Microsoft CRM 2011 Productivity Tips – Filtering from your list views

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 provides a very robust advanced find tool for querying your data.  However, average CRM users may not understand how to build logic statements and queries and can be overwhelmed with the table structure of a relational database.  The good news is that many times the required data set has simple conditions and can be accessed without the use of the query builder at all.  Instead, use the ’filtering’ feature which works very much like filtering in MS Excel.  Here’s an example of filtering directly from a list view and saving that view to use in the future.

From the Opportunity list view, select the filter icon from the Data section of the ribbon.  This will activate the filtering feature which is a click-on/click-off control.

 

When the filtering control is enabled, an arrow will appear at the end of every column in the list.

Next I would like to view only the opportunities that will be closing for the next three months.  Select the arrow on the Est. Close Date column and select custom in the filter dialog.  Choose Next X Months from the list and enter the number 3 into the adjacent field.  Choose OK.

After the filter has been enabled, the arrow will change and a funnel will be displayed.  This will help you see which columns have been filtered from the view.

Notice that the account column has a triangle also.  This indicates the sorting criteria for the list.  This also can be changed by selecting another column.  If you would like to save this view for future use, select the View tab from the ribbon and click on the Save As icon.

 

In the dialog, name the view, enter your description and choose OK.

 

 

The new view will appear after it has been saved and can be accessed anytime from the view drop down. 

These steps can be applied to any of your list views in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.   Contact us at TopLine Results if you would like further training, 800-880-1960.