When working with the CRM SiteMap, it is sometimes very useful to categorize the navigation elements into logical or functional groups.
CRM provides this functionality on the Area tag with the attribute ShowGroups.
Getting Started
Today we are going to use the Sales area of CRM as an example, which by default, looks like this:
Here is the configuration XML:
The Goal
Out goal is to make the SiteMap look like this:
Step 1: Add the ShowGroups attribute
The first modification we must perform is instructing CRM that we would indeed like the group labels to be shown in the navigation. This is done by adding the ShowGroups attribute to the Area tag, as you can see below:
<Area Id="SFA" ResourceId="Area_Sales" Icon="/_imgs/sales_24x24.gif" DescriptionResourceId="Sales_Description" ShowGroups="true">
If this attribute is not added, no group titles are shown.
Step 2: Add a title to the group
Next we need to add a title to the Group, which is accomplished by adding the Titles element below the group tag, as you can see below:
<Area Id="SFA" ResourceId="Area_Sales" Icon="/_imgs/sales_24x24.gif" DescriptionResourceId="Sales_Description" ShowGroups="true"> <Group Id="SFA"> <Titles> <Title LCID="1033" Title="Sales" /> </Titles>
If this step is not performed, then your navigation display will not appear as expected.
In CRM 2011, the word Unknown followed by a number is displayed as the group title:
In CRM 4.0, a blank group title is usually displayed.
Note: The SiteMap is exactly the same from CRM 4.0 to 2011. Only the process of exporting and importing is different.
Step 3: Import and Publish your changes
At this point you may save your customizations.xml file and re-package it for import.
More information about the entire export/import process can be found in this article.
The last step of the import process is to publish all changes. After that completes, press Ctrl+F5 to reload CRM, and confirm your edits have worked as expected.
Have fun and good luck with your customizations.
