In my opinion, Microsoft CRM’s greatest feature is that is solely designed to operate in a browser. This allows for a huge variety of devices, both mobile and desktop, to access your CRM system. In a nutshell, CRM is, at its core, a very complex website utilizing a wide variety of web technologies to run. With the ever-changing landscape of web development, browsers are endlessly changing their supported technologies, and all web-based software must work to keep up with the changes. Because of this, there are some things to keep in mind while determining your preferred method of accessing CRM.
In my day job working as a support agent at Cobalt, we field lots of questions and issues regarding browser compatibility for various versions of Microsoft CRM. While searching online for this, you may find some of the information is conflicting, incomplete, or outdated. This post is my attempt to organize this info and make some corrections based on my four years of experience supporting this platform.
Printing reports
The Reporting Services Microsoft ActiveX control is required by browsers to print reports. If you try to print a report and the control isn’t installed, you should be prompted to install it. It will be a dialog like this:
Supported versions of Microsoft Office
To use Microsoft Dynamics 365 with Microsoft Office integration features, such as Export to Excel and Mail Merge, you must have one of the following Microsoft Office versions on the computer that is running the Microsoft Dynamics 365 web application:
Microsoft Office 365
Microsoft Office 2016
Microsoft Office 2013
Microsoft Office 2010
Microsoft Dynamics 365 hardware requirements
Recommended Internet Explorer Settings for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Compatibility
1. Compatibility View – Add your CRM URL to the list; use *.yourdomain.com format to cover all possible subdomains or *.dynamics.com if online:
2. Pop-up Blocker – Enable pop-up blocker if it is not already on; add *.yourdomain.com format to cover all possible subdomains or *.dynamics.comdynamics.com if online to the exclusions list:
3. Trusted Sited – Under “Internet Security: Security Tab: Trusted Sites” add *.yourdomain.com format to cover all possible subdomains or *.dynamics.com if using CRM online
4. Trusted Sites – Under Trusted Sites: Custom Level – enable the option “Allow Display of Mixed Content”
Known Chrome Issue with Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011
If you are experiencing issues with Exporting, Settings not saving, or the Form Editor having issues while using Chrome, it is due to the removal of a browser feature from Chrome called “showModalDialog.”
This feature is what prevents you from clicking other things in your browser when you are being prompted to make a choice. While other browsers retain this feature, it was the choice by Google to remove it due to reported bugs and security concerns. That does not mean Chrome is not an acceptable browser to use, since many users report it as being the fastest at displaying CRM pages. You should simply use another browser in the event you are having issues using one of these features.
Getting the Microsoft Dynamics 365 App for Mobile Devices
While you can access CRM via the Safari browser on iPads and iPhones, via Chrome on Android, and Edge on Windows Mobile devices, you will have a better experience using the dedicated apps available. There are some third party variants of these apps, but here are the links to the official Microsoft versions:
iOS Devices:
iPhones: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dynamics-crm-for-phones/id1003997947?ls=1&mt=8
iPads: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/microsoft-dynamics-365/id678800460?mt=8
Android devices:
Phones: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.microsoft.crm.crmphone&hl=en
Tablets: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.microsoft.crm.crmtablet&hl=en
Windows devices:
Phones: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/p/microsoft-dynamics-365/9nblggh4rfqp
Tablets: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/p/microsoft-dynamics-365/9nblggh4rfqp