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The Filtered Lookup for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 is the successor of the Custom Lookup Dialog for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0. Initially being a workaround to filter lookup results, it grew to a tool set with a lot more functions than initially thought. As of January 2008, the current version of the Custom Lookup Dialog for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 is 1.4.3. A list of features available in this release is available here. New features in Microsoft Dynamics » Read more... |  |
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The Filtered Lookup for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 is the successor of the Custom Lookup Dialog for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0. Initially being a workaround to filter lookup results, it grew to a tool set with a lot more functions than initially thought. As of January 2008, the current version of the Custom Lookup Dialog for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 is 1.4.3. A list of features available in this release is available here.
New features in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0
As the new release 4.0 of Microsoft Dynamics CRM added a variety of new features, the initial concept used in the Custom Lookup Dialog for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 to define lookup dialogs could not be carried over to the new version. The main reasons are:
- Multi-Tenancy: Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 allows multiple organizations to be hosted on a single CRM server. As the Custom Lookup Dialog for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 used the file system on the CRM server to store the lookup definition files, but multiple organizations share the same web directory, another solution needed to be implemented.
- Multi-Language: Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 allows multiple user languages. To add a new language to a Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Server, you install and enable a language pack at the server. Users can then select their preferred UI and help language in the web client. While the Custom Lookup Dialog for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 was fully configurable and allowed to specify custom labels for each lookup definition, only a single language was supported as there was no concept of multiple languages in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0. Besides multi-tenancy the new multi-language feature in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 is another reason why the file-based configuration did not work anymore.
New, maintained, planned and dropped
features in the Filtered Lookup Dialog for Microsoft
Dynamics CRM 4.0
The Filtered Lookup Dialog for
Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 supports the enhancements made
in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 but is not
compatible with the Custom Lookup Dialog for Microsoft
Dynamics CRM 3.0, though it supports most of
the previous features.
New features
The Filtered Lookup
Dialog for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 contains the
following new features:
- No changes to server files: The Custom Lookup Dialog for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 changed existing JavaScript and HTML component files. The new version does not, making it easy to install and uninstall.
- Multi-Tenancy: The Filtered Lookup Dialog for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 supports multiple organizations on a single Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Server installation.
- Multi-Language: The filtered lookups can be configured to support multiple languages. However no right-to-left support is included in the product.
- Filtering auto-complete: The lookup control in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 allows users to type in a search string in the lookup control itself. Hitting the Enter key or tabbing out of the field starts a search and displays the matching records in the lookup field. The Filtered Lookup Dialog for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 hooks into the auto-complete and limits the results according to the filter.
- Retrieve Service: A JavaScript library is included to retrieve any object from the CRM Server, making it available in client-side scripting as an object with properties. There is no need to create SOAP messages and there is also no need to parse XML files.
- Retrieve Multiple Service: A JavaScript library is included to retrieve a list of objects from the CRM Server, making it available in client-side scripting as an array, where each member of the array is an objects with properties. Again there is no need to create SOAP messages and there is also no need to parse XML files.
- Synchronization of lookup definitions: As all configuration values needed to display a lookup dialog are now stored as custom entities, new and modified lookup definitions are automatically passed to the Outlook Offline Client. There's no need to deploy files to the clients anymore, other than the software installation.
- Support for hosted environments: Starting with version 4.1, the Filtered Lookup supports Internet Facing Deployments and can be run in a hosted environment.
- Support for Multi-Select Lookup fields: Starting with version 4.3, the Filtered Lookup supports filtering multi-select lookup fields.
Maintained features
Besides the new features, the following list includes
the features that have been present in the
Custom Lookup Dialog for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0
and are still available in the Filtered Lookup
Dialog for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0:
- The dialog looks exactly like the standard CRM lookup.
- Easy to install: a typical installation does not require more than 30 minutes.
- Easy to use: create your own lookups in minutes.
- Fully customizable to support any language.
- Use the quick-create form for any entity
- Display fields from related entities (e.g. display the phone of the parent account in a contact lookup)
- Retrieve multiple records without displaying the lookup dialog (see Retrieve Multiple Service)
- Use templates to specify multiple views in the lookup window (see Multi-View Lookups)
- Pass parameters to quick create forms
- Defining the number of records per page
- Formatting date and number columns
- Support for the Outlook Offline Client
- Customized forms will continue to work even if you uninstall the add-on.
- Use standard CRM forms to create new entities from the lookup dialog, including field mapping from the original entity
Postponed features
The following features are postponed. They might however be included in a product update:
- Using alternate privileges and editor URL's to create entities without their own privilege set.
- Hiding the search field to maximize the grid area.
Dropped features
The following features are not available in the Filtered Lookup Dialog for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0. They have been replaced with newer functions:
- Integration into the form assistant: there is currently no supported approach to use filtering in the form assistant.
- Modify the column headings (e.g. change "Address 1: City" to "City"): This feature has been dropped because of the new multi-language support in CRM 4.0. To globally change the column name, override the display name of the attribute in the CRM customization.
- Use existing CRM lookup files as templates for your own lookup definitions: All customizations are now done in the CRM web client, making it impossible to use the existing files as a template.
- Returning additional data from selected and related records: this is now done with the new Retrieve Service, but needs a separate function call, whereas the Custom Lookup Dialog for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 returned the additional data directly.
Filtered Lookup
for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 - License Types
Whether you are using the Filtered Lookup for
Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 in your production, development
or test environment, you always need license files.
There are different license files:
- Server/Organization licenses
- Named and Unnamed User licenses
- Production and Evaluation licenses
Server/Organization licenses
Each organization and server requires its
own license. In a typical setup you have
one CRM Server with a single organization and
you only need one Server/Organization license. The license
file contains the machine name and organization name
and you only can install the license on
the server with the specified name. If you
move the server to a different hardware with
a different machine name, the license no longer
works.
If you use multiple application servers for the same organization, each application server requires a separate license. These licenses are still bound to a single organization.
If you use multiple organizations, each organization requires a license as well. However, you only need licenses for the organizations using the Filtered Lookup. If you have a single CRM server with 3 organizations and you want to use the Filtered Lookup in two of them, then you need two Server/Organization licenses. If you have two application servers and two organizations, then you need four licenses for Server A/Organization 1, Server B/Organization 1, Server A/Organization 2 and Server B/Organization 2.
User Licenses
Besides the Server/Organization
licenses you also need user licenses. User licenses
are bound to an organization and depend on
a Server/Organization license. You cannot import a user
license before the appropriate Server/Organization license is imported.
If you are running multiple organizations, you need user licenses for each organization. The Outlook Offline client does not need a separate license file.
Note 1: you cannot mix named and unnamed user licenses.
Note 2: unless otherwise stated, you have an unnamed user license.
Unnamed User Licenses
This is the standard user license. Each active
user of an organization must have a valid
license. If an organization has 60 users, you
need at least 60 licenses of the Filtered
Lookup, otherwise you receive a license validation error.
You should always have more licenses available than
currently needed, to prevent licensing issues when adding
a new user.
Named User Licenses
Named user
licenses are available for test systems and are
limited to 5 users. You have to define
the licensed users in the application settings to
enable the Filtered Lookup. Users that are not
enabled receive a license validation error when accessing
Filtered Lookup functionality.
Server Licenses
The server license
is a file-based license, allowing the Filtered Lookup
product to be used in any organization on
the server having less active users than stated
in the user license.
SPLA licenses
SPLA licenses
are meant for service providers hosting CRM 4.0
and providing the Filtered Lookup to their customers.
Please contact BTSoftware if you
are interested in this license.
Evaluation Licenses
You
can request evaluation licenses to test the Filtered
Lookup for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 before buying.
Evaluation licenses are usually limited to a 60
day trial period.
Production licenses
Production licenses are
not limited in any way. To upgrade a
system having used evaluation licenses before, you have
to remove the evaluation licenses and import the
production licenses.
Developer licenses
Customers having purchased licenses
for their production system can order additional licenses
for their development or test environments. The user
license is limited to the number of users
purchased for the production system. A handling fee
of 50 Euro per system is charged.