The chart and list dashboard components in Dynamics CRM 2011 allow users to see live data at a glance. The dashboard data is live, but sometimes you might need to force a refresh of the data you are viewing.
Carry out the following steps in order to complete this recipe:
- Select the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Overview dashboard from the list of available dashboard items. The dashboard will refresh and build itself using live data from your Dynamics CRM system as shown in the following screenshot.
- Once the dashboard has finished rendering, you will see all the different components such as charts and lists:
- If data has been modified in the system, you might want to refresh a single component of the dashboard; let's say it was the Leads by Source chart. Move your mouse cursor over the chart and a small menu will appear with three items in it.
- Click on the Refresh the chart option (highlighted in the preceding screenshot) and the single Leads by Source chart will refresh while leaving the other dashboard components in their current state, as shown in the following screenshot:
- In order to refresh a list component on a dashboard, locate the green refresh icon, which is located at the top right-hand corner of the list component as shown in the following screenshot:
Clicking on the Refresh list function instructs the Dynamics CRM 2011 system to re-query the dataset that was used to render the component. This means that any changes made to the related data since you first viewed the component will be reflected in the refreshed view.
We will now refresh non-standard dashboard components.
As we will mention in upcoming recipes, a dashboard can contain many different types of components. Some of those items will refer to external components, and as such, they may not support the refresh function. If you are unsure of how to refresh a component built outside of Dynamics CRM 2011, please contact your CRM administrator.