CRM 2011: Adding a view to the sitemap

Occasionally I have requirements to add links to the CRM Sitemap that are pointers to specific system views that we’ve created.  For example, here we have a link for Vendors that points to a system view that was created on the Account Entity which uses a Filter of Relationship Type = Vendor:

So, how do you get that view to display using a Sitemap link?  Follow these steps:

Export the Sitemap

We’ll have to manually edit the sitemap which will involve creating a custom solution and exporting the sitemap’s XML.  I wrote an article back in November describing this process.  Perform steps 1-5 to export the Sitemap;

Add a SubArea to the Sitemap

<SubArea Id="new_vendorsx" Url="/_root/homepage.aspx?etn=account&amp;viewid=%7b2C598CB7-2E3F-DE11-8035-0050569A36D3%7d&amp;viewtype=1039">
  <Titles>
    <Title LCID="1033" Title="Vendors" />
  </Titles>
</SubArea>

The key to making this work is the URL:

/_root/homepage.aspx

Here is a list of the parameters required to make this work:

The Title is what physically be displayed on the Sitemap.

Capturing the ViewId

To capture the ID of the view you wish to display, follow these steps:

1) Navigate the the entity you wish to view.

2) Change the view to match the view in question.

3) From the Ribbon, select Copy a Link:

This will copy the link to the Clipboard

4) Open Notepad and press Ctrl-V to paste the contents of the clipboard into the document.  you’ll see something like this:

http://server5a/contoso/main.aspx?etc=1&extraqs=%3fpagemode%3diframe%26sitemappath%3dSFA%257cSFA%257cnav_accts&pagetype=entitylist&viewid=%7b2C598CB7-2E3F-DE11-8035-0050569A36D3%7d&viewtype=1039

5) Copy the text from viewid through the end of the line.

6) Combine that text with the URL shown in Add SubArea to the Sitemap section.

Import the new Sitemap

In the Editing the Sitemap article, follow steps 6-7 to import the altered Sitemap.

Note: Don’t forget to Publish All Changes at the end of the Import process.

Test your Work

Press Ctrl-F5 to reload the CRM web page.  Navigate to the area where the new subarea was added.

Click on the new link ( Vendors in my case ).

The Active Vendors view should be displayed in the main page area of the site.

Conclusion

I successfully used this technique in several CRM 4.0 installations to help users location information quickly and easily.  This is a great tool to have in your toolbag.