Today Microsoft released a compatibility update of the CRM v3 Outlook Client for Vista and Office 2007. V3C is a culmination of new features, updates, and enhancements, driven by our customer commitment in ensuring that users worldwide are able to use their CRM solution against the latest and greatest of Microsoft technologies. These improvements are not simply a rollup of fixes…we have implemented features and updates originally reserved for the Titan release and taken large steps forward with V3C.

 Nearly every aspect of the CRM Outlook Client has been touched and updated…

-          Integration with the Office 2007 “Ribbon”

-          Custom MAPI Store (no more PST file!)

-          SQL Express Edition 2005 SP1

-          Inclusion of all existing client hotfixes

-          Windows Vista Support

o   User Access Control

o   GPO deployments

o   Internet Explorer 7

 

In addition, CRM now also support…

-          Clean installation of V3C

-          Upgrade from CRM V3 Outlook Client to V3C

-          Support for hotfixes and patching using MSP technology

 The release is available at:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=740E1B3B-11C3-4AEF-B2E3-8309E0CF1BB0&displaylang=en

Another one of the lesser know features in CRM is the ability to change (replace) the Active Directory profile of a CRM user.

 

Scenario - I currenty have a CRM User (Alan Jackson) that has an Active Directory logon profile of "ALAN".  Everything is working fine and then I decide that I want to restructure my AD accounts and Alan's profile will become "Alan.Jackson" - how can I change this is CRM?

 

On the CRM Server, open the 'Deployment Manager'.  Expand the 'User Manager' container and click on your organisation to display a list of your CRM users.  Right-Click on the User you want to 'change' and take the 'change user' option - then select the new user.

 

This will then replace the current CRM user with the newly selected user from AD and "ALL" records owned by the previosu user will now be owned by the new user.

 

Having been away most of November I am now back in Sydney.

I was delighted to be a speaker at EMEA Convergence in Germany, which was a very well attended event and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  CRM was a huge focus and very well received.

After that - I took some time off to catch up with friends and family in the UK.