MS CRM - Actions

We have seen a new category under Processes called Real Time Workflows as one of the Top 10 New features of CRM 2013. In addition to this, we have another exciting feature for developers called Actions, which is also under Processes.

Actions are messages that can be defined for an entity. Out-of-the-box CRM provides a set of pre-defined messages for each entity (like create, update, delete and others), but there can be cases when you want a custom action. For example: approve, reject, delegate or any other action that fits your business needs. Through actions, we can create our own messages for any entity type. Below are the steps to create a sample action.

Here is an example of creating an action when an account record is delegated.

1. Go to Settings > Processes > Click New

2. A screen similar to the workflows/dialogs screen will be displayed with slightly different options.

Enable Rollback: There may be cases when you have a code which runs out of the scope for CRM and you may not be able to roll back the action. The option of rolling back can be disabled for each action.

Direction: You can set either the Argument as an input or Output Argument to an action, by using direction.

Type: Below are the available types of arguments.

3. Once the Arguments are set, the Steps available to add the logic is similar to the workflows.

When the logic is defined for the action, you just need to activate it. Now this action is available for the developers and they can easily call this action from a custom code whenever it is required.

The main advantage of actions is to provide the ability to modify the logic easily whenever a business process is changed. A business user can modify this without the help of a developer. Although you won’t be able to run the actions without a custom code, they are helpful when there is frequent change in the process. Actions can be run by a plugin, a custom workflow, or while doing integration with another system, a custom client application, or JavaScript.

In addition to the messages for a specific entity, CRM 2013 provides an option to create a Global Action. This can be created by selecting the entity name as None (global), as shown below while creating the action in step 1.

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This is useful when you have any common actions that need to be performed for multiple entities or globally across the application.

Now you know how to create actions in Dynamics CRM 2013, which are a powerful and easily manageable feature.

For more helpful tips, keep checking back for more blogs covering Dynamics CRM 2013 features, and check out our events page for upcoming CRM 2013 educational webinars.

Happy CRM’ing!

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Invoke custom actions from a workflow or dialog

In Microsoft Dynamics CRM, workflows and dialogs have numerous capabilities supporting business scenarios. Calling basic SDK actions for a record, such as create, update, and delete, from within a workflow or a dialog solves quite a few business scenarios. However, if you couple the capabilities of the workflows and dialogs with the power of the custom actions invoked directly from within a workflow or a dialog, you add a whole new range of business scenarios to your application without needing to write code.

Let’s look at the scenario in which a custom action is invoked from a workflow and a dialog. We’ll invoke a custom action to request the manager’s approval when a discount for a particular opportunity exceeds 20%.

Create a custom action

Go to Settings > Processes.
On the Nav bar, choose New. Give the process a name and choose the Action category.

To request an approval for the discount, we’re using a custom action called Approval Process. We added an input parameter, SpecialNotes, and aSend email step to create a new message and send a request for the manager’s approval, as shown here.

To configure the email message, choose Set Properties. When the form opens, use the Form Assistant to add special notes and other information to the email, as highlighted on the screenshot. To add the special notes, place the cursor where you want them to appear in the message, and then, in the Form Assistant, under Look for, choose Arguments in the first drop-down list and choose SpecialNotes in the second drop-down list, and then choose OK.

Before you can invoke the action from a workflow or dialog, you have to activate it. After you have activated the action, you can view its properties by choosing View properties.

Activate custom action - approval process

Invoke a custom action from a workflow

Go to Settings > Processes.
On the Nav bar, choose New. Give the process a name and choose the Workflow category.

We created a workflow that invokes the Approval Process custom action whenever the manager’s approval for a discount over 20% for an opportunity is required.

You can set the action’s input properties by choosing Set Properties. We added a name of the account related to the opportunity in the special notes. In the Form Assistant, under Look for, choose Account in the first drop-down list, choose Account Name in the second drop-down list, and then choose OK. The Target property is required and it is populated by the system. The {Opportunity(Opportunity)} in the Target property is the same opportunity that the calling workflow is running on. Alternatively, you can choose a specific opportunity for the target property by using lookup.