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In one of our previous blogs “
Updating Icons in Dynamics CRM”, we discussed updating icons manually inside Dynamics CRM using the built in feature inside the
“Settings” option. Despite this working well, there is however 3rd party tools available which simplify the process such as
XRMToolBox.
XRMToolbox is a free application that contains a vast array of tools and helpers used to customise and maintain your Microsoft Dynamics CRM instance. In this blog we will be focusing primarily on the updating of icons inside Microsoft Dynamics CRM. To get started, head over to www.xrmtoolbox.com and download the latest version of the application. The latest version to date is v.1.2016.3.30.
Once you have the application opened, you will notice in the first instance that you will be presented with an overwhelming list of helper tools. Scroll down the list and locate the helper named “Iconator” as highlighted below and select it.
Once you have selected this, you will be asked if you want to establish a connection to an organisation. If you already have a connection setup, then select your connection name and skip over these steps, otherwise Click “Yes” on this box, as we want to connect to the Dynamics CRM instance in order to manage our icons.
You will then be prompted with a connection manager whereby can setup a new connection. Create a new connection by clicking the “New connection” button located at the top.
You will then add your organisation URL. This is typically the web address you see in your web browser URL box once logged into Dynamics CRM. This will be in the format similar to: https://yourorgname.crm4.dynamics.com. If you are having problems connecting with your organisation URL and believe it is correct, please ensure you have the latest version of the XrmToolBox installed.
Enter your username and password and select the “Save password as encrypted string in connections file” checkbox. In this instance I have saved my connection. Press “Connect” to establish connection.
Once you have successfully established a connection, you will be prompted for a memorable name to be used for this connection. Insert something suitable and click "Finish"
If you have established a connection successfully, you will be presented with the Iconator window. In the first instance, this will appear empty. Press the button “Load Entities and Images” located at the top of the window to pull in all your icons from your Dynamics CRM instance.
Once you have all the web resources and entities loaded, you can then assign icons to entities in a few clicks. Before we get to that, we are going to upload some differing icons as an example to be used on an entity. Select the “Add Image(s)” button located at the top of the window.
From the popup window you can now select all of your images and press “Create web resources with selected images” to upload them directly as a web resources into Dynamics CRM. You can select multiple images using the toolbox, which is a real time-saver in comparison to adding each one individually through CRM itself as per our previous blog.
If you do not have any icons available, you can upload a few we have provided through a small zip file for demonstration purposes: XRM Icons.
It is recommended that you upload a small and large image to be used for the icons. Typically, a 16px by 16px and 32px by 23px icon for each entity. It is also recommend using a transparent background for each icon, as you might want to customise the ‘tile colour’ behind the icon in the future.
Once you have uploaded your icons, you will now be able to preview them in the web resources panel on the right hand side. It is worth noting that the icons will be split into tabs of 16x16 and 32x32. If you would like a preview of the icon, you can select it inside the web resources area as per the screenshot below.
Now that we have the icons uploaded and everything is in-place, we can quickly update the icons for entities by selecting the relevant entity name on the left hand side, followed by selecting the appropriate icon within the web resources panel on the right hand side. Once you have selected the icon you would like to use, simply press the
“Map” button to apply this.
It is worth noting that the
“Current icons” panel located at the bottom left of the window. This allows you to preview which icons are assigned to each individual entity when clicked.
Most importantly, once you have made all relevant changes and are satisfied with everything, press the “Apply and Publish” button which is located at the top of the window to update these changes back into your CRM.
If all has worked well, you should now be able to log-in to your Dynamics CRM and view the icons you have uploaded.
For further information, please
Contact Us to discover more on customising your Dynamics CRM. Alternatively, you can visit
C2’s Video Tutorial page. If you would like to try out Dynamics CRM, we offer a
30 day free trial.