CRM 2011 Update Rollup release build numbers, and how to find them
Administrator, CRM 2011, Downloads, Support September 7th, 2011
As many Dynamics CRM 4.0 aficionados know, Microsoft releases regular updates to iron out documented issues. CRM 2011 is no exception; three Update Rollups have already been released since RTM.
Note that the On-Premise build numbers I list below may be different than what you will find in CRM 2011 Online. Microsoft continuously adds new updates behind the scenes, thus the likelihood of having a greater build number in comparison to the latest Update Rollup version.
To determine your current build number from the IE web client, simply:
- Browse to your CRM 2011 website
- Click on the File tab
- Navigate to Help
- Click on “About Microsoft Dynamics CRM”
To determine your current build number from the Outlook CRM client:
- Open Outlook with the CRM Client installed
- Click on the File tab
- Click on the CRM side tab
- Click on the “About Microsoft Dynamics CRM” button
| Version | Release Date | Build Number | KB Article |
| Release Candidate | 5.0.9688.53 | 2461082 | |
| Beta (On Premise) | 5.0.9585.106 | ||
| Beta (Online) | 5.0.9585.107 | ||
| RTM | February 16, 2011 | 5.0.9688.583 | Download RTM |
| Update Rollup 1 | April 7, 2011 | 5.0.9688.1045 | 2466084 |
| Update Rollup 2 | June 2, 2011 | 5.0.9688.1155 | 2466086 |
| Update Rollup 3 | July 28, 2011 | 5.0.9688.1244 | 2547347 |
| Update Rollup 4 | September 22, 2011 | 5.0.9688.1450 | 2556167 |
| Update Rollup 5 | October 25, 2011 | 5.0.9688.1533 | 2567454 |
| Update Rollup 6 | January 20, 2012 | 5.0.9690.1992 | 2600640 |
Tags: CRM 2011, Update Rollups
Disabling Users in Dynamics CRM can cause Workflow troubles
Administrator, Consulting, CRM 4.0, Customizations, Developer, General Users, Support November 1st, 2010
I recently got a call from a company that was having issues running their workflows on Dynamics CRM 4.0. Despite being configured correctly, their workflows hadn’t processed for more than 4 months! After a quick remote session, we quickly determined the source of the issue.
Earlier in the year, this company had restructured their staff. During this process they had disabled the user account of a key former employee that was the owner of all the workflows.
What was the lesson learned? Disabling the Owner user account of a workflow will disable the workflow jobs as well. Workflows require an active user account to process the jobs. When developing workflows for an organization, make sure all of the published workflows are owned by an administrative account, and not an employee.
Dynamics CRM 4.0 does warn you of this fact while disabling a user (see screenshot below).
Disabling a User in Dynamics CRM 4.0
Unfortunately for my client, all of their workflow activity during the downtime could not be recovered, despite having finally re-enabled the workflows. Again, as a Dynamics CRM Consultant, be sure to educate your clients of this fact.
Tags: Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Users, Workflows
Where’s that link? Download the CRM 2011 Beta installation files for Server and Outlook
Administrator, CRM 2011, Downloads, General Users, Links, Support October 26th, 2010
A fellow coworker was having trouble searching for the right link to download the CRM 2011 Beta installation files. I thought he had lost his Bing/Google mojo, but then realized it wasn’t as easy as I thought. Luckily I found the link again and decided to share it here with you. Don’t forget to bookmark it!
Link : Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Beta installation files (microsoft.com)
Here you can find the CRM 2011 Beta installation files pertaining to the On-Premise Server, Outlook Client, SharePoint, Exchange, BIDS for customizing SSRS reports, and language packages.
Below are the packages, with links to the direct download.
- CRM2011-BIDSExtensions-ENU-i386.exe (22.6MB) Download
- CRM2011-client-ENU-amd64.exe (57.1MB) Download
- CRM2011-client-ENU-i386.exe (55.6MB) Download
- CRM2011-mui-ENU-amd64.exe (40.4MB) Download
- CRM2011-mui-ENU-i386.exe (12.8MB) Download
- CRM2011-router-ENU-amd64.exe (198.6MB) Download
- CRM2011-router-ENU-i386.exe (194.3MB) Download
- CRM2011-server-ENU-amd64.exe (301.7MB) Download
- CRM2011-SharePointList-ENU-amd64.exe (238KB) Download
Tags: CRM 2011, download, On Premise
In Dynamics CRM 2011, Dashboards bring eye candy BI to the masses
Administrator, CRM 2011, Customizations, Dashboard, Developer, General Users, Salespeople September 20th, 2010
"Data, looks like resistance to the Borg is futile to maximizing our sales pipeline."
Arguably, the most noticeable feature in the Dynamics CRM 2011 Beta is the new Dashboard functionality. It brings to the table such a new level of easy and powerful customization that one could say Microsoft has truly “brought BI to the masses.”
What makes the Dynamics CRM 2011 Dashboards so special? Let me count the ways:
- Easily create a custom Dashboard on the fly by clicking the New button on the Outlook ribbon or from the web client.
- Keep your custom dashboard for yourself, or share your creation with other colleagues on your team (similar in functionality to Views).
- Easily add CRM Views to the Dashboard.
- Drag in your own bar charts and line charts, add a sales funnel, or add a connected Bing Map so you can see the locations of the customers you’re visiting today.
- Drill-down capability, so you can view individual records.
- Use iFrames to provide a window to other Portals or internal/external websites.
- Use the advanced tools in Dashboard customization to incorporate custom SSRS reports that display data from other systems.
These tools provide all the fodder that the imaginative user and developer will need to design useful Dashboards on-the-fly.
Dashboard Help Section
For those new to managing Dashboards, Microsoft provided a help section that is available upon your first login to Dynamics CRM 2011. This section can be hidden permanently as soon as you feel you’re familiar with the tools.
Dynamics CRM 2011: Dashboards Help section
Creating a New Dashboard in CRM 2011
Upon creation of a new Dashboard, CRM asks for your preferred layout format. So far so good…
Dynamics CRM 2011: Dashboards Layout
In the next Dashboard customization screen, we can add the following resource types:
- Chart
- List
- Web Resource, which can consist of:
- Web Page (HTML)
- Style Sheet (CSS)
- Script (JScript)
- Data (XML)
- Images (JPG, PNG, GIF, ICO)
- Silverlight (XAP)
- Style Sheet (XSL)
- iFrame
Dynamics CRM 2011: Dashboards Toolbar
In less than five minutes, I instantly built my sample Dashboard by:
- Adding a bar graph of Activities by Priority
- Adding a Grid View of My Accounts
- Adding a JPG image
- Adding the mobile website of Twitter Search for #MSDYNCRM
See the screenshot of my creative (albeit questionably productive) Dashboard below.
Dynamics CRM 2011: My Sample Dashboard
While my sample Dashboard won’t win any productivity awards, it’s my own Dashboard to view, tweak and share with my colleagues. My next step would be to try and incorporate Bing Maps imaginatively.
As always, the most important step is to take that initial dive, and imagine the possibilities!
Microsoft Dynamics CRM’s next generation is here! CRM 2011 Beta Online and On-Premise available worldwide today
Administrator, CRM 2011, Developer, Downloads, General Users, Links, Microsoft Dynamics, Salespeople, Videos September 9th, 2010
It’s a wonderful day in the #MSDYNCRM world.
Microsoft promised and delivered today the Dynamics CRM 2011 Beta version, available Online and On-Premise! Check out http://www.crm2011beta.com for videos and highlights, as well as the official announcement to see for yourself. If you didn’t attend the “First Look at CRM 2011″ webcast on September 7th, I’d highly recommend you view it.
- If you want to sign up for the CRM 2011 Beta Online, make sure to fill out this form.
- If you want to download the On-Premise bits yourself and install them in house, download the installation files here.
- Be sure to download the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Beta Implementation Guide.
- Make sure you post your questions on the official CRM 2011 Beta Forum.
- At this link you can download the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Software Development Kit (SDK).
- The following product keys are available for this release (found in the readme file).
- Microsoft Dynamics CRM Workgroup (5 CAL limit): FF2JM-QX9PG-HXT8M-MMHXG-4MF32
- Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server (no CAL limit): 4FDTK-3HYV2-D9CCJ-4MF9Q-QJ32X
- Although the application may display a 90-day trial period, these trial product keys will expire after 270 days.
- Microsoft Dynamics CRM Professional edition is no longer available with Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011.
This Beta release is also getting some media attention! Check out a few interesting articles below.
- “Microsoft aims to sharpen its CRM pitch”, CNET News
- “Microsoft to deliver public betas of CRM 2011 and app store in mid-September”, ZDNet
- “Microsoft begins testing new CRM program”, CNET News
In the next coming months, my pledge to you will be to start highlighting all the new Beta features and tips here at this CRM blog. Feel free to contact me if you have a special request or question regarding the new Beta, and I’ll be sure to cover it for you. 
Tags: Announcement, beta, CRM 2011, download, Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Videos
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