Sample: Synchronize data with external systems using change tracking

 

Applies To: Dynamics 365 (online), Dynamics 365 (on-premises), Dynamics CRM 2016, Dynamics CRM Online

This sample code shows how to retrieve changes from an entity and synchronize data with external systems by using the RetrieveEntityChangesRequest message. For more information about the feature that this sample demonstrates, see Use change tracking to synchronize data with external systems.

This sample requires Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online 2015 Update 1, Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online 2016 Update, or Microsoft Dynamics 365 (on-premises). This sample is available to download from Synchronize data with external systems using change tracking.

Prerequisites

1. Have access to a Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online 2015 Update 1, Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online 2016 Update, or Microsoft Dynamics 365 (on-premises) organization.

2. Download the ChangeTrackingSample Visual Studio project.

3. Open the ChangeTrackingSample Visual Studio project and install the latest Microsoft.CrmSdk.CoreAssemblies NuGet Package. See Install NuGet packages for instructions.

4. After you install the NuGet packages, see Run the sample for instructions on how to run the sample and what to expect.

In This Topic

What this sample does

Install NuGet packages

Run the sample

What this sample does

1. The ChangeTrackingSample class Run method calls the ImportChangeTrackingSolution method which first detects whether the ChangeTrackingSample managed solution is already installed. If it is not, the ChangeTrackingSample_1_0_0_0_managed.zip file is imported to install this managed solution.

   This managed solution contains a custom sample_book entity that is used by this sample. This entity has a sample_bookcode alternate key that creates a unique constraint on the values stored in that attribute.

2. The WaitForEntityAndKeysToBeActive method is necessary because the alternate keys required for this sample may not be ready immediately after the ChangeTrackingSample solution is installed. This method polls the metadata for the sample_book entity to delay the execution of the rest of the sample until the alternate keys are ready.

3. CreateRequiredRecords method generates 10 records in the sample_book entity.

4. The first time the RetrieveEntityChangesRequest is called; it performs an initial synchronization and retrieves all the records in the entity along with the version number and caches the retrieved records.

5. After caching the initial records, the program asks if you want to view the sample_book entity records. If you respond with ‘y’ the program will attempt to open Internet Explorer to a view showing the newly created records.

6. UpdateRecords method adds ten new records, updates an existing record and deletes a record in the sample_book entity.

7. After updating the records, the program resets the paging information and instantiates the cache objects.

8. When RetrieveEntityChangesRequest is called again, it only retrieves the updated records since the last synchronization.

9. After retrieving the changes, the program will ask if you want to view the sample_book entity records. If you respond with ‘y’ the program will attempt to open Internet Explorer to a view showing the newly created records.

10. Finally, the DeleteChangeTrackingSampleSolution will prompt you to delete the ChangeTrackingSample managed solution.

    If you select “y”, the managed solution will be deleted including the sample_book entity and all the data in that entity. Your organization will be left with nothing added to it.

    If you select “n”, you can inspect the details of the solution including the data created by the sample. But you must manually delete the managed solution to return your organization to the original state.

Install NuGet packages

Use the following steps to install the required assemblies for this sample:

1. Download this sample and extract the files.

2. Navigate to the C# folder and open the ChangeTrackingSample.sln file using Visual Studio.

3. In Visual Studio, right-click the ChangeTrackingSample project and chose Manage NuGet Packages.

4. For the preview release, make sure to select Include Prerelease rather than Stable Only in the search criteria. Then search for “Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2016 SDK core assemblies”. Make sure you select the latest version.

5. Click Install. You’ll need to accept the license terms to complete installing this package.

Run the sample

1. In Visual Studio, with the solution open and the necessary NuGet packages installed, press F5.

2. If you have not previously run one of the Microsoft Dynamics 365 managed code samples before, you’ll need to enter information to run the code, otherwise enter the number for one of the Dynamics 365 servers you have previously set up.

   Prompt	Description
   Enter a Dynamics 365 server name and port [crm.dynamics.com]	Type the name of your Microsoft Dynamics 365 server. The default is Microsoft Dynamics 365 (online) (crm.dynamics.com) in North America. Example: myservername myprefix.myservername:5500 crm5.dynamics.com Don’t include the name of your organization or Internet protocol (http or https). You’ll be prompted for that later.
   Is this server configured for Secure Sockets Layer (https) (y/n) [n]	Type y if the URL you use to access Microsoft Dynamics 365 begins with https://, otherwise type n.
   Is this organization provisioned in Microsoft online services (y/n) [n]	Type y if this is a Microsoft online services provisioned organization. Otherwise, type n.
   Enter domain\username	Type your Microsoft account. For Dynamics 365 (on-premises), type your network domain and user name separated by a backslash (\).
   Enter password	Type your password. The characters will show as “*” in the window. Your password is securely saved in the Microsoft Credential Manager for later reuse.
   Specify an organization number (1-n) [1]	From the list of organizations shown that you belong to, type the corresponding number. The default is 1, indicating the first organization in the list.

3. The sample will perform the operations described in What this sample does and may prompt you with additional options.

4. When the sample is complete, press ENTER to close the console window.

See Also

Use change tracking to synchronize data with external systems

Microsoft Dynamics 365

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