Mashups in CRM (Part 1)

Mashups in CRM are powerful and can be very easy to implement. There is so much data in a typical CRM system that can offer more user value when mashed up with other web sites and web applications. In this post I'll show how to create a simple mashup taking some data in CRM and adding it into a URL to provide your end users with some functionality and time savings. In (Part 2) I will show something a little more advanced using a Google Gadget in an iframe.

If you are storing Shippers and Tracking numbers in CRM you have everything you need to give your users a tracking link. Below is an example that will generate tracking links to UPS, FEDEX and DHL.

1. Create a text field with a Tracking Number in it new_trackingnumber.
2. Create a picklist telling you which type of shipping is being used new_shippedby. Add UPS, FEDEX and DHL to the picklist
3. Create a link field for the user to click on new_trackinglink.
4. Add JavaScript (below) to the OnLoad event for your Form to builds the links for your new_trackinglink below:

var Shipper = crmForm.all.new_shippedby.value;
var trackingNumber = crmForm.all.new_trackingnumber.value;

switch( Shipper )
{
   case "1": /*UPS*/ crmForm.all.new_trackinglink.DataValue='http://wwwapps.ups.com/WebTracking/processRequest?HTMLVersion=5.0&Requester=NES&AgreeToTermsAndConditions=yes&loc=en_US&tracknum=' + trackingNumber ;  
             break;

   case "2": /*FEDEX*/ crmForm.all.new_trackinglink.value =  'http://www.fedex.com/Tracking?tracknumbers=' + trackingNumber + '&cntry_code=us&language=english&clienttype=ivother&' 
             break;

   case "3": /*DHL*/ crmForm.all.new_trackinglink.value =  'http://track.dhl-usa.com/TrackByNbr.asp?shipmentNumber=' + trackingNumber ;
             break;
}

Hint: You really don't want lots of copies of the same code. You can reference an existing OnLoad, OnSave event from the same form as follows: crmForm_onload0(); crmForm_onsave0(); So in this case you would add "crmForm_onload0();" to the OnChange event for both shippedby and trackingnumber so that the trackinglink would regenerate whenever you changed either of those fields. Here is your final result, a populated link specific to the shipper: