Share via

How to: Work with Microsoft Dynamics CRM Contacts

  • Article

If your application is set up to integrate with Microsoft Dynamics CRM, then from a contact in Microsoft Dynamics NAV, you can access a corresponding contact in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Also, if Microsoft Dynamics CRM is set up for it, you can open a Microsoft Dynamics NAV contact from contact in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

To integrate a Microsoft Dynamics CRM contact with a Microsoft Dynamics NAV contact, you must first set up a coupling between the Microsoft Dynamics NAV contact and the Microsoft Dynamics CRM contact. A coupling acts as a link between a record in Microsoft Dynamics NAV and Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

In addition to enabling you to access a Microsoft Dynamics CRM contact, the coupling also enables you to synchronize the Microsoft Dynamics NAV contact and the Microsoft Dynamics CRM contact so that data in fields that are mapped between the two records is the same in both locations.

Important

You can only couple Microsoft Dynamics NAV contacts that are type Person and assigned to a company.

To create a new Microsoft Dynamics NAV contact based on a Microsoft Dynamics CRM contact

  1. In the Search box, enter Contacts, and then choose the related link.

  2. On the Navigate tab, in the Dynamics CRM group, choose Create, and then choose Create Contact in Dynamics NAV.

    In the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Contacts window appears and lists all contacts in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

  3. Select the contact that you want to create as new contact in Microsoft Dynamics NAV, and then on the Home tab, in the Process group, choose Create Contact in Dynamics NAV.

    Note

    If the Coupled field is selected for a contact, it is already coupled to a Microsoft Dynamics NAV contact. You can choose to create a new Microsoft Dynamics NAV contact for a Microsoft Dynamics CRM contact that is already coupled. However, if you do, the coupling between the old Microsoft Dynamics NAV contact and the Microsoft Dynamics CRM account will be deleted.

  4. If the new contact is created successfully, the contact card opens automatically. Otherwise, an error message appears with information to help you solve the problem.

When the contact is created, it is automatically coupled to the Microsoft Dynamics CRM contact. You can then make changes to the coupled contacts and synchronize data in the two records.

To create a new Microsoft Dynamics CRM contact based on a Microsoft Dynamics NAV contact

  1. In the Search box, enter Contacts, and then choose the related link.

  2. Select the contact that you want to create as new contact in Microsoft Dynamics CRM, on the Navigate tab, in the Dynamics CRM group, choose Create, and then choose Create Contact in Dynamics CRM.

  3. If the new contact is created successfully, a message that states Synchronization completed appears. Otherwise, an error message appears with information to help you solve about the problem.

When the Microsoft Dynamics CRM contact is created, it is automatically coupled to the Microsoft Dynamics NAV contact. You can then change the coupled contacts and synchronize data in the two records.

To set up a coupling between a Microsoft Dynamics NAV contact and a Microsoft Dynamics CRM contact

  1. Open the contact in Microsoft Dynamics NAV as follows:

    1. In the Search box, enter Contacts, and then choose the related link.

    2. In the Contacts window, select the contact that you want to couple to Microsoft Dynamics CRM, and then on the Home tab, in the Manage group, choose Edit.

  2. On the Navigate tab, in the Dynamics CRM group, choose Coupling, and then choose Set Up Coupling.

  3. In the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Contact Coupling window, do one of the following tasks:

    • To couple to an existing contact in Microsoft Dynamics CRM, select the contact in the Contact field.

    • To create and couple to a new contact in Microsoft Dynamics CRM, select the Create New Contact check box.

    The Coupled Records FastTab lists the some of the fields for the Microsoft Dynamics NAV contact and the corresponding mapped fields for the selected Microsoft Dynamics CRM contact. The Dynamics NAV Contact column displays the current field values in Microsoft Dynamics NAV and the Dynamics CRM Contact column displays the current field values in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. You can use the information on the Coupled Records FastTab to help you determine which Microsoft Dynamics CRM contact to couple to and some of the data to be synchronized.

  4. If you want to synchronize data in the contact in Microsoft Dynamics CRM and the contact in Microsoft Dynamics NAV, set the Synchronize After Coupling field to one of the following options:

    Option Description

    Yes - Use the Dynamics NAV Data

    Copies the data from mapped fields of the contact in Microsoft Dynamics NAV to the contact record in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. If a contact field has existing data, it will be overwritten.

    If you choose to create a new contact in Microsoft Dynamics CRM, this option is selected by default and cannot be changed.

    Yes - Use the Dynamics CRM Data

    Copies the data from mapped fields of the contact in Microsoft Dynamics CRM to the contact in Microsoft Dynamics NAV. If a contact field has existing data, it will be overwritten by the data from Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

  5. Choose the OK button.

Unless you want to change which Microsoft Dynamics CRM contact the Microsoft Dynamics NAV contact is coupled to, you only have to set up the coupling one time. You can return to the coupling window to identify differences between Microsoft Dynamics NAV and Microsoft Dynamics CRM data, and perform synchronization.

To open a contact in Microsoft Dynamics CRM that is coupled to contact

  1. Open the contact in Microsoft Dynamics NAV.

  2. On the Navigate tab, in the Dynamics CRM group, choose Contact.

    Microsoft Dynamics CRM opens and displays the contact.

    For information about Microsoft Dynamics CRM contacts, see Create or edit a contact.

Tip

To view a list of all Microsoft Dynamics CRM contact and see whether they are coupled to Microsoft Dynamics NAV, in the Search box, enter Microsoft Dynamics CRM Contacts, and then choose the related link.

To synchronize data in the Microsoft Dynamics NAV contact and the Microsoft Dynamics CRM contact

  1. Open the contact in Microsoft Dynamics NAV.

  2. On the Navigate tab, in the Dynamics CRM group, choose Synchronize Now.

  3. On the window, choose one of the following options, and then choose the OK button.

    Option Description

    Send updated data to Dynamics CRM.

    Copies the data from mapped fields of the contact in Microsoft Dynamics NAV to the contact record in Microsoft Dynamics NAV. If a contact field has existing data, it will be overwritten.

    Get updated data from Dynamics CRM.

    Copies the data from mapped fields of the contact in Microsoft Dynamics CRM to the contact in Microsoft Dynamics NAV. If a contact field has existing data, it will be overwritten by the data from Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

To view a Microsoft Dynamics NAV contact from Microsoft Dynamics CRM

  1. Open the contact in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

  2. To open the contact in Microsoft Dynamics NAV, in the ribbon, choose Dynamics NAV.

    Note

    This feature is only available if the Microsoft Dynamics NAV integration solution is installed in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. For more information, see How to: Set Up Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Integration with Dynamics NAV.

See Also

Concepts

Integrating Microsoft Dynamics CRM in Microsoft Dynamics NAV
Working with Dynamics CRM Data in Microsoft Dynamics NAV