Can I have more than one PowerAutoNumber on a record?

Sure! With PowerAutoNumber you can have as multiple auto numbers per entity (i.e. Account, Case, Product, etc.), but only one auto number per field.

Can I number existing records in my CRM with PowerAutoNumber?

Most PowerAutoNumber users will already have records saved in their CRM that they’d like to update with this auto-number as well. Adding the auto-number’s placeholder to a field allows users to update existing records in CRM.

First, view the PowerAutoNumber definition for the field you want to auto-number and copy the placeholder. For this example, we want to update the account number field, which we’ve already added to the form, on all pre-existing active accounts.

Next, we navigate to the Account section in CRM, change the view to “Active Accounts,” select all of the active accounts in the view, and select Edit.

In the Account Number field, paste or type the placeholder value of the auto-number, in this case it’s {acct nbmr}, and select Change.

The auto-number populates in empty Account Number fields of the selected records. PowerAutoNumber will not overwrite any existing values in the field, you will need to clear the field of any record(s) you wish to auto-number through the bulk edit.

Can I use a field value when creating an identifier in PowerAutoNumber?

Do I have to use the unique number in the identifier with PowerAutoNumber?

Does PowerAutoNumber work when importing records?

How much does PowerAutoNumber cost?

A subscription to PowerAutoNumber is $1/enabled CRM user/month. A user is defined as anyone enabled in your CRM system, including admin, read-only, service, and Office365 global admin users.

What if I have a value already in a field, will PowerAutoNumber overwrite it?

How can I copy or move my auto numbers in PowerAutoNumber?

If you need to move your auto numbers to a new cloud or you’ve copied your instance, you’ll need to deploy the auto numbers from the Setup tab.

Navigate to Settings > Solutions > PowerAutoNumber > Setup tab and click Deploy.

A new window will open with the deployment wizard, you will have 3 choices - Select New Cloud or Redeploy PowerAutoNumber Definitions. Make your selection and press OK.

If deploying to a new cloud, you will be presented with the list of Azure clouds, make your selection and press OK.

Please wait while the auto numbers are redeployed, this may take several minutes, once the process is completed you will see a confirmation.

How do I configure PowerAutoNumber to use my custom service?

To use a Custom Service, “Custom” can be selected from the dropdown. This will automatically populate the field, “Custom URL” to the setup form. This field should contain the full URL of the service being used. Any existing PowerAutoNumber definitions can be recreated if you are changing the target service after adding definitions and the initial number field can be adjusted to start the numbering process. Doing so should avoid any interruption in the numbering.

Some planning or adjustments will be required on your web service prior to use with PowerAutoNumber. The service needs to handle four commands: Create, RetrieveCurrent, RetrieveNext, and Delete.

An example interface is pictured below:

The plug-in sends data to the web service from CRM which must be stored in an object (OperationId) and the CRM expects a response in the form of another object (Result). The “OperationId” (pictured) class contains the necessary elements to receive the data from the CRM system.

The return value will be in the form of an object which should include the elements of the “Result” example shown. Both will be required for PowerAutoNumber to communicate with your web service.

Methods will need to be added for each operation. The OperationId parameter contains organizational information that can be used as an identifier in the service. The ‘Create’ method contains an extra parameter (initialLastNumber) which will dictate the starting number for your PowerAutoNumber definition.

A stripped down logic example is pictured below:

The example shown will return a value of “1.” Logic may be added to the service to allow for the desired return. The success Boolean can be used to monitor the data return from the service and the message string can be used for logging.

What is the Setup tab for?

With PowerAutoNumber 2013, users are able to select the Azure cloud service closes to them. Existing PowerAutoNumber users who are updating should select the PowerObjects cloud. Users who have their own custom service can configure PowerAutoNumber to point to their custom service.

Changes to the service location are handled on the Setup tab. Out-of-the-box the solution will select the cloud nearest to your region from the Target Service drop-down field.

How do I create an auto-number?

To create a new PowerAutoNumber definition, navigate to the PowerPack section of your CRM, select PowerAutoNumber, then select New.

Define which entity (Target Entity) and field (Target Attribute) in your CRM you are creating an auto-number for.

In the Placeholder field enter a unique identifier to be used for this auto-number rule only. If you do not want the numbering to start at 1, then you will need to enter your preferred starting number in the Initialize Number field.

Select Only on Update if you do not want the field auto-numbered when the record is created.  You will need to manually enter the placeholder into the field later to populate the auto-number.

The Field Format allows you to define how you want your auto-number to appear. You can add your own prefix, words, etc. in combination with one or more of the other formats.

Field Formats

Sequential Numbers
If you'd like to number a field using sequential numbers, you will use the {a:n} token, where “a” stands for auto-number, and “n” is the length of the auto-number you’re looking for. For example, if you put {a:5}, and set the Initialize Number to 5, your first auto-number will be 00005. These auto-numbers are guaranteed to be unique.
Note: If you put {a: 03} in your auto-number field, your auto-number will not be padded with a 0. It will just be 3 digits long.

Dates
If you’d like to use a date in you auto-number field, you will use the {d:n} token, where “d” stands for date, and “n” will be replaced by the format of the date you’re wanting to insert. The date that will be entered into this auto-number field is the date when the record was created, in the time zone that your CRM server is running in. For example, {d:mm/dd/yyyy} will insert the date 05/15/2012. If you’d like to display the day first, your format would be {d:dd/mm/yyyy}.The format {d:mmmm dd,yyyy} will insert the date May 15,2012. Another example of a date auto-number could be {d:dd-mm-yy} which would insert the date 05-15-12.

Times
If you’d like to use a time stamp in your auto-number field, you will use the {t:n} token, where “t” stands for time, and “n”will be replaced by the format of the time you’re looking to insert. The time that will be entered in the field is the time that the record was created, in the time zone that your CRM server is running in. You can use “hh” for hour, “mm” for minute and “ss” for seconds. So, for example, {t:hh:mm:ss} will insert the time 08:15:45 into the auto-numbered field. The format {t:hh:mm} will insert the time 08:15 into the auto-number field. The time displayed here will be based on a 12 hour clock. If you would like to insert AM or PM into the field, simply add “tt” within the end of the {}, so it would be formatted {t:hh:mm:ss tt} and would appear 08:15:23 AM.

Random Letters
If you’d like to use random letters in your auto-number field, you will use the {r:n} token, where “r” stands for time, and “n” will be replaced by the number of random letters you would like in your field. For example, if you use the token {r:5} will get KDNVK (or some random letter sequence) in your auto-numbered field. The letters will always be capital letters, and letters will be A-Z. These random letters are not guaranteed to be unique.

Field Values
If you’d like to use CRM fields in your auto-number field, you can do that as well. For this, you will use the {f:n} token, where “f” stands for field, and “n” will be replaced by the logical name of the field you are looking to insert. For example, if you want to insert the First Name field, your token would say {f:firstname}. The field you are using must be on the same record as the entity you are inserting the auto-number into. For example, if the entity of your auto-number is “Account”, you can only pull fields in from the account entity.
Note: PowerAutoNumber does not support lookup fields. The field should be a string.

Constants
If you’d like a constant prefix or suffix on your auto-number, you would simply type the character outside of your auto-number token. Any character that is placed outside of the auto-number token will appear as a literal value in the generated auto-number value. For example, if you’d like the letter “A” in front of all of your account numbers, you would put A-{a:4} in your field format field, and get an autonumber similar to A-2356.

Once you're happy with the auto-number you've defined, select Save.

Examples of Formats

How does PowerAutoNumber work?

Once you have set up a definition, the auto-number will automatically be created when a record is first saved. If there is already a value in that field, PowerAutoNumber will not overwrite a value.

If you would like to pause the auto-numbering of records, simply deactivate the PowerAutoNumber record, and the numbering will pause. To reactivate the numbering, reactivate the PowerAutoNumber record, and the auto-numbering will resume where it left off.

PowerAutoNumber stopped numbering my records, what should I do?

First, you should check the corresponding PowerAutoNumber definition to see if any errors are displayed in the Current Number field. If an error is displayed, please take the necessary action to resolve the error.

If no error is displayed, you can try to restart the auto-number by reactivating the auto-number definition. Open the auto-number definition and select Deactivate, after a few seconds the screen should refresh and the Deactivate button is replaced. You can now select the Activate button to restart the auto-numbering. Refresh your CRM session and create a new record to see if the auto-number has started working.