How to Save Process Form Dynamics CRM 2011 Rollup 12 Polaris

Paul Nieuwelaar, 01 February 2013

One of the first things you notice when looking at the new process forms for Dynamics CRM 2011 rollup 12/Polaris is that there is no more ribbon like we have with the classic forms. Because there is no ribbon, it means we lose the ‘save’, ‘save and new’, and ‘save and close’ buttons we’re used to on the classic forms. When looking at the buttons on the top of the process forms, we don’t see anything relating to saving the record.

There are actually a few different ways the process forms are now saved, which will save us all a few extra mouse clicks when updating record. I’m going to take a look at each of the different ways to save changes on a process form.

SAVE AND CLOSE:

Closing the browser window automatically saves any changes made to the form (essentially performing a ‘save and close’).

SAVE:

Approximately every 30 seconds CRM automatically checks if there are any unsaved changes to the form, and if so performs a save in the background. This means you can continue working on your form, and CRM will automatically save changes as you go; so you don’t have to worry about losing anything if something should happen.

There is also a small save icon in the bottom right corner of the screen which allows you to force a save. This seems like an odd place to put it, considering the other buttons are on the top of the form. We can only assume this is because the forms save themselves now, so in theory we shouldn’t need to click the ‘Save’ button manually. You can also see a message beside the save button indicating if there are unsaved changes.

SAVE AND NEW:

Clicking the ‘New’ button from the top of a form will save any changes to the current record, and then open a new form (essentially performing a ‘save and new’).

CREATE FORM:

When creating a new record, the form does not automatically save periodically, and closing the form does not perform a save. Instead, as you would expect the form is only saved after you click the ‘Create’ button from the top of the form, or the ‘Save’ button at the bottom. Alternatively you can also click the ‘New’ button which performs a ‘save and new’.