Timeline for Microsoft Dynamics CRM

Transcription

1 Timeline for Microsoft Dynamics CRM A beautiful and intuitive way to view activity or record history for CRM entities Version 2

2 Contents Why a timeline?... 3 What does the timeline do?... 3 Default entities displayed on the timeline... 3 Download... 3 Browser Support... 4 Installation... 4 Upgrading important information... 4 Import the Timeline solution... 4 Assign your users a Timeline security role to view the Timeline... 5 Configure your forms to display the Timeline... 6 Other optional Parameters... 8 Show and Phone Call records only... 8 Display on a Dashboard... 9 Position the Timeline navigation bar at the top Configure Timeline Entities Understanding how it all ties together Setting up a new Entity Create a new Timeline Entity Record Create the Timeline Entity Link records Set up a Dashboard Timeline note currently only supported on CRM Support xrm Consultancy Timeline: Why a timeline? 2

3 Why a timeline? We think grids are a dull way to view and interpret activity or time-based data. Interactions with your clients are time based so we thought lets display this information in a way that users intuitively understand and provides context to the future and historical activities for the relevant entity. What does the timeline do? The Timeline presents the future and historical activities for entities such as Account, Contact or Opportunity (free/evaluation version) or any other entity and Dashboards (paid version) in a visually pleasing way. It is very intuitive to use and even supports mobile devices (really this means tablets only as on phone displays everything is a bit cramped!). The evaluation version randomly adds Evaluation version entries on the timeline. Default entities displayed on the timeline Appointment Campaign Response Case Fax Letter Opportunity Order Phone Call Service Activity Task The above entities are configured by default. You can edit the configuration of these or add new ones to suit your needs (paid version only). We welcome your feedback [email protected]. Download Timeline from xrm Consultancy is currently available from If you would like us to extend the capability of the timeline please get in touch [email protected]. xrm Consultancy Timeline: Why a timeline? 3

4 Browser Support All browsers supported by Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 Online are supported by the Timeline (If you run into problems with IE8 or IE9 and get an error message saying IE7 is not supported, it may be because you are running the browser in IE7 compatibility mode. Here are directions on how to change the compatibility mode). Installation Upgrading important information If you are upgrading from a Version 1.x Timeline solution you will need to follow the instructions below for importing you need to accept the End User License Agreement and Assign your users a Timeline Security role before the Timeline will display for your existing configurations. Import the Timeline solution 1. Download the managed solution from 2. As a user with the System Administration role navigate to Settings > Customization > Solutions and choose Import from the gird menu. 3. Locate your downloaded solution zip file and follow the instructions in the import wizard. 4. Publish All Customizations. 5. Open the Timeline Solution from the Solutions grid and click the button to Accept Terms and Conditions you must do this step to use the Timeline solution (new for Version 2) 4

5 6. After a short while the page will refresh and provide a link to the Timeline Configuration record during this process the default Timeline Entity and Timeline Entity Link records are set up 7. If you want to only use the free/evaluation version with limited entity support you do not need to open the configuration record. If you have a license key to allow you to add custom entities open the Timeline Configuration record from the link shown above and enter your License Key in the Licensing Section Assign your users a Timeline security role to view the Timeline Two security roles are included in the Timeline solution: 1. Timeline Reader view the Timeline 2. Timeline Writer view the Timeline and edit Timeline Entities, Timeline Entity Links and TimeLine Configuration records A user must have one of these roles to view the Timeline, other the following message will be displayed on the Timeline: 5

6 Configure your forms to display the Timeline To display the Timeline you will need to modify your existing forms (or create a new one). We haven t included any preconfigured forms as you (not us!) know where is best to place the Timeline for your users. Don t worry it is easy to do if you don t know how we show you how to set it up for the Account entity below, but the process is the same for any other entity. 1. As a User with Customization privileges navigate to an open an Account Record 2. From the (more commands) menu item choose Form Editor or the Customize tab (classic forms) choose Form to open the form editor. 3. From the ribbon select Insert > One Column tab 4. Position the Tab where you want it on the form under the Summary tab works well. With the Tab selected in the form area select from the ribbon Insert > Web Resource Search for the Timeline.html web resource and configure the settings on the General and Formatting tabs as below. We recommend that Timeline occupies at least 20 rows in CRM 2013 forms (24 in CRM 2011) for optimal viewing. This can be too big for smaller laptop screens so test with your users to find the best size for your organization. The Timeline will scale appropriately. 6

7 5. Save and Publish your form 6. Refresh the Account Record and you should see the timeline with activities shown like the example below (if there are any activities set regarding your account!) 7

8 Other optional Parameters By specifying Custom Parameters you can modify the behaviour of the Timeline on the form: Show only specified entities when the Timeline loads (user can still manually check other available entities) Display the Timeline on a Dashboard Position the Timeline navigation bar at the top Use the following examples to help you configure the Timeline display for your needs. Combine multiple parameters by separating with a (pipe) character. Show and Phone Call records only IncludeEntities= ;phonecall Separate the entity logical name by a ; When the Timeline loads only and phone call records will be shown on the Timeline. A user can enable other available entities by clicking on the Settings icon (see below): in the top right corner of the Timeline 8

9 Display on a Dashboard dashboard=myopenopportunities myopenopportunities is matched with any Entity Link records where the Entity Logical Name has been specified as myopenopportunities. See how to configure a Dashboard Timeline on page 17. 9

10 Position the Timeline navigation bar at the top If you would like to position the timeline navigation bar above the record detail you can add the parameter timelineposition=top as part of the setup configuration. Tip scrolling the Timeline using the scroll-wheel To move along the Timeline navigation bar using your scroll-wheel hold down the SHIFT key while scrolling 10

11 Configure Timeline Entities With the paid version of Timeline you can display the Timeline on entities other than Account, Contact and Opportunity and also display the Timeline on a Dashboard. Any entity with a date field can be used to display records in the Timeline. It is straight-forward to set up but it does need some technical expertise you should be comfortable with HTML and extracting the FetchXML from an Advanced Find query. This guide walks you step by step through what you need to do. Understanding how it all ties together It is worth understanding how the configuration ties together before getting into the configuration details. There are 3 components to making the Timeline display on your forms: 1. The Timeline.html web resource you place on your entity form see the yellow coloured line on the image below: 2. The Timeline Entity record that holds the configuration for displaying the selected record on the Timeline 3. The Timeline Entity Link records which determine which related entity records should be shown on the Timeline navigation bar On loading of the Timeline.html web resource the related TimeLine Entity Link records are determined (automatically from the entity you are viewing) and the FetchXML queries contained in these records are run. They return the records to display in the Timeline navigation bar if there is more than one related TimeLine Entity Link the results are concatenated together and duplicates are removed so that only one unique record is referenced on the Timeline navigation bar. The selected item on the Timeline 11

12 navigation bar then references the appropriate Timeline Entity configuration record which determines how the information for the record is displayed. Setting up a new Entity As described above there are at least two records for each entity you wish to display: 1) Timeline Entity record, and 2) Timeline Entity Links record. The example below shows how to set up a custom activity SMS (download our SMS solution for display in the Account and Contact Timelines. Create a new Timeline Entity Record Navigate to the Timeline Entity records in Settings > Timeline > Timeline Entities Create a new record and complete the fields: Field Value Notes Name SMS The name of the Timeline Entity Record. Entity Logical Name xrmc_sms You can find this in Settings > Customization > Customize the System > Components > Entities > [your entity] > Name field from the General tab. Headline Field subject The text to be displayed in the Timeline navigation bar and headline for the selected record. Date Field actualend The field name to be used that will determine the position on the timeline. For Activity entities (including custom activity entities) this should be actualend. Max Records The maximum number of CRM records to show in the Timeline. Default is 50. Limit to Last X days The number of days prior to today you wish to show records on the Timeline. Small Icon /WebResources/xrmc_SMSIcon16x16 URL to the icon (16px square) you want to display on the Timeline navigation for the current type of entity record. 12

13 HTML to determine the display of the Selected Timeline Record: HTML HTML Notes: <div class="summaryinfo"> <div class="openentity"> <a id="recordurl" href='#' title="open full record"></a> </div> <p id="to" class="xrmc-attribute xrmc-partylist"> <span>to:</span> </p> <p id="from" class="xrmc-attribute xrmc-partylist"> <span>from:</span> </p> <p id="regardingobjectid" class="xrmc-attribute xrmc-reference"> <span>regarding:</span> </p> </div> <p> <span>message:</span> </p> <div class="innerwrapper"> <p id="description" class="xrmc-attribute"> </p> </div> You can insert your own HTML and inline styles in the HTML field. To display data from a CRM field the HTML element that is to contain the data must have an id attribute with the field s logic name as the value. For example for the To field: <p id="to" class="xrmc-attribute xrmc-partylist"> <span>to:</span> </p> The CSS class attribute needs to contain the class xrmc-attribute at a minimum. Additional CSS attributes should be applied for certain types of fields: PartyList: xrmc-partylist Regarding/Lookup: xrmc-reference Date: xrmc-date Activity Date: xrmc-activitydate (For standard MS CRM Activity types so that it knows to look for actual end / scheduled end etc.) Optionset, Currency, Number: xrmc-formattedvalue - Can be attached to optionsets / currencies / numbers to display in the correct format. Opportunity date: xrmc-opportunitydate - Used on opportunities to pull in estimated / actual dates depending on status Opportunity value: xrmc-opportunityvalue - Used on opportunities to pull in estimated / actual revenue depending on status URLs: xrmc-url - used to make a URL clickable Hide if null of blank: xrmc-autohide - Can be attached to a div in conjunction with a "for" attribute to hide a complete section. For example: <div class="xrmc-autohide" for="currentsituation"> <p><span>current Situation:</span></p> 13

14 <div class="innerwrapper" id="currentsituation"> <p id="currentsituation" class="xrmc-attribute"></p> </div> </div> This div will automatically hide if the attribute "currentsituation" is null or blank. Query for obtaining the selected record details: Query <fetch version="1.0" output-format="xml-platform" mapping="logical" distinct="false"> <entity name="xrmc_sms"> <attribute name="to" /> <attribute name="regardingobjectid" /> <attribute name="activityid" /> <attribute name="description" /> <attribute name="from" /> <filter type="and"> <condition attribute="activityid" operator="eq" value="{0}" /> </filter> </entity> </fetch> Query Notes: You need to include all the attributes you wish to display on the Timeline selected record in your query i.e. all those referenced in the HTML above. You need to include a reference to the id of the record (activityid in the example above). Do not include more than you need as this could affect performance (i.e. do not use the all-attributes parameter) The "{0}" is replaced at run-time with the relevant record ID. Create the Timeline Entity Link records From within the Timeline Entity record form scroll to the Timeline Entity Link sub-grid and create a new records to find SMS records that meet the following 3 queries: 1. Display SMS s on the Account record Timeline where the Account is set Regarding 2. Display SMS s on the Account record where Contact belonging to the Account is a To recipient or set as the Regarding record (ie. A member of a PartyList) 3. Display SMS s on the Contact record Timeline where the Contact is the To recipient or set as the Regarding record (ie. A member of a PartyList) 1. Display SMS s on the Account record where the Account is set Regarding Field Value Notes 14

15 Name SMS by Regarding Account The name of the Timeline Entity Link Record describe the query you are making. Timeline Entity SMS The Timeline Entity record this query relates to. Logical Entity Name account You can find this in Settings > Customization > Customize the System > Components > Entities > [your entity] > Name field from the General tab Query This field is used when the Timeline is placed on the corresponding entity form in this case the Account form. <fetch version="1.0" output-format="xml-platform" mapping="logical" distinct="false"> <entity name="xrmc_sms"> <attribute name="subject" /> <attribute name="statuscode" /> <attribute name="regardingobjectid" /> <attribute name="activityid" /> <attribute name="scheduledstart" /> <attribute name="actualstart" /> <attribute name="actualend" /> <attribute name="activitytypecode" /> <attribute name="statecode" /> <order attribute="actualend" descending="true" /> <order attribute="actualstart" descending="true" /> <filter type="and"> <condition attribute="regardingobjectid" operator="eq" value="{0}" /> </filter> </entity> </fetch> Query Notes: To ensure optimum performance it is better to only include attributes that you need. The "{0}" is replaced at run-time with the relevant record ID. 2. Display SMS s on the Account record where Contact belonging to the Account is a To recipient or set as the Regarding record (ie. A member of a PartyList) Field Value Notes Name SMS by Account s Contacts The name of the Timeline Entity Link Record describe the query you are making. Timeline Entity SMS The Timeline Entity record this query relates to. Logical Entity Name account You can find this in Settings > Customization > Customize the System > 15

16 Components > Entities > [your entity] > Name field from the General tab Query This field is used when the Timeline is placed on the corresponding entity form in this case the Account form. <fetch version="1.0" output-format="xml-platform" mapping="logical" distinct="false"> <entity name="xrmc_sms"> <attribute name="subject" /> <attribute name="statuscode" /> <attribute name="regardingobjectid" /> <attribute name="activityid" /> <attribute name="scheduledstart" /> <attribute name="actualstart" /> <attribute name="actualend" /> <attribute name="activitytypecode" /> <attribute name="statecode" /> <order attribute="actualend" descending="true" /> <order attribute="actualstart" descending="true" /> <link-entity name="activityparty" from="activityid" to="activityid" alias="ag"> <link-entity name="contact" from="contactid" to="partyid" alias="ah"> <filter type="and"> <condition attribute="parentcustomerid" operator="eq" value="{0}" /> </filter> </link-entity> </link-entity> </entity> </fetch> Query Notes: To ensure optimum performance it is better to only include attributes that you need. The "{0}" is replaced at run-time with the relevant record ID. 3. Display SMS s on the Contact record Timeline where the Contact is the To recipient or set as the Regarding record (ie. A member of a PartyList) Field Value Notes Name SMS by Contact (To recipient or set Regarding) The name of the Timeline Entity Link Record describe the query you are making. Timeline Entity SMS The Timeline Entity record this query relates to. Logical Entity Name contact You can find this in Settings > Customization > Customize the System > Components > Entities > [your entity] > Name field from the General tab 16

17 Query This field is used when the Timeline is placed on the corresponding entity form in this case the Account form. <fetch version="1.0" output-format="xml-platform" mapping="logical" distinct="false"> <entity name="xrmc_sms"> <attribute name="subject" /> <attribute name="statuscode" /> <attribute name="regardingobjectid" /> <attribute name="activityid" /> <attribute name="scheduledstart" /> <attribute name="actualstart" /> <attribute name="actualend" /> <attribute name="activitytypecode" /> <attribute name="statecode" /> <order attribute="actualend" descending="true" /> <order attribute="actualstart" descending="true" /> <link-entity name="activityparty" from="activityid" to="activityid" alias="al"> <link-entity name="contact" from="contactid" to="partyid" alias="am"> <filter type="and"> <condition attribute="contactid" operator="eq" value="{0}" /> </filter> </link-entity> </link-entity> </entity> </fetch> Query Notes: Do not include more attributes than you need as this will affect performance. The "{0}" is replaced at run-time with the relevant record ID. Once you have added the Timeline HTML webresource(s) to your Account and Contact forms test your configuration. Set up a Dashboard Timeline note currently only supported on CRM 2013 To create a Dashboard Timeline you need to create on or more Entity Link records which have the same unique Logical Entity Name value. In the example below we are going to create a Dashboard which shows a user their open Opportunities. 1. Navigate to the Opportunity Timeline Entity record (from the Timeline configuration page or from and Advanced Find) 2. Create a new Timeline Entity Link Name: Dashboard: My Open Opportunities Logical Entity Name: myopenopportunities 3. Open an Advanced Find and select the Opportunities entity and select the Saved View My Open Opportunities 4. Click on Edit Columns and add the Status Reason Column 17

18 5. Click the Download Fetch XML, open the file in Notepad and copy the XML to the clipboard 6. Go back to your My Open Opportunities Timeline Entity Link record and paste the XML into the Query field 7. Save and close the record 8. Navigate to the Dashboards and create a new Dashboard 18

19 9. Add a Web Resource to the Dashboard pane with the following parameters 10. Adjust the size to suit your needs. We recommend make it full width and increase the height by selecting the Increase Height option 2 times. 11. Save and close your Dashboard 12. You My Opportunities Timeline should be displayed 19

20 Support Please contact with any questions. xrm Consultancy Timeline: Support 20