How to create custom entity in CRM 2011

Please follow below steps for create a custom entity in CRM 2011

1.       Navigate to Settings à Solutions. From here, select the appropriate solution you want to add your entity to. You can also create a new solution for your entity if you prefer.

2.       Inside of the selected solution, make sure you have selected components in the Navigation menu, click the New button, and the select Entity. You are presented with the information form for entering general entity settings.

3.       The first thing you need to do when creating an entity is to enter some general settings. Many of these settings can be changed later, but some can only be made when you initially create the entity, and others can be set after the initial entity creation but cannot be changed again after that. Before creating an entity, you should understand these limitations so you can plan an entity that will meet your long term needs.

4.       When you have completed entering your settings, click the save button. You can continue to customize the entity. Then publish all customizations.

Entity definition

The entity definition area includes a number of different important settings as follows:

·         Display Name / Plural Name: These two fields represent the name of the entity as it will appear in Dynamics CRM. In some contexts the plural name will be used, and in others the display name will be used. These values can be changed later if desired.

·         Name: This field is the name that the entity will be referred to if it is referenced within custom code including custom reports, JScript, or other programming code. This field cannot be changed after the entity has been saved for the first time.

·         Description: This field is an optional field with more information on how the entity will be used within Dynamics CRM. It is a best practice to enter text into description fields that documents how the entity will be used. By entering this documentation, you will make it easier to support your instance of Dynamics CRM in the future.

·         Ownership: This field determines who will own each record in the entity. Another way to think about ownership is to ask, “Who will be responsible for maintaining this record in Dynamics CRM?” This field plays an important part in defining security roles and in establishing views and charts of data. After you select a value for this setting and save the entity, you cannot change it. Options for this field are as follows:

·         User or Team: Select this option if every record in this entity will be “owned” by a user or by a team of users. For example, if you create an entity to track projects, then you will most likely want to use this setting because your projects will be assigned to an owner who is responsible for making sure that his or her projects are managed properly.

·         Organization: Select this option if records won’t be owned by any particular individual or team. For example, if you create an entity to track customer inventory, then you will most likely want to use this setting because this inventory will not be owned by a particular user (or team) in your business.