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Edit the Site Map

Before you can edit the Site Map, you must export an unmanaged solution that contains the Site Map. The solution can be the default solution, or, to reduce the amount of data exported, you can add the Site Map to a new solution.

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Site Map Editors

There are at least two free applications are available to facilitate editing the Site Map.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM SiteMap Editor
Released by Microsoft Dynamics Labs

SiteMap Editor for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011
Released by Microsoft CRM MVP Tanguy Touzard

While these applications streamline the process to edit the Site Map, they still require that you have some understanding of the Site Map XML Schema. For more information, see Site Map XML Reference.

noteNote
Microsoft Dynamics CRM technical support does not provide support for these applications. If you have questions about these applications, contact the application publisher.

Editing the Site Map Manually

If you do not use one of the Site Map editor applications, you can edit the Site Map manually using the following steps.

To edit the Site Map

  1. In the Navigation Pane, click Settings, click Customizations, and then click Solutions.

  2. Add the Site Map to a new or existing unmanaged solution. In the solution, select Client Extensions from the list of Components. Select Add Existing, and then select Site Map. Then click Export Solution.

  3. Extract the files from the compressed .zip file.

    TipTip
    Keep the compressed .zip file as your backup.

  4. In the customizations.xml file, locate the SiteMap node at ImportExportXml/SiteMap/SiteMap.

  5. Edit the SiteMap node.

    noteNote
    Editing XML is much easier if you use an editor that provides schema validation. Free applications that you can download and install such as Visual Web Developer 2010 Express or XML Notepad 2007 can be associated with the CustomizationsSolution.xsd file located in the SDK\Schemas folder in the SDK download package.

  6. Create a new compressed .zip file, including the extracted solution files and your edited customizations.xml.

    TipTip
    In Windows Explorer, select all the files. Then right-click and select Send To and Compressed (zipped) folder.

  7. Import the new solutions file.

    1. In Microsoft Dynamics CRM, click Settings, click Customization, and then click Solutions.

    2. Click Import.

    3. Click Browse, locate your modified solutions .zip file, click Next, and then click Import.

    4. When the import is finished, click Close.

  8. Publish the customizations.

    TipTip
    If you don’t see the changes right away, in Internet Explorer press F5 to reload the page.

Editing with Schema Validation

XML files are just text; therefore you can edit them with Notepad. But it is much easier and you are less prone to make errors if you use an application that provides schema validation. Free applications that you can download and install, such as Visual Web Developer 2010 Express or XML Notepad 2007, can be associated with the CustomizationsSolution.xsd file located in the SDK\Schemas folder in the SDK download package. When associated with the schema, the XML editing application provides IntelliSense to guide you about using valid XML elements and attributes.

To Use Schema Validation with Visual Web Developer 2010 Express

  1. Open Microsoft Visual Web Developer 2010 Express and from the File menu, select Open File...

  2. Select the customizations.xml file and then click Open.

  3. In the View menu, select Other Windows and then select Properties Window.

  4. In the Properties area, select Schemas and then click the […] button.

  5. Click Add, and in the Open XSD schemas dialog box, navigate to the [SDK install location]SDK\Schemas\CustomizationsSolution.xsd file. Click Open to select the file.

  6. Click OK to close the XML Schemas dialog box.

Encode the Ampersand Character

When you add a URL to the Site Map that includes the ampersand character (&), you must encode it by replacing it with “&”. XML validation fails if you do not encode this character and you will not be able to import the solution. For example:

Correct:
<SubArea Id="new_customSubArea" Url="http://mysite/mypage.aspx?parameter1=value&amp;parameter2=value ">

Incorrect:
<SubArea Id="new_customSubArea" Url="http://mysite/mypage.aspx?parameter1=value&parameter2=value">

Recovering From Errors

The import tool performs validations on the Site Map. If errors occur, the default Site Map is applied and an error message is displayed. You must fix the errors in the Site Map and import it again. However, it is still possible that some errors might occur.

See Also

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 and Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online
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