Microsoft Dynamics CRM User Interface

Understanding the Microsoft Dynamics CRM User Interface

Microsoft Dynamics CRM offers two primary user interfaces: the Web client and Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook

Using Views to Filter Data Records

you’re ready to start working with data records. Microsoft Dynamics CRM uses a view to display a list of data records in a grid. You will spend a lot of time working with views, so it’s important that you understand the utilities Microsoft Dynamics CRM offers to work with views of data.

Each view can contain an unlimited number of data records. Microsoft Dynamics CRM splits the view data into multiple pages of records, so you might need to click the page arrows located in the lower-right corner of the view to access the additional records contained in your view. If the page arrows are disabled, your view does not contain multiple pages of records.

Bulk Editing Records in a View

As you work with various records in a view, you might want to update the data in multiple records at one time. Microsoft Dynamics CRM includes a bulk edit feature that allows you to select multiple records in a view and edit them with one form instead of having to modify each record individually. This tool can provide a significant time savings if you need to modify a large number of records. Although this bulk edit feature is very convenient, it does contain a few notable restrictions:

• If a particular field contains programming script behind the scenes (as configured by your system administrator), you cannot edit the data in that field with the bulk edit tool.
• You cannot use the bulk edit tool to remove values from a field. You can only modify or add data to a field.
• You cannot use the bulk edit tool to edit certain fields in Microsoft Dynamics CRM, such as the Parent Customer field of an account or contact record.
• The bulk edit tool updates only the selected records on the page; you cannot use it to update all of the records in the view if the records span multiple pages.
• If a data field is read-only on the form, you cannot edit it with the bulk edit tool.

Using Quick Find to Search for Records in a View

Even with the sorting features in views, sometimes it can be time consuming to manually look for a particular record if the view contains a large number of records. To help address this concern, Microsoft Dynamics CRM includes a Quick Find feature that allows you to search for records by using keywords or wildcard characters. You can find the Quick Find search box above the grid and to the left of the View selector. To use it, enter a search phrase and press Enter on the keyboard or click the button with the magnifying glass to start the search. Even though Quick Find is simple to use, there are a few tips and tricks that will help you find records more efficiently.

Your system administrator can configure Microsoft Dynamics CRM to search for matching records across multiple columns. For example, you can search for particular contacts by name, phone number, or e-mail address. You can even include custom data fields as part of the search criteria.

Using Lookups and Automatic Resolution

One of the main benefits of any customer relationship management system is that you can use the software to create relationships between records in your database. These relationships allow you to understand the different types of data about your customers, vendors, and partners, and how they interact with one another. The Microsoft Dynamics CRM user interface displays the link between two records by using a lookup. The default contact form includes two lookups: one for the Parent Customer and one for the default Currency.

Using the Resource Center

Microsoft Dynamics CRM includes a Resource Center that provides additional information about the software. The Resource Center contains dynamic content hosted on the Microsoft servers, and Microsoft provides continual updates to this content. You need an Internet connection to access content from the Resource Center. The Resource Center organizes information into five different sections:

• Highlights
• Sales
• Marketing
• Service
• Settings
  
  

Key Points

• To sort records in a view, click the column heading to toggle the records in ascending or descending order. To sort by more than one column, hold down the Ctrl key and click a second column header.
• To select records in a view, use the Ctrl or Shift key to select multiple records. Selecting the check box selects all of the records on the page, but not all of the records in the view.
• Bulk editing allows you to modify multiple records at once, but you can only bulk edit records one page at a time.
• The Quick Find feature allows you to search for records in a view. You can use the asterisk (*) as a wildcard character in your searches.
• Lookups link records in the user interface. You can use the automatic resolution feature by typing text directly into the lookup field.
• You can modify your personal options to specify your preferences, including the start page when Microsoft Dynamics CRM first loads or the number of records displayed on each page.