2. Exporting Dynamic Data to Excel Worksheets
If you are using Microsoft Dynamics CRM as it is intended, your
data changes regularly. The number of records in your database on a
particular day will probably be different the next day, and the data
captured within those records will be updated frequently.
Consequently, the static data you exported to Excel in the past will
probably be out of date after a day or two. You can easily export the
static data again, but you will lose any formatting or additions you
made to the Excel file. Fortunately, Microsoft Dynamics CRM lets you
export dynamic data to Excel so that you can create your desired
output once and refresh your data from within Excel. When you tap the
power of dynamic worksheets, you can set up your file one time and
simply open it when needed. You don’t need to have Microsoft Dynamics
CRM open to benefit from the data within the application.
Additionally, when you place the dynamic file on a shared
network drive, other users can benefit from your report by seeing
their data in the format you created. For example, in the exercise in
this section, you will create a dynamic file from the My Activities view, which shows only those activities
assigned to you. When another user opens the file from his or her
workstation, only that user’s activities will appear.
In this exercise, you will export data to a dynamic Excel file. You will then update your Microsoft
Dynamics CRM application and refresh your data from within Excel to
see the power of the dynamic file in action.
Note
SET UP Use your own Microsoft
Dynamics CRM installation in place of the site shown in this
exercise. Use the Internet Explorer web browser to navigate to your
Microsoft Dynamics CRM website, if necessary, before beginning this
exercise.
-
In the Workplace area, click
Activities.
The default activities view, My Activities, appears. If
there are no activities in the default activities view, create a
new activity for this exercise.
-
Click the Export to Excel
button.
The Export Data To Excel dialog box appears.
-
Select Dynamic worksheet. The
Edit Columns button becomes active.
This button allows you to modify the columns in the output
of your dynamic worksheet, in case you want to add columns or
reorder the fields in the data grid.
-
Click the Edit
Columns button to launch the Edit
Columns dialog box.
-
In the Common Tasks pane,
click Add Columns
.
The Add Columns dialog box appears.
-
Select the check box next to the Last
Updated field to add the modified date to your export,
and then click OK.
The Last Updated field is added to the grid preview in the
Edit Columns dialog box.
-
Click OK to save your changes
and return to the Export Data to
Excel dialog box.
-
Click Export to export the
dynamic data to Excel.
The File Download dialog box appears.
-
Click Save and save the file
to a familiar location, using the file name Dynamic Activity Export.
The Download Complete dialog box displays when the file
has been saved.
-
Click the Open button in the
Download Complete
dialog box to view the Dynamic Activity Export
file.
The file includes the records from the My Activities
view.
Important
You might get a security alert beneath the ribbon in Excel showing
that data connections have been disabled. You can enable the content by clicking
the Options button and selecting Enable This Content.
-
In the Excel file, rename the Activity
Type column header to Type.
-
On the keyboard, press Ctrl+A to select all of the rows in the Excel worksheet. In the
Font Type field, select Tahoma.
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Save the Excel file, and then close Excel.
-
Navigate back to the My
Activities view within Microsoft Dynamics CRM.
-
On the Activities tab of the ribbon, click the
New
button to add a new activity.
The New Activity menu appears.
-
Click the Phone
Call button.
The New Phone Call form appears.
-
Enter a subject, a Regarding value, and a due date.
-
Click the Save and
Close button.
The new activity now appears in the My Activities
view.
-
Open the Dynamic Activity
Export file from within Excel or Windows Explorer.
The new record is now included in your Excel file.
Additionally, the formatting changes you made remain intact. Any
time you open the file from now on, it will automatically
refresh.
If you want to refresh the file without closing and
reopening it, you can simply right-click within the resulting rows
and select Refresh.
