Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011: Field Formats

This is my first post in a series titled "Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011". I'll post issues and how I resolve them as I work on a CRM project I'm managing. Oh, and rants as well.

The field data types and formats are rather limited in MS CRM. As a programmer, I'm accustomed to having my cake and eating it too. One of the unfortunately frustrating aspects of using a solution framework is needing to work outside the borders. Things the framework handles natively, are inherently easy to do and a great time saver. Once you move out of that box, it can get dodgy. 

What I need is a positive decimal integer, not a number. What's the difference? A decimal number, in it's simplest form, is expressed only with digits - no group or decimal separators or signs. The Whole Number format in MS CRM uses the global number format settings and cannot be overridden at the field level. 

The workaround is to use a single line text field (the normalized database guru in me cringes) with a client side function that strips out anything other than digits from the form field. I don't care for it, but it's the best solution I've found so far.

At least in 2011 there is a mechanism in place to support function libraries. Schnell Kontakt, from Dynamics Consulting München, blogged how to call a function from a library of common JavaScript functions on the change event of a form field to handle this:

Re-usable JScript Libraries in Dynamics CRM 2011 Introduction: Web Resources and JScript Libraries