CRM to Exchange Synchronization Installation, Configuration and End-User Instructions VERSION 1.0 DATE PREPARED: 9/1/2012 DEVELOPMENT: BRITE GLOBAL, INC.
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CONTENTS Introduction...4 About Brite Global...4 CRM Configuration...5 Entity Fields...5 Form Configuration...5 Dynamic Marketing List Requirements...5 Installation...6 Prerequisites...6 Installation Process...6 First Time Configuration...8 Choose Product Version...8 Personal Information...9 CRM Server Information...10 Exchange Server Information...12 Active Directory Login Information...13 Running the Application...14 Adding List to Synchronize...14 Connecting to New Exchange Distribution Groups...15 Connecting to Existing Exchange Distribution Groups...15 Verifying the Exchange Distribution Groups Were Created...15 Running the Synchronization Process...16 Verifying the Synchronization Process Results...16 Removing or Deactivating List to Synchronize...17 Modifying the Application Settings...18 Exchange Settings...18 CRM Settings...18 Registration...19 Exporting of Log Files...19
INTRODUCTION The CRM to Exchange Synchronization is a Windows Forms application that communicates between Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Exchange Server in order to Synchronize between the members of CRM Marketing Lists and Distribution Lists that exist on the Exchange Server. The application verifies the same members exist in both location, and modifies or adds information to the Exchange Server based on changes in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. This process enables sending e-mail via Microsoft Outlook/Exchange to the most updated lists of users and contacts in Exchange. ABOUT BRITE GLOBAL Established in 2005, Brite Global is a leader in delivering Microsoft Dynamics CRM and xrm solutions to business customers. As a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, Brite Global has an impressive and rapidly growing list of customers benefiting from Microsoft Dynamics CRM solutions. We have embraced the Power of Choice by providing our customers the choice of a hosted, onpremises or hybrid delivery options. Headquartered in Beverly Hills, CA with offices in Atlanta, GA and Europe, Brite Global provides CRM and software solutions to business in multiple industries including Public Sector and Education, Financial Services, Real Estate, Media and Entertainment, Not for Profit, Retail and Manufacturing, Sports and Recreation, and Professional Services. For more information, visit www.briteglobal.com.
CRM CONFIGURATION The following section details the required CRM changes necessary in order to successfully run the application. These modifications can be done manually in the Customizations section of CRM or available via a Managed Solution and can be imported into CRM. ENTITY FIELDS The table below lists the fields that are required in order to successfully run the Synchronization application. These fields will hold the values of the Names of the Exchange Lists that will be synchronized with CRM as well as whether or not the current list will be run in the next Synchronization Process. Display Name Field Name Data Type Format Default Values Exchange Distribution List Name xrm_exchangedlname Single Line of Text Exchange Distribution List Status xrm_exchangedlstatus Two Options Text (100) Active = 1 Inactive = 0 Default Value = Inactive FORM CONFIGURATION After fields were added to the entity, that can be added to the form, but this is not a required practice. If they are added to the form, the should be set to read-only fields so that no modifications will be done to them directly from within the CRM environment. DYNAMIC MARKETING LIST REQUIREMENTS When creating Dynamic Marketing lists that have to be synchronized against CRM, there are a few column requirements from the list. These requirements allow the synchronization of not only the name and email address of the contact but additional fields that exist in CRM. The following fields are required to be part of the Marketing List when creating Dynamic Queries: First Name, Last Name, Full Name, Telephone 1, Email Address 1, Job Title, State Code
INSTALLATION This section describes the installation process of the CRM to Exchange Sync application. The installation is very straight forward, but make sure that the prerequisites below are completed. PREREQUISITES The following are the required prerequisites for the installation and execution of the CRM to Exchange Synchronization Application: EXCHANGE MANAGEMENT CONSOLE Exchange Management Console must be installed on the Server or Workstation where this application will be installed. This application does not have to be installed on the actual Exchange Server. MICROSOFT.NET FRAMEWORK The Microsoft.NET Framework version 4.0 must be installed on the machine that will be running the application. The application utilizes several CRM assemblies that require this version of the.net Framework. The.NET Framework is not included in the setup package, so make sure to install it manually before running Setup. INSTALLATION PROCESS To Start the installation process, unzip the provided file, and run the CRMExchangeSyncInstaller.exe Setup Application. Follow the instructions and provide the required information on the following screens: Read and accept the End User License Agreement and enter the User Name and Organization that is installing this product.
Click on the Install button to start the Installation. Once the installation is complete, you will see the InstallShield Wizard Complete screen. Click Finish on the Page. On your desktop you should not see the CRM to Exchange Sync icon, which will allow you to start the application and configuration process.
FIRST TIME CONFIGURATION When the application is run for the very first time various configuration settings have to be set in order to be able to connect to both the CRM and Exchange Server from within the application. The table below contains a list of all the information that will be required, as displayed in the subsections below. Make sure that you have all the information available before running the application, as the configuration/ registration process will not be able to complete if information is missing, and the application will fail. Screen Name Field Name Required Description Serial Number Serial Number No The Serial Number for the Product. The Serial Number is not required for running the trial version of the Product. Personal Information Company Name Not in Trial Organization Name that Purchased the Product. Not required for Trial Version. Personal Information First Name Not in Trial First Name of person that Purchased the Product. Not required for Trial Version. Personal Information Last Name Not in Trial Last Name of person that Purchased the Product. Not required for Trial Version. Personal Information Email Address Not in Trial Email Address of person that Purchased the Product. Not required for Trial Version. Personal Information Business Phone Number Not in Trial Phone Number of person that Purchased the Product. Not required for Trial Version. CRM Server Information CRM Server Service Url Yes The Url of the CRM WCF Service. Exchange Server Information Exchange Server Name Yes The Url of the Exchange Server. Do not include http or https as part of the url Exchange Server Information Distribution List Organizational Unit Yes The Organizational Unit where new Distributions Lists will be created. Exchange Server Information Contacts Organizational Unit Yes The Organizational Unit where new Contacts will be created. Authentication Information Domain Username Yes The Domain Username with Access to Exchange Management Console. Username will include Domain Name and User Logon Name. Authentication Information Password Yes Password of User Domain Account Authentication Information Confirm Password Yes Password of User Domain Account CHOOSE PRODUCT VERSION Choose whether the product you are installing is a trial version or a purchased version of the product.
If you are installing the trial version, leave the serial number field blank, either wise enter the serial number in the required field. PERSONAL INFORMATION The personal information section is only required for Purchased Products. All fields on the personal information section are required. If no serial number was entered in the Serial Number screen, this Personal Information screen will not display.
CRM SERVER INFORMATION The CRM Server Service Url is required in order to connect your application to the CRM Server and query your list and contact entities. Enter the CRM Server Service Url in the following screen. The Url is made out of the Server Name, Port, Organization name and finalized with the Organization Service WCF Service file: XRMServices/2011/Organization.svc
EXCHANGE SERVER INFORMATION In order to properly connect with Exchange Server and place the Distribution Lists and Contacts in the proper locations, the Exchange Server name, Distribution Lists Organizational Unit and Contacts Organizational Unit are required. The screenshot below shows this required information
ACTIVE DIRECTORY LOGIN INFORMATION In order to properly connect with Exchange Server a user account with full Access to the Exchange Management Console is required. The final screenshot displays these requirements.
RUNNING THE APPLICATION After the configuration has been completed and successful, the application will restart and the following screen will be displayed. If there were errors during the configuration that do not allow the application to run properly, a message will be displayed to the user and the application will close. In order to create a Synchronization Process, we will need to create the relationship between the CRM Marketing Lists and Exchange Server distribution Groups. Clicking on the Add New Group in the ribbon will open the Add New List form and allow creating the relationship between CRM and Exchange. The section below will explain how this is done. ADDING LIST TO SYNCHRONIZE When we open the Add New List form, we require to select the name of a CRM Marketing List and an Exchange Server Distribution Group. If an Exchange Server Distribution Group does not exist for the marketing list that we want to Synchronize, we can create a New Distribution Group for the Add New List form.
CONNECTING TO NEW EXCHANGE DISTRIBUTION GROUPS If your Exchange Server does not have the distribution list that you want to synchronize with, when creating the relationship between both systems, you can create the new distribution list from within the CRM to Exchange Sync app. Select the Name of the CRM Marketing List in the Select CRM Group area of the form. Click on the New button on the Select Exchange Distribution List area of the form, and type the name that you would like to create for the new Distribution List. When you save the record, a new Distribution List will be created in Exchange and the relationship between CRM and Exchange will be created. CONNECTING TO EXISTING EXCHANGE DISTRIBUTION GROUPS If the Exchange Server already has the Distribution List that you would like to create the relationship with, you can simply select it from the names of Existing Lists. Select the Name of the CRM Marketing List in the Select CRM Group area of the form. Do not click on the New button on the Select Exchange Distribution List area of the form, just select the name of the Distribution List that you would like to use. When you save the record the relationship between CRM and Exchange will be created. VERIFYING THE EXCHANGE DISTRIBUTION GROUPS WERE CREATED After you have added your new Distribution Groups in Exchange, you can open up Exchange Management Console to verify that the Distribution Groups were successfully created.
RUNNING THE SYNCHRONIZATION PROCESS After each time that you create a new relationship between CRM and Exchange the new Group will be added to the list of Groups to be synchronized. Groups can be later on removed or disabled, so that not all the groups will be included in the synchronization process. In order to start the Synchronization Process, simple click on the Run Synchronization ribbon button. Upon confirmation that you want to run the Synchronization, the process will commence. The status bar at the button of the screen will show progress of each of the groups that is to be synchronized. Once the Synchronization is complete, the status bar will show the Completed Sync message in blue stating that you can verify the Synchronization results. VERIFYING THE SYNCHRONIZATION PROCESS RESULTS After the Synchronization process has been completed, you can compare the results between CRM and Exchange Server to make sure that there are the same number of contacts under each list. The screenshot below shows an example of the CRM Marketing List view and the Distribution Group View in Exchange, both containing the same 13 users.
REMOVING OR DEACTIVATING LIST TO SYNCHRONIZE If there is a list that you have in CRM that you would no longer be using for synchronization, you can remove it from the Synchronization process by selecting the row in the grid of the application and clicking on the Remove Group ribbon button. Clicking on the Remove Group will not delete the list from either CRM nor Exchange Server, it will just remove the association (relationship) between both applications. If you would like to temporarily cancel the association between CRM and Exchange, follow the same procedure, but click on the Change Status ribbon button and select the Disable menu item from the list. If you would like to later reactivate the list for a later run, follow the same procedure, but instead of choosing the Disable menu item, choose the enable menu item. Each record on the grid has a checkbox that is either Active or Inactive.
MODIFYING THE APPLICATION SETTINGS After the initial configuration of the application, it is possible that some of the configuration settings might change. This includes Exchange Server Configuration, CRM Server Configuration and Registration of the product (activating a trial version of the product). Clicking on the File Menu will allow the user to modify these results. EXCHANGE SETTINGS The Screenshot below shows the Exchange Settings that can be modified after the application has been initially installed. This would be necessary if your Exchange Server has moved to another server or you need to change the Organizational Unit where the Distribution List or Contacts will be stored. CRM SETTINGS The screenshot bellow shows the CRM Settings that can be modified. You will notice that only the CRM WCF Service Url can be modified, as the User and Password are the current logged in user which will authenticate against CRM.
REGISTRATION The automated Registration Process is not available at this point. EXPORTING OF LOG FILES After your synchronization process has been completed you can export a log file containing a list of all the contacts that were created and actions that were performed in Exchange on these Contacts. The log file is stored in the C:\logs directory. If the directory does not already exist, it will be created for you. Based on the security settings within, your environment you should allow files to be created in that directory. To Export the log file click on the Export Log ribbon button showed below. Although not required, it is a good practice to clear the log file after each Synchronization Process, although CRM will automatically clear it the next time the application is run.