Developer toolkit features

Article
06/29/2017

Applies To: Dynamics CRM 2013

This topic describes the features of the Developer Toolkit for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 and Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online. It describes the project template options, how to connect to a Microsoft Dynamics CRM server, and the CRM Package and CRM Explorer features.

In This Topic

Project template options

Connect to a Microsoft Dynamics CRM server

CRM Package project

CRM Explorer

Project template options

After you install the Developer Toolkit, in the Microsoft Visual Studio New Project dialog box you’ll have a Dynamics CRM node under Visual C#.

Note

The Developer Toolkit doesn’t support Microsoft Visual Basic .NET.

In the Dynamics CRM node, you have the project template options shown in the following table.

Project template option	Description
New Visual Studio Solution Template for Dynamics CRM 2013	Creates a new instance of a Visual Studio solution for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013.
Dynamics CRM 2013 Plug-in Library	Creates a new Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 plug-in class library (.dll).
Dynamics CRM 2013 Workflow Library	Creates a new Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 workflow class library (.dll).
Dynamics CRM 2013 Package	Creates a Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 Package project.
Dynamics CRM 2013 XAML Workflow Library	Creates Microsoft Dynamics CRM workflows using the Visual Studio Workflow Designer.

The New Visual Studio Solution Template for Dynamics CRM 2013 option includes a solution that includes a plug-in, a workflow, a Silverlight application, and a package project. It’s a good starting point for any new solution because you can remove projects from the solution if you do not plan to use them. For more information about other project options, see Create a new Developer Toolkit project.

Note

When you select the New Visual Studio Solution Template for Dynamics CRM 2013 option, you’ll be prompted to create a new Silverlight application. In the New Silverlight Application dialog box, clear Host Silverlight application in a new Web site. More information: Work with Silverlight web resources.

Connect to a Microsoft Dynamics CRM server

When you create a new project you’ll be prompted to connect to a CRM server. When connecting to your server, you must select your organization. Selecting a solution is optional. The solution you select is the one that all new solution components will be associated with. Don’t select a managed solution. If you don’t select a solution, your solution components will be added to the default solution.

Note

If you want to work in the context of a new solution, create the new solution before you connect to the server. The dialog box doesn’t provide the option to create a new solution.

CRM Package project

In your new solution, the CrmPackage project is a manifest project that contains all assets to be deployed to Microsoft Dynamics CRM combined with their deployment settings. By default, the outputs from each other project are added as references to this project in so that they can be deployed to the server.

CRM Package

You can add components to the package by adding projects as a reference or by adding components under the WebResources folder.

The RegisterFile.crmregister contains registration information for plug-ins and custom workflows created by the toolkit.

Deploy your solution

Deploy your solution to the server by right-clicking CrmPackage and then clicking Deploy. You can also deploy the Solution or the CrmPackage from the Build menu. More information: Deploy a solution using the developer toolkit

CRM Explorer

The CRM Explorer displays information about solution components available in the organization. You can expand each node to view specific instances of each type of solution component.

CRM Explorer

The buttons on the toolbar are described in the following table.

Icon	Function
	Refreshes the whole tree.
	Opens the default landing page for the CRM organization.
	Opens the page for the solution you have chosen to connect and deploy your solution to.

Organization tree

Use the CRM Explorer organization tree to perform tasks using context menu commands or by double-clicking a specific solution component. For those solution components that can be edited in the solution, double-clicking the item opens the definition page in the Visual Studio web browser so you can configure or view the component without leaving Visual Studio. The following table shows the actions you can perform in the organization tree.

Item	Command or double-click action	Description
<Organization Name>	Refresh	Refreshes the whole tree.
Entities	Generate Wrapper	Executes CRMSVCUtil.exe to generate the strongly typed proxy classes. If you only have one plug-in project, this class is automatically added to this project; otherwise, the Generate Entity Wrappers dialog box lets you select which project to create the classes in.
Entities	Refresh	Refreshes entities.
Entities <Specific Entity>	Double-click	Opens the entity definition.
Entities <Specific Entity>	Create Plug-in	Opens the Create Plug-in dialog with the primary entity set to the selected entity. For more information, see Create and deploy plug-ins using the Developer Toolkit.
Option Sets	Refresh	Refreshes option sets.
Option Sets < Specific Option Set>	Double-click	Opens the option set definition.
Web Resources	Refresh	Refreshes web resources.
Web Resources	Add to packaging project	Adds web resources of all types from the organization to the project.
Web Resources <Web Resource Type>	Refresh	Refreshes web resources of this type.
Web Resources <Web Resource Type>	Add to packaging project	Adds all web resources of this type from the organization to the project.
Web Resources <Web Resource Type> <Specific Web Resource>	Double-click	Opens the web resource definition.
	Add to packaging project	Adds this web resource from the organization to the project.
Processes	Refresh	Refreshes processes.
Processes Dialogs	Refresh	Refreshes dialogs.
Processes Dialogs	Add Dialog	Opens the Create Process dialog with the Category set to Dialog.
Processes Dialogs <Specific Dialog>	Double-click	Opens the dialog definition.
	Edit	Opens the dialog definition.
	Delete Dialog	Deletes the dialog.
Processes Workflows	Refresh	Refreshes workflows.
Processes Workflows	Add Workflow	Opens the Create Process dialog box with the Category set to Workflow.
Processes Workflows <Specific Workflow>	Double-click	Opens the workflow definition.
	Edit	Opens the workflow definition.
	Delete Workflow	Deletes the workflow.
Plug-in Assemblies	Refresh	Refreshes plug-in assemblies.
Plug-in Assemblies <Specific Assembly>	Double-click	Opens the dependencies definition for the assembly.
	Edit Assembly	Opens the PluginAssembly Information dialog box. You can set the Isolation Mode, Source Type and a Description.
	Delete Assembly	Deletes the assembly.
	Add Plugin	Opens the Create Plug-in dialog box. You can select the Primary Entity. More information: Create and deploy a plug-in
Plug-in Assemblies <Specific Assembly> <Specific Plugin>	Refresh	Refreshes this plug-in.
	Add Step	For plug-ins that exist in the current project, this option opens the Create Plug-in dialog box with the Project and Class already set so that a new step can be added.
	Delete Plugin	For plug-ins that exist in the current project, unregisters the plug-in from the server without deleting the source file.
	Edit Plugin	For plug-ins that exist in the current project, opens the Plugin Type Information dialog box to enable editing the plugin Friendly Name and Description.
Plug-in Assemblies <Specific Assembly> <Specific Plug-in> <Specific Step>	Edit Step	For steps that exist in the current project, opens the Create Plug-in dialog box to modify how the step is registered.
	Delete Step	For steps that exist in the current project, deletes the step.
Security Roles	Refresh	Refreshes security roles.
Security Roles <Business Unit> < Specific Security Role >	Double-click	Opens the security role definition.
Field Security Profiles	Refresh	Refreshes field security profiles.
Field Security Profiles <Specific Field Security Profile>	Double-click	Opens the field security profile definition.