CRM 2011 - Customization Part 1

CRM 3.0 and 4.0 brought extensive and powerful customization features to the table for Dynamics CRM users. CRM 2011 has brought this to whole new level in many respects, and I'll present an overview of these across a few blog posts.

This entry will focus on the improved usability of existing features - simply, you can do the same customizations in a fraction of the time because of the vastly upgraded User Interface.

One of the major changes is the fact the Customize functionality is now available from a tab directly on the individual entities - no more maneuvering to the Customization area under settings and having to scroll through all the entities to find the one you want to customize.

From here, you can choose the Customize Entity button, which will take you directly to the appropriate entity with a tree view of the Forms, Views, Fields (renamed from Attributes in 4.0), Relationships, and an exciting new features that will be discussed in the future, Charts.

The other option is to choose the Form button, which will take you directly to the Main Form screen for customization - the area where most of the Customizations are focused.  This new Customization tool allows for the direct addition of new Fields/Attributes from the New Field button, along with a Drag and Drop ability using the mouse to change Field positions.

The Field Explorer Window on the right hand side allows for the addition of fields with a Drag and Drop methodology, as opposed to the sometimes cumbersome check box, then moving of fields across tabs and sections in 4.0. 

These simple, but exciting changes will allow for the same Customizations in 4.0 to be done exponentially quicker in CRM 2011.