Things I need to remember but always forget!

CRM Email Router and Office 365

2012-01-20T16:45:00.001Z

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We were recently moved from Microsoft Business Productivity Online Standard Suite (BPOS) to the new Office 365 platform.

BPOS was built on the 2007 range of Microsoft’s server products, so the step up to SharePoint and Exchange 2010 is very welcome.

However, I needed to reconfigure our CRM email router to process emails from the new system.

I tried all sorts of weird and wonderful email server URLs and kept being greeted by ‘401 Unauthorised errors’. Using auto-discover seemed to work for a few of the mailboxes, but it was very slow and occasionally stopped working until the Email Router service was restarted.

Finally, I got it working. After accessing webmail from the 365 portal, take the URL from the address bar and adapt it for the Exchange web service URL e.g.

becomes...

My Email Router configuration profiles for both outgoing and incoming mail look like this: -

Now when testing the connection on users and queues, I’m greeted with the familiar Incoming Status: Succeeded message.

Another problem I faced was user passwords being incorrect. Before you are transitioned to Office 365, Microsoft advises you to change your BPOS password, so that it is replicated in the 365 system. If users don’t do this, they won’t be able to access their email until the transition has been marked as complete. Until it has completed, neither administrators or Microsoft support can reset passwords.

Frustratingly, it took 5 days to complete our transition, so some of our users were locked out for quite some time.

Luckily, if the user can remember their old password, they can still sign in with the Microsoft Online Sign-In tool, change their password and then log into Office 365. If they can’t remember it, pray that your transition is a fast one!

Watching Webber and Vettel abuse the streets of Milton Keynes #F1

2011-12-10T15:03:00.001Z

movie.mov Watch on Posterous

Add a CRM Calendar to a dashboard

2011-05-10T17:00:00.001+01:00

Dashboards in Dynamics CRM 2011 are a great way to visualize data. Did you know that they can also be used to view pretty much any other web content?

I’ve recently had a requirement to add the CRM Calendar to a dashboard. I could have simply added a list of appointment activities to the dashboard, but the actual calendar control looks a lot nicer.

To do this, first we need to get the URL of the Calendar page. Load up the IE developer tools (F12 in IE9) and start a profiler. Now navigate to the calendar in CRM and click on ‘Month’, ‘Week’ and ‘Day’ (we want the URL for each page).

Stop the profiler and take a look at the results

As you can see, we’ve got the URLs of the 3 calendar views needed for the dashboard. The URL seems to contain a parameter for the current date in ISO8601 format (YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss). We’ll have to deal with that inside of our web resource.

Now we need to create the web resource which we'll add to the dashboard. We’ll create a simple HTML page with an iframe containing the calendar. We'll also provide some simple navigation to choose between the daily, weekly or monthy calendars.

Note: Some of the onclick code in the links is refusing to display properly below. You can either copy and paste it using the 'Copy to clipboard link' or just view the code here.

<html> <head> <script type="text/javascript"> function ISODateString(d){ function pad(n){return n<10 ? '0'+n : n} return d.getUTCFullYear()+'-' + pad(d.getUTCMonth()+1)+'-' + pad(d.getUTCDate())+'T' + pad(d.getUTCHours())+':' + pad(d.getUTCMinutes())+':' + pad(d.getUTCSeconds())+'Z'} function loadCal(calType){ var today = new Date(); var formattedDate = ISODateString(today); var objFrame = document.getElementById("calendar_iframe"); var calSource = "/calendar/" + calType.toString() +".aspx?date=" + formattedDate; objFrame.src=calSource; } </script> </head> <body onload="loadCal('Month')"> Day Week Month </body> </html>

The loadCal() JavaScript function allows us to pass in the calendar type and changes the iframe according to the selected type. As you can see, when the page loads, the monthly calendar will be displayed. 3 links appear above the iframe allowing the user to choose which calendar they want to view.

The ISODateString() function has been borrowed from Mozilla in order to get the date into the correct format.

Now we need to add our HTML page to the web resource. Edit your dashboard and click on Insert ‘Web Resource’

Now click on the lookup and select ‘New’ from the popup window. Give your resource a name, an optional description and a type of ‘Web Page (html)’.

Click on the Upload File ‘Browse’ button and select the HTML file which we’ve just created.

Click on ‘Save’ and then ‘Preview’. You should now see a working preview of the calendar page.

Close the preview and click on Publish. Once the Publish has completed, just Save and Close the window.

Now just fill in the rest of the web resource form and click Ok

You should now be back at the Dashboard designer where you can position and resize your web resource as required.

Save and Close when done and take a look at your new dashboard!

As you can see, using the IE developer tools, some simple HTML and JavaScript, you can add a number of items to a dashboard which may not be obvious when using the dashboard designer.

Roll out a new font to every user in your domain

2009-03-23T00:57:00.006Z

Our new marketing manager decided that we needed a new font rolled out to all of the users in the company. Not wanting to visit every user, I came up with a handy VB script which I call during the user logon script.

There may well be more efficient ways of doing this but this seemed to do the job!

----------------------------------------------------------------

Const FONTS = &H14&

Set objShell = CreateObject("Shell.Application")
Set objFolder = objShell.Namespace(FONTS)
Set objFSO = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
set shell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")

windowsdir = shell.ExpandEnvironmentStrings("%windir%")
File1 =windowsdir+"\fonts\Fontname1.otf"
File2 =windowsdir+"\fonts\Fontname2.otf"

If objFSO.FileExists (FILE1) then
wscript.quit
end if

If objFSO.FileExists (FILE2) then
wscript.quit
end if

objFolder.CopyHere "\\server\share\fonts\Fontname1.otf"
objFolder.CopyHere "\\server\share\fonts\Fontname2.otf"

----------------------------------------------------------------

At the time of writing, I have still not recieved an email or document written in the new font....

Installing Project Server 2007 to an existing Sharepoint installation

2009-03-22T16:59:00.002Z

I needed to install Project Server 2007 on the same server as my earlier Sharepoint installation. Again, this guide is made up from other articles found on the web but it's how I got the job done.

Install the Project Server 2007 binary files to the Sharepoint Server
1. Run Setup.exe on the Project Server 2007 installation media.
2. Enter your 25 character license key.
3. Read and accept the EULA (I'm sure you really read it).
4. When installation of the binary files is completed, the Setup Complete page is displayed and prompts you to complete the configuration of your server. Make sure that Run the SharePoint Products and Technologies Configuration Wizard now is selected, and then click Close.

Run the SharePoint Products and Technologies Configuration Wizard
To run the wizard, perform the following steps on the server after installing the binary files:

1. The wizard states that it will upgrade SharePoint Products and Technologies. Click Next.
2. Click Yes to the message alerting you that specified services might need to be restarted or reset during the installation. These services will include:

Internet Information Services
Windows SharePoint Services Administration Service
Windows SharePoint Services Timer Service

3. In the Completing the SharePoint Products and Technologies Configuration Wizard page, the configuration will point to the existing configuration settings for the Office Project Server 2007 farm. Click Next to start the configuration process.
4. The Configuration Successful page displays the configuration settings. Click Finish. This automatically opens Central Administration.

Configure the farm services for Project Server application servers
Start the Project Application service
1. From the top navigation on the Central Administration Web site, click Operations.
2. On the Operations page, in the Topology and Services section, select Servers in farm.
3. On the Servers in Farm page, in the Server list, click the server on which you want to start the Project Application service.
4. On the Services on Server page for this computer, in the Service list, find Project Application Service. In the same row under the Action column, click Start.
5. In the Service list, find Project Application Service. In the same row under the Action column, click Start. To see whether the status has changed, you might need to refresh the page.
6. The status for the Project Application service will appear as Started.

Provision the Project Server 2007 site on the farm
1. From the top navigation on Central Administration, click Application Management.
2. On the Application Management page, in the Office SharePoint Server Shared Services section, select Create or configure this farm's shared services.
3. On the Manage this Farm's Shared Services page, in the SSP Name list, select the Shared Services Provider (link on left menu) in which you would like to provision Project Web Access.
4. On the home page for this core service, in the Project Server section, click Project Web Access Sites.
5. On the Manage Project Web Access page, click Create Project Web Access Site.
6. On the Create a New Project Web Access page, do the following:

1. In the Project Web Access Site Location section, from the SharePoint Web Application to
host Project Web Access list, select the name of the extended Web site
you created to host the SharePoint site.
2. In the Project Web Access path box, type the name you will use to specify the URL to the Project Web Access home page. (For example, if you type PWA, the URL to the home page would be http://servername/PWA.)
3. In the Administrator Account section, type the Windows user account that will be given administrative credentials to the Project Server instance.
4. In the Primary Database section, type the name of the computer running SQL Server on which the Published, Draft, and Archive databases will be located. In the three Database Name fields, type unique names for each of the three Office Project Server 2007 databases.
5. In the Reporting Database section, select Use the primary database server if you want the reporting database to be created on the Primary database server that you specified in the previous section. If you want the Reporting database to be created on another computer hosting SQL Server, clear this option and type the name of the SQL Server on which you want it to be created. In the Reporting database name field, type a unique name that you want to use for the Reporting database.

7. Click OK. The provisioning process starts. This may take a few minutes to complete.
8. You will be returned to the Manage Project Web Access page. Click the Refresh Status button to update the status of the provisioning process. When provisioning is finished, Provisioned will appear as an entry in the Status column. When provisioning has been completed, you can click the URL to go to the Project Web Access site.

How to install Microsoft Sharepoint 2007

2009-03-21T16:49:00.008Z

This isn't all my work, it's mainly from other blog posts and MS articles so thanks to the original authors.

Pre-Install
There are several things that you must do before you even insert the SharePoint 2007 CD they are:

* Install Windows 2003/2008 with the latest service pack and all of the latest Windows Updates.
* Join your machine to a domain or create a domain by running DCPromo.exe from the Start > Run dialog.
* Install the .net frameworks v3.5 and v2.0 from Windows Update. You can also download the full redistributable packages if your server is not online.
* Install Windows 'Application Server' from Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel with default settings
* Prepare a service account in your active directory domain to use for all Sharepoint services.

NOTE: Do not use the main domain\administrator account. This causes a problem if ever you wish to install Project Server 2007 on the same machine.

* Give your service account local administrator rights and logon as this account throughout the entire installation process.
* Install SQL 2005 (and latest service pack) with typical settings.
* Assign your service account to the 'Security Administrators' and 'Database Creators' server roles in SQL server (You will need to use SQL Server Management Studio).

Base SharePoint Server Install
You are now ready to install SharePoint 2007 itself, follow these steps:

* Login as your service account
* Insert your CD and run setup.exe if it does not autorun.

NOTE: If you get an error about web service extensions here, ensure that 'ASP.net V2.0.50727' web service extension is allowed in IIS. If it is not in the list, perform a 'repair' on .net 3.0 framework using add/remove programs and then the web service extension will appear in the list. This is caused when IIS is installed after the .net framework

* Enter your CD key and accept the license agreement.
* Choose 'Advanced' on the installation type dialog.

NOTE: The definition of 'Advanced' means that you are using full SQL server (which may or may not be on the same machine). If you had selected 'Basic' then it would have installed the cut down version of SQL (MSDE).

* Select 'Complete' on the Server Type screen and click 'Install Now'. The setup will now commence and you'll get a blue progress bar.
* Once installed you will get a screen with a check box that reads "Run the SharePoint products and Technologies Wizard now". Ensure this is ticked and click 'Close'.
* After a short pause, you'll get a 'Welcome' screen. Click 'Next'.
* You will get a warning that the wizard is about to reset several services, click 'Yes'.
* You'll be asked about the farm configuration, select to 'No, I want to create a new server farm'.
* Provide the database server (your server name) and your account details (account in the domain\user format). Leave the database name as the default. Click 'Next'.
* Leave the authentication mode as 'NTLM', set a specific port number is desired (not required) and click 'Next'.
* You'll get a summary screen; click 'Next' to kick-off the process.

NOTE: If it fails here, it is most likely that you do not SQL setup correctly. Ensure your service account is in the right groups. Please
also note that this section can take a very long time, especially step 2 (up to 45 minutes).

* You'll get a success screen at the end, click 'Finish'.
* The wizard will attempt to load the central administration window. You may need to login here, use your service account. You may also get prompted to add the site to your trusted sites; go ahead and do that.

Services on Server Configuration
The first bit of configuration to do is set your server to host all services. You do not strictly have to enable all of these services, but I find it helps if you are using the machine to test / investigate functionality.

* When the Central Administration screen appears, go to 'Operations' tab, then 'Services on Server'.
* Start the 'Document Conversions Load Balancer Service'.
* Start the 'Document Conversions Launcher Service', you'll have to choose the 'Load Balancer Server'; there should only be one option. If there are no options, ensure that the 'Document Conversions Load Balancer Service' has been started.
* Start the 'Excel Calculation Services'.
* Start the 'Office SharePoint Servers Search' service, observing the following guidelines:
o Tick both Query and Indexing check boxes
o Specify a contact email address (this can be any address)
o Enter your service account in the 'Farm Search Service Account' section
o Accept all other defaults and click 'Start'
* Leave all remaining services in their default configuration

Web Application Setup
The next stage is to create the 3 web applications that will be required to host the basic set of sites for a typical deployment, these are:

* Shared Service Provider Administration Site (Recommended to be called 'SSPAdmin')
* My Site Host (Recommended to be called 'MySite')
* The Main Intranet (or 'Portal') Site (Recommended to be called 'Intranet')

It is much simpler if all of these sites are on port 80 in IIS; this means that you do not have to remember to enter the ports all of the time. However having all three sites on port 80 means that each needs their own Host Header (required by IIS to differentiate between sites on the same port). The simplest way to do this is to create new 'Host (A)' records in DNS for each of your three sites. These should point to the IP address of your server; to do this follows these steps:

* Open the DNS Management tool from Administration Tools on your domain controller
* Navigate to your DNS zone
* Create new 'Host (A)' record
* Enter the Host header (i.e. 'SSPAdmin', 'MySite' or 'Intranet') for the site and the IP address of your server
* Click 'Add Host' and repeat for each of the three sites

Now the DNS entries are configured, we can create the three web applications in SharePoint; follow these steps for all three of your web applications (i.e. 'SSPAdmin', 'MySite' or 'Intranet'):

* In Central Administration, go to the 'Application Management' tab
* Click 'Create or Extend Web Application' and then click 'Create a new Web Application'
* Fill out the new web application screen observing the following points:
* Change the New IIS Site description to read something like 'SharePoint – 80 - ' where is the name of the web application your are creating (i.e. 'SSPAdmin', 'MySite' or 'Intranet')
* Ensure the 'Port' is set to 80
* Set the 'Host Header' to match the DNS record you created (i.e. 'SSPAdmin', 'MySite' or 'Intranet')
* Change the 'Application Pool Name' to match the 'New IIS Site Description'
* Enter your service account for the Application Pool account settings
* Change the 'Database Name' to read something like 'WSS_Content_' where is the name of the web application your are creating (i.e. 'SSPAdmin', 'MySite' or 'Intranet')
* Leave all other settings on default and click 'OK'
* Repeat for all three web applications (i.e. 'SSPAdmin', 'MySite' or 'Intranet')

Shared Service Provider Setup
The next stage is to create the Shared Service Provider (SSP). The SSP is required in order to provide several key services such as Search or My Site. You can read more about SSP on my blog article about it here. To configure the SSP, follow these steps:

* In Central Administration, go to the 'Application Management' tab
* In the 'Office SharePoint Server Shared Services' section, click 'Create or Configure This Farms' Shared Services'
* Click 'New SSP'
* Fill out the 'New Shared Services Provider' screen observing the following guidelines:
* For the 'SSP Administration Site' web application (the first one you get asked for), choose the web application that you created earlier (suggested name was 'SharePoint – 80 - SSPAdmin')
* For the 'My Site Location' web application (the second one you get asked for), choose the web application you created earlier (suggested name was 'SharePoint – 80 - MySite')
* Enter your service account for the 'SSP Service Credentials'
* Leave all other settings on default and click 'OK'
* The creation of an SSP can take some time (up to 1 hour on a virtual machine). When it is finished you will see a 'Success!' screen, Click OK.

Collaboration Portal Site Collection Setup
The next stage is to create a collaboration portal which is one of the more feature-filled site types and represents a typical intranet environment. To do this, follow these steps:

* In Central Administration, go to the 'Application Management' tab
* In the 'SharePoint Site Management' section, choose 'Create Site Collection'
* Fill out the 'Create Site Collection' observing the following guidelines:
* Ensure you have selected the 'Intranet' web application you created earlier (suggested name was 'Intranet')
* Give your site a title ('Intranet' is suggested)
* In the 'Template Selection' section, choose 'Collaboration Portal' from 'Publishing' tab
* Enter you service account for the 'Primary Site Collection Administrator'
* Leave all other settings on default and click 'OK'
*When the 'Top-Level Site Successfully Created' message appears you have created the site, simply click the link that is provided (something like http://intranet)

Configure Indexing
The final step of the process is to configure indexing so that you have some search results. Though this step is optional, it is recommended as it will enable you to use the powerful search capabilities of SharePoint. To configure the index, follow these steps:

* In Central Administration, click the 'SharedServices1' link on the left-side navigation (or whatever you name your SSP)
* When the SSP Administration site appears, click on 'Search Settings' in the 'Search' section
* On the 'Configure Search Settings' page, click 'Content Sources and Crawl Schedules'
* Edit the 'Local office SharePoint Server Sites' content source by hovering your mouse over it and choosing 'Edit'
* Fill out the 'Edit Content Source' observing the following guidelines:
* Set a full crawl schedule to be at least once a day
* Set a incremental crawl schedule for every 10 minutes
* Tick the 'Start Full Crawl of this Content Source' tick-box
* Click 'OK'
* A crawl will now start. Initial crawls normally take up to 10 minutes.

The process is now complete. User should be able to access the main portal from http://intranet (or whatever you called the DNS record).

What's this for then?

2009-03-21T16:47:00.001Z

I'm just going to be using this to post things that I do one day and forget how to do the next. It's mainly work/tech related stuff but hopefully someone else will find it useful too!