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There are multiple ways in MS Dynamics CRM (MS CRM) to help users using the system. Next to training and external guides, the system can also provide information. In the system the help files (on the top right of every screen) can be improved. As you will know this has advantages and disadvantages.

Another option is to improve the tooltips.

The modifying and maintaining of the tooltips will be discussed in this post.

A tooltip is a small box, which contains a brief text message explaining the field. It appears below the label of a field on the MS CRM forms when the pointer of a mouse passes over or rests on that label and which contains a brief text message identifying or explaining the object. When the pointer moves away from the label the tooltip disappears.

Tooltips are available on every field on a MS CRM form. The current tooltips show the text of the label, which, in my opinion, does  not have any benefits. If you can read to label, you can read to tooltip. But the good thing is, we can change the contents of the current tooltips.

At the moment the only restrictions to the tooltips are that only unformatted text can be used and that the total amount of characters is no more than 512.

The onLoad code:

crmForm.all.new_attribute_c.title = “contents of the tooltip”

Example:

Fields in Ms Dynamics CRM cannot be set to read-only!!!
Ok, a little explanation and a demo script to show what I’m implying.

Yesterday a customer asked me to change the text in a read-only field. I’m system administrator on their system, so the easiest way should have been to change the Field Properties of the attribute, but this would allow all users to change this attributes on all records.
Another option would be to use the Enrich Functionality, described in this post.

I tried a third option, triggering javascript via the Address Bar of Internet Explorer. The usage may be well know, but I never thought of using it to modify read-only fields on records. Well, it is surprisingly easy. All you need to know it the id of the attribute you want to modify. (The id can be found with something like the IE Developer Toolbar.)
If you have the id the code is easy and you only have to copy it into the address bar of the record you want to modify:

javascript:crmForm.all.new_attribute.DataValue = "read-only doesn't work for me"; crmForm.all.new_attribute.ForceSubmit = true; crmForm.Save();

This means every user with modify rights on a record can change read-only field on that record.

Via the Advanced Find it is very easy to query on all kind of things within MS Dynamics CRM. The functionality is great. The only thing is, it does not always give you the right result. This has nothing to do with the Advanced Find functionality but everything with understanding the underlying Microsoft SQL Server Database.
If you use a bit (checkbox) value, you can assume there are only two values: YES and NO. But this is incorrect. In the database 3 values can be used for a bit value: YES, NO and NULL. On the forms in CRM the NO and the NULL are perceived the same, both as NO. When you query a checkbox, with the query ‘Checkbox Equals No’, you will only get the records where the bit is actually NO. The records with a NULL value in the database are not included in the result. In case you want the NO and the NULL values, you can better query ‘Checkbox Does Not Equal Yes’.

In other words I recommend to query always on the positive (YES) value when querying a checkbox.
So I recommend ‘Checkbox Equals Yes’ and ‘Checkbox Does Not Equal Yes’.