Configuration and Customization

Chapters 11, “Configuring Microsoft CRM,” and 14, “Customizing Microsoft CRM,” respectively, deal with the subjects of configuration and customization. We differentiate between these two concepts by defining changes that can be made with a Microsoft CRM GUI (Graphical User Interface) tool as being configuration and changes requiring direct file manipulation (coding and configuration file editing) as customization.

Changes made to Microsoft CRM using the configuration tools provided are automatically pushed out to the CRMSO client application. If you add new schema fields in Schema Manager, and then add those fields to new tabs and sections on forms, these changes will be pushed out to the offline users without any additional effort on your part. If you create new mappings using Schema Manager, these mappings will be respected in CRMSO. This is all built into the CRM platform and is transparent to both users as well as system administrators.

This is really quite impressive if you think about it. Take the case of adding a new field to a form. The user only has to provide the name, data type, list values (if picklist), and form placement for the field using simple GUI tools. The platform takes care of creating a new field in the database, adding a graphical representation of the field (including the corresponding UI control) to the appropriate Web form, and then setting up the schema change and ongoing replication to the offline database. That's a lot not to have to worry about.

Customization is another story. Microsoft has provided ways for ISV's (Independent Software Vendors) to add new tabs and buttons to existing Microsoft CRM screens. For version 1.0, these tabs and buttons cannot be created in CRMSO as they can be in the Web client. This is not to say that an industrious developer couldn't make this happen, but it is not something that is supported or encouraged.