Introduction to SharePoint Integration with Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011

 

Applies To: Dynamics CRM 2011

SharePoint Server integration enables document management capabilities in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. There are two aspects to SharePoint Server integration:

  • Setting up SharePoint integration. A system administrator sets up a SharePoint Server environment. The Microsoft Dynamics CRM administrator (a user who has the SharePoint Site Collection Administrator role) selects the Microsoft Dynamics CRM entities for which to enable the document management feature, and specifies the target SharePoint Server. As part of specifying the target server, the Microsoft Dynamics CRM administrator specifies the SharePoint Server site collection or the SharePoint Server site URL by using the SharePointSite entity.

  • Creating and managing SharePoint document location records. Microsoft Dynamics CRM users can create and manage SharePoint Server document location records after SharePoint Server integration is enabled. You can create and manage SharePoint Server document location records by using the SharePointDocumentLocation entity. Microsoft Dynamics CRM also allows for the automatic creation of folders on the server that is running SharePoint Server for entity records under certain conditions. However, automatic creation of folders cannot be done through the Microsoft Dynamics CRM SDK.

By using SharePoint Server document management capabilities, you can control the life cycle of documents in your organization: how they are created, reviewed, published, and disposed or archived. SharePoint Server uses a hierarchical storage model to store and manage documents. Some of the SharePoint Server storage concepts that you should know are as follows: Site Collection, Site, Document Library, and Document Folder. These storage objects provide the framework for the content management infrastructure that SharePoint Server provides. For more information about these storage concepts, see Storage levels: content storage benefits and considerations.

SharePoint Server integration is supported for SharePoint Server 2010, SharePoint Server 2010 Online, SharePoint Server 2007 and SharePoint Server 2007 Online.

For automatic creation of location records on SharePoint Server, you must use SharePoint Server 2010 and the Microsoft Dynamics CRM List Component for Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 must be installed on the target server that is running SharePoint Server. For more information about this component, see below.

If you are using SharePoint Server 2007, the documents from SharePoint Server are displayed in an IFRAME, and folders cannot be automatically created on the server that is running SharePoint Server.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM List Component for Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 is a SharePoint Server solution package file (.wsp) that must be installed (uploaded and activated) on the SharePoint Server site collection on the target SharePoint Server 2010 server to enable the following:

  • View documents that are stored on the SharePoint Server 2010 server in a Microsoft Dynamics CRM List view.

  • Automatic creation of the document locations on the SharePoint Server 2010 server.

You can download and install Microsoft Dynamics CRM List Component for Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 from the Microsoft Download Center. To install this component, you must have SharePoint Server site collection administrator privileges on the target SharePoint Server 2010 server.

When you install Microsoft Dynamics CRM, SharePoint Server integration is enabled by default. However, for a richer user experience, you can do the following:

  • Install Microsoft Dynamics CRM List Component for Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 server.

  • Enable Document Management for Entities: Select the entities in Microsoft Dynamics CRM for which you want to create and manage documents on SharePoint Server. For more information, see Enable Document Management for Entities.

    When you enable document management for an entity in Microsoft Dynamics CRM, a Documents link under the Common group in the left pane is added for the all entity records in the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Web application. You can use the Documents link to create or manage SharePoint Server location records for the entity record.

  • Specify the target SharePoint server: Specify the URL of a site or site collection on the SharePoint Server 2010. This URL is used to automatically create folders and document libraries on SharePoint.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011

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