRM"].ConnectionString;

CrmServiceClient client = new CrmServiceClient(connectionString);

Connection String:

<add name="CRM" connectionString="AuthType=Office365;Username=myid@mydomain.com; Password=mypassword;Url=https://organiationuniquename.crm.dynamics.com"/>

That’s it, this is the piece of code required to connect CRM online through SDK. But the error "Unable to Login to Dynamics CRMOrganizationServiceProxy is null" sometimes can kill good amount of time. Below are the some suggestion which can resolve and saves someone's hours of time.

1. Check your connection string.

2. You should use unique name of organization in connection string. You can find unique name in              Settings->Customizations->Developer Resources

3. something wrong with credentials you are using. Try using service credentials.

4. Double check which version of dlls you are using.

5. Install the right version of dlls through nuget packages

6. There may something wrong with network, try using different network preferably try to test in client network itself

7.     And, include below tag in app.config or web.config

<system.net>

  <defaultProxy useDefaultCredentials="true"></defaultProxy>

</system.net>

Let me know which point helps you most.

Happy coding.

Dynamics 365 editable grid limitations

1. Logic we have implemented on update or create form will not work automatically on editable grid. We should configure explicitly for editable grid.

2. Editable grid works on execution context, we can set or clear notifications of controls under selected row.

3. Save in editable grid works bit differently than normal save method. EventArgs of save method in editable grid is null, hence we cannot stop the save execution in middle. But we can stop the save in update form through eventargs.

4. Group By - by default value is null, user have to select the group by value initially. We cannot set through code.

5. When we are using same javascript file for both editable grid and normal form, I did observer file is loading twice in browser with different case.

Minimum Privileges required to access MS CRM

When signing in to Microsoft Dynamics CRM:

1. To render the home page, assign the following privileges on the Customization tab: Read Web
Resource, Read Customizations.

2. To render an entity grid (that is, to view lists of records and other data): Read privilege on the entity, Read User Settings on the Business Management tab, and Read View on the Customization tab.

3. To view single entities in detail: Read privilege on the entity, Read System Form on the Customization tab, Create and Read User Entity UI Settings on the Core Records tab. 

Owner Team Vs Access Team in MS CRM

Owner Team:


1. We can grant security roles to owner teams.
2. Owner Team owns the record, i.e Owner field of each record will be filled with the team.
3. Need to be created manually or programmatically created and managed.
4. Will be cached in Dynamics CRM Server when user accesses application.
5. Can act as a resource in service scheduling.


Access Team;

1. We cannot grant security roles to access teams.
2. It cannot own any records.
3. Won't be displayed in most team views.
4. Can be system managed, directly from the form of the record that it relates to
5. Won't be cached as it doesn't derive privilege or ownership checks
6. Can't be scheduled as a resource in service scheduling