A common challenge in data integration is translating pick lists
between a source and target system. The two lists of values may have
similar context, but have different structures in their respective
systems. The trick is to map the list of values from one system to the
other so that the meaning of the data is preserved and presented
appropriately to users of each system involved in an integration.
Pick lists, or option sets as they are called in Dynamics CRM, allow the users to specify everything from an Account Type to Credit Terms. The way the option sets work in CRM is that the user sees the label on their screen, but Dynamics CRM stores a corresponding value as integer behind the scenes. So when pulling data from CRM you get Account Type = 345 and not what is displayed on the screen. This number has to be translated back into the text that the user selected. This is the issue that the article details.
In his post, Mohamed Ibrahim Mostafa details how to use two methods to do pick list mappings with Dynamics CRM including using an Xref.ini file using nested IF functions. You could also explore using the CASE and DBLOOKUP functions to do pick list mappings.
Click here to read the details of his approach. http://www.mohamedibrahim.net/blog/2012/11/11/scribe-insight-cross-reference-drop-down-and-pick-list-mapping-approaches-option-sets-in-dynamics-crm/
Mohamed Ibrahim Mostafa is the Group Manager - CRM Solutions Architect at Avanade UK and a Scribe MVP. Mohamed has led and implemented projects in the Health sector, Local government, Media, Finance and online E-Commerce solutions.
Pick lists, or option sets as they are called in Dynamics CRM, allow the users to specify everything from an Account Type to Credit Terms. The way the option sets work in CRM is that the user sees the label on their screen, but Dynamics CRM stores a corresponding value as integer behind the scenes. So when pulling data from CRM you get Account Type = 345 and not what is displayed on the screen. This number has to be translated back into the text that the user selected. This is the issue that the article details.
In his post, Mohamed Ibrahim Mostafa details how to use two methods to do pick list mappings with Dynamics CRM including using an Xref.ini file using nested IF functions. You could also explore using the CASE and DBLOOKUP functions to do pick list mappings.
Click here to read the details of his approach. http://www.mohamedibrahim.net/blog/2012/11/11/scribe-insight-cross-reference-drop-down-and-pick-list-mapping-approaches-option-sets-in-dynamics-crm/
Mohamed Ibrahim Mostafa is the Group Manager - CRM Solutions Architect at Avanade UK and a Scribe MVP. Mohamed has led and implemented projects in the Health sector, Local government, Media, Finance and online E-Commerce solutions.
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