CRM Plugin Registration Tool

NEW POST: SDK to create Steps for existing plugin

Joshi — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 19:36:26 GMT

Hey Ajith,

So i m trying to write the code for the Register New Step. Now the way i want it to work is..

Input to the program is - Guid of the plugintype for which the step is being registered,
-string CustomConfiguration, string Description, string MessageName, string FilteringAttributes, int Mode, int InvocationSource, int Stage, int SupportedDeployment,
string inputPrimaryEntityName, string inputSecondaryEntityName)

I m using sdkmessageprocessing step but ... i m not sure how to convert the MessageName, PrimaryEntity and SecondaryEntitty which are inputted are strings and get messageid and filteringid....
can u help me out....

Some code showing me how to do that would be awesomee..............thanks in advance..............

-Joshi

NEW POST: Import / Export batch

Steeve — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 17:12:24 GMT

Is it possible automate the process in order to import / export without the GUI?

NEW POST: Pre-Stage Plugin not sending Post Image in ExecutionContext

ajithg — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 23:37:33 GMT

Created another discussion as this question does not relate to this
https://code.msdn.microsoft.com/Thread/View.aspx?ProjectName=crmplugin&ThreadId=531

NEW POST: SDK to create Steps for existing plugin

ajithg — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 23:36:41 GMT

Some of you are looking at samples for creating SDKMessageProcessingStep and attaching it to existing plugin

- SdkMessageProcessingStep should be the right choice

- Set the plugintypeid to the pluginType you refer to (Plugin Class)
- You also need to get the SdkMessageId, SdkMessageEntityId
- Set all the properties like Mode, Stage etc.

- Call CrmService.Create method

Look at the sample in the sourcecode of the plugin registartion tool CrmPluginStep.cs

NEW POST: Pre-Stage Plugin not sending Post Image in ExecutionContext

Joshi — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 20:10:09 GMT

Hey Ajith,
I m trying to write a code in C# which will enable me to register a new step to an existing plugin. How do i go abt it ? Thanks in advance.
-Joshi
p.s
I have looked into sdkmessageprocessingstepregistration and sdkmessageprocessingstep classes........ but i m not sure.. how excatly to do this

NEW POST: Pre-Stage Plugin not sending Post Image in ExecutionContext

Joshi — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 20:42:23 GMT

Thanks for the info

NEW POST: Pre-Stage Plugin not sending Post Image in ExecutionContext

ajithg — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 19:59:59 GMT

Look at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc151099.aspx that explains the registration concept.

NEW POST: Pre-Stage Plugin not sending Post Image in ExecutionContext

ajithg — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 19:10:47 GMT

When to use SdkMessageProcessingStepImage? What would it contain?
CRM allows image (SdkMessageProcessingStepImage) to be registered on a step (SdkMessageProcessingStep) for a Plug-in.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc154526.aspx talks about the Messages on which the Image is valid in CRM.
Think of an Image as a snapshot of the entity. If you register a PreImage, then you get the snapshot of the entity before the action is performed. Eg: If you register on PreImage on PreUpdate of Account, you get Account entity snapshot before the update happens, so you know what fields are getting updated by comparing the InputParamters with the PreImage in the Plug-in. On the other hand if you register a PostImage on a PostUpdate of Account, you get the state of the Account after the Account is updated.
Scenarios
1. Customer would like to track the changes to the “SSN” field on the Account entity
a. Register a plugin on the Account Update
b. Register the Post Update plugin
c. Register for Pre, Post Image
i. Compare the SSN value in the Pre and Post Image, If it is changed, then Create a log record (Could be in CRM or any other system)
d. Alternatively they could check InputParameters PropertyBag to see what fields are being sent. If SSN field is present, then we can log the record after comparing with PreImage SSN field
2. Before the Account is Deactivated, a custom field on the account need to be verified for <10000.
a. This can be achieved by registering a PreSetStateDynamicEntity plugin on account. Inside the plugin read the Account attribute new_CanbeDeactivated.
b. Instead of retrieving you can register an Image on that step for a snapshot of the Account entity.
Key point to note is during an operation, if you are making a Retrieve on the same entity, then you can save that call by registering a preimage as we can do that for you and provide that entity in the PluginExecutionContext.PreImages or PostImages propertybag

Thanks
Ajith

NEW POST: Plugin registration error

ajithg — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 18:38:35 GMT

Zoltan

I think you might have compiled the Plugin with a different Microsoft.Crm.sdk.dll

Recovery steps
1. Look at the 64 bit or 32 bit of the system
2. Look at the Microsoft.Crm.Sdk.dll in the GAC, if so that would be read automatically
3. Place the Plugin dll and the Microsoft.Crm.Sdk.dll in the bin\debug folder

Thanks
Ajith

NEW POST: Plugin registration error

zszigethi — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 11:02:54 GMT

Hi all,

After copying microsoft.crm.sdk.dll to the \bin\debug directory of the pluginregistration project (they are neighbours with the pluginregistration.exe, I am still receiving error when trying to register the sample PreAccountPluginRegistration.dll. When I click on the Load Assembly button, the error message window shows:

Sorry for the localized content, the message is that "error when attempting to load an invalid format..."

Please help me in what I made wrong.

Thanks

Zoltan

Unhandled Exception: System.BadImageFormatException: A(z) „Microsoft.Crm.Sdk, Version=4.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35” fájl vagy kódösszeállítás, illetve annak egyik függősége nem tölthető be. Nem megfelelő formátumú program betöltésére történt kísérlet.
a következő helyen: System.Reflection.Assembly._GetExportedTypes()
a következő helyen: PluginRegistrationTool.AssemblyReader.RetrievePluginsFromAssembly(String path) hely: D:\Utils\Microsoft\CRM\Plugin registration\PluginRegistration_2.1\PluginRegistration 2.1\AssemblyReader.cs, sor: 59
a következő helyen: PluginRegistrationTool.AssemblyReader.RetrievePluginsFromAssembly(String path)
a következő helyen: PluginRegistrationTool.RegistrationHelper.RetrievePluginsFromAssembly(String pathToAssembly) hely: D:\Utils\Microsoft\CRM\Plugin registration\PluginRegistration_2.1\PluginRegistration 2.1\RegistrationHelper.cs, sor: 49
a következő helyen: PluginRegistrationTool.PluginRegistrationForm.btnLoadAssemblyClick(Object sender, EventArgs e) hely: D:\Utils\Microsoft\CRM\Plugin registration\PluginRegistration2.1\PluginRegistration 2.1\PluginRegistrationForm.cs, sor: 127

NEW POST: Pre-Stage Plugin not sending Post Image in ExecutionContext

Joshi — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:23:35 GMT

Hi, I am new to CRM and i am trying to find out when i would use the CRM Image entity. I know the image class captures pre and post attributes related to an entity. However, I would like to find out more about Images and when and how it can be used. In other words a scenario describing how and why to use Images is what i am looking for. Can sb please help me???

NEW POST: Command Line mode?

ajithg — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 21:56:24 GMT

I did add some enahncements like reading the connnections.xml but it is very easy for you to extend it to call couple of more commands like in the Submit of Import Export. I dont have it planned for now but can add for next release. It should be 5-6 lines of code.

UPDATED WIKI: Home

ajithg — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 21:54:08 GMT

Resource Page Description
Plugin for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0

Are you facing problems in registering plug-ins? Are you wondering if you could get a tool to generate the Xml and deploy plug-ins via Import / Export just like the way customizations are deployed? Are you confused with the various tools that shipped with SDK and how to use the registration API? If the answer is yes, then it is worth downlaoding the released project.

Do you need sample plugins then it is a good source for them

PluginRegistration tool is enhanced version of the tool that is published with Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 SDK. Look at the Downloads tab to get more information on the feature set.

Walkthrough, ReadMe are included in the zip file

Sample Plugins are available for download from http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/crmpluginsamples

Developer Scenario: An ISV creates a plug-in and registers it on Contact Create as PreCallout (Aka BeforeMainOperation Plug-in). He can then debug the plug-in by registering on Disk. Once the errors are fixed, he can then update the pluginassembly to be uploaded to the database.
Deployment Scenario: An ISV builds few plug-ins and registers on multiples steps. Images are registered on few of them. He tests them in the Dev environment but would like to port the registrations to a different organization. PluginRegistration tool supports Export and Import of the solution xml to solve this scenario.
Admin Console: Couple of ISV installs their plug-ins on a Customer Organization. Admin at the Customer side saw some problems with “Contact Create” action. He would like to know what plug-in are fired and what the pipeline is for the “Contact – Create”. He then finds the trouble causing plug-in and disables it. So it is all about troubleshooting. PluginRegistration tool solves this problem by allowing Enable/Disable/Unregister operations on steps, plug-in.

Complete feature-set of the tool

Register a pluginassembly, step and image. Validates the data before sending to CRM
Update pluginassembly, step and image
Unregister a pluginassembly shall cascade unregister all the children
Enable, Disable a step
Auto retrieve all CustomEntities information from the organization when registering the step
Allows setting more values on step (e.g.: configuration, secureconfiguration, filteringattributes, etc.)
Auto retrieve CustomAttributes on entity when registering images
Search the pluginassembly, type, steps, images by names
Visualize the status of the CRM Organization multiple views

View by Assembly : What steps are registered on what plug-in
View by Entity : What steps are registered on an entity(e.g.: contact)
View by Message : What steps are registered on a message (e.g.: create)

Shows the list of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 callouts registered in the organization
Work with multiple organizations at the same time
Exports the Xml in the same format that can be accepted by PluginDeveloper tool

Works with https:// or SSL based Installs. (SDK calls)
- I Accept all Server Certificates. If you need to change the code look in the CrmConnection.myCertificateValidation implementation
Shows the Endpoints returned by the Discovery service before making call to CrmService SDK
- This allows you to change the endpoint from the client if Discovery service information is not correct for registering plugins. This usually is needed for IFD or for troubleshooting purposes
Images for Parent and Subordinate entitities for Merge request
- Now you can register an Image for Subordinate entity also for Merge request. You shall get a pop-up that asks if you need to register for Subordinate or parent

Works on IFD only if logged on the Deployment server using AD auth
Import Solution honors ImageType in the xml
Works with Visual Studio 2008
Restricts registering PreImage for PreCreate

NEW POST: Command Line mode?

rgsiii — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 19:11:09 GMT

Does this tool also support Command Line execution for automated deployment/registration?
Once we have a steps xml created, we need to deploy all plugins in an automated fashion from the command line.

NEW POST: KBArticle Plugin CRM 4.0 Bugs

ajithg — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 18:28:02 GMT

Hadi

What is the Step registartion? Is it the Child pipeline or Parent? Is it on Update or SetStateDynamicEntity Message?

Thanks
Ajith

NEW POST: KBArticle Plugin CRM 4.0 Bugs

haditeo — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 06:47:30 GMT

Hi,

I am monitoring the statecode or statuscode of the kbarticle entity for PreEntity and PostEntity Images using Plugin.

But the PreEntity image for the statecode has been CHANGED so now the PreEntity and PostEntity Images for statecode and statuscode have the SAME value, so i cannot monitor the status changes let's say from Draft to Unapproved or Unapproved to Published.

Thanks,

Hadi Teo.

NEW POST: SSL: How to make the tool work on HTTPS?

ajithg — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 06:47:36 GMT

Look at the Ver 2.1

UPDATED RELEASE: Plugin Registration Tool 2.0 (Bug Fixes) (May 05, 2008)

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 19:35:40 GMT

!! Alert: I see people downloading from both releases, so i updated the original release with all the latest code.

I have fixed couple of bugs in the tool. It is now in sync with the *Microsoft CRM SDk 4.0* release. If there are any major changes I would update the code, else it is going to be the same. (No major work is planned !!!).

# Works on IFD only if logged on the Deployment server using AD auth
# Import Solution honors ImageType in the xml
# Works with *Visual Studio 2008*
# Restricts registering PreImage for PreCreate

Thanks
AjithG

UPDATED WIKI: Home

ajithg — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 19:21:20 GMT

Resource Page Description
Plugin for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0

Are you facing problems in registering plug-ins? Are you wondering if you could get a tool to generate the Xml and deploy plug-ins via Import / Export just like the way customizations are deployed? Are you confused with the various tools that shipped with SDK and how to use the registration API? If the answer is yes, then it is worth downlaoding the released project.

Do you need sample plugins then it is a good source for them

PluginRegistration tool is enhanced version of the tool that is published with Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 SDK. Look at the releases tab to get more information on the feature set.

Walkthrough, ReadMe are included in the zip file

Sample Plugins are available for download from http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/crmpluginsamples

Developer Scenario: An ISV creates a plug-in and registers it on Contact Create as PreCallout (Aka BeforeMainOperation Plug-in). He can then debug the plug-in by registering on Disk. Once the errors are fixed, he can then update the pluginassembly to be uploaded to the database.
Deployment Scenario: An ISV builds few plug-ins and registers on multiples steps. Images are registered on few of them. He tests them in the Dev environment but would like to port the registrations to a different organization. PluginRegistration tool supports Export and Import of the solution xml to solve this scenario.
Admin Console: Couple of ISV installs their plug-ins on a Customer Organization. Admin at the Customer side saw some problems with “Contact Create” action. He would like to know what plug-in are fired and what the pipeline is for the “Contact – Create”. He then finds the trouble causing plug-in and disables it. So it is all about troubleshooting. PluginRegistration tool solves this problem by allowing Enable/Disable/Unregister operations on steps, plug-in.

Complete feature-set of the tool

Register a pluginassembly, step and image. Validates the data before sending to CRM
Update pluginassembly, step and image
Unregister a pluginassembly shall cascade unregister all the children
Enable, Disable a step
Auto retrieve all CustomEntities information from the organization when registering the step
Allows setting more values on step (e.g.: configuration, secureconfiguration, filteringattributes, etc.)
Auto retrieve CustomAttributes on entity when registering images
Search the pluginassembly, type, steps, images by names
Visualize the status of the CRM Organization multiple views

View by Assembly : What steps are registered on what plug-in
View by Entity : What steps are registered on an entity(e.g.: contact)
View by Message : What steps are registered on a message (e.g.: create)

Shows the list of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 callouts registered in the organization
Work with multiple organizations at the same time
Exports the Xml in the same format that can be accepted by PluginDeveloper tool

Works on IFD only if logged on the Deployment server using AD auth
Import Solution honors ImageType in the xml
Works with Visual Studio 2008
Restricts registering PreImage for PreCreate

CLOSED ISSUE: Can't load assembly for a plugin

ajithg — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 19:19:37 GMT

Hi!

When I try to register a plugin from the CRM 4.0 sdk I receive the following error message:

Unhandled Exception: System.IO.FileNotFoundException: Could not load file or assembly 'Microsoft.Crm.Sdk, Version=4.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35' or one of its dependencies. The system cannot find the file specified.
at System.Reflection.Assembly._GetExportedTypes()
at System.Reflection.Assembly.GetExportedTypes()
at PluginRegistrationTool.AssemblyReader.RetrievePluginsFromAssembly(String path) in C:\<path>\PluginRegistrationV2\PluginRegistration\AssemblyReader.cs:line 59
at PluginRegistrationTool.AssemblyReader.RetrievePluginsFromAssembly(String path)
at PluginRegistrationTool.RegistrationHelper.RetrievePluginsFromAssembly(String pathToAssembly) in C:\<path>\PluginRegistrationV2\PluginRegistration\RegistrationHelper.cs:line 49
at PluginRegistrationTool.PluginRegistrationForm.btnLoadAssembly_Click(Object sender, EventArgs e) in C:\<path>\PluginRegistrationV2\PluginRegistration\PluginRegistrationForm.cs:line 127

Do you have a fix for this problem?
Thanks in advance,
Beatrice
Comments: Need to add the depenedent dlls in same directory