1. OptionSetIds - This table contains just a column which contains a unique identifier for each new OptionSet that you create.

2. MetadataSchema.AttributePicklistValue - OptionSet Values are primarily indicated by the value stored in this table. It is stored in the Value column in this table.

3. MetadataSchema.LocalizedLabel - This is where the Option Set Label Value is stored. Just matchup the AtributePicklistValueId in MetadataSchema.AttributePicklistValue against the ObjectId in MetadataSchema.LocalizedLabel/

This breakup allows for localization of the OptionSet Labels........

* Create an Advanced Find view will all the columns that you would like to update (saves the pain of sifting through information.)

* Export to excel with "MAKE THIS DATA AVAILABLE FOR REIMPORTING BY INCLUDING REQUIRED COLUMN HEADERS" checked....

* Save the excel and update the data.

* Reimport the data back.

At this point I saw that imported file was added in the "Imports" with status as "Submitted". This status did not change for quite some time. Considering the fact that this was my VPC I expected it to be parsed and transformed immediately.

The problem was that the CRM Asynch service was not running and hence the undue delay....

I installed the SharePoint connector for CRM 2011 and observed that the Sharepoint libraries which were getting created based on the account name(lets assume that I have registered the Sharepoint Integration for Accounts). Now I go ahead and create another account with the same name. Unless I manually update the relative url it drops the documents into the same library as the one I created before.

For ex:

• ·        I create an account with the name “Test”
• ·        I go to documents and upload a document doc1.xlsx
• ·        I create another account with the name “Test”
• ·        I go the documents and upload a document called doc2.xlsx

Now I can see both the documents on the document tabs in both doc1 and doc2.

I tried to fix this problem by writing a pre create plugin to update the relative url with the accounts guid. I thought CRM would create the document library after the entity was created…..and boy was I wrong….CRM goes ahead and creates the Sharepoint library irrespective of the data contained in the Sharepoint Document Location Entity.

If you are stuck with this error this post could possibly save you an hour or so.

One of my clients requirements included adding a photograp of a contact in a Contact Entity. Surprisingly this is not supported out of the box in CRM 2011. So I decided to write a small Silverlight component to proof out my design approach.

Files can be attached to entities in CRM and the contact entity definitely allows you to attach files to it. I thought this should be a good way to get started.

1. Retrieve/Store the file in the contacts' attahcement

2. Create a silverlight component which will allow the user to upload/retrieve the image.

3. Customize the contact form to add the silverlight web resource

4. And we are done......

The silverlight part was a breeze when it came to retrieving and displaying a contact's picture which I manually loaded. The code for that is as follows:

1. Create your silverlight control and add reference to the csdl file.

2. Ad an image control to your silverlight control and use this piece of code to fetch the image

 Annotation annotation = new Annotation(); 
 var data = page.GetProperty("data") as ScriptObject; 
 var entity = data.GetProperty("entity") as ScriptObject; 
 
 if(Guid.TryParse(entity.Invoke("getId",null).ToString(),out recordId)) 
 { 
 DataServiceQuery<Annotation> query = (DataServiceQuery<Annotation>)(context.AnnotationSet.Where<Annotation> 
 (note => note.ObjectId != null && note.ObjectTypeCode=="contact" && note.FileName=="contactpicture.jpg" )); 
 query.BeginExecute(NoteFetchCallback, query); 
 
 }

And the call back looks like:

 private void NoteFetchCallback(IAsyncResult result) 
 { 
 var query = result.AsyncState as DataServiceQuery<Annotation>; 
 
 if (query != null) 
 { 
 var results = query.EndExecute(result).ToList(); 
 if (results.Count > 0) 
 { 
 var contactPicture = results[0]; 
 imageArray = Convert.FromBase64String(contactPicture.DocumentBody); 
 MemoryStream stream = new MemoryStream(imageArray); 
 BitmapImage image = new BitmapImage(); 
 image.SetSource(stream); 
 imageContact.Source = image; 
 } 
 

3. I moved on with the upload functionality as well:

 OpenFileDialog dialog = new OpenFileDialog() { Multiselect = false, Filter = ".jpg|" }; 
 dialog.ShowDialog(); 
 var fileInfo = dialog.File; 
 imageArray = new byte[fileInfo.Length]; 
 var fileStream = fileInfo.OpenRead(); 
 fileStream.Read(imageArray, 0, (int)fileInfo.Length - 1); 
 
 
 Annotation annotation = new Annotation() { MimeType = @"image/pjpeg", FileName = "contactpicture.jpg", DocumentBody = Convert.ToBase64String(imageArray), ObjectId = new EntityReference() { Id=recordId, LogicalName="contact" } }; 
 context.AddToAnnotationSet(annotation); 
 context.BeginSaveChanges(null, null); 
 

However I noticed that the images I would upload this way would fail in the fetch and display operation in Silverlight. and it would give me a weird error Error HRESULT E_FAIL
has been returned from a call to a COM component. at the line highlighted in red :

private void NoteFetchCallback(IAsyncResult result) 
 { 
 var query = result.AsyncState as DataServiceQuery<Annotation>; 
 
 if (query != null) 
 { 
 var results = query.EndExecute(result).ToList(); 
 if (results.Count > 0) 
 { 
 var contactPicture = results[0]; 
 imageArray = Convert.FromBase64String(contactPicture.DocumentBody); 
 MemoryStream stream = new MemoryStream(imageArray); 
 BitmapImage image = new BitmapImage(); 
 image.SetSource(stream); 
 imageContact.Source = image; 
 } 

After digging around a bit I found that there was a silverlight component which does the same thing uploaded in Codeplex: https://crmattachmentimage.codeplex.com/

I looked around at the source code and Carlton had commented that the array into which you load the image should have two more extra bytes of memmory which will be used by the BitmapImage.SetSource method to add temination characters.

I added the fix and things started working again...... This is the upload snippet which works:

 OpenFileDialog dialog = new OpenFileDialog() { Multiselect = false, Filter = ".jpg|" }; 
 dialog.ShowDialog(); 
 var fileInfo = dialog.File; 
 imageArray = new byte[fileInfo.Length+2]; 
 var fileStream = fileInfo.OpenRead(); 
 fileStream.Read(imageArray, 0, (int)fileInfo.Length - 1); 
 
 
 Annotation annotation = new Annotation() { MimeType = @"image/pjpeg", FileName = "contactpicture.jpg", DocumentBody = Convert.ToBase64String(imageArray), ObjectId = new EntityReference() { Id=recordId, LogicalName="contact" } }; 
 context.AddToAnnotationSet(annotation); 
 context.BeginSaveChanges(null, null);

It never occured to me to check codeplex before I started writing this component - Lesson Learnt! and yes the image thingy too.....

 I did take a look at the code in codeplex and I felt it could do with some changes. Particularly around

1. Using a Provider model so that we can switch the data store easily. For example if I need to upload the image to a sharepoint site or maybe even a folder in the server I have to pretty much rewrite the whole control.

2. I also noticed that the solution adds another hidden field to maintain the link between a contact and the Annotation entity which contains the file. I dont think this is a good approach. I strongly feel that the image should be stored along with the entities attachment. The approach of using attachments will work only for entities to which attachments and its security permissions are allowed. However this problem can be easily addressed if there is a Provider model in picture.

Man...writing blogs are tiring...... :(