Dynamics 365 Monthly Update-December 2017

Featured News

Dynamics 365 administrators will be notified via the O365 Message Center and will receive an email when the Dynamics 365 version 9.0 Update is available. The target to make update scheduling available is January 2018, and the window for processing the scheduled updates is February 2018 – August 2018.

To see the update availability, navigate to the UPDATES tab in the Dynamics 365 Administration Center. Instances that are eligible for upgrade will have a Status of ‘Update available’.  From there, customers can schedule their update and book preferred and alternate dates.

Customers can upgrade to version 9.0 from version Dynamics 2016 (8.0), Dynamics 2016 UPD1 (8.1) or Dynamics 365 (8.2). For more information on the update process, see Manage Updates.

Note: The update availability to Dynamics 365, version 9.0 for Dynamics 365 Government and Dynamics 365 Germany is not part of this announcement. The availability of version 9.0 for these customers will be announced at a later date.

Reminder: The Microsoft Dynamics Marketing service will be discontinued effective May 15, 2018. Customers will need to take advance action prior to May 15, 2018, to transition to an alternative solution and continue automating their business marketing activities.

Microsoft is pleased to announce that some customers can get early access to the Public Preview for Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Marketing in select countries and languages (Microsoft field resources, Dynamics 365 MVPs and Microsoft Dynamics Marketing (MDM) customers). An announcement will be made when the preview is available to all customers and partners.

For more details on the new service, Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Marketing, review the training section below.

Updates & Releases

Portal capabilities version 8.3.3.153 for Microsoft Dynamics 365 is now available. This release includes an updated portal host and updated solution packages (new solution packages will be available after portal host upgrades have been completed globally). The portal host will automatically be updated by Microsoft, but action must be taken by your organization to upgrade the solution packages.

This update resolves the following issues:

· Added a new error message for password confirmation screen when attempting to send email fails due to contact email preference being disabled.

· Case timelines would display encoded html tags for emails that have originated from within Dynamics 365 making them difficult to read.

· Deactivated forum threads appear on the portal.

· External Web Links in navigation may redirect to the home page instead of the intended external URL.

· Fields that are using DateOnly behavior may not display the correct date on entity lists.

· Increased cache performance of knowledge articles in portal.

· Portal may experience an error when uploading a file that is larger than the configured maximum size instead of displaying the configured file size error text.

For more information, review this support article.

Microsoft Social Engagement 2017 Update 1.11 is ready for release in December 2017.

New and updated features include:

• Support for Twitter's extended tweet length
• A new table view added to existing charts so uses can view the data as a chart or a table
• A new styling for charts with colored areas now includes patterns in addition to solid colors

Resolved issues include:

• Updated the mapping of the language recognition for private messages
• Updated Social Engagement documentation regarding Facebook Acquisition Tokens, Facebook comment actions, adding Custom Tags, and requirements for YouTube Engagement actions

For more information, review What’s new in Microsoft Social Engagement 2017 Update 1.

Voice of the Customer for Dynamics 365 (9.0.823.1 - 9.0.959.8) is live on all Geos. This version of Voice of the Customer is compatible with Dynamics 365 version 8.2 and later.

New and updated features include:

• Changed the way survey responses are sent to the Dynamics 365 database to improve reliability
• The previous limitations of maximum 2400 survey responses per day has been removed and the number of email survey invitations has been increased to 50000 to improve scalability
• Made change tracking available on Voice of the Customer entities

Resolved issues include:

• Feedback entity does not work properly on all locales specified in Dynamics 365
• The default count resets to five in a start-rating question even after modification
• Respondent can skip Single Rating question even though it is marked as mandatory

For more information, see What’s new in Voice of the Customer version 9.0.823.1 to 9.0.959.8.

The latest update to the Field Service application and Project Service Automation application for Dynamics 365i snow available. This release is compatible with Dynamics 365 9.0.x. To update to this release, go to the Admin Center for Dynamics 365 online, solutions page to install the update.

Field Service enhancements (7.2.0.43)

New and updated features include:

• Improved logic when changing a booking status from Cancelled to Active (not cancelled)
• Removed unused views and renamed forms for Field Resource Hub
• Changed command name for completing Service Tasks to "Mark Complete"

Resolved issues include:

· Add New Product line item doesn’t work on the opportunity, quote, order, or invoices form

· After creating a work order type, the error "Object reference not set to an instance of an object" appears when the user saves the Quote Booking Setup on a related tab

· When a Dispatcher clicks the Book button on a work order, the window doesn’t load

Universal Resource Scheduling Enhancements

NOTE: Improvements and bug fixes for Universal Resource Scheduling apply to Field Service and Project Service Automation as well as to other schedulable entities in the Sales or Service applications.

New and updated features include:

• In the Schedule Assistant view, a new sort option lists the resources with the highest or lowest total available hours in ascending or descending order
• If there are no bookings on the schedule board date range being displayed for a resource, the expand arrow no longer shows
• When resource capacity is less than the requested hours and the booking method is front load, the user can’t book a resource from the schedule board

Resolved issues include:

• On the schedule board, only first page results are displayed for the list of resources when switching from horizontal to vertical view
• When popping out the schedule board in Internet Explorer, clicking a resource cell doesn’t select all the grids
• Clicking resources to select cells takes 10 seconds on Internet Explorer and 3 seconds on Google Chrome

For more information, review the Release Notes for Field Service and Project Service Automation Update Release 2 post in the Dynamics 365 Team blog.

The latest update to Resource Scheduling Optimization (v2.0.17335.1) is now available. This release is compatible with both Dynamics 365 8.2.x and Dynamics 365 9.0.x. To update to this release, visit the Admin Center for Dynamics 365 online, Applications page, to apply the update.

New and updated features include:

• Performance improvements for end-to-end optimization

Resolved issues include:

• On Dynamics 365 9.0.x organizations, the Refresh button on the Optimization Request grid on the RSO scope-related schedule board doesn't refresh the grid
• On Dynamics 365 9.0.x organizations, the RSO scope-related schedule board lock icon isn't showing on Edge
• Optimization requested fails with the error message: “System failed to modify some bookings” even though there is no booking being modified during the optimization run
• On Dynamics 365 9.0.x organizations, booking details for optimization don't show unchanged bookings

For more information, review the Release Notes for Resource Scheduling Optimization (v2.0.17335.1) – Dynamics 365 post in the Dynamics 365 Team blog.

Additional News

FastTrack for Microsoft Dynamics 365 is a service designed to help customers move to Dynamics 365 smoothly and confidently. Customers will receive guidance on best practices, how to plan for successful rollouts and learn ways to enable new users and expand capabilities.

Services include:

• Data migration & validation
• Assist in go-live activities
• Support user adoption
• Conduct Technical Talks and Workshops

For more information on eligibility and available services, please see https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/get-started/fasttrack/customer-engagement/microsoft-fasttrack-dynamics-365.

Sort available resources by total available time

In the December 2017 update, out-of-the-box functionality was added that allows users to sort resources by total availability. Previously, the system included two out-of-the-box options for sorting results when searching for available resources, plus any additional custom sort options. Now the system includes this third sort option.

For more information, review this post on the Dynamics 365 Team Blog.

In a previous releases, scheduling extensibility was introduced, opening up countless new scenarios for field service organizations. Now, with the December 2017 update, a custom query can include the date range displayed on the schedule board to return matching bookings within that date range. In the past, customers could modify the custom query and resource card to count of booking for each resource, but not with the knowledge of the date range from the schedule board. Now, customers can query the dates displayed on the board, and return data relevant to the date range.

For examples, review this article in the Dynamics 365 Team blog: https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/crm/2017/12/15/new-use-schedule-board-date-ranges-in-custom-queries-in-universal-resource-scheduling/

Increased threshold allows for search of more resources

In our December 2017 update, the limit for the number of resources that can be searched at a time has been increased from 100 to 1,000. If a search returns more resources than the limit, the search still successfully completes using the top matches.

For details on how the search function works, review the following blog post: https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/crm/2017/12/15/increased-threshold-allows-for-search-of-more-resources-at-once-in-universal-resource-scheduling/

To see all the features and enhancements for the Universal Resource Scheduling December Updates, review

What’s new in Universal Resource Scheduling for Dynamics 365 December Update 1

What’s new in Universal Resource Scheduling for Dynamics 365 December Update 2

Training Corner

When users in a tenant create a Dynamics 365 30-day email trial, these trials will show up in the tenant’s Admin Center. This is by design however, administrators have the ability to prevent their users from creating trials against their tenant.

Once blocked, users will receive a message to contact their organization’s admin. The process of blocking requires using Windows Powershell and Azure Active Directory Module for Windows PowerShell. Administrators can also block signups for free Power BI. For more information and instructions, review the following articles:

Ability to disable Sign Ups for the Free Power BI

Connect to Office 365 PowerShell

Dynamics 365 for Marketing

Dynamics 365 for Marketing is a marketing-automation application that helps turn prospects into business relationships. The app is easy to use, works seamlessly with Dynamics 365 for Sales, and has built-in business intelligence. Some of the reasons to use Dynamics 365 for Marketing are:

• Create graphical email messages and online content to support marketing initiatives
• Use the drag-and-drop journey designer to create an automated, multichannel campaign that sends personalized email messages, generates follow-up activities, launches workflows, and more
• Connect to LinkedIn and import Leads into Dynamics 365
• Use dashboards and reports to track the performance of your marketing initiatives, and to identify your best lead sources and marketing activities

For more information about Dynamics 365 for Marketing, review this article on the Dynamics 365 Documentation site https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/customer-engagement/marketing/overview

Summit EMEA is the User Group (UG) conference that brings Microsoft Dynamics 365, AX and CRM users, industry experts and software development vendors together to discuss important issues, to learn about product updates, and to find genuine solutions that suit your business needs.

Attendees will have direct access to:

• Exceptional, quality content: Technical and functional training for all product versions in a focused environment that you can utilize 365 days a year
• Engaging, organized networking opportunities: Opportunities to connect and network with user group peers, partners and Microsoft team members
• Access to experts: Learn from Dynamics experts on a personal basis including: MVPs, experienced fellow users, Microsoft Engineers and Microsoft Support Technicians

Register now and save with early bird pricing until 31 January.

The July 2017 Update for Dynamics 365 introduced a new feature that supports Business Process Flows as an entity. Customers can now work with each Business Process Flow as its own entity through dashboards, grids, and charts. This also means that you have the ability to interact with them through Dynamics 365 workflows.

For an example on how to accomplish this, review the following blog post: https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/crminthefield/2017/12/18/automate-business-process-flow-stages-using-workflows/

Ideas for Microsoft Dynamics 365

Help us improve Microsoft Dynamics 365 and its family of products and solutions by discussing ideas, providing suggestions, and giving feedback. Use the forums listed on the Ideas page to share your thoughts. Search through the existing ideas, before suggesting a new one, and you can vote on them to help increase visibility.