CRM Online Spring 14 and 2013 SP1 supported configurations

Posted on by Keith Cockerham

With the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 Service Pack 1 and CRM Online Spring ‘14 releases, Microsoft are reviewing the list of supported configurations to keep current with technology.

Changes in supported platform software

For the next release, The following operating systems will be unsupported for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server:

  • Windows Server 2008
  • Windows Server 2008 R2
  • Windows Small Business Server (All versions)

    • Support for the following versions of SQL Server will be removed for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server:

  • Microsoft SQL Server 2008
  • Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2

    • Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook support will be removed for:

  • Windows Vista
  • Windows Server 2008 Remote Desktop Services
  • Microsoft Office 2007

    • Currently, Microsoft plan to target Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server only on Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2, and SQL Server 2012 for the next release time frame.

    Microsoft are exploring support for SQL Server 2014 with Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server, but no decision has been made yet.

    Support for Exchange 2007 connectivity to and from the CRM Email Router will be deprecated, which means that only basic testing will be done and on Exchange 2007 and this capability will be removed in the near future.

    Support for Internet Explorer 8 and Internet Explorer 9 will be removed.

    Note that Internet Explorer 8 and 9 will not route to Microsoft Dynamics CRM for phones by default, they will continue to route to the main application. However, they won’t provide an optimal experience and any issues reported will need to be validated on a supported browser.

    Microsoft CRM 2011 Rollup 17 Published

    Posted on by Keith Cockerham

    Microsoft have released Rollup 17 for Microsoft CRM 2011.

    The build number of this release is 5.0.9690.4150. You must have Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Update Rollup 6 (build 5.0.9690.1992) or a later version of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 installed to apply this update rollup.

    As well as over 60 bug fixes, Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Update Rollup 17 introduces compatibility with Internet Explorer 11 when it runs in Windows 8.1 or Windows 7.

    This includes the following supported configurations:

  • The web application when it runs in Internet Explorer 11 on a Windows 8.1-based or Windows 7-based computer
  • Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook (CRM 2011 client) when run in Office 2013 in Windows 8.1

    • You can download Rollup 17 here and view the knowledge base article here

    We maintain a list of all rollups on our Microsoft CRM 2013 Resources page.

    How to remotely wipe a mobile in Office 365 Exchange Online

    Posted on by Keith Cockerham

    Every year, 300,000 mobile phones are stolen in the UK*. Did you know that if your mobile phone is lost or stolen you can remotely erase all data off it using Office 365 and Exchange Online?

    Warning: this will perform a factory reset on your phone and erase all data including personal information, photos and anything stored on memory cards!

    To wipe all data off your phone. Follow the steps below:

    Sign into the Office 365 Outlook Web App using https://mail.office365.com

    Click the Settings cog in the top right corner and click Options.

    Click Phone on the left navigation pane

    Highlight the device you wish to wipe and click Wipe Device

    Click yes to confirm you wish to perform a remote device wipe.

    The device status will change to Wipe Pending

    When the device has been successfully wiped, the status will change to “Remote Device Wipe Successful”

    Note: The remote wipe is sent to your phone when it syncs so if your phone has been disconnected, switched off or your Office 365 password has been changed, remote wipe will not succeed.

    * Source NMPCU

    Office for iPad – now with printing support

    Posted on by Keith Cockerham

    Just over a month ago, Microsoft finally released Office for iPad following months of speculation. In an update this week, Microsoft added the ability to print, the number one requested feature from early adopters. As well as the usual bug fixes, other features added include SmartGuides in the PowerPoint app, which helps users align pictures, text boxes, and other shapes as they’re moved around in a presentation. Microsoft has also added AutoFit to the Excel app, making it a lot easier to adjust the width and height of columns and rows.

    Microsoft adopted the “freemium” approach for Office for iPad, meaning you can download the apps for free from iTunes and use them to read documents, presentations and spreadsheets. But to be able to edit, you’ll need an Office 365 subscription. You can sign up for a free 30 day trial of Office 365 here. An Office 365 subscription licences a user to access the latest version of Microsoft Office from up to 5 devices including PC, Mac, and Android.

    You can download the Word, Excel and PowerPoint from the App Store here. An iPad running iOS 7.0 or later is required.

    If you would like help setting up an Office 365 subscription, please contact us.

    Microsoft Increases OneDrive for Business Storage Space to 1TB

    Posted on by Keith Cockerham

    Yesterday, in a blog post on the Microsoft Office Blog Microsoft announced that they were increasing the storage space on all OneDrive for Business accounts from 25GB to 1TB.

    OneDrive for Business is a “My Documents” folder in the cloud.

    In addition to the increase in storage limit; Microsoft also announced that all Office 365 ProPlus customers will get 1TB of OneDrive for Business storage space as part of their subscription.

    Office 365 subscribers will see the new storage limit applied over the coming months.

     

    How can I sync my emails across multiple devices?

    Posted on by Keith Cockerham

    In the 21st century things have changed. Instead of having one computer, we now have many devices which we use to communicate. Laptops, smartphones and tablets have become the norm.

    One problem many users face using an older system such as POP3 (post office protocol v3) is that when downloading an email to one device, it is no longer available on any other device.

    I use Exchange Online to manage my emails. All my email is stored centrally “in the cloud” meaning I see the same view of emails regardless of which device I access my email from. If I read an email on one device, it syncs to my other devices and is marked as being read. When I read a message on my phone that I may want to respond to when I’m back in the office using a keyboard and bigger screen, I can flag the message for follow up. All this means I can work smarter.

    Another advantage of Exchange Online is Calendars. My calendar syncs across my devices. I can also access my team’s calendars that have been shared with me so I can check their availability and schedule meetings.

    Finally; any contacts I add to my outlook contact list are automatically synced between my devices. This means when I’m out and about visiting customers and prospects, their details are automatically synced to my smartphone so I have their details with me, meaning I can phone customers back when I have a few minutes between meetings making me more efficient.

    Exchange Online is available from £2.60 per user per month and each mailbox comes with a massive 50GB of space, upgradable to unlimited storage. You can add new users whenever you want, meaning the system will grow with you.

    Contact us today for a free 30 day trial.

    Email content directly into OneNote

    Posted on by Keith Cockerham

    Microsoft OneNote is one of our favourite Office applications. Now it’s even easier to add content to OneNote. Simply forward an email to me@onenote.com and OneNote will automatically add the it to your unfiled notes section.

    First, you’ll need to link your email address to OneNote. To do this, visit OneNote Email Settings and set up your aliases. If you don’t see the email address listed you can add and verify it. Alternatively, emailing me@onenote.com from an address that isn’t registered will send you back instructions.

    Do you have any useful tips on using OneNote? Contact Us to share the,

    Support for Windows XP Ended

    Posted on by Keith Cockerham

    Support for Windows XP and Office 2003 has now ended

    On April 8, 2014, Microsoft ended support for the decade-old operating system, Windows XP.
    This means that Microsoft will no longer produce updates, including security updates, for
    Windows XP. Support for Microsoft Office 2003 has now also ended.

    To mark the end of Office 2003 and Windows XP, Microsoft handed over the @MicrosoftSB account to Clippy, the Office 2003 Paperclip for a Q&A on how he is going to spend his retirement. You can see the conversation using the hashtag #AskClippy

    Potential business implications

    The security and privacy implications of this could have significant impacts on your business, so if you are still running either of these products you should plan to take action as soon as possible.

    Down time

    The risks of system failure and business disruption could increase because of the end of support, lack of supported software, and the increasing age of hardware running Windows XP.

    Security risk

    Without critical Windows XP security updates, your PC may become vulnerable to harmful viruses, spyware, and other malicious software which can steal or damage your business data and information. Anti-virus software will also not be able to fully protect you now Windows XP itself is unsupported.

    Software Issues

    Many software and hardware vendors no longer support their products that are running on Windows XP as they are unable to get the Windows XP and Office 2003 updates. For example, the new Office leverages the modern Windows and will not run on Windows XP.

    No one to call

    When a problem arises, online and phone-based technical support will unfortunately no longer be available to assist you or your IT partner, leaving you on your own to deal with the problem.

    Microsoft CRM 2013 Rollup 2 Published

    Posted on by Keith Cockerham

    Last week, Microsoft published Rollup 2 for Microsoft CRM 2013.
    As previously mentioned, starting with CRM 2013, The rollup number is included within the build number. Rollup 2 is published as 6.0.0002.0051

    Update Rollup 2 introduces support for the following:

    • Windows 8.1 and Internet Explorer 11 using CRM 2013 web application and CRM for Tablets
    • iOS7 support with Safari on iPad using the web application
    • Support for Safari using web application
    • CRM for Tablets using the tablet app for iPad Air
    • Windows Server 2012 R2 for CRM Server

    We maintain a list of all rollups on our Microsoft CRM 2013 Resources page.

    Turn your phone into a scanner

    Posted on by Keith Cockerham

    Office Lens is a new app for your Windows Phone that turns your phone into a scanner. You can use it to take pictures of things like business cards, menus, post-it notes, on whiteboards or blackboards — anything you want to keep to hand.

    Pictures taken with Office Lens are automatically trimmed and enhanced and cleaned up to make them readable. You can then transfer them to OneNote which can be synced with your OneDrive (formerly SkyDrive) account making them available on any of your devices.

    When you load OneNote on a PC or tablet, it will automatically recognise text within the pictures using OCR (optical character recognition) this makes the text searchable within OneNote. You can also copy the text from the picture and paste it into other apps such as Word and Outlook!

    Office Lens has three modes to enhance your pictures:

    • Whiteboard mode: removes shadows and glare
    • Document mode: makes text clear and easier to read
    • Photo mode: allows you to take pictures of people and scenery

    Recently I started scanning documents into OneNote rather than carrying around paper files. Now I use Office Lens to take pictures of letters, bills and statements. This means I no longer have to carry bulky paper files, just my Microsoft Surface!

    Download from the Windows Store