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Retrieve Records for Many-To-Many Relationships Using Intersect Entities

[Applies to: Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 and Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online]

In Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 and Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, when there is a many-to-many (N:N) relationship between two entities, an intersect entity is automatically created. This is true for both system relationships built into the product as well as custom many-to-many relationships. The name of the entity is specified in the IntersectEntityName property in the relationship metadata. The name of the relationship is specified in the SchemaName property in the relationship metadata.

You can use the intersect entities to refine the result set in any query by using the IOrganizationService.RetrieveMultiple method or the RetrieveMultipleRequest message. However, you cannot retrieve the intersect entity records directly by using the QueryExpression class. To retrieve the records in an intersect entity, you must use the FetchExpression class.

The following table lists the intersect entities that are used in N:N relationships between default entities.

Intersect entity name	Relationship entity 1	Relationship entity 2	Relationships schema name
AccountLeads	Account	Lead	accountleads_association
CampaignActivityItem	CampaignActivity	List SalesLiterature	campaignactivitylist_association campaignactivitysalesliterature_association
CampaignItem	Campaign	Campaign List Product SalesLiterature	campaigncampaign_association campaignlist_association campaignproduct_association campaignsalesliterature_association
CompetitorProduct	competitor	Product	competitorproduct_association
CompetitorSalesLiterature	competitor	SalesLiterature	competitorsalesliterature_association
ConnectionRoleAssociation	ConnectionRole	ConnectionRole	connectionroleassociation_association
ContactInvoices	Contact	Invoice	contactinvoices_association
ContactLeads	Contact	Lead	contactleads_association
ContactOrders	SalesOrder	Contact	contactorders_association
ContactQuotes	Quote	Contact	contactquotes_association
LeadCompetitors	Lead	Competitor	leadcompetitors_association
LeadProduct	Lead	Product	leadproduct_association
ListMember	List	Account Contact Lead	listaccount_association listcontact_association listlead_association
OpportunityCompetitors	Opportunity	Competitor	opportunitycompetitors_association
ProductAssociation	Product	Product	productassociation_association
ProductSalesLiterature	Product	SalesLiterature	productsalesliterature_association
ProductSubstitute	Product	Product	productsubstitute_association
RolePrivileges	Privilege	Role	roleprivileges_association
ServiceContractContacts	Contact	Contact	servicecontractcontacts_association
SystemUserProfiles	SystemUser	FieldSecurityProfile	systemuserprofiles_association
SystemUserRoles	SystemUser	Role	systemuserroles_association
TeamMembership	Team	SystemUser	teammembership_association
TeamProfiles	Team	FieldSecurityProfile	teamprofiles_association
TeamRoles	Team	Role	teamroles_association

Intersect Entity Metadata

Most intersect entities are simple, containing just the few properties that are needed to provide a link between to two entities in the N:N relationship. If you are using early bound types, you can see an example, in the ContactInvoices intersect entity. This is the case for all custom many-to-many relationships. However, there are several intersect entities that have additional properties that are used for specific functionality for the relationship. To make it easier to write queries by using the special intersect entities, the attribute metadata is provided in the following topics:

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Retrieve Records for Many-To-Many Relationships Using Intersect Entities

Intersect Entity Metadata

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