Dynamics CRM 2011 Developer Training Kit: Essential Beginner’s Guide

Quick Start: Dynamics CRM 2011 Developer Training Kit for DevelopersMicrosoft Dynamics CRM 2011 remains a milestone release for organizations customizing customer relationship management workflows, plugins, and integrations. Although newer versions of Dynamics 365 have superseded it, many enterprises still run CRM 2011 for legacy applications. The Dynamics CRM 2011 Developer Training Kit (DTK) bundles documentation, samples, tools, and hands-on labs that accelerate learning and reduce friction when building customizations. This guide gives developers a practical, step-by-step quick start to get productive with the DTK: what’s in the kit, how to set up your environment, key lab exercises, common customization scenarios, debugging tips, and migration considerations.

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What is the Dynamics CRM 2011 Developer Training Kit?

The Developer Training Kit is a Microsoft-distributed package designed to teach developers how to extend and integrate Dynamics CRM 2011. It includes:

• Hands-on labs that provide step-by-step exercises.
• Sample code demonstrating plugins, workflow activities, JavaScript client customizations, and integration patterns.
• Tools and utilities to simplify deployment and debugging.
• Documentation covering architecture, SDK usage, and platform capabilities.

These resources are intended for .NET developers, JavaScript coders working on client-side forms, and solution architects designing integrations.

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Why use the DTK?

• Speeds up onboarding: Labs and samples shorten the learning curve compared to reading only API documentation.
• Real-world scenarios: Exercises reflect typical customization tasks you’ll encounter in projects.
• Reference implementations: Samples show correct patterns for plugins, registered steps, secure configuration, and error handling.
• Offline learning: You can work through labs in a local development environment without relying on an online training portal.

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Required prerequisites

Before following the labs, ensure you have the appropriate environment:

• Visual Studio 2010 or 2012 (supported at the time of CRM 2011).
• .NET Framework 4.0.
• Dynamics CRM 2011 Server or a development instance (On-premises recommended for plugin debugging).
• CRM 2011 SDK (often included or referenced by the DTK samples).
• IIS and SQL Server (for on-premises deployment and advanced integration tests).
• Windows OS compatible with Visual Studio and CRM 2011 components.

For client-side scripting and form customization:

• Knowledge of JavaScript and the CRM 2011 client API (Xrm.Page).

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Setting up your development environment — step-by-step

1. Install Visual Studio and .NET Framework 4.0.
2. Set up a Dynamics CRM 2011 development server or connect to an existing development organization. For plugin debugging, an on-premises server simplifies attaching the debugger.
3. Download and extract the Dynamics CRM 2011 Developer Training Kit and CRM 2011 SDK if needed.
4. Open the DTK labs in Visual Studio and restore any required NuGet packages (or reference SDK assemblies included with CRM/SDK).
5. Configure connection strings and authentication settings in sample projects to point to your CRM development organization.
6. Register sample plugins or workflow activities with the Plugin Registration Tool (part of the CRM SDK).
7. For JavaScript exercises, upload sample web resources to CRM and reference them from form editors.

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Key labs and exercises to prioritize

Focus on these labs first; they build foundational skills used in nearly every customization:

• Plugin fundamentals

  • Create a simple synchronous plugin triggered on account create.
  • Understand IPlugin, IPluginExecutionContext, and how to access InputParameters / OutputParameters.
  • Learn to write idempotent code and avoid side effects.

• Custom workflow activities

  • Build a reusable activity that can be invoked from CRM workflows.
  • Learn how to expose input/output properties and handle execution context.

• JavaScript form customizations

  • Use Xrm.Page to read/write form fields, manipulate visibility, and respond to events.
  • Implement form-level validation and field-level business logic.

• Data import/export and integration patterns

  • Use the Organization Service to perform CRUD operations programmatically.
  • Explore sample integrations that read/write CRM data from external systems.

• Plugin registration and configuration

  • Practice registering steps, filtering attributes, and setting stages (pre-operation, post-operation).
  • Learn how to use secure and unsecure configuration strings for plugins.

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Example: Create and register a basic plugin (high-level)

1. Create a Class Library project in Visual Studio targeting .NET 4.0.
2. Add references to Microsoft.Xrm.Sdk.dll and Microsoft.Crm.Sdk.Proxy.dll from the CRM SDK or server installation.
3. Implement the IPlugin interface:

using Microsoft.Xrm.Sdk; public class AccountCreatePlugin : IPlugin {     public void Execute(IServiceProvider serviceProvider)     {         var context = (IPluginExecutionContext)serviceProvider.GetService(typeof(IPluginExecutionContext));         if (!context.InputParameters.Contains("Target")) return;         var entity = context.InputParameters["Target"] as Entity;         if (entity == null || entity.LogicalName != "account") return;         IOrganizationServiceFactory factory = (IOrganizationServiceFactory)serviceProvider.GetService(typeof(IOrganizationServiceFactory));         IOrganizationService service = factory.CreateOrganizationService(context.UserId);         // Example: set a custom description on create         if (!entity.Attributes.Contains("description"))         {             entity["description"] = "Created via AccountCreatePlugin";             service.Update(entity);         }     } } 

1. Strong-name/sign the assembly if required, build it, then use the Plugin Registration Tool to register the assembly and step on the Create message for the account entity.

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Debugging tips

• Use on-premises CRM to attach Visual Studio directly to the w3wp.exe process for server-side debugging.
• For sandboxed plugins (if using CRM Online), enable tracing and read trace logs via the CRM web UI or the SDK’s tracing utility. Implement ITracingService for richer logs.
• Throw informative InvalidPluginExecutionException messages for business errors — they surface to users and help trace problems.
• For JavaScript, use browser developer tools (Console, Breakpoints) and the CRM Form Editor’s field properties to ensure scripts are properly registered.

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Common pitfalls and best practices

• Avoid long-running operations in plugins; offload heavy processing to asynchronous workflows or external services.
• Make plugins idempotent: repeated execution (due to retries) should not cause duplicate side effects.
• Filter attributes in registered steps to reduce unnecessary executions.
• Use secure configuration for sensitive settings; secure config is only visible to users with system administrator privileges.
• Prefer the OrganizationService and RetrieveMultiple with paging for large data sets; avoid retrieving all records in memory.

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Migration and future-proofing

If you expect to migrate later to Dynamics 365:

• Favor clean architecture: separate business logic into reusable libraries instead of embedding everything in plugins.
• Keep client-side code modular and follow patterns compatible with newer client APIs (many concepts carry over).
• Document customizations and maintain source control for all assemblies and web resources.
• Review deprecated APIs when planning an upgrade; plan to update integration points, authentication, and deployment pipelines.

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Additional resources

• DTK hands-on lab files and sample projects (included in the kit).
• CRM 2011 SDK reference for API and assembly documentation.
• Community blogs and Microsoft’s archived documentation for real-world patterns and troubleshooting tips.

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Conclusion

The Dynamics CRM 2011 Developer Training Kit is a practical, example-driven way to learn CRM customization quickly. Start with the core labs (plugins, workflows, JavaScript), configure a proper development environment, follow best practices for debugging and registration, and design your solutions with migration to newer Dynamics versions in mind. Working through the sample projects will make typical tasks routine and reduce surprises when you implement custom business requirements in production.