How to Export CRM Customizations
The reason that one exports the customizations is so that you can revert back from any accidents that might happen or that you want to revert back to a previous version. Reverting back should be done first in a test environment to make certain that the backup is correct.
Additionally, for the advanced users out there it can sometimes be more efficient to make changes by using the backup then using the actual interface but is not recommended except for those that are extremely confident in the Dynamics CRM XML structure as a wrong change can cause serious problems with your system.
- Start Microsoft Internet Explorer
- Log into Microsoft Dynamics CRM as a user that has a minimum of System Customizer rights
- Settings
- Customization
- Click on "Export Customizations"
- Click on "Export All Customizations"
- Click on Save
- For the file name it defaults to customizations.xml which isn't good for archiving multiple days unless you're saving into a system that will automatically version control the document (e.g. something like SharePoint (WSS/MOSS)).
- I typically have two naming conventions
- For the FIRST export
- 20071128-customizations-v00.xml
- For every other export
- 20071128-customizations-v01.xml
- The naming convention is this that is above is this
- 2007 is the year (4-digit year)
- 11 is the month (if this would be a single digit [e.g. 7] I enter 07
- 28 is the day (if this would be a single digit day [e.g. 7] I enter 07
- Then I use a dash and keep the word customizations and end with a dash
- The last is the version number
- v00 is always the FIRST (clean) export from the system that has no customizations in it
- v01 is the first export of the day, v02 would be the second export of the day, and each day I always start with v01 and always end the day
- As with anything there are exceptions to the rule. The one exception is if you're fortunate enough to have multiple CRM servers available to you that when you export you should export with either the machine/client name after the date (e.g. 20071128-ServerName-customizations-v01.xml).