Today I stumbled over the meaning and purpose of the “ImportSequenceNumber” field in Dynamics 365 (or Dynamics CRM, If you have not got used to it like me).
The ImportSequenceNumber field itself
It’s an integer field that is reachable through the field list in a solution. It is searchable but you are not able to add it to a form.
ImportSequenceNumber purpose
Every import in Dynamics 365 is numbered with an ascending number which is globally stored in the “Organization.CurrentImportSequenceNumber” attribute. Every record created during an import gets this number as value for the ImportSequenceNumber field.
By this way Dynamics 365 can show you all records that are created during an specific import or let you delete all records created by an import.
As a loyal recuring visitor, you may have noticed same changes here in the last week.
I removed the small little image that indicates about which product a blog entry is written.
From time to time Microsoft makes some changes on the logos and they have guideline for its usage and I’m
not interested in taking about care such things anymore, so do without it.
The <-more-> TAG has been removed.
I don’t wan’t to oppress me with my own design rules. Less clicks for you people.
I switched from multilingual entries to English only.
The first time I have only written in German to support and interact with the German community.
Then I added English to reach more people and have a greater audience. At the end there is no interaction,
no matter in which language. So I spare me the double work.
Final words
I think you will profit from the restructuring because I will have less work with creating content and
I’m able to “fast publish” posts because I’m not stick at any layout.
Since a few weeks I hear from more and more CRM users that their CRM notes have disappeared. They are all using Dynamics CRM 2016 (Online or Onprem) and Firefox. Other combinations are currently not affected. So it must be an CRM 2016 and Firefox 49 issue with notes on how Firefox retrieves the notes or displays them.
Analysis
You can very quickly see that it is “only” a display problem when you opening the same CRM record with two different Browsers.
But, what happens? To find this out we have to deep dive into the CSS styling of CRM.
The Firefox developertools show us that Firefox has calculated “transparent” as color for the notetext.
A look into the CSS source file shows us what Microsoft has defined as color.
Exkurs: CSS coloring
Colors in CSS can be specified by the following methods:
HTML color names (140 named colors are available) {color: Aqua;}
RGB colors {color: rgb(0, 170, 255);}
RGBA colors {color: rgba(0, 170, 255, 0.5);}
HSL colors {color: hsl(200, 100, 100);}
HSLA colors {color: hsla(200, 100, 100, 0.5);}
Hexadecimal notation of RGB colors {color: #00AAFF;}
Hexadecimal shorthand notation of RGB colors. The browser doubles here every digit. {color: #0AF;}
Now it is clear to you that Microsoft uses the hexadecimal notation, but not if it also wants to use the shorthand notation. Browsers until now ignored the fourth digit and interpreted it as shorthand notation and calculated #000000 (Black) for the note text. Till now we are talking about an inaccuracy that nobody has disturbed.
Firefox 49 Release Notes from September 20, 2016 – SOURCE Excerpt: “Added support for specifying colors with an alpha channel using 4- and 8-digit CSS hex color values (#RRGGBBAA and #RGBA)”
BAM! There is the problem. Mozilla introduces the hexadecimal and hexadecimal shorthand notation of RGBA colors
Starting from Version 49, Firefox interprets Microsoft’s inaccuracy as an #RGBA value and calculates #00000000 from it what is black with 0% opacity as result.
Solution
The solution can only be delivered by Microsoft and is already included in Dynamics 365 (CRM V8.2). So I think it will be also fixed within the next update for CRM 2016.
Workaround
Instead of telling you to avoid Firefox until Microsoft provide a fix, I created a small script that corrects the color attribute for the notes. I know, it’s unsupported.
Drag and drop the “CRM Notes Firefox Fix” button on your Firefox bookmark toolbar to use it as bookmarklet. Click it each time you don’t see notes on CRM.
My ‘Dynamics CRM Online license model‘ post from November 2013 is the 3rd popular post of my blog.
As it isn’t up-to-date anymore, it gets time for an update. In the meanwhile MSCRM has received more features and other prices.
What’s still the same is the amount of instances and storage you get inclusive. Social Engagement is also still available with 10+ Professional and/or Enterprise Licenses.
If this is a completly new information for you, have a look at my above mentioned post from the year 2013.
Post & follow activity feeds and Yammer collaboration
C
P
B
E
Use a queue item
C
P
B
E
Read articles
C
P
B
E
Shared Calendar
C
P
B
E
View Announcements
C
P
B
E
Run workflows (automated or on-demand), dialogs and process
C
P
B
E
Use relationships and connections between records
C
P
B
E
Read and write records from custom entites
C
P
B
E
Use Saved views and create personal views
C
P
B
E
Use Quick-Search and Advanced find
C
P
B
E
Export data to Microsoft Excel or perform mail merge
C
P
B
E
Use Dynamics CRM on Mobile Client, iPad, Windows 8 App, Outlook (Windows) and Web
C
P
B
E
Lead capture, scoring, routing, assignment
C
P
B
Qualify and convert a Lead to an Account or Contact
C
P
B
Associate an Opportunity with an Account or Contact
C
P
B
Associate a Marketing List with an Account or Contact
C
P
B
View SLAs, Case management and Interactive Service Hub
C
P
B
Convert an Activity to a Case
C
P
B
Add or remove a Connection (stakeholder, sales team) for an Account or Contact
C
P
B
Create and update announcements
C
P
B
User reports, charts and dashboards
C
P
B
Create, update, customize and run Reports
C
P
B
User Interface integration for Microsoft Dynamics CRM
C
P
B
Import data in bulk
C
P
Configure duplicate-detection rules and auditing
C
P
Define connections and relationships between entities
C
P
Define and configure queues
C
P
Define and configure workflows and dialogs
C
P
System reports, charts and dashboards
C
P
Customize entities, fields, forms and views
C
P
Administer CRM
C
P
Opportunities, Quotes, Orders and Invoices
C
P
Convert a lead or an activity to an Opportunity
C
P
Products, Price Lists and Sales literature
C
P
Territories, Competitors and Goals
C
P
Marketing Lists, Campaigns and Quick-Campaigns
C
P
Contracts and Contract templates
C
P
Configure SLA policies and Entitlements
C
P
Unified Service Desk
C
P
Create and Publish Knowledgebase Articles
C
P
View and Use Knowledgebase in CRM GUI
C
P
Create and Publish Articles, use article templates
C
P
Facilities/Equipment
C
P
Define and configure business units and teams
C
P
Define and configure services, resources and work hours
C
P
Full Mobile Offline sync
C
P
Read AX application data
C
P
Email published Voice of the Customer Surveys
C
P
View Voice of the Customer Survey Results and Survey Outcomes
C
P
Create & Publish Voice of the Customer Surveys
C
Dynamics CRM Online Enterprise
Don’t forget, that this table shows only CRM concerning details, but with the Dynamics CRM Online Enterprise license you have also access to Social Engagement (Enterprise instead of Professional), Dynamics Marketing and Parature.
Today I get E-Mail where Microsoft announces that Dynamics CRM Online gets tomorrow enhancements to Sandboxes. The new features have already been announced during the Carina beta programm and now the get rolled out. Below I will paste you the details Microsoft has send with this E-Mail.
Enhancements to Sandboxes
We are pleased to let you know there are future enhancements to Dynamics CRM Online Sandbox instances!
What is a Sandbox instance?
A Sandbox instance is any non-production instance of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online. Isolated from production, a Sandbox instance is the place to safely develop and test application changes with low risk.
How should I use a Sandbox instance in my environment?
You should always use Sandbox instances when you test new functionality, such as a product update, a new add-on solution, changes to a form, or any customization you may include. You will be able to schedule your Sandbox instance to be updated prior to your production update, allowing you to test first.
What’s coming in regards to Sandbox instances in CRM Online 2015 Update 1?
Switching an instance enables administrators to easily change the CRM Online instance type:
Switch to production – ability to change an instance from Sandbox to Production
Switch from production – ability to switch an instance from Production to Sandbox
Deleting a Sandbox instance provides the ability to remove an existing sandbox when it is no longer needed:
Delete allows you to recover sandbox licenses and storage
You must switch production instances to sandboxes before you can delete them.
Enhancements to instance reset provides the ability to change your base language and currency during the reset. This allows you to use a single sandbox for testing across many different languages or currencies.