Retrieve CRM Data From API

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Data can be retrieved from the Dynamics CRM API using the .retrieve function once a connection to the iOrganizationService has been established. The format of the retrieve function is as follows:

retrieve([Entity Name], [Entity GUID], [Entity Column Set])

e.g.

 

The "Entity Name" is simply the name of the entity that you wish to retrieve as named in CRM. If you are unsure as to what this is then check the name of the entity within the "customize the system" section of the CRM web interface.

The "Entity GUID" is simply the GUID for the entity that you wish to return. for more information on how to retrieve the GUID of an entity from the web interface please see - http://www.c2software.com/c2-blog/return-crm-guid.aspx

The "Entity Column Set" is a list of each of the attributes that you wish to retrieve. You can use "True" as a parameter rather than a list of string and this would return all columns but this is not advised. Using "True" is the equivalent of using "Select * From" in SQL. It will take longer for the query to return and will bring back more data than you require. Instead a list of string values should be used. The string values should relate to the attribute names in the CRM (these can be checked and found within the "customize the system" section of the CRM web interface for each entity). Please note that the attribute names should also always be in lower case.

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