Welcome to the Connector for Microsoft Dynamics blog
Welcome to the blog that will be used by the Connector for Microsoft Dynamics team to provide you with the latest information about the product. Check back often to stay informed on the latest news, tips and tricks and customer stories about Connector.
Let's start with the basics. You may be wondering what the Connector is? The Connector for Microsoft Dynamics, was released more than a year ago, to help customers who are using Dynamics CRM (either online or on-premise) integrate it with their Dynamics ERP solution. In this case, by Dynamics ERP, we mean Dynamics GP, Dynamics NAV and Dynamics AX. Out of the box, we provide you with baseline integrations that will help you move customer information, inventory and pricing information and sales order between the two systems. Using a web service to web service integration on a scheduled basis, the data moves seamlessly between the two solutions, helping you keep the two systems in sync. Plus, it's easy to modify the baseline integrations to better match how you do business. You can easily synchronize additional fields, adjust the length of time between schedules, or do deeper modifications using the Connector SDK.
The integration is comprised of an NT Service that binds together web services for both Microsoft Dynamics CRM and the Microsoft Dynamics ERP to read and write data. The integration service also leverages a transform engine to convert the data between the interfaces to ensure that the data moving between the two systems is compatible and in correct form. Data integrated with Connector is bi-directional. In a few cases, it's assumed that the Dynamics ERP is the system of record.
In addition, third-party developers and partners who want to extend the functionality of the Connector for Microsoft Dynamics, can use the Connector SDK, which contains documentation, templates, and sample code.
Comments
Anonymous
April 17, 2011
Can you please tell me where and how we can obtain a license key for this CRM-AX connector?Anonymous
April 18, 2011
Yes, to get a license key for CRM-AX Connector, you need to place an "order" with your Dynamics partner for Connector. There will be no charge, but the order process is now the registration/license keys are generated.Anonymous
May 12, 2011
Hello, could you please tell me how I can filter the records of the entity that I want to sync? thanksAnonymous
May 12, 2011
Hi, At this point, the records are filtered based upon last modified date. As part of our release this fall, we will add a feature to allow data filtering based upon other criteria.Anonymous
May 16, 2011
Hello CharG, thank you very much for answering. Do you know if exists any date for the launch of this new version of the connector? We could filter the records using the SDK that has the connector? Thank you very much and best regardsAnonymous
May 17, 2011
Hi The next Connector release is planned for this fall (2010). I don't believe using the SDK would help you with filtering.Anonymous
May 17, 2011
Please also see our blog post on logging and voting for suggestions for Connector. blogs.msdn.com/.../suggestionsAnonymous
May 19, 2011
Hi CharG You can configure the connector to connect to CRM Online 2011 through a proxy that requires authentication without having to modify the proxy?. I try to connect from my company Navision and CRM 2011 online and I always get the error "proxy authentication required ' thanks for allAnonymous
May 19, 2011
Hello, there are settings listed in the documentation that you can apply outside of the adapter settings window that will allow you autenticate through a proxy when connecting to CRM online. You might also want to talk with your Proxy server's administrator to determine why the authorization is not working as expected. If you are unable to find these setup steps, our support team has walked customers and partners through this scenario before and I would encourage you to contact support regarding this configuration as there could certainly be other networking related options that you will need to consider and our support professials can certainly help you work through those as well as this one.Anonymous
June 09, 2011
We have built a pre-create plugin in CRM to filter the records from AX to CRM.Anonymous
June 21, 2011
JB - would you like to elaborate on the plug-in you created? It would probably very useful for a lot of us, thanks!Anonymous
June 30, 2011
Hello, when trying to configure the Connect dynamics for the online version of CRM I always skip the following error: Failed to retrieve the document metadata Federation at "nexus.passport.com/.../FederationMetaData.xml" with exception: "Unable to connect to the remote server" if I run the direction in the internet browser I have no problem. Can someone please help me please? thank you very much for everythingAnonymous
July 05, 2011
Hi Is the connector available for Dynamics AX2012?Anonymous
July 11, 2011
We will have a version of Connector for Dynamics AX 2012 available later this summer.Anonymous
July 12, 2011
Hi CharG I just installed the CRM solution in my crm connector online and when I access for example to an account page I get the following error: Error in custom event in the field. Field: window Event: onload Error: 'crmForm.all.dynamics_isreadyforintegration.DataValue' is null or not an object You know why this might be? thank you very muchAnonymous
August 16, 2011
Hi I think there is a big issue with existing data in CRM. When customers have thousands of customers in CRM which also are in ERP it will create alot of duplicates. Is it somehow possible to fill in a integration table with the existing to match before running a sync and then avoid duplicates ?? Else the connector is rather useless for many of our customers and we need to use Scribe instead.Anonymous
August 16, 2011
@Jack DS - in Connector's users guide the steps for setting up CRM duplicate detection are outlined. It is encouraged that users do this before running the initial sync in an effort to avoid the scenario that you are describing. Connector fully understands CRM's duplicate detection mechanism and can respond properly when a duplicate is detected by CRM and update - rather than create - the supplied instance.Anonymous
August 17, 2011
From what I can tell it doesn't read that it updates possible duplicate instead of creating a new, I just think at the most it would not create the customer in CRM. A problem if it did update is that there can be many duplicate rules and more people sometimes have the rights to create duplicate detection rules. Setting up duplicate detection Before you integrate Microsoft Dynamics NAV and Microsoft Dynamics CRM, you may have duplicate records between the two applications. For example, if you have entered Daniel Brunner as a contact in Microsoft Dynamics CRM and also as a customer in Microsoft Dynamics NAV, you have duplicate records for Daniel Brunner. Microsoft Dynamics CRM allows users to enter duplicate records, with duplicate keys, for Microsoft Dynamics CRM accounts and contacts. This can cause problems when the integration service tries to integrate the records. If duplicated records are not identified before you integrate Microsoft Dynamics CRM contacts or accounts with your Microsoft Dynamics NAV customers, you will end with four records for the same person between the two applications. Set up duplicate detection jobs and rules in Microsoft Dynamics CRM for the account and customer entities to prevent these duplicate record issues. It is suggested that you use one of the options listed below that are available in Microsoft Dynamics CRM to keep duplicates from entering the system in the first place. See your Microsoft Dynamics CRM documentation for additional details. Set up Microsoft Dynamics CRM duplicate detection rules In Microsoft Dynamics CRM, set up or modify duplicate detection rules for the entities to integrate. Click Settings > Data Management > Duplicate Detection Rules. The default duplicate detection rules are listed. Use the duplicate detection rules for accounts or contacts using attributes and criteria that make sense for your business rules. Duplicate detection rules in Microsoft Dynamics CRM are based on contact e-mail addresses by default, and the Connector for Microsoft Dynamics maps e-mail addresses based on accounts or customers. Set up Microsoft Dynamics CRM duplicate detection jobs In Microsoft Dynamics CRM, set up duplicate detection jobs for the entities to integrate. Click Settings > Data Management > Duplicate Detection Jobs. Add a job to catch duplicates and notify someone in your organization for each entity you want to integrate.Anonymous
August 17, 2011
@Jack DS - I can see how you might be confusseed slightly by this documentation - since it does not explictly state that the connectot will update rather than not create a duplicate entry. It defiantely will update an entity that is flagged as a duplicate. If you would like to suggest a better wording for this documentation entry, please enter a feature request at: connect.microsoft.com/.../Connector Thanks for you feedback.Anonymous
October 03, 2011
I'm having the same issue as Juan: I just installed the CRM solution in my crm connector online and when I access for example to an account page I get the following error: Error in custom event in the field. Field: window Event: onload Error: 'crmForm.all.dynamics_isreadyforintegration.DataValue' is null or not an object Any ideas?Anonymous
October 03, 2011
Please refer to this post on how to get Support for Connector: blogs.msdn.com/.../getting-technical-support-for-connector.aspx You will get much faster responses using these options.Anonymous
October 03, 2011
After importing the CRM Customizations, you need to run the CRM Configuration Utility. This information can be found on the following pages: • Microsoft Dynamics Connector for Microsoft Dynamics for use with Microsoft Dynamics AX o Page 22: Configuring the Microsoft Dynamics CRM adapter • Microsoft Dynamics Connector for Microsoft Dynamics for use with Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 R2 o Page 19: Configuring the Microsoft Dynamics CRM adapter • Microsoft Dynamics Connector for Microsoft Dynamics for use with Microsoft Dynamics GP o Page 22: Configuring the Microsoft Dynamics CRM adapterAnonymous
October 25, 2011
Does the new version released recently supports filtered integration? Can the records in an entity in CRM 2011 be integrated with records from more than one companies in ERP?Anonymous
October 25, 2011
I believe you are looking for a feature we call Source Filtering. This feature is planned for the Connector V2 release, which will be out later this calendar year.Anonymous
November 03, 2011
Where can one download the SDK for the connector?Anonymous
November 03, 2011
If an Order fails to integrate from GP to CRM, after the allocate number of retries, how do trigger a resend of just that one order?Anonymous
November 14, 2011
In response to question from McMachmeier: This failed order should have an event associated with it in the Log. If you open the event, you will see that there is a link to reset the number of retries which will attempt to re-integrate just the specific order. (You will likely get better responses to general questions on Connector by posting in https://community.dynamics.com)Anonymous
November 14, 2011
The Connector SDK is available for download on the same “Connector for Microsoft Dynamics” page. There is a section titled “Software Development Kit (SDK)” which has a link to the SDK. Search for SDK on this blog for more info on the SDK itself.Anonymous
November 23, 2011
When will you ship the next version? Will it include the previus discosed filtering options other then dateAnonymous
January 28, 2013
Hi, Please suggest on Custom AX entity for connector for Microsoft Dynamics. And also provide some links for custom development of Adapter..