Component Recording

2 minute read time.

When working with the Component Manager it is possible to record customizations that you make and input to another CRM system.

This is an extemely handy feature saving lots of time , effort and possible tantrums. Recording a component is very straighforward. I will walk you through the few short steps required, below:

Some initial things to point out are that you will need to have an EIS license and the Main Entity Wizard installed in order to avail of this feature.

So, on with the recording:

Log into CRM as Admin and navigate to Administration -> Customization -> Component Manager

Click onto the Component Details tab

You should see two existing entries

One for the Advanced Customization Wizard (MEW) and another called Changed this changed component is set up by default and tracks all changes made to the system.

To start recording a new component , first script out the Changed component so that you have a snapshot of the CRM system as it is.

To script out the component , simply click on the Sript Component on the right hand side of the screen and copy the script to CRM's inf directory.

Once you have done this go to your Program Files\Sage\CRM\inf folder and copy the Changed directory together with the changed.ecf to a zip file give it name e.g. changedbkp.zip. Now you have essenitally saved all changes made to your system to date.

Next return to the Administration -> Customization -> Component Manager-> Component Details tab and select New

Fill in the name and description details, if you are ready to begin recording straight away then tick the ' set to be current' checkbox

Carry out whatever changes you wish to make within CRM, in my example below I have added additional fields to the Project entity under field Customization

Once you have completed all of the actions which you wish to record, return to the Administration -> Customization -> Component Manager-> Component Details tab and choose

Script Component

This will write the recorded files to your Program Files\Sage\CRM\inf folder.

To import and use this component in another CRM instance , simply colect the files from your Program Files\Sage\CRM\inf folder add them to a zip file and import the zip file using Component Manager

When you are more familiar with Component Recording the are more Advanced Options available to you such as linking other existing components to the current component.

Finally be sure to return to the Administration -> Customization -> Component Manager-> Component Details tab and uncheck the 'set to be current' value for this component.

If you wish to continue recording you can revert to the 'Changed' component as the current component. To stop recording altogether select the Stop Component Manager action on the right hand side.

Happy recording !

  • Please can someone offer me some advise.

    HOW do you record the removal of CRM default choices?

    EG I record component changes I make to the Company element, in particular the "Comp_Employees" where I remove all default entries and create new ones.

    Upon a fresh install of CRM, these default values obviously get re-created. When I install the component I recorded it doesn't actually record the removal of these choices, so I have to manually go back in and remove them all again.

    Please advise is there a way I can edit the *.es script to add in code to remove these default entries added during CRM install?

    Thanks

  • Just did this- very helpful. One step was missing in the blog, which is to remember to click "stop component manager" when you are done making your configurations.

  • Prakash

    Do have a look at the number of articles that the team have written about the Component Manager. community.sagecrm.com/.../SearchResults.aspx This is the tool that allows you to carry over files customization from a development server into a live environment.

    Think of it as a install shield programming environment - any component that you create will need to be thoroughly tested and NOT taken for granted.

  • Hi, We are working on a CRM project which involves 20 custom entities and multiple programmers are working on different entities and workflow. Is there any way we can copy the entities and the customizations from the development system to the production server. Few times, we have to port the customization of a specific entity only. We can move the asp files manually but, is there any way to copy the customization through a database script or any other ways. Any help on this is highly appreciated.

  • Hi David,

    Welcome to the Sage Community. Although component manager works in 90% of areas, some complex customisations may require some manual intervention. If there are areas that are not working you shuold log any issues with your regional support team so that we can fix them

    I think to get the most out of component manager you really have to understand how the sage CRM metadata works I recommend taking a look at our articles and discussions on here relating to both component manager and metadata

    I hope this helps

    Elaine